Day1
The BeginningIn the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
Understanding the beginning is the beginning of understanding. The first verse in the Bible may include the four most important words ever written—"in the beginning God." The understanding of this one verse is the foundation upon which all truth is based. Before we can comprehend the end of the age, or our present purposes, we must first understand the beginning. This is the foundation upon which everything else is built. "In the beginning God"—these four words are worthy of a lifetime of study, and will be the basis upon which an eternity of worship will be founded. We exist because of God. We, therefore, owe Him everything. He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion. At the end of the age, the most pressing philosophical controversies still revolve around our origin. This is understandable because when we answer this one question right, the answers to all other questions are possible. If we answer it wrong, the door opens to almost every form of darkness and deception. Just as the strength of a foundation will determine the magnitude of what can be built upon it, the depth to which we understand this one truth about our origin can determine the spiritual strength of our entire lives. When we understand that we had our beginning in God, and that He made us for His purposes, we are compelled to return to Him. The truth of our beginning is also the beginning of all truth. Since He made us, we are His. Therefore, His purpose and His plan must guide us. If God made us, then we can no longer claim to be the centers of this universe. He is the center. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is I Am. All things will be summed up in Him. Just as every compass will point to the magnetic north, all else will ultimately point to Him, the magnetic pole of truth. With this pole of truth in our hearts, we have a basis for every decision—what is His will? All things came from Him and all will return to Him. This is our destiny and the goal of our lives—to return to the One who made us, and to serve Him in all things. Also implied is the importance of all beginnings. How we begin our day will probably determine the quality of our day. How we begin our marriages will have a lot to do with the quality of our marriages. How we begin our jobs, ministries, or any other venture, will determine their foundations. How something is started is often the primary factor in the quality of what is finished. Projects begun on an impulse are just as quickly and easily abandoned. For any significant project that is accomplished, great care must be taken while laying the foundation. The foundation is the single part of any building that is used every day. If it collapses, the rest of the building will collapse. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:11, "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Knowing Jesus and abiding in Him is the foundation of our spiritual lives. We may build many things upon this foundation, and we may learn many great truths about His ways and His purposes. We may do great things for Him, but coming to Him every day, and doing all that we do with Him instead of just for Him, is essential if we are to bear true spiritual fruit. Paul also wrote in Ephesians 1:9-10:
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him. The ultimate purpose of God is that all things will be summed up in His Son. If we do not keep the ultimate purpose of God as the focus of our lives, and assure that all we do is founded in Him, we will continually be distracted by the lesser purposes of God. Many are distracted from the River of Life by the little tributaries that feed it. If you want to stay in the River, keep your focus on Jesus Christ in all things. No other foundation can be laid that will stand.
Day2
The Plan
And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep (see Genesis 1:2).The Hebrew word that is translated "without form" is tohuw (to'-hoo), which is defined as "a desolation, desert." In the KJV this word is also translated "confusion, empty place, nothing." The point is that the Holy Spirit can make a glorious creation out of the most desolate place. He can also bring forth a glorious new creation out of the most desolate, confused, and empty life. The most important step in any journey is the first one. If we are going to get where we are going, we must know where we are. The Lord also seems to delight in beginning with that which is formless and void. Or, we could say, He likes to start with a clean canvas. One of the most wonderful truths of Christianity is that when we come to Him, we are born again, and all things become new. Part of the good news of the gospel is that in Christ we can start all over. We do not just start a few things over, but everything! When the power of His cross begins to work in our lives, we are redeemed, and the power of redemption flows through us to redeem everything in our lives. Some translators have rendered "formless and void" in Genesis 1:2 as "chaos." That too, has an important application. If the Holy Spirit took the earth that was in such chaos, and brought forth a creation of such beauty and symmetry, He can do the same with any life that is offered to Him. Regardless of how much chaos our lives are in, He not only will straighten it all out, He will make it glorious. By watching the Holy Spirit bring order and new beginnings to lives, we can learn much about the Lord and His ways. Even though we begin again afresh, let us not make the same mistake of thinking that we have the wisdom and knowledge to do it right. When we are born again, we come to know our complete dependence upon our Creator. This alone will enable us to avoid the traps ahead so that we do not fall again to the same mistakes. The Apostle Paul stated:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God (I Corinthians 1:26-29).Every fresh new move of God in church history began with those who really did not know what they were doing or where they were going. Like Abraham, they had to leave the country that had form and substance, to seek God in a place that was still formless and void of definition. Just as Paul had to be struck blind in the natural so that he could see in the spirit, we too must become void of our own visionbefore we will look to Him. However, the Lord does not leave us in this state, but begins to show us what He is building. Then He can give us the plans for the mansion He wants us to add to the glorious city thatHe is building. At the beginning of our journey, we must understand that we are not just taking a random course, but it is a part of His plan for us. Everything seems to be formless and void at first, but as we follow the moving of His Spirit, a beautiful creation, our new life in Him starts to take shape. In fact, God's plan for us is so comprehensive that He knew us before the foundation of the world, and our calling was known at that time. The foundation of our purpose is for us to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ—that we become like Him and do the works that He did. This calling is upon every believer. He has also given each of us a very specific part to play in His overall plan. It must be our quest to search for our part in His plan. Abraham may not have known where he was going, but he did know what he was looking for. He left everything to be a part of what God was building. This is also our quest, to be a part of what God is doing.
Day3
The Spirit Moves
And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (see Genesis 1:2).With the first mention of the Spirit, He was moving. The Holy Spirit is the agent of God who does the work. He is ever moving, working, and bringing forth the purposes of God. It is crucial for every Christian to know the Holy Spirit, and learn how to follow Him in all things. In order to do this, we have to keep moving. The nature of the Christian life is to be moving and going somewhere. The Christian life is never stagnant, but flowing like a river. We have a destination and a work to accomplish with the Holy Spirit. In the beginning "the Spirit of God was moving," and the Spirit continues to move. That is why the River of Life is a river, not a pond or lake. A river is always going somewhere. A river starts as a single drop of water, and then becomes a little stream. Next, the stream gathers with other streams from the country side, and the river grows until it reaches its destination. The Lord intends this for every life. We are called to a journey that grows continually in both life and power. If we stay on the course, Proverbs 4:18 will be true of us: "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day." We all begin as a single drop, a single soul among the teaming billions on earth. Then, "if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" (see I John 1:7). Our journey is not alone. There is no other fellowship on earth like that which is found in the church of Jesus Christ. We are called to walk with other souls. If we stay on course, we will gather with many others who are going to the same destination. Our little streams should then join others, growing all of the time into a mighty river. The church is also a glorious gift. Each soul is a marvelous treasure to be discovered.When the Spirit moved, life came forth. The formless void became a symphony of such harmony and beauty that we will for eternity continue to marvel at the wonder of His ways. The Holy Spirit still loves to take even the most desolate life and turn it into a glorious symphony of life. However, He also builds with permanence. Our God planned from eternity, and as King Solomon understood: "I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14). To the degree that we work in harmony with His plan, we will be used to do that which will last forever. This is called "having fruit that remains." The church is the "new creation" of God. When we look at the beginning of the church, we are observing a second beginning with consequences no less profound than the first beginning. When the spiritual state of the earth was formless and void, the Spirit moved again and the church was born. All life springs from the Spirit of God, and we will only have true life when we learn to move with Him. As we behold His work, we learn never to be discouraged by the present state of things. The more desolate it is, the more glorious His work appears. If our spiritual lives are not getting better day by day, and increasing in life and power, then somewhere we have missed a turn. If this is true for you, do not proceed any further along your present course, but return to your first love, your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There you will find the Living Waters that can alone satisfy your soul and lead you to your destiny. Do not let petty differences with others separate you from those whose destiny is joined to your own. This is how many turn from the course. Stay in the River. The Christian life is one of movement. However, it is not a random movement, but one with purpose. This purpose is still turning that which is formless and void into a glorious new creation. If we allow the Spirit to move through us, we will also be constantly searching for those whose lives are formless and void. We will become a bridge for them into the glorious, creative purposes of God. When we begin to see with His eyes, we will not see any person or situation as worthless, regardless of how empty and useless they may now seem. When we begin to see with His eyes, we begin to see potential in people and situations that before were seemingly hopeless. He said in Jeremiah 15:19: "If you return, then I will restore you—Before Me you will stand; and if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman…."
Day4
The Light
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
Without light, we could not see. Light makes all things manifest. After the Spirit moved, His first great task was to bring forth light. Light represents truth, and as soon as the Lord begins to move in our lives, His first task will be to shine the light of His truth into our lives.
It is interesting to note that light was created before the sun, moon, and the stars, and did not take place until the fourth day of creation. Light was created before the vessels that were to manifest it. Jesus is the Light of the world, and He existed as One with God before the world. We see this in John's great explanation of Jesus at the beginning of his gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name (John 1:1-4, 9-12).
Jesus was the plan of God from the beginning. He is the Son who makes His Father's heart glad. In everything that was created the Father looks for the reflection of His Son, and in everything that was created there is a message about the Son, as Paul explained in Colossians 1:16-17:
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
"In Him all things hold together" reveals that He is the binding force in all of creation. The light was created before the sun, moon, and stars as an eternal testimony that He must be given first place in everything. Every new believer needs to be saturated with the revelation of whom Jesus is before their attention is turned to all of the other doctrines of the faith, or an understanding of their place in the church. The Light, Jesus, must have preeminence in all things. He is the first, and He is the last. Jesus is the Light of God, and all things will be summed up in Him. We must know Him first.
As we read before in I John 1:7, "but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." This Scripture makes clear, if we depart from fellowship, we also depart from His light. If we break fellowship with His people, we will also be breaking fellowship with Him. Christianity without fellowship is not true Christianity. The Lord created His church so we would all need one another. No one will get to their destination in Christ alone.
Church life can be one of the most glorious, and most difficult, experiences we can have. Amos 3:3 states, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (KJV) This does not imply that we must agree on everything to walk together, but we walk together in the things upon which we do agree. Every Christian agrees that Jesus Christ is Lord, so every Christian can walk together to some degree. There should be at least some level of fellowship between all who hold to the basic truths of the faith.
As we walk together, understanding and agreement will grow. To have fellowship, we must start by looking for things upon which we agree, rather than those upon which we disagree. This will enable us to stay in the light, which requires that we "have fellowship with one another" (I John 1:7). Likewise, when we start breaking off fellowship with God's people, we will start walking in darkness. We cannot be joined to Jesus Christ without also being joined to His body, the church.
Day5
The Separation
And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night… (Genesis 1:4-5).
Yesterday, we discussed the fellowship and union that we have with the Lord and other Christians. At the same time the Lord is joining us to Himself and His people, He will also be separating us from the darkness in our lives, and those who walk in darkness. This is a necessary process if we are to abide in Christ Jesus.
After we come to know Jesus as the Light, God begins to separate the light from the darkness in our lives. This can be a difficult time because it is easy to become so distracted by the darkness that we lose sight of the Light. It is crucial for us to always keep our attention on the Lord, who is our Light, even when the Holy Spirit is convicting us of sin, or revealing people or situations that we must avoid.
Darkness represents sin. The light will immediately begin to reveal the sin in our lives. Even small matters that we never thought about before, such as telling little lies, suddenly become dark and ugly. There will be a strong tendency at this point to just turn the light off. When we come to understand the grotesque nature of all sin, the exposure of that sin can seem intolerable. We must either turn the light off and go back to our old lives, or remove the sin. There can be no compromise. If we are to proceed, light and darkness must be separated. The Lord Jesus said,
"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment" (John 16:7-8).
When the Holy Spirit moves, He always convicts us of sin, but He also reveals the counter to our sin which is righteousness. Then He will show us the consequences of sin, which is judgment. It is hard, but it is essential before the new creation can begin to bloom in our lives. When we are confronted with the realization of the depth of our sin, we are compelled to cast ourselves upon the mercy of God at the cross. We can only find peace at the cross of Jesus, and there He becomes our Savior. His cross becomes the peace and joy of our lives. It is a hard work to have our sin exposed, but we have relief and comfort at the cross. Always flee to the cross!
There is deliverance from the darkness in our lives. When we see the darkness, the light becomes even brighter. We must see the darkness and how utterly dark our sins are, but the purpose in the darkness being exposed is to separate us from it. Therefore, we must not become overly focused on the darkness, but turn immediately to the light. We are told in II Corinthians 3:18:
But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
We must see our sin in order to repent. We are not changed by seeing our sin, but by turning to the Lord and by seeing His glory. Whenever our sin is exposed, we must repent, then quickly turn to the Lord and His righteousness. Our goal is not to become perfect people, but to abide in the One who is perfect. Our righteousness will never be in us, but will always be in Him. It is not what we do, but what He has already done, that changes us.
If we start focusing on the darkness in our lives, we will fall into a black hole that is very difficult to escape. Do not look for darkness in your life, but allow the Holy Spirit to shine the light on it. When He exposes the darkness, He will also give us the truth that sets us free. Our goal must always be to keep our attention on the light, and let the light expose whatever darkness is in our lives. See it, repent of it, and then keep following the light.
As we follow the light, much of the darkness will separate from us automatically, which is why Jesus said love was the fulfillment of the Law. If we will follow the two simple commandments, to love the Lord and to love our neighbors, we will fulfill the whole Law. If we love the Lord, we will not worship idols, etc. If we love our neighbors, we will not murder, envy what is theirs, or steal from them. As we grow in the light of God's love, the darkness will be exposed and separate from us. Follow love, and you will follow the Light.
Day6
The Day
And there was evening and there was morning, one day (see Genesis 1:5).
Here we see that a day begins with the evening. This is a prophecy that with the great things the Lord brings forth, there is usually darkness before the dawn. This is a consistent truth throughout the Scriptures.
For example, Israel was subject to four hundred years of slavery before they were led into the freedom of the Promised Land. Their oppression became the greatest just before they were set free by the power of God. The great saints of Scripture usually went through a period of darkness before they were brought forth into the purposes of God. Joseph had to go through slavery and imprisonment. King David was persecuted by Saul, and chased by the very people over which he was called to rule. Jesus had to go to the cross and die before He could be resurrected to His place of authority and glory.
Between the place where we receive the promises of God and the fulfillment of those promises, there will almost always be a wilderness that is the exact opposite of what we have been promised. In order to test their faith and purify their hearts, the children of Israel had to wander through a desert, where there was no water, before they could get to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. We will go through trials too. Even so, as we are told in James 1:2-4,12:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life,
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Every trial in our lives is allowed for two purposes. The first is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ, which is the fruit of the Spirit. The second is to bring us to a place of maturity where He can trust us with more authority to do the works that He did, which are through the gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, we must seize our trials as James encourages, counting them as joy, because they always lead to the dawn's light. We also have the great promise in I Corinthians 10:13:
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;
and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,
but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
God is the One allowing the temptation, and He is also in control, so we are never tempted beyond what we are able to endure. Therefore, when it gets so hard that we are getting close to the limit of what we can take, we should also know we are getting close to the end of the trial.
We are also assured that there is a way of escape with every trial. The way of escape is always the same, and that is the cross. If we would go to the cross and die to ourselves, our own ambitions, and the cares of this world, which are usually the roots of our trials, we would immediately find a peace that goes beyond human understanding. We are called to be dead to this world (see Galatians 6:14). What can the world do to a dead man? It is impossible for a dead man to feel rejected, abused, taken advantage of, or be concerned with loss. If we would go to the cross daily with all that we are and have, we would be the most free people the world has ever seen.
If we would go to the cross and die to our own interests every day, we would also be free to love without reservation. Love that is not self-centered is not controlled by the fear of pain or loss. Neither does this love try to control the object of our love.
Just as there could be no resurrection without there first being a death; there can be no victory without a battle. Like the tests we take in school to go on to higher levels, every test we endure in our lives is so we can go on to higher levels of maturity in the Lord. We should see every test as a great opportunity. The greater the test, the greater the opportunity. Always remember that regardless of how dark it seems to get, the light will certainly come, just as surely as the sun will rise every day.
Day7
Heaven
Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
And God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse
from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day (Genesis 1:6-8).
Immediately after we start the process of separating the light from the darkness in our lives, we must look up and begin to see the expanse of heaven. Heaven is not a fairy tale, nor a carrot on a stick that the Lord uses to make us be good. It is more real than the physical universe, and heaven is above the physical universe. Neither is heaven beyond the farthest galaxy. It is a realm in our very midst, and one which we can see and begin to experience now, as we are told in Ephesians:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6).
At the very time we are struggling with the darkness that manifests in our lives, we begin to see both how dead we are in our transgressions, and how the Father has raised and seated us with His Son in the heavenly places. As we behold the glory of the heavenlies, where Christ is seated, far above all rule, authority, and power, we know we have been placed with Him by the power of His cross, not by our own righteousness. We do not just cover the darkness in our lives, but instead we must rise above it into a new and ever expanding glory.
The earthly minded will constantly try to restrain those who are seekers of God with such statements as, "Don't become so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good," which is precisely the opposite of true wisdom. Heaven is the realm in which we are called to abide with Christ Jesus, and the only truly effective ministry we will ever have on this earth is originated from that position. The church that becomes too earthly minded is not doing the earth any good. We are called to be a bridge between heaven and earth, and to represent the reality of all we have been given in Christ Jesus in the heavenly places. Christians should be so saturated with heaven that it is more real to them than anything in the natural realm. Only then will we reveal the light that is more powerful than any darkness, and begin to call the earth out of her terrible night into the dawning light of Christ.
"From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"' (Matthew 4:17). The entire message that Jesus preached on the earth was centered around His teachings on "the kingdom of heaven." Most of His teachings began with "the kingdom of heaven is like...." If we are to understand the message of Jesus, it is fundamental that we understand the kingdom of heaven.
The Apostle John recorded in Revelation 4:1: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things." That voice is still calling to all who will hear. There is a door open in heaven and the Spirit is beckoning us to come up there. The ultimate quest of every Christian is to walk the earth from a position seated with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.
Therefore, our prayer must be the one that He taught His disciples, for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven (see Matthew 6:l0). We can never be too heavenly minded. The true good that we are able to do on earth will be dependent on the degree to which we have attained the heavenly treasures. We must always keep our devotion to obey Matthew 6:33, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."
Day 8
The Nations
Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:9-10).
In Scripture, seas often represent nations, as we see in Isaiah 17:12: "Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!" This is also seen in Revelation 17:15: "And he said to me, 'The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues."'
In the previous verses in Genesis, the Lord established the heavens. Immediately after this, He established the seas, which represent nations. As Paul explained in I Corinthians 15:46-49:
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.
The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
The new creation follows the same pattern as the original creation. Immediately after we have our place established with Christ Jesus seated in the heavenly places, He then wants to give us a vision for the nations (seas). As was written concerning the Son in Psalms 2:8: "Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession." The church is the Lord's bride, but the nations are His inheritance. He created the nations, the different cultures and peoples, and they each have a specific and glorious purpose in Him. The Great Commission was:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).
We were not saved just so we can sit in the heavens, but so we can go forth with the glorious message of the cross. We need to be firmly established with the Lord and His authority before we go, but then we do need to go. If we do not live with a mission in life, we will be counted with the backsliders, or old wineskins. Our love for the Lord compels us to see that He will receive the reward for His sacrifice—the nations.
When the Lord finished separating the water into seas, which represent the nations, He said that it was "good." God obviously loves the diversity of different cultures and nations. He has deposited unique gifts in each one which reflect His own nature. The first response of those who love the blessed Creator, when meeting those who are different, should be the expectation of a deeper revelation of the Lord's ways through them. Our differences are not meant to contradict and conflict with each other, but rather to complement one another. As the Scripture teaches, even those with the gift of prophecy only see in part. To see the whole picture, we must put our part together with what He has given to others. To have an accurate view, we need each other. After the Lord divided the waters into different seas, He said that it was a "good" thing.
Loving diversity is one of the basic natures of God. However, this is one of His basic characteristics that much of the church has tended to neglect. The pressure toward conformity is not from God. He loves diversity. Accordingly, those who know the Creator should be the most creative and free people on earth.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).
Day 9
The Seed
Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed,
and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed in them, on the earth"; and it was so.
And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind,
and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Genesis 1:11-13).
The basic understanding of both the old and new creation begins with understanding the seed. As stated yesterday, the Lord loves diversity, and to protect and preserve it, He created seeds that would only bear fruit after their own kind. Every plant has a role to play in the balance of creation. If a plant or animal was to lose its uniqueness, it could not play its role, and the balance that enables life as we know it on this wonderful planet would begin to erode. Knowing this very well, one of the basic strategies of the enemy is to destroy life and to blur the distinctions that God created. Fully accomplished, this alone could undermine and unravel the harmony of the creation that is necessary to support life.
If life is to go on, the basic differences between men and women cannot be compromised. The way a man and a woman become one is not by the man becoming a woman or the woman becoming a man, but by the recognition and appreciation of the differences. If this appreciation ever ceased, the human race would end. The reason the Lord created every seed to bear fruit "after its own kind," was so the uniqueness that perpetuates life would continue. As the Lord explained in The Parable of the Sower, words are also seeds. Seeds grow up to become plants that bear fruit. What is growing from our words? What will the fruit of our words be like? If we speak out of bitterness, we are planting bitter fruit in the earth. If our words are filled with faith, hope, or love, we are planting trees that will one day bear the fruit of faith, hope, and love in the earth.
I live in the highlands of North Carolina. On our mountain there are thousands of apple trees. Apples were supposedly brought to this region by Johnny Appleseed. He used to say, "Any man can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed." No one seems to know how many apple seeds he planted in our area, but now, two hundred years later, there are millions of apples harvested each fall. Like seeds, our words also take time to sprout. We may not even be here to see the fruit of them. And like seeds, words are very likely to multiply. Let us consider each day that our words will bear fruit, and determine we will only sow that which brings forth the fruit of the Spirit.
The Lord also compared faith to a seed. Jesus told His disciples that if they had faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, they could move mountains (see Matthew 17:20). History testifies that there is no force on earth that can stop true faith. The disciples not only moved mountains, they moved nations and empires. They understood the principle of the seed. If even the seed could move mountains, what could the full plant do?
Just as the wise King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Let us be sure the fruit of our words will be something we will want to eat. Are our words imparting life or death? Are they building people's faith or feeding their fears? Are they bringing forth love and reconciliation, or division and strife? Remember, whatever the fruit is bearing, we ourselves will have to eat it eventually. We are told in Ephesians 4:29-32:
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
According to this Scripture, a primary way we can grieve the Holy Spirit is by letting unwholesome words come from our mouths such as those from bitterness, wrath, anger, etc. Let us determine that we will not sow these seeds, but rather always speak words which will edify and build up one another.
Day 10
The Lights
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night,
and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.
And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night;
He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19).
The sun is the power which makes all life possible on the earth. Therefore, it is often used in Scripture to represent Jesus, who is likewise the source of all life as we read in Colossians 1:16-17: "For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." The Lord Jesus was with the Father before the foundation of the world, and was the Creator of the world as we see in John 1:1-4,10:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Jesus is not only the One through whom all things were made, He is everything that the Father loves. In every thing created, He was looking for the likeness of His Son. He is looking for His Son in us. To know Him is to know the Father and have eternal life. Just as the sun is the source of our physical life, and life on earth would perish instantly if the sun went dark, so Jesus is the source of all life. Even those who do not know Him cannot live a moment without Him.
The moon represents the church, which is not the source of light, but reflects the light of the sun. Just as the moon rules the night, the church age has been a dark time for mankind. Yet in spite of all of her flaws and mistakes, the church has given light to the nations. Just as the gravitational pull of the moon controls the tides, the church has had enough pull over the nations to be a great influence on the events in this age. However, she is not the Light, and can never rule over the nations until the Light Himself returns. The church's purpose in this age is to give enough light to those who will use it to make it through the night.
Stars in Scripture often represent messengers. The Lord explained that the seven stars which He held in His hand represented the angels of the seven churches (see Revelation 1:20). The Greek word translated "angel" is aggelos (ang'-el-os), which literally means a "messenger." This word sometimes denoted angelic messengers, but often represented a person, especially apostles who were the special messengers of the New Testament. This is generally understood to be the meaning of these "stars" in Revelation, because the words given to the seven churches were to be delivered to the "angel" of each church (see Revelation 1:11-20). Because angelic messengers did not need to have such words delivered to them in writing, these "stars" have always been considered the leaders of each of these churches.
As stars are used for navigation at night, the Lord has been faithful to send His messengers to the world to help men navigate through the darkness. Messengers have come and helped steer the course of history, but we must always keep in mind that all men are "lesser lights," as we always seek to walk in the greater light of Christ. When the sun rises, the stars disappear. Likewise, when the Lord returns in His glory we will not be so impressed by any man, even the greatest spiritual leaders. However, while there is still darkness, we need those who have been sent with a little light to help us through the times. It is right that we honor our spiritual leaders, knowing that they have been sent to help us stay on course. When the Son arises and the day dawns with the full light of Christ, we will not need spiritual leaders, but until that time we certainly do.
