GENESIS 9
I know, I know. Stalker has such a negative connotation these days, but if you read the book of Genesis, you might see it in a different light by the end! If you want to try something interesting, read it for yourself, as much as you can in one sitting. There's one thing that keeps happening over and over—God, running around, making covenants with people. By the time you get to the end, God sort of looks like a stalker, but a good stalker—one who's just interested in blessing people.
GENESIS 8
After Noah and his family left the ark, Noah sacrificed some animals to the Lord.
Verse 21 says it was "a pleasing odor" to God, and the Amplified Bible adds that
it was "a scent of satisfaction to His heart."
Does God like the smell of blood? Does He like the smell of flesh in the fire?
Was that what was so satisfying to God? No. The thing that was pleasing to God
was that Noah prepared a sacrifice. Noah’s attitude toward God prompted him to
do what he thought would be pleasing to the Lord. It was a sign of relationship,
an act of gratitude.
Photo © CreationSwap/kevin carden
God with no beginning—
who attends every other beginning
(or it wouldn't be)
God with no ending—
who brings us to the end of ourselves
(or we wouldn't be)
God who begins us always,
always in the middle of the story
(the story that will forever be)
Begin
Me
Again
you, the genesis
you, the finale
and me (always,
always) centered in you
GENESIS 7
Perhaps it’s because I’ve grown up in the age of blockbuster movies, with end-of-the-world flicks such as Independence Day, Armageddon, and The Day After Tomorrow, but I got a little bit of that ominous, impending-doom feeling as I read this chapter again. I guess that’s because the Bible’s account of the Flood sounds like a scene from a movie: "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day, all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." (vs 11)
GENESIS 6
So... the infamous story of the flood. This is usually one of the Bible stories that is known by most everyone—even if they've never read a Bible. But I was struck again by the description of how incredibly corrupt all of life on earth had become. Verse 5 of the Message Bible puts it this way: "God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night."
GENESIS 5
Genesis 5 is the first of many genealogies in the Bible. I have, no doubt, read this before, but I saw it in a new way today. In recent years, my mother has gotten heavy into genealogy, and as she continues to discover more about our family origins, we have been regaled time and time again with stories of our great (and some not-so-great) ancestors. It’s interesting to find out where we came from, to trace back through the generations and discover more about those who came before us.
GENESIS 4
In Genesis 4:9, Cain asks God the famous question, "Am I my brother’s keeper?" It’s startling to see this attitude so near the beginning of the Bible, because it’s an attitude that still pervades the selfish, sin-riddled human heart. Sometimes, I don’t want to be bothered with anyone or anything else. I've got my own plans for my life, and I want other people to just stay out of my way.
GENESIS 3
I think God must love chess. I see Him as the ultimate chess player, the Grandmaster of grandmasters. He sees the whole layout of the board, knows every piece, knows every possible move. Not only does He know every possible move, but He knows every possible outcome of every possible move, and He knows every counter move available to Him to keep the game on track.
GENESIS 2
When I was growing up, one of my favorite television programs was MacGyver. (And I just have to go on record that I think the current reincarnation of this great TV classic is a total travesty! Ha ha, back to more important things.)
Every week, I was fascinated by Richard Dean Anderson who played the wily agent who always seemed to find himself in a pickle. What fascinated me, however, was that no matter what situation he found himself in, MacGyver was somehow able to use what was at hand to rescue himself and others from certain doom. It seemed he could make anything if he had enough paper clips or masking tape.
GENESIS 1
I love the creation story so much, but I think we're so familiar with it, that it has lost a great deal of its punch. Recently, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine being in the presence of someone who could speak a word and make something appear. Even the smallest thing—let alone an ocean or a sun or a redwood! I tried to imagine what it would have been like to watch Creation Week unfold, as God moved elements and formed new things with Just. His. Words.
