We each have our own ideas about the Creation story.  Even many Believers, assume that God is allowed to be involved with millions and millions of years of creation.  Did God really use evolution to come up with the perfect man made in His image?  Really?  Is that how you believe?

Since we assume science can answer most of the questions about the beginning of mankind, we let them have their say.  I rarely encounter or read of the scientific community believing in the Divine creation account.  When reading the National Geographic magazine or Smithsonian magazine, or visiting a Natural History Museum, we see these amazing relics from ages past.  That huge T Rex………he was 12 million years old!! 

There is a society called Creation Research Society and several others, who stand firm on the Creation story as found in Genesis.  Very few pastors and teachers want to touch the subject.  They are fearful of not being scientifically educated.

However, without a proper understanding of Genesis, and man’s betrayal of his original design, we must also omit the idea of sin.  For without the first sinners, then we really don’t need a Savior either.   

Since I am not a scientist (I hated Science in High School!) I feel free to quote more knowledgeable people than myself.  But I do believe this.  That God created man in His image and that the original humans betrayed His grand design for mankind. 

The Gap theory might appeal to those Christians who want to believe that evolutionary science might not be all wrong, while at the same time still use Genesis in their belief of the Creation.

Basically, the Gap theory is this: that millions of years passed between Genesis verse one and verse two. 

“The earth was with form and void.” (Gen 1:2) The Gap people translate the verse, “The earth became without form and void.” One little word……….Big difference.

In short, the Gap theory teaches that Day One was not really Day One (Acts and Facts, Creation Research Society, Oct 2021)

Gap theorists believe that the phrase, “In the beginning” was a world that existed millions of years ago. Then God destroyed that world and began a new one and that earth became without form and was void of any life. Did God make a mistake the first time and corrected it later? 

The big picture concerns us.  Are we part of God’s original creation plan or are we a product of the evolutionary tree…….was your uncle a monkey?? 

In other words, perhaps God had pre-Adamite races.  He destroyed them and started again.   
Why do Christian theologians try to compromise belief in the accuracy of scripture to accommodate the scientific community?

I for one do not want to “bridge the gap.”  I read my Bible as reliable. 
God doesn’t need millions of years in His grand design for mankind, the heavens, or the earth we inhabit. God doesn’t need man’s theories.  We were not the result of some accidents in the great distance past.  
We can’t take a jaw bone and believe it came from a lady named Lucy who lived 15 million years ago!

We aren’t accidents!  We are a special creation by God who has designed us for His purposes and in His image. 

                                                Yes, you are I are very special!!!

Poor Moses!  He was brave when He needed to be.   He himself escaped from Egypt when he had committed murder and killed an Egyptian who was beating a Jew.  The Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt and were now part of the thousands of slaves who were building the hundreds of tombs, palaces and pyramids.  

He managed to escape and brave the desert to reach the land of Midian.  He had taken a wife, was a shepherd and had a good life.  However, deep within his soul there was a restlessness…anxiety.  He tried to forget but he simply could not.  His people were suffering at the hands of a new Pharoah.  He was happy in Midian so why was his spirit uneasy?  His father-in-law was a high priest, he had married one of his daughters and had a relatively easy life.

His brother, Aaron and sister, Miriam, were still in Egypt.  He had been adopted, through miraculous circumstances, into the Egyptian household.  The daughter of the Pharoah had found him in a basket floating on the Nile. She knew he was a Jew, but that didn’t matter.  She viewed him as a gift from the river god.  He became a prince of Egypt. 

Now, God was calling him to do something that he didn’t feel qualified to do.  Can you feel his anxiety as the Lord told him that he was to return to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to release the Hebrews from bondage? He had all sorts of excuses.

“Oh Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue. “(Exodus 4:10)  

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, God could have given Moses and eloquent tongue.  But He didn’t!

                         Instead, God sent Moses back to Egypt with all his weaknesses. 

The apostle Paul felt he could do better with his ministry, if God would just remove, “my thorn in the flesh.” As strange as it might seem God told him, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” Upon hearing that, the apostle responded.  “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of the Messiah may rest upon me.  (2 Cor 12: 9-10)

We have all sorts of excuses as well.   We would be a better disciple if only……..( add your excuses here!!)

However, we must equip ourselves. We must be ready to give an answer as to why we are Believers, and Disciples of a Jewish Messiah.   Being Jewish, is not acceptable.  It never has been and never will be.  If that is so, then you must find confidence in accepting that the Jewish Jesus can do what you and I cannot.

Since our beliefs are based on the Bible, from beginning to end, then we must also realize that we are simply unable to keep God’s commandants perfectly.  Therefore, there is only One who was able to do that.  You know His name!

So, with all our weaknesses, and foibles, we must put on the whole armor of God, as Paul commands his readers.  (Ephesians 6:10) Be prepared to answer those who question why you believe. 

           Times of testing are upon us. 

                                  Who, Me?     Yes, You!!!

There are many things about God we don’t understand.  If we did, then He wouldn’t be God.  All knowing and all wise. 

What does it mean that He has no beginning and no end? How can He hear a million prayers at one time?  How can He deal with each prayer individually, without benefit of email, text messages or I Phone?

For one thing, God lives outside of time and space, but He can reveal Himself in any He chooses.  He did show us His human side when He sent our Messiah who was the reflection of Himself. 

Therefore, God has a personality.  Aren’t we created in that image?  We each possess our own personalities. 

Therefore, God has a personality.  He is not merely “The Force” as in Star Wars.  “May the Force be with you!!”  However, our God knows each of us personally and He wants us to know Him. An impersonal “Force” doesn’t know us or care how we live.  But a loving personal God does!!

Not only did He reveal himself in the form of a human, Jesus, but He manifests himself as a spirit and dwells within the Believer. 
“And I will pray to the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.  The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans, but I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

We see the power of the Holy Spirit as one of the God’s personalities. The spirit personality was always of God.  The Spirit is part of the essence of God.    The Spirit was from the beginning.    

In Genesis 1:2 “the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” 

Because the Spirit is so unexplainable, rarely do we hear sermons preached or discussions about the Spirit.  It’s a touchy subject, even today.  The idea of the Trinity was unknown among the early Believers.  But they knew the Holy Spirit.

The word Trinity itself is never found in Scriptures.  It was the early gentile church fathers who needed to define the Spirit in more concrete terms.  It isn’t a Jewish thing.  God is One Being, but He manifests Himself in different ways. 

When Jesus used the word “Helper” He means the Holy spirit. He is our Helper.  As Believers, He will intercede for us in our prayers.  He helps illuminate scripture and gives us peace.  God has not left us alone.  Not only do we have His Word recorded, but after Jesus left the earth, the promised Holy Spirit would come to dwell in a special way in each Believer.

 Jesus also told us that circumstances in this world may range from good, not so good, and just plain terrible! 

But, by belonging to Him and allowing the Spirit of God himself to live within us, true peace is possible…..even now. 

                                        May the Spirit of God Be With You! 

The problem of eating food offered to idols must have been a major concern of Rabbi Paul.  He devotes various verses of three chapters in his letter to the Corinthians to deal with this issue. (1Cor 8 through 11)

So what?  How does that concern us?  Perhaps we should skip over those verses since we don’t have idol worship today.  Do we? 

The Jerusalem Council also warned against this problem in their letter to the Gentile Believers in Acts 15:23-24.  Not only that, but two Assemblies, are rebuked by the Lord for eating “food sacrificed to idols” (Rev. 2:24; 2:20.)  Pergamum and Thyatira. Perhaps we need to understand what was happening in the 1st century pagan world and why the Jewish Council, Paul and then again Jesus were so concerned with this problem. 

Do you know that several primitive societies in the Brazilian jungles also consume the flesh of the dead?  It’s still happening.  But why? 

In the 1^st century, when food was brought to the pagan temple as a sacrifice to the gods, only a small portion of it was actually burned on the altar.  The majority of the offered food was to be either sold by the priest in the marketplace or eaten by the worshiper in a dining area located in the temple.  These dinners then became a type of worship and cultic ritual.   

Believers were forbidden to join in these meals because their participation involved a level of intimacy with the pagan god.  The very food offered and then eaten entered and became one with the person who consumed the food.  He would then be identified with the god himself.  Therefore, the Believers in the early Assemblies were forbidden of eating this food.  They now had a new identity with the Jewish Messiah. Eating the ritualistic food would be considered idolatry. 

In our world today the idea of idolatry seems to be a thing of the past.  However, our idols are not wood or stone but idols of the spirit.  Any form of temptation, desires, lust or participation in what God has forbidden is a special form of idolatry.  We have determined what we want and desire.  We become our own idol!   We want to serve ourselves without sacrificing our Wants to help others.  I become self-serving!

Disappointments, failures and sickness might leave us bewildered and adrift from the foundations of faith.  I have come to recognize this in my own life.  Through prayer and worship, and daily repentance, we have a chance to overcome the need for the “meat” of idol worship.

It is the beauty of fellowship with other Believers that encourages us and gives us strength. Its our daily Bible reading and meditation that brings all of us closer to the Creator. 

“So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

                                                No idol meat for us!!

Having recovered from my rather recent bout of pneumonia, I am supposed to do a few breathing exercises using this little plastic device.  Three times daily I was told!!  It’s a bother.  I might squeeze in twice!

Have you even been to the ICU unit in the hospital?  Perhaps it was a parent, child or even a dear friend who suffered a major heart attack or some other physical trauma.  There are beepers, buzzers, and the rhythmic pumping of machines.  Somehow these machines help to keep someone alive.  Every heart attack patient has experienced the trauma of fighting for their very next breath.

                                      Breath is precious.  

In everyday life, we don’t think about breathing.  It is one of the involuntary attributes that God gives us.  We take breathing for granted.  That is, until our very next breath becomes a matter of life or death.

In Kings chapter two, we read about Hezekiah, King of Judah.  We know that he was “sick unto death”.  We aren’t told whether he was fighting for his next breath, but we are told he begged God for a few more years of life.  He was granted his wish.  He was allowed to live another 15 years.

Scripture tells us that God formed man and “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.”  (Genesis 2:7) 

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, “He breathed on them saying “receive the Holy spirit” (John 20:22)

These passages tell us that God is the life giver and that all life comes form Him.  Both physical and spiritual.  We live because He breathed the sacred breath of life into us.  No, we weren’t formed from some ancient slime a million years ago.

When we analyze the wonders of our bodies and how they are given to us for life in this world, we cannot help but to be amazed at the uniqueness of God’s creative powers.  We try to take care of our bodies and worry when they don’t function as we think they ought. 

Both the recovering ICU patient and King Hezekiah shared the privilege of another breath, and another opportunity to serve the Creator.

  But we don’t need to wait for a critical illness or catastrophic event to appreciate life.  Instead, we can look around us and observe God’s unique creation.  As we slowly inhale, and exhale let us be grateful for God’s gift of life.

We can be grateful knowing that every breath is precious because it represents the blessing of another moment. 

                         It is evidence of the gift of life from the Creator of Life.

                                                    Breathe Deeply!

                                  “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” Exodus 17:2

After the Israelites left Egypt for the land of Promise, they grumbled their way through the hot miserable desert.  Even though God had demonstrated His watchful care for them, they still felt alone facing the threat of starvation and thirst.  God did provide………both manna and quail and water from rocks and probably wells which might have been previously dug by the native peoples living there.  However, this is a huge group of people. 

They complained.  Their memories of the good food and homes in Egypt made them regret leaving……. even though it meant slavery.  They wanted the creature comforts and seemed forgetful of what they had suffered under the Pharoah. 

                              Would you have been one of them?

How long does our faith endure when we are tested?  “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”  In other words, is He keeping up with me?

The people had little choice but to depend on God.  No grain fields, no ready water supply, no real food.  The melons, grain, fruits, barley bread were left behind.  Their belly seemed more important than their freedom.

They complained to Moses in certain terms.  “Why did you bring us out here to suffer?  We weren’t so bad off in Egypt.  At least we weren’t starving. “(Ex :16)

                           God did respond.  He sent what they needed. 

But it was a daily exercise in faith.  Every day, they had to gather.  They needed faith for each day, that the manna would fall, and the water would flow. Only on the seventh day, the Sabbath, they were not to gather.  They must gather enough for two days, if not, then they had no food to eat. 

                                    God worked miracles for them.

But what about here and now?  Our we content with our “Daily Bread?”

The Lord used that same wording in what we call the Lord’s Prayer.  Each day we are to ask for our daily portion of what God provides. 

                                               And be thankful

In the Lord’s Prayer, (aka Disciple’s Prayer) Jesus tells his disciples that they are only to ask for the daily bread.    What, no long-term bread? 

In other words, we must consider each day a blessing for what the Lord provides.  Too often we take our blessings for granted.  Our daily bread is simply a matter of getting it off the shelf.  Our food as well as our homes, clothes, and creature comforts are all expected.  We rarely think to thank our Father for providing them.

I’m learning to take each day as a gift.  A blessing to live in America, food on the table, good friends and family.  Since each day is a gift, then tomorrow is up to Him. 

                        Yes, the Lord is in our midst………..you can depend on it.

                                                He Knows Your Name

Remember the story of Jacob and the night he wrestled with God…or His Angel?  All we know from the story is that Jacob said……” I have seen the face of God.” Yet he was using that phrase to mean that he knew that God wanted something from him and God interacted with him personally and physically.   

Jacob won the fight but was given a bad hip. He is often called the Deceiver from deceiving his father, Isaac. But God had plans for him.   He was given the new name of Israel.  It’s a fascinating story in Genesis 32:22. The name Israel means one in whom God rules.  

God asks Jacob, “What is Your name.” (Gen 32:27). Didn’t God know?   How would we answer that question?  Doesn’t He know my name is Barbara?  God doesn’t need my given name.  He already knows (plus all the hairs left on my head!} He really wants from me, and you are our true identity.  What does that mean?

 We must confess who we really are.  Inside.  Not the person we appear to be. 

This involves some introspection on our part.  Are we the dedicated Christian that we pretend?  How do we feel knowing that we are not really in control of our life?  Do we still struggle with our old “man” …the real me?  Are kidding ourselves that we are so strong in faith that nothing can move us?

Many times, it appears that God isn’t hearing us or even cares for us.  The Bible is replete with men and women who have felt the same.   He seems distant and aloof. 

Yet you and I must struggle with our faith.  We only know in part but as Paul writes, “We see through a glass darkly. (1 Cor 13:12) Yet, we know that God is there for me and you.  He’s ready to forgive us.  He wants to give us a new name, as He did with Jacob. 

Are we willing to release control of ourselves?  Are we willing to confess how little we really know?  Do we admit we are weak and sinful and seek repentance?  Have we done good deeds for our fellowman? 

Jeshua (Jesus) took upon himself what we cannot do.  He himself became our sin.  He obeyed in all ways that we cannot.  He gave that to us on the cross. 

When we walk by the Spirit, we no longer need to justify ourselves.  We confess our own lack of faith.  We must give up being in control! 

 We must confess our willingness to rely on God’s power to transform us and be a person after God’s own heart!  

            Be Happy!  He knows Your Name!                   

The summer heat is descending, the air-conditioners are running night and day, the outdoor grills are heating up. All signs of the season.  This can also be a great time for spiritual renewal.  A time of transformation. 

Since many of us prefer to stay inside to escape the heat of outdoors, it is also a good time for study and introspection.  A time to look within yourself. 
What do I want to do with the remainder of my life?  What does God have in store for me?  What can I do in His service?   Am I committed to being His servant in this world?   Am I a disciple maker? 

                                                    Transformation!

Sometimes, we believe that we are limited. We tell ourselves; I am not capable of more of doing more.  We are stuck with a negative mindset. We are unable to think outside of ourselves.  However, like a crab, we can break out of our shells.  This is a time to transform yourself. 

                                 Transformation often comes with pain. 
A child who is now a size 6, is squeezed into a size 4, will feel the pain.  They will feel constricted.  The clothes will be tight around their shoulders.  it will hurt.

The spiritual teaching is that our” garments” are our thoughts, speech and actions.  It is time for us to shed the old.  It’s difficult to change.  We are hesitant to try something new.  But we are outgrowing our old spiritual garments. It’s time to shed what has sufficed in the past and create something new, some healing, something transformative within us.   

                                    And we have the power to transform

Are you lying down as you read this?  Are you sitting at your computer?  Is your body comfortable?  You have the power to change your position.  You have the ability to make a choice that has a positive impact on your life.   

Now, think to yourself about one thing you feel limited. Something that feels constricting in your life.  You have the power to change it.  Like the crab shedding its shell you have the power to make a spiritual transformation. 

The old way of thinking about spiritual things in your life seems irrelevant.  You think about death. You think about your life after this one.  You think about the person you might have offended.  Are you willing to ask forgiveness before laying your gift on the altar?  If you find yourself unwilling to seek forgiveness from your fellow, do you still expect God to forgive you? 

It all comes with our spiritual transformation.  Transforming ourselves with a spiritual revival and renewing our faith. 

Be like the crab.  He changes his shell.  You can change your spiritual shell and become one who is transformed into His spiritual likeness.

                        Break that old shell; Get a new one!  

                                 Life, Liberty and Happiness

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. And that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” ………etc etc.  (Declaration of Independence)

Our Founding Fathers were unabased in their assertion that it was God who endowed all men with “certain inalienable rights.” Is there a biblical verse that promises mankind the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

Well, not exactly. But the first five books of the Bible (called the Torah) certainly talk about the sanctity of human life and describes the first man and women as being “created in the image of God.” Created in His image also gives us responsibility.  To care for our fellowman in a way that exhibits God’s love for His creation.

The principles of liberty, equality and individualism are all based on Biblical principles.  The American colonists felt that their entrepreneurial and political rights were being violated. They fought for their freedom and once independence was won, the fledging and idealistic American government was committed to protecting that freedom.

The Bible doesn’t say, “these are your rights.. don’t let anyone take advantage of you.” Instead, we read where a husband is to care for his wife; Good Samaritan tells us about caring for one’s fellowman; giving poor people access to gather in the fields (Ruth). It’s always what we do for others that makes us a different people from the rest of the world.  We give them a bit of hope and happiness in a dark world.                              .    

The story of our nation began when people demanded their freedom.  We must consider that it is a privilege to live in a nation that gives this right to choose.  
                        However, we must choose service ahead of rights

On a personal level, the small shift from rights to service can make a dramatic difference in all our relationships.  When the focus is largely about our rights, we have lost a sense of our own humility and our purpose.   

As Believers, we are committed servants.  We are disciples of the One who was committed in service to His fellow man.  He showed us the way. 

                                   Can we do anything less?

From the beginning of creation, God gave man/woman the freedom to choose.  Freedom comes with perils as well as blessings.  Of course, in His wisdom God wanted man to worship Him as a choice.  Not as an automation or a puppet whom God could control.

Soon we will be choosing one man to be our next President.  It’s our choice.  We don’t blindly choose him/her, but the person who best represents what we believe will make our country special and unique in the world.  One who represents the best of us and one who holds to the values of the Founding Fathers.

The concept of choice is central to the belief and philosophy of the Bible.  Since by definition, a choice is not coerced. But there are various degrees of freedom that a chooser may possess in making his choice. 

Choice in three Dimensions

A} Compelled choice:

One level of choice is related to the conventional, everyday usage of the term.  We each make countless choices every day.  Coffee or tea?  What color shall we paint our fence?  Should I take the job in New York or the one in Montana?

As long as no one is forcing your decision, yours can be said to be a “free choice.” But are you truly choosing freely?  Each of the options confronting you is armed with an entire array of qualities to sway your choice.

 You prefer coffee but everyone else is having tea.  Your sense of wanting to fit in compels you to also have tea, which everyone else is having.  White will liven up your gloomy backyard but will also show the dirt sooner than the green.  The pay in New York is higher but so is the crime rate.

You will weigh all the factors and make your decision.  But have you chosen wisely or have you the chosen the thing’s qualities? You made your choice as to which assets / influences you for the best possible outcome. 

B} Random choice 

But suppose you are above it all.  Suppose that nothing about these choices has the power to hold or sway you.  You made a choice as to what to drink, painting your fence, or which job to take.  But you made your decision on what is best for you.  The choice could have gone either way, correct?  So where were you in all this? In what way have you exercised your freedom to choose?   You have merely surrendered to something that is beyond you.  You made your choice on what you perceive to be the best possible outcome.

C} Quintessential choice.

What if your choice is determined by the very essence of who you are? For life is but the desire to be.  To make yourself special to someone.  To be able to give of yourself as a person chosen…. as well as a duty to your fellowman. The choices we face in life should be determined by what we perceive as a desired outcome of our life. How will we be remembered?   Are we pleasing to God for how we are living our life here and now?

As disciples of Jeshua, we each are chosen for a special work.  The early disciples were no different than us.  They faced various choices in life.  Many lost their lives because of their choice.

            What choices in life have I made?  What choices have you made?