Hope in the Curse
These two books had an immense impact on the development of my spiritual life in college!
Genesis 3
We have come to the curses of God. This sounds ominous, which it is, but it also carries much hope and provides the first picture of God’s plan for salvation. Our God is a God of salvation. Immediately after Adam and Eve sin, God provides hope! Read more
Just Like Me!
The beloved Richard Rawson is retiring as President of Insperity this month. Richard is a warm, vibrant and gracious man who has always supported my career and encouraged me along the way! Love you Richard and all my best to you and Dawn!
Genesis 3
Adam and Eve have sinned. They immediately exhibit the human tendencies of sin that are still so common to all of us today. Warning: the following may look all too familiar!
Regret
1) First comes regret. In the moment before the sin, we see all the upside. There are thoughts of ‘this is probably wrong, but it looks so good.’ Read more
The Schemes of Satan
Enjoying an Astros game with Leigh, Brooke and friend, Sophie.
Genesis 3
Sin has entered the world and the honeymoon is over. Eve was deceived and then sinned. She was by herself, vulnerable and unprepared to resist the schemes of Satan. She simply wasn’t battle-ready. Conversely, we should be prepared. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that he consciously and purposefully forgave an offender “so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” Paul knew that harboring resentment in himself would embolden Satan.Read more
The Bliss is Gone
I did a video interview at the ACG Global conference last week!
Genesis 3
Chapter two ends with perfect marital bliss! To us, PERFECT marital bliss is a bit of a stretch. But pre-fall, the harmony of the marriage of Adam and Eve was, well, perfect. They were one flesh and “joined” together indicating unity, harmony, togetherness with permanency. They were also pure, sinless and innocent in that they were naked and unashamed. Read more
The Image of God
Here’s to simpler times!
Genesis 2
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our own image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule .... God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.”
First, let’s consider “in our image and likeness”. This separated man from the rest of creation. This was God separating man and woman from other living creatures as having lineage from God; a chip off the ol’ block. Read more
I’m Special!
Genesis 2
This chapter provides a deeper view into God’s creative process. Verse 1 says the creation was completed. God had created a self-contained system. No further creation is needed. The final part of the completed creation was man. Man was God’s steward or representative of God for “ruling” over the earth. Man was to rule over every aspect of God’s creation: the fish, the birds, the creeping things, the beasts, the vegetation, the trees and “everything on the earth that has life.”Read more
God Spoke
Genesis 1, Take Five
There are recurring themes to each day of creation. Every day began with God speaking. “Then God said” is repeated each day and some days a couple of times. Psalms 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of His mouth all their host...for He spoke, and it was done.” Effortlessly, God spoke and created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. If we take a peek forward into Genesis 2:7 where the author gives more detail into the creation of man, we see the power of the breath of God as well. Read more
What a Week!
Pic taken at Pearl Harbor
Genesis 1, Take Four
The 31 verses of chapter 1 provide a description of the six days of creation. As part of my study and exploration of the chapter, I thought it would be helpful to see it outlined:
Day 1 – God created the heavens and the earth - formless, void, covered with water in darkness. The Spirit is moving over the surface and God speaks light into existence. God called the light day and the darkness night. Read more
Oh, To Be Young!
The sunrise from my home office balcony
Genesis 1, Take Three
A few words on the ‘apparent contradiction’ of a young earth versus old earth. As mentioned yesterday, a simple and literal approach to Genesis leads to an historical conclusion of a young earth; no more than 10,000 years old. How do we resolve this issue? Many theologians and Bible students have abandoned the simple and literal approach to Genesis and have chosen to interpret Genesis with modern science as their guide. In other words, modern science guides or becomes the authority over how we interpret. So, they change the meaning of “day” to mean an “age” or a long period of time rather than a 24-hour time period. Read more