OUR ANCESTRY.GENESIS

Posted on January 26, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God
 
Genesis 5 family historyLet me save you a lot of money and time on ancestry.com We ALL descended from Adam and Eve. It all began with two created humans, “in the likeness” of God, their Creator…and OUR Creator. God is still at work creating mankind.
 
David knew this fact and records how much God knows us, loves us and is involved in each birth and the life to follow…
 
Psalm 139, The Message
God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
 
Genesis 5 geneology7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.
 
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
 
17-22 Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!
And you murderers—out of here!—
all the men and women who belittle you, God,
infatuated with cheap god-imitations.
See how I hate those who hate you, God,
see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;
I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.
Your enemies are my enemies!
 
23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
then guide me on the road to eternal life.
 
Genesis 5 gospel from Gen
God still desires His Created to love Him and to love each other. God made a way from the beginning to live forever with Him. That Way is through Jesus Christ, His Son, who was also there at the beginning.
 
When we believe in Jesus, we are “joint heirs” with Him as we travel from this life on earth to His Kingdom in Heaven some day. What a blessed thought and assurance.
 
WE’RE RELATED!
 
Genesis 5
The Family Tree of the Human Race
5 1-2 This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God. He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.
 
3-5 When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years. And he died.
 
6-8 When Seth was 105 years old, he had Enosh. After Seth had Enosh, he lived another 807 years, having more sons and daughters. Seth lived a total of 912 years. And he died.
 
9-11 When Enosh was ninety years old, he had Kenan. After he had Kenan, he lived another 815 years, having more sons and daughters. Enosh lived a total of 905 years. And he died.
 
12-14 When Kenan was seventy years old, he had Mahalalel. After he had Mahalalel, he lived another 840 years, having more sons and daughters. Kenan lived a total of 910 years. And he died.
 
15-17 When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he had Jared. After he had Jared, he lived another 830 years, having more sons and daughters. Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years. And he died.
 
18-20 When Jared was 162 years old, he had Enoch. After he had Enoch, he lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Jared lived a total of 962 years. And he died.
 
Gen 5 Enoch walked21-23 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he had Methuselah. Enoch walked steadily with God. After he had Methuselah, he lived another 300 years, having more sons and daughters. Enoch lived a total of 365 years.
 
24 Enoch walked steadily with God. And then one day he was simply gone: God took him.
 
25-27 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he had Lamech. After he had Lamech, he lived another 782 years. Methuselah lived a total of 969 years. And he died.
 
28-31 When Lamech was 182 years old, he had a son. He named him Noah, saying, “This one will give us a break from the hard work of farming the ground that God cursed.” After Lamech had Noah, he lived another 595 years, having more sons and daughters. Lamech lived a total of 777 years. And he died.
 
32 When Noah was 500 years old, he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
 
THINK ABOUT IT…
 
This section of Genesis covers over fifteen hundred years of human history, years that are overshadowed by sin and sorrow. But when the night is the darkest, the stars shine the brightest, and when the outlook is grim, the uplook is encouraging. Fifteen different people are named in this section, and four of them stand out because they’re associated with something special that God did to encourage His people. Those four were Seth, Enosh, Enoch, and Noah.
 
Genesis 5 EnochEight times in Genesis 5 you find the melancholy phrase “and he died,” for death was now reigning over mankind because of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12-17, 21). Sin and death still reign today, but through Jesus Christ we can “reign in life” (vv. 17, see 21).
 
Though they bore the same name, Lamech in the line of Seth was radically different from Lamech in the line of Cain (4:18-24). Seth’s Lamech fathered a son, Noah, who walked with God (6:9) and was used of God to save the human race and continue the messianic promise. Cain’s Lamech murdered a young man who had wounded him and then boasted to his wives about his evil deed (4:23).
 
Lamech’s great concern was that mankind find comfort and rest in the midst of a wicked world where it was necessary to toil and sweat just to stay alive. Life was difficult, and the only hope that true believers had was the coming of the promised Redeemer. Lamech named his son Noah, which sounds like the Hebrew word for “comfort.” His prayer was that his son would somehow bring to the world the rest and comfort that people so sorely needed. Centuries later, weary people would hear the voice of Jesus say, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 nkjv).
 
Evil is corrupting the world greatly in this fallen world, but God intervenes with Noah.
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
We have a “great cloud of witnesses” with you to cheer us on. We have a legacy of all those who followed you, obey you and found favor with you. Thank you for our ancestry. Thank you for life today. Thank you for life forever because of Your Son.
In Jesus Name, Amen

 

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“YOU’VE GOT TO MASTER IT” –GOD

Posted on January 24, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God.
 
Genesis 4 heart matters
What is “IT” that you need to master? Is the habit of lying to cover mistakes, cheating, quick temper, stealing, drinking to excess, prescription drug overuse, gossip, slander, and other perversions? These and other temptations to please self are at the core of most of the world’s anxieties today. This story of Cain and Abel is the story of how self battles God. Self at the core attempts to take top billing over God and what He wants from us and for us.
 
Eugene Peterson’s way of getting right to the point makes us chuckle as Cain is brought into this new world. Eve, after her first painful labor, says, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!” She gave the glory to God! Did she learn from her mistake of trusting the serpent over God and that to displease God was not good? Has she mastered saying no to the Tempter?
 
Have we mastered self and the sin that derives from self-centered thinking?
 
Remember as we read…It was not the offering that displeased God, it was Cain’s heart in giving. It was all about Cain and not about God.
 
Genesis 4
Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, “I’ve gotten a man, with God’s help!”
 
2 Then she had another baby, Abel. Abel was a herdsman and Cain a farmer.
 
Genesis 4 the difference in worship3-5 Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.
Genesis 4 master
6-7 God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”
 
8 Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.
 
Genesis 4 where is9 God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
 
He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”
 
10-12 God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”
 
13-14 Cain said to God, “My punishment is too much. I can’t take it! You’ve thrown me off the land and I can never again face you. I’m a homeless wanderer on Earth and whoever finds me will kill me.”
 
15 God told him, “No. Anyone who kills Cain will pay for it seven times over.” God put a mark on Cain to protect him so that no one who met him would kill him.
 
16 Cain left the presence of God and lived in No-Man’s-Land, east of Eden.
 
17-18 Cain slept with his wife. She conceived and had Enoch. He then built a city and named it after his son, Enoch.
 
Enoch had Irad,
 
Irad had Mehujael,
 
Mehujael had Methushael,
 
Methushael had Lamech.
 
19-22 Lamech married two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who live in tents and herd cattle. His brother’s name was Jubal, the ancestor of all who play the lyre and flute. Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain, who worked at the forge making bronze and iron tools. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
 
23-24 Lamech said to his wives,
Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
you wives of Lamech, hear me out:
I killed a man for wounding me,
a young man who attacked me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
for Lamech it’s seventy-seven!
 
25-26 Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, “God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed.” And then Seth had a son whom he named Enosh.
 
That’s when men and women began praying and worshiping in the name of God.
 
THINK ABOUT IT…As we read Genesis…
 
Genesis 4 GodAll the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” wrote Shakespeare. “They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”
 
Remember those familiar words from English Lit 101? Shakespeare was right: We have many roles to play in life as from time to time we relate to various people and confront different circumstances. The important thing is that we let God write the script, choose the cast, and direct the action. If we disregard Him and try to produce the drama ourselves, the story will have a tragic ending.
 
That’s what ruined Cain, the first human baby born on the stage of Planet Earth: He ignored God’s script, “did his own thing,” and made a mess out of it. Genesis 4 focuses the spotlight on Cain; he’s mentioned sixteen times, and seven times Abel is identified as “his [Cain’s] brother.” As you consider Cain’s life and some of the roles he played, you will better understand how important it is for us to know God and do His will.
 
GOING DEEPER…(With the help of Warren Wiersbe)
 
The name “Cain” sounds like the Hebrew word for “acquired.” Eve praised God for helping her through her first pregnancy. After all, this was a new experience for her and she had no doctor or obstetric nurse to assist her. Her second pregnancy brought Abel into the world. His name means “breath” and is the word translated “vanity” at least thirty-eight times in Ecclesiastes. Cain’s name reminds us that life comes from God, while Abel’s name tells us that life is brief.
 
Genesis 4 do wellTHE BOTTOM LINE…
Abel brought the best that he had and truly sought to please God, but Cain didn’t have that attitude of faith. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).
 
The fact that people attend religious meetings and participate in church activities is no proof that they’re true believers. It’s possible to have “a form of godliness” but never experience its saving power (2 Tim. 3:5). “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isa. 29:13 niv; Matt. 15:8). The most costly sacrifices apart from the submission of the heart can never make the worshiper right before God (Ps. 51:16-17). “The way of Cain” (Jude 11) is the way of self-will and unbelief.
 
Cain never mastered wanting to please self…even in his punishment. “My punishment is too much, I can’t take it” he say in defiance to God. God spoke to him personally and tried to lead him back to the way of faith, but Cain resisted. It’s just like the Lord to give us another opportunity to obey Him, and it’s just like stubborn sinners to refuse His gracious help.
 
Are we like that?
 
Genesis 4 sin is eagerThe Lord warned Cain that temptation was like a fierce beast crouching at the door of his life, and he had better not open the door. It’s dangerous to carry grudges and harbor bitter feelings in our hearts, because all of this can be used by Satan to lead us into temptation and sin. This is what Paul meant when he wrote “neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). If we aren’t careful, we can tempt ourselves and bring about our own ruin.
 
WHERE IS YOUR BROTHER?
 
There’s a definite parallel between God’s dealings with Cain in Genesis 4 and His dealings with Adam and Eve in chapter 3. In both instances, the Lord asked questions, not to get information (for He knows everything) but to give the culprits an opportunity to tell the truth and confess their sins. In both instances, the sinners were evasive and tried to cover up what they had done, but both times God brought their sins out into the light and they had to admit their guilt.
 
TWO DIRECTIONS/CHOICES: GOD OR EVIL
 
Cain never repented of his sins; his words reveal only remorse and regret. He didn’t say, “My guilt is more than I can bear.” He was concerned only with his punishment, not with his character.
 
By hating and murdering his brother and refusing to repent, Cain created for himself an intolerable life. He opened the door to temptation (4:7) and closed the door on his family, God, and his future. No matter where he lived or what he did, Cain would always be a restless man for whom there was no remedy.
 
Why would God allow a diabolical murderer like Cain to go free? In His mercy, God doesn’t give us what we do deserve, and in His grace, He gives us what we don’t deserve. That’s the nature of God. God spared Cain’s life, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Eventually Cain died and “after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). The entire civilization that he built was destroyed in the flood, and the record of his life is left in Holy Scripture as a warning to anybody who pretends to worship, plays with sin, and doesn’t take temptation seriously. “The way of Cain” (Jude 11) is not the narrow way that leads to life (Matt. 7:13-14).
 
A remarkable thing is recorded in connection with the birth of Seth who God gave Adam and Eve to replace Abel: At that time, people began to gather together to worship God, proclaim His name, and pray. There was a revival of public worship and believing prayer as the descendants of Seth met together in the name of the Lord. While the worldly Cainites were boasting of their strength and valor (4:23-24), the godly Sethites were giving glory to the name of the Lord.
 
Genesis 4 more God less meHOLY PAUSE
 
What part of self do you need to master that is plaguing your life and causing you to sin?
 
What roles in life has God asked you to play?
 
How can you be sure to follow God’s script and not write your own?
 
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are Creator and the lover of our souls. You are merciful because you want the best for us. Help us to yield not to temptations that destroy our relationship with you, but to seek you first. Help us to know your heart and what pleases you most and then give all our ourselves to that will and purpose. Help us to know what hinders our walk and then give us Your power to master it.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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EXPELLED

Posted on January 23, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God.
 
Genesis 3 chew gumI loved music in grade school and I still love all kinds of music. However, I didn’t like my grade school music teacher. She was mean and rigid, making kids ask to go to the bathroom in French before they could go. Believe me, I learned French (from grandpa) quickly. That information was highly important when you are a grade school kid. My heart was sad when a few students would dance around trying to form the French words so they could relieve themselves.
 
Our music teacher was also very tall, at least to me who was barely 4′ in height. It seemed she would tower over us as she looked for gum chewers at the beginning of each class session. One day, I rebelled. I don’t know why. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t think about it before that moment. I suddenly thought I would “beat the system”. I had noticed before this day that gum chewing offenders where expelled from class from time to time, when the mood struck her. On that day, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I acted like I was chewing!
 
Genesis 3 gumOn that day, I pretended to chew gum so that I could be thrown out of class! I had never done this before today. I didn’t even know what punishment was going to be administered. I just decided to do what others dared to do. The minute I found myself sitting with a few other students (all boys) on the bench outside the principle’s office I began to rethink what I had just done. Maybe this was not the best idea…
 
I briefly thought of an escape plan, but nothing came to my eight year old mind. The principle came out of his office and said, “Come along with me”. We all followed with heads down, at least my head bowed. I could not look him in they eye. He took us outside the building. I remember it was a nice, cool day. He sent the boys out into the school yard to pick up trash as their punishment. He had me walk with him and tell him what I had done. I quickly admitted to him that I only pretended to chew gum so I could get out of class for a while. I ended the conversation with mumbling, “I’m sorry.”
 
This was the first time I had met the principal. He was kind and knowing. He knew I had never been on his radar before this day. I’m pretty sure he even smiled at my story. We continued to walk and talk, enjoying each other’s company, while watching the gum chewing offenders pick up trash. But I was still guilty. I was guilty of telling a lie that started the ball rolling. My “punishment” was admitting my guilt and restoring a right relationship with the teacher.
 
Genesis 3
 
Genesis 3 1The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
 
2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
 
4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
 
6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
 
7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
 
8 When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
 
9 God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
 
10 He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
 
Genesis 3 she made me
11 God said, “Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?”
 
12 The Man said, “The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.”
 
God said to the Woman, “What is this that you’ve done?”
 
13 “The serpent seduced me,” she said, “and I ate.”
 
14-15 God told the serpent:
 
“Because you’ve done this, you’re cursed,
cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals,
Cursed to slink on your belly
and eat dirt all your life.
I’m declaring war between you and the Woman,
between your offspring and hers.
He’ll wound your head,
you’ll wound his heel.”
 
Genesis 3 God16 He told the Woman:
 
“I’ll multiply your pains in childbirth;
you’ll give birth to your babies in pain.
You’ll want to please your husband,
but he’ll lord it over you.”
 
17-19 He told the Man:
 
“Because you listened to your wife
and ate from the tree
That I commanded you not to eat from,
‘Don’t eat from this tree,’
The very ground is cursed because of you;
getting food from the ground
Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife;
you’ll be working in pain all your life long.
The ground will sprout thorns and weeds,
you’ll get your food the hard way,
Planting and tilling and harvesting,
sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk,
Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried;
you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.”
 
Genesis 3 driven out20 The Man, known as Adam, named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living.
 
21 God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.
 
22 God said, “The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil. What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever? Never—this cannot happen!”
 
23-24 So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. He threw them out of the garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree-of-Life.
 
WHAT JUST HAPPENED? GAME CHANGER!
 
Genesis 3 sin
–A Perfect relationship with God destroyed by a lie.
–The lie led to disobedience.
–Disobedience led to a broken relationship with God.
–God sacrificed an animal to “cover” the disobedience along with the punishment for the fall in relationship with Him.
–Man and Woman, created in the likeness of God, are expelled from what was perfection.
 
But God had a Plan from the beginning–His Son. God gave mankind the choice to obey Him…or not. He knew they would be tempted. He knew they might fall. So God made a way for us to come back to Him, admit our sin, and be restored in our relationship.
Genesis 3 lamb of God
Before Jesus was sent to save us, however, animals were killed to merely “cover” the sins of mankind. We will read of these sacrifices and all the rules for the sacrifices in the coming weeks as we journey through the Old Testament.
 
When mankind muddied the waters of sacrifice and corrupted the system, God went silent for 400 years. Then Jesus was sent to bring a new order, new life and THE WAY back to God. God sent us His One and Only Son to earth to teach what God had intended from the beginning of time. The lesson? God loves us and wants an intimate relationship with us.
 
But sin, selfish disobedience, cannot be a part of this relationship. A perfect sacrifice had to be made once and for all, for all sin of mankind. This perfect sacrifice was Jesus who willingly laid down his life in place of ours, paying for all our sins.
 
Jesus did not just “cover” our sin with His blood, He eliminated it. Our sin, bought at a price, is gone, “as far as the east is from the west”, gone! Our sin, not to be remembered any longer by God. Relationship is restored IF we believe in him!
 
THE LIE. THE FALL. THE SIN. THE RELATIONSHIP.
 
Genesis 3 gardenHOLY PAUSE
Think about what God has done for us because He loves us.
 
What does my relationship with God look like? Are we close? Do we talk often? Do I listen?
 
Have I admitted guilt so I can be restored in my relationship with God?
 
Does obeying God come easily or am I rebelling? Does this reveal the depth and intimacy of my relationship with God?
 
Genesis 3 where are youPray, ask God to reveal Himself to you. I am.
 
Heavenly Father, Creator, Lover of my soul,
I love you with all my heart, mind and soul. There is no one like you. How could I love anyone else without first loving You intimately? Your love, your thoughts and your ways are far higher than ours. Continue to teach us and transform us.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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REST AND REFLECTION

Posted on January 22, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God
 
Genesis 2 3
We all know how it feels when a plan comes together, when a task is completed, when the project we worked on for months finally comes to an end. Our first thought after completion is usually rest. We pause life for a while and begin to reflect on how it all came together. Where do we get that inclination to rest and reflect? From God…of course!
 
Genesis 2
Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
 
Genesis 2 completed2-4 By the seventh day
God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
 
This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
 
Adam and Eve
Genesis 2 from the dust5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn’t yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!
 
8-9 Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
 
Genesis 1 waterfalls10-14 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
 
15 God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
 
16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”
 
18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.
 
Genesis 2 23
21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
 
23-25 The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman
for she was made from Man.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
 
HOLY PAUSE
 
Genesis 2 reflectGod continues to work. The Psalms says “he never sleeps”. He is always watching over us. Those words were written after the fall of Adam and Eve. Everything changes after the fall. At this point, all is well.
 
Rest and reflection for us now means we must take time to recenter our focus on God, not on what we’ve done. Our imperfect lives are in constant renewal, refocus, refreshment in our relationship with God who gives purpose, inviting us to His work to save mankind from the sin that destroys us.
We must reflect and realize how much we are loved and how much more we need to love others like He loves us. God makes us holy. Only God.
Genesis 2 how do you rest
What does God want? First question of each day. What does God want from me? What is God’s best for me?
 
Where does He want me to be?
 
Who does He want me to relate to today? What is His message that I need to tell today?
 
How does He want me to grow? Am I willing to keep growing in Him? Am I ready to obey…heart, mind and soul?
 
Am I ashamed of my sin and ready to ask forgiveness to be freed from it?
 
Do I see Him at work and praise Him with thanksgiving and awe in my heart? Who gets the credit for the work completed?
 
How grateful and blessed am I? Does it show in my behavior?
 
Genesis 2 enter into that restTHIS is rest and reflection for us.
 
God rested on the seventh day…He made it a Holy Day…And so should we for we are made in His image, in the image of God we are made.
 
In Jesus Name, Amen
 
*As we follow Jesus one day at a time, He will keep us in the center of God’s will. Real Christianity is not merely a religion; it is a relationship with a Person. That Person is Jesus.
 
God’s Holy Spirit is our Teacher and will lead us into an intimate relationship with the God of Creation, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20)
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I KNOW, LET’S MAKE HUMANS!

Posted on January 21, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God
 
Genesis 1 God imprintGod created and set the world into motion with an extraordinarily designed plan for our planet to replenish itself. He created plants and animals with ways to reproduce themselves so there would always be what He created. It was perfect. “And it was good.”
 
Then He said to Jesus, His Son, “Let’s make humans…” I say this because God uses the pronoun “us” which reminds us that Jesus was there with Him from the beginning. The gospel of John reminds us of this truth:
 
Genesis 1 the Word“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5, NIV)
 
So God, with His Son, created humans, in their image, reflecting their nature. Wow. Let that sink in before moving on.
Genesis 1 let us
Genesis 1
26-28
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
Genesis 1 God's planGod created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
 
Genesis 1 sustains life
29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds,
everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there it was.
 
31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Six.
 
Genesis 1 in our image
HOLY PAUSE…
 
God gave His created “like Him” humans a mission from the beginning. Look at the verbal, demonstrative commands: “Prosper, Reproduce, Fill, Take Charge…Be responsible…”
 
Then God said, “I’ve given you…” Every living thing had something to eat to live and thrive in this perfect place.
 
“And there it was.”
 
“It was so good, so very good!”
 
Genesis 1 God save meAh, it would be great to just camp here for awhile, but we know things will get ugly when the humans lose focus on the Creator and turn their eyes on the one who wants to destroy what was created to be perfect and good…so very good.
 
But God had a plan for that, too. Fortunately He is God and we are not. Jesus, His Son, at the “beginning”, was that plan to save the humans God created.
 
God, through Jesus, is still saving humans. He saved me.
 
Thank you, God, our Father, for your created plan of salvation.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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DO ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN?

Posted on January 20, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God.
 
Genesis 1 dogs
The animated movie, “All Dogs Go to Heaven”, tells the story of Charlie B. Barkin, a German Shepherd that is murdered by his former friend, Carface Carruthers, but withdraws from his place in Heaven to return to Earth, where his best friend, Itchy Itchiford still lives, and they team up with a young orphan girl named Anne-Marie, who teaches them an important lesson about kindness, friendship and love.
 
Charlie comes to earth to right all wrongs done to him and his friends. Charlie, having sacrificed his life to save Anne-Marie, has earned his place in Heaven, and is allowed to return in ghost form to reconcile with Anne-Marie. Leaving Itchy in her care, Charlie returns to Heaven, where Carface finally arrives and takes his own clock, vowing revenge against King Gator. As the whippet angel chases him and yells that he can “never come back”, Charlie assures the audience that “He’ll be back” before winking and retrieving his halo.
 
Yes, it was a weird movie. Yes, as young adult parents we took our kids to see it because our children were animal lovers. But there was much explaining to do about the plot on the way home!
 
If God created all for His glory and for His pleasure, it would stand to reason that animals might be in heaven somewhere. 
Genesis 1 a dayAll creatures in God’s creation are commanded to praise Him. They do so just because God created them to praise Him just by being and for mankind to manage. BUT, they have no soul to save. God created us with a soul that longs for Him like He longs for us to love Him back. Man rebelled God. So God had a plan for man to be reconciled to Him. He ALSO gave us free will to choose Him and His plan or not. This is how we differ from animals…a mind to choose.
 
Genesis birds and fishGenesis 1 – The Animals
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!
Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”
God created the huge whales,
all the swarm of life in the waters,
And every kind and species of flying birds.
God saw that it was good.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!
Birds, reproduce on Earth!”
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Five.
 
Genesis 1 animals
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:
cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”
And there it was:
wild animals of every kind,
Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.
God saw that it was good.
 
THINK ABOUT IT…
I am reminded of the praise of Psalm 148 this morning as we read about God’s creation…
 
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Genesis 1 stars2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
Genesis 1 whales7 Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Genesis 1 look over the waters12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the LORD!
 
Can we praise God just because He created us? YES!
 
GOING DEEPER STILL…
Genesis 1 When God speaksWhen God speaks, nothing remains the same. Look closely at what we are reading! At the beginning of time, God spoke, and a universe was created out of nothing. God followed a pattern when He created the earth: He spoke; it was so; it was good (Gen 1:3-4). this pattern continued throughout the Bible. Whenever God revealed His plans things happened just as He said, and God considered the result “good” (Phil 2:13). God doesn’t make suggestions. He speaks with the full determination to see that what He has said will come to fruition.
 
When Jesus spoke, what He said come to pass. Lepers found that a word from Jesus meant healing. The blind man discovered that a word from Jesus meant sight. Through a barren fig tree the disciples saw that a curse from Jesus meant destruction. The sinner experienced forgiveness through a word from Jesus.
 
How many attempts did it take Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead? Only one. There was never a time that Jesus spoke that what He said did not happen.
 
Genesis 1 enjoyHOLY PAUSE…
What happens when Jesus speaks to you? Have you been reading the words of Jesus in your Bible without experiencing His word that transforms everything around you?
 
Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they assumed that knowledge of the written Scriptures would give them life. They were satisfied with having the words instead of experiencing the Person who spoke the words (John 5).
 
How powerful a word from God is to our life! As we read our Bible and pray, listen to what God has to say to us about His will for our lives.
 
Genesis 1 God firstHeavenly Father, Creator of all,
We come to You with praise and thanksgiving that you made us with choice so that when we choose You and love you back our relationship goes deeper. When we realize your love for us, we love others more deeply with your love in us. When we watch where You are at work (all around us), we praise you even more. When you ask us to join you in your work from time to time, we run quickly to obey for YOU are God and we are not. I want to be where you are at all times. Thank you for the privilege of Your Presence in our lives! You speak, we listen and obey.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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DAY AND NIGHT

Posted on January 17, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God
 
Genesis 1 day and night
“Those brothers, (or sisters), are like day and night”! Have you heard this said about people in your life? Maybe it’s been said about you and your husband. Randy and I are opposites and obviously opposites attract…for we are still attracted after more than 50 years of knowing each other and then being married for 48 of those years! We are as different as day and night in our thinking and behaving in the small stuff of life, but God created us to be together and work together in spite of our created differences to love Him and commit our lives to His will and plan.
 
Genesis 1 forming sun and moonDay and Night. God created them both to work together to create a world that replenishes itself. God is so amazing! His work is beyond what we think or imagine. We enjoy the sun who rules the day with the right amount of heat and light to keep us healthy. We revel in the changing seasons that give life, rest and more life. We love and marvel at the galaxies full of stars. We marvel at how the moon above earth actually causes nature to behave in ways that reveals and continues life cycles.
 
Light and Dark. Day and Night. Work and Rest. God created it with a Plan.
 
Genesis 1
Genesis 1 day 414-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
 
16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
 
Genesis 1 starsTHINK ABOUT IT…
 
Into the expanse of the sky God placed the heavenly bodies and assigned them their work: to divide the day and night and to provide “signs” to mark off days, years, and seasons. Light had already appeared on the first day, but now it was concentrated in these heavenly bodies.
 
Because of their religious observances, the Jews needed to know the times and the seasons, when the Sabbath arrived and ended, when it was a new month, and when it was time to celebrate their annual feasts (Lev. 23).
 
Genesis 1 galaxy
Before the invention of the clock and the compass, the activities of human life were closely linked to nature’s cycles, and navigators depended on the stars to direct them. Israel would need the help of the heavenly bodies to direct their activities, and God would occasionally use signs in the heavens to speak to His people on earth.
 
The ancient peoples were fascinated by the moon and stars and the movements of the sun and planets, and it was but a short step from admiration to worship.
 
Israel was commanded not to imitate their pagan neighbors by worshiping the heavenly bodies (Ex. 20:1-6; Deut. 4:15-19; 17:2-7). They were to worship the true God who created the “heavenly host,” the army of heaven that did His bidding. However, the Jews didn’t obey God’s commandment (Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Ezek. 8:16-18; Zeph. 1:4-6) and suffered greatly for their sins.
 
Genesis 1 moonHOLY PAUSE
The admiration of creation soon turned to worship. Where do we observe this happening today?
 
This week, how can we express our praise to God because of His magnificent creation?
 
Dear Heavenly Father, Creator of All,
Thank you. Your ways, your thinking, are much higher and greater than our ways. You are God and we are not. You are Creator of all, in all and above all. You are in control. Why would we trust our lives, that you created, to anyone else but You? You know us by name. You know all there is to know about us. And still you love us. You loved us first. You love us still. Thank you for Your Presence, Your Creation, and Your love that never ends. Help us to love others that you have created like you love us.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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WATER

Posted on January 16, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis – First, God.
 
Genesis 1 water
Our Creator made and controlled the waters with mere words, “Separate”! And the waters were divided and controlled. Did God know how important water would be to our lives as He directed the waters to separate?
 
Did He know as He worked on Day 2 and 3 that he would later create human bodies that would be made mostly of water?
Up to 60% of the Genesis 1 water in ushuman adult body is water. According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%.
John 6 walking on water
Did God know when we separated the water from sky and sea that his created would be baptized in the water below to declare their intimate relationship with Him? Did God know that Jesus, His Son, would also be baptized in the waters He was directing as a declaration of God, His Father?  Can you imagine the conversation about WALKING on water?
 
Genesis 1 enjoy
Did God prepare the waters to delight us? There is nothing more enjoying that to sit by a bubbling flowing stream or look out over a lake. Genesis 1 waterfalls and landHow about looking at magnificent falls of water over the mountains? It is even more fun to get in and enjoy the refreshment water brings to our whole being. Did God know we would enjoy the beautiful waters on earth, even finding peace in looking over the expanse of oceans of water?
 
The answer to all these questions are YES!
 
As we learn in school, water is one of the essentials of life itself. We can go without food for a few days but not without water. So it stands to reason that God would provide for his creation in this way.
John 7 living water

As God stood and separated the waters, did he tell Jesus the symbolism of Living Water and how Jesus would tell us that we would “thirst no more” if we believe in Him? Water is life. Jesus is life. Jesus was there “at the beginning”. Imagine the conversations they must of had as all was being created! God’s Word is full of symbolic references to water.

I think God enjoyed Day Two and Three forming the waters that would sustain life for all who would inhabit the earth.

 
How can we dismiss THE God who created the waters, sky and sea, into a uniquely planned continual cycle of water evaporating from the surface of the earth, rising into the atmosphere, cooling and condensing into rain or snow in the clouds, and then falling again to the surface as precipitation. Yes, that’s our God! He gives and sustains Life in all ways.
 
Why? Because God loves us!
 
Genesis 1
Genesis sky and sea6-8 God spoke: “Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!”
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.
God spoke: “Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!”
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.
 
Genesis 1 waterfalls
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties
of seed-bearing plants,
Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”
And there it was.
Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,
And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Three.
 
God also caused plant life to appear on the earth: the grasses, the seed-producing herbs, and the fruit-bearing trees. God decreed that each would reproduce “after its kind,” which helps to make possible order in nature. God has set reproductive limits for both plants and animals (Gen. 1:21) because He is the Lord of Creation. There’s no suggestion here of any kind of “evolution.” God was preparing the earth for a habitation for humans and for animals, and the plants would help to provide their food. A third time, God said that His work was good (v. 12).
 
God has now created three special “spaces”: the land, the seas, and the expanse of the sky. During the next three creative days, He will fill these spaces.
 
Genesis 1 sustains lifeHOLY PAUSE
 
God’s Word carries absolute authority: “For He spoke, and it was done” (Psalm 33:9). How does this affect our relationship with God?
 
At creation, God spoke powerful words. What powerful words has God spoken on your behalf?
 
God, our Father,
You are Creator and Sustainer of Life. You are Protector and Provider. You are Healer and Comforter. You are God and we are not. We come humbly to you this morning reflecting on the power of your words! Your few words created all. Your power is evident in all you created. At your command, things happen. There is no one like You! Why would we trust anyone else but You? You are at work still in ways that amaze me. Thank you! Be with us still, as I know you will.
In Jesus Name, Amen
 
And I’m singing….”We Bow Down” by Twila Paris
 
You are Lord of creation
and Lord of my life,
Lord of the land and the sea.
You were Lord of the heavens
before there was time,
and Lord of all Lords You will be.
We bow down and we worship You, Lord.
We bow down and we worship You, Lord.
We bow down and we worship You, Lord.
Lord of all Lords You will be…
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FIRST, GOD

Posted on January 15, 2020 by randscallawayffm
Genesis 1 God first“God is the subject of life. God is the foundation for living. If we don’t have a sense of the primacy of God, we will never get it right, get life right, get our lives right. Not God at the margins; not God as an option; not God on the weekends. God at center and circumference; God first and last; God, God, God.”  –Eugene Peterson
 
It is January of 2020. Sixty plus years ago, that seemed so very far away from my then present reality. But here we are, still alive, still in love with God, our Father who created all and is in all who believe and desire a relationship with God.
 
We finished the gospels yesterday. I prayed and thought about where to go next in reading, writing in my journal, praying and meditating about the Center of my life. Why not begin at the beginning?
 
genesis-1-1.jpg“Genesis gets us off on the right foot. Genesis pulls us into a sense of reality that is God-shaped and God-filled. It gives us a vocabulary for speaking accurately and comprehensively about our lives, where we come from and where we are going, what we think and what we do, the people we live with and how to get along with them, the troubles we find ourselves in and the blessings that keep arriving.” —Peterson
 
Genesis uses words to make a foundation that is solid and true. Everything we think and do and feel is material in a building operation in which we are engaged all our life long. There is immense significance in everything that we do. Our speech an dour actions and our prayers are all, every detail of them, involved in this vast building operation comprehensively known as the Kingdom of God.
 
Genesis God firstBUT we don’t build the foundation. The foundation is given. The foundation is firmly in place.
 
Jesus concluded his most famous teaching by telling us that there are two ways to go about our lives, we can build on sand or we can build on rock. No matter how wonderfully we build, if we build on sand it will fall to pieces like a house of cards. We build on what is already there, on the rock.
 
Genesis is a verbal witness to that rock: God’s creative acts, God’s intervening and gracious judgements, God’s call to a life of faith, God’s making covenant with us.
 
genesis-1-god-is.jpgBut Genesis presents non of this to us as an abstract, bloodless “truth” or “principle.” We are given a succession of stories with named people, people who loved and quarreled, believed and doubted, had children and married, experienced sin and grace. If we pay attention, we find that we ourselves are living variations on these very stories. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and his sons, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Joseph and his brothers. The stories show clearly that we are never outsiders or spectators to anything in “heaven and earth.”
 
God doesn’t work impersonally from space, He works with us where we are, as He finds us. No matter what we do, whether good or bad, we continue to be part of everything that God is doing. Nobody can drop out–there’s no place to drop out to. So we may as well get started and take our place in the story–at the beginning.
 
goingdeeper.jpgWe will be using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, written carefully and concisely in a language we can understand. Peterson is not only a notable, trusted theologian, he was a caring pastor who wanted his congregants to know God and His Son’s story of redemption.
 
We will also be using Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby as a backdrop for understanding more about who God is and what He desires from us as He continues to grow us through the process of prayer, study and storytelling.
 
Are you ready? I’m excited for what God, our Father will teach us!
 
Genesis – First, God
 
Genesis 1 and God saidGenesis 1
1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
 
3-5 God spoke: “Light!”
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
 
Dear Heavenly Father, Creator, Lord and Savior,
Thank you for Light.
In Jesus Name, Amen
 
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THE FIRST WORDS OF THE GOSPEL

Posted on January 14, 2020 by randscallawayffm
John – God Speaks!
 
John 12 victoriousLet’s try to put ourselves in that place and time and imagine the grief, anxiety, fear and wondering of the first disciples and followers of Jesus in the first few hours after his death. What just happened?, they must be thinking and saying to each other.
 
Crowds gathered around, throwing their palms and garments on the ground, with singing songs of praise as Jesus came into Jerusalem just days before. Then, what only seemed like hours later, their Master Teacher was arrested, beaten down, mocked in humiliating ways and then nailed to a cross. What just happened?! Their minds are reeling, their stomachs are turning over, and fear sets in. Irrational thoughts creep in.
John 19 bearing the cross
The disciples and followers “circle the wagons” and hide out in a locked upper room. That’s what we humans do in crisis. We gather and cling to each other when we don’t know what is going to happen next. Our bodies default to a condition of shock and disbelief that what happened really did happen.
 
Did anyone in the locked room think about what Jesus had taught them? Did anyone say, “Wait, let’s go back over what He said to us as we shared Passover meal one last time.” “What did He say…exactly?” Peter is still regrettably thinking about that look Jesus gave him after Peter shouted his third denial that he even knew Him.
 
John 20 the tombThen there were the women, Mary Magdalene, in particular who had to get up and DO what was expected when someone dies…take care of the body. She got up before everyone else and probably walked mournfully slow to the tomb. She thought about the horrific cruelty that her Lord had gone through. She must be still in shock because when the Lord appears to her, she does not recognize Him…until He speaks.
 
Can you imagine the shock Mary is still in, the deep sorrow in losing the one she loved with all her heart, while uncontrollable tears of mourning flow from her face? So many tears. Mary, eyes swollen, is crying so much that she cannot see Jesus right in front of her. She can only think fo the task she must do.
 
john-20-mary-weeping.jpgTwice Mary was asked why she is crying. She is probably thinking why wouldn’t I, I just lost my best Friend, Teacher and Lord! But being in mournful shock she can only think of why she came…to care for the body of Christ. Her only thought in the moment is where is He?
 
Where is Jesus, indeed? He has risen just as he said! He is standing right in front of Mary, calling her name. The eyes of her mind and soul finally focus through her tears upon Jesus Christ, Son of God, her Teacher and now her Savior!
 
John 20 go and tell“Teacher” she breathlessly, affectionately and reverently says to Him. She must have run to Him, as anyone would who sees their loved one come through a horrible trauma, throwing herself at Him, with wrapping her arms around Him. But wait, I saw you die on the cross and be place in the tomb, her practical mind must be shouting inside her confused thoughts. But here You are, three days later…just as you said.
 
Her task to care for a deceased body has changed to “Go and tell” by her Lord.
 
The first gospel message was blurted out, “I have seen the Lord!”
 
John 20, New Living Translation
 
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
 
John 20 Peter and John3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.
 
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
John 20 Mary turns11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
 
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
 
John 20 Mary hugs Him14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
 
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
 
16 “Mary!” Jesus said.
 
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
 
17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
 
John 20 Mary knew him.png18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
 
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
 
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
 
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
 
26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
 
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
 
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
 
Purpose of the Book
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
 
John 20 I have seenHOLY PAUSE
 
Jesus is alive today! He is standing there wanting for us to acknowledge Him. Through our tears, He is calling our name just as lovingly as He called Mary’s name.
 
I have seen the Lord’s glory and power in my life. I have said yes to Jesus, Lord and Savior. I believe that He died on a cross for my sin, defeated death by going to hell and back for me and all who believe in Him. I believe Jesus rose again with the same Power that held him to the cross.
 
God was/is/and will forever be at work and in control of all because He created all. I believe God sent His Son to save us and reconcile our relationship with Him. I believe that His Holy Spirit is a gift from God to help us stay focused on Him and all the goodness He has to offer us. We pray. God works. He is God and we are not. But we now have the privilege to know God because of his Son, Jesus Christ.
 
I have seen the Lord! He is always with me.
 
To God be the glory!
 
AND I believe He is coming back! I must also go and tell.
 
In Jesus Name and by His power to rise from death, I believe.
 
And I’m singing…Because He Lives…
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