Tag: Lent

Posted on

Creation – A Covenant

I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. Genesis 9:11   

Churches have a strange habit of decorating their children’s spaces with images of Noah’s Ark. Sure, the animals are cute, and the boat is a fun idea. But if we were really to examine this story even a little bit closer, then we would realize that the story of Noah’s Ark is a better theme for a haunted house or scary movie. In the story, God sees that nearly every human was doing evil in the world. So, God decided to start over. God called on Noah to build a boat and gather animals so that he could flood all of creation and begin anew with his family. Noah’s Ark is more like an apocalyptic action thriller than a feel-good story about animals, and the 2014 movie entitled Noah, gets its atmosphere about right, even if the story is a bit off.

Today, I want us to focus on the word “covenant.” A covenant is a special type of promise between two people or groups of people. It’s sort of like a holy contract, and there are penalties for violating the covenant. In Genesis 9, God issues his first of several covenants. In the story, this covenant is sealed with a rainbow.

If you think about it, There are very few covenants that you will enter into in your lifetime. One might be marriage. Another might be going into ministry. But the most important covenant that you will enter into is through the profession of faith you make in Jesus Christ. God establishes several different kinds of covenants with the people of Israel, and we will see through the story of Scripture that they break every single covenant. In the same way, we will likely break our covenant with Jesus Christ at some point. But God never will.

God will never break the covenant with us, even when we break our covenant with God. Have you entered into a covenant with God, and if so, what is the state of that covenant today?

Posted on

Creation – Life & Death

And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper? Genesis 4:8-9

The story of Cain and Abel is sometimes called histories first murder mystery. It’s terrible to think that we’re only four chapters into the Bible and humans are already killing one another. And these two guys are not even strangers. It’s not like Abel was threatening Cain or they were in some kind of struggle. This was violent, premeditated, first-degree murder.

However, matters of life and death are not always so straightforward. Many hot-button issues in our churches circle around life and death: capital punishment, war, abortion.  Christians are all over the map on what ‘supporting life’ means with regard to these issues.  The story of Cain and Abel introduces us to the challenges of death and life, grace and judgement.

And just why did Cain decide to kill Abel in the first place? Well, God liked Abel’s sacrifice better than Cain’s sacrifice, and Cain thought that was unfair. The truth is, a lot of things in life are unfair. Other people may go about with more power, prestige, or popularity than you. They may have more money, better clothes, more athletic ability. These “better” people might even be in your own family. The truth is that life is unfair, and the temptation to give into jealousy can be overwhelming.

We are the spiritual children of Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God out of pride. We are also the spiritual children of Cain, bent on causing destruction out of selfishness. We may think of ourselves as above the sins of Cain because we have never resorted to violence. However, Jesus calls his disciples to a higher morality. Anyone who hates a brother or sister has already murdered them in their heart.

There is a hint of life in this story of death. After God confronts Cain about the murder, he does not put Cain to death. There is no capital punishment for the first murderer. Cain is allowed to live in exile. There is so much violence in this world, both in our hearts and in the streets. How can you be an advocate for life in the face of death?

Posted on

Creation – The Image of God

So, God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Theologians have pondered this question for centuries, and they have come up with a few suggestions.

Humans are also thought to be in the image of God because we have the capacity for deep and meaningful relationships. No other animal can build complex communities. The image might also mean that we have free will, and we can make moral decisions and be held accountable. Other animals operate on instinct or training, but humans can make real choices. We can choose to cheat our sibling or tell the truth to a friend. The image of God might also have to do with our role as stewards of creation. A “steward” is someone who rules when a king is away. Humans are supposed to rule the rest of creation with compassion and justice. We are responsible for domesticating animals, farming the land, and building cities.

One interesting thing to note is that in the ancient Near East, a god’s image was thought to be an idol. The image was a physical statue that represented the god or goddess. It was something that was worshipped, and it might sit in a shrine or in a temple. To say that humans are the image of God is to say that we are special representatives of God here on earth. This means when we sin against one another, when we hurt one another, we are actually hurting God. Likewise, when we care for one another, we are caring for God.

I think this last idea is the most exciting and the most terrifying. The way we treat others is literally how we treat God. To put it the way Jesus did, if you want to love God with all your heart, then you must love your neighbor as yourself. Take time today to treat someone as God’s image here on earth.

Posted on

Creation – Beginnings

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

The first few words of the Bible make a powerful statement about the nature of our God. To better understand the creation story in the Bible, it
helps compare it to other creation stories found in ancient society. Israel’s neighbors had their own stories of the world’s creation. They involve gods warring with one another and humans being created as an accident or to serve the gods like slaves. This story shaped the Babylonians’ ideas about the world. They feared their gods and felt the world was a scary place.

But the creation story we find in Scripture presents our God, the one true God, as powerful, intentional, and most of all personal. God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. He did so with his breath, with his hands, with care and passion. Our world, with all its complexities and intricacies, is not an accident. It was designed by the world’s greatest architect. It is sophisticated and beautiful.

In the course of this series, we will explore the overall narrative of Scripture. We will learn about the ups and downs of God’s relationship with
humanity and God’s desire to live in relationship with creation. As we journey through the overall narrative of the Old Testament, it’s important
to keep our origins in the back of our minds. God has a plan. God is deliberate. God is powerful. And God will stop at nothing to be united with
his beloved creation. With you and with me.

Our world is not an afterthought or an accident. And through the ups and downs of history, God has always been at work. Open your eyes to see God creating in your life today