Duped Much?

From an ealier post on Gen 3..
NO MATTER HOW CRAFTY (Gen 3:1-5)


Did you catch that?... He (God) said that the serpent was crafty (sneaky, tricky, skilled at manipulation, manipulating people, manipulating the words of God, manipulating the situation, the opportunity, the right moment as well as the wrong moment)... The serpent wasn't really asking the woman what God said, he already knew. He was scoffing at what God had said in disbelief and disgust, as though God was trying to set boundaries and limits that were unfair and un-fun.

He casually leaves out the whole truth of what God said, quotes partial truths.. which are lies. So often when people feel that the Bible is untrue or full of contradiction, it is because they have not read it or studied it in it's entirety. Here is Satan from the beginning, causing such seeming contradiction and questioning of God.

He is a master in his technique, because by using such an approach.. it causes Eve to begin explaining about the trees in the midst of the Garden. It puts her mind on the forbidden fruit.. which is not sin in itself.. but it puts her mind on the forbidden fruit in a spirit/atmosphere of questioning God. It takes the seed of the enemy's words and plants it in her thoughts, searching for an open door to cause doubt and rebellion to spring to life in her heart.

Yes, Satan is crafty.. the serpent.. that woman, that person, that temptation, that door of evil.. that chooses to satisfy it's own lusts as it yields to Satan so that he can bring life to rebellion against God and death to those loved by God. He then uses the talents, skills, and God given abilities of the people he is able to influence and woo, in an effort to manipulate and convince others to doubt and rebel against God. All that for one purpose.. to steal, to kill, and to devour. He has no concern or sincerity for your rights or your fun or for justice in any way.. he uses you and everyone and everything to feed the fires of his hatred against God. He lies to you and works every angle to keep you deceived and in the dark. Blinds you with the darkness of all that you lust for.

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Additional thoughts 6/7/2013:

Scripture says that we are not ignorant of his devices... if we are in continual prayer (conversation with God about everything in our life), and continually reading/studying the Word of God.. checking ourselves in all honesty.. seeking out other believers to watch our back by calling us out when we seem to step off the path.. Satan is crafty.. he gets us to willingly sin.. cuz that's the hook.. that's the contract.. that's what hurts the heart of God and costs so much to clean up.. when we choose to sin.. to go against the plans that God has lain to bless us and prosper us and every life our life touches. The enemy is good at what he does.. subtle.. that person seducing us, convincing us.. that addiction offering an escape from the difficulties of life, to make us cowards, prisoners, living death, failures.. our own arrogance, believing we have caused the good things in our life, or that we deserve them and should not be denied whatever makes us feel free and happy... don't be duped.

The enemy knows how to play us.. he watches us and studies us.. he knows the weaknesses of mankind.. but -- he fears God, just the mention of the name of Jesus terrifies him.. because he is light and he reveals all that the enemy tries to shroud in darkness to keep us blind to the truth of that temptation, that lie, that sin... without the Light that is Christ and the Lamp that is his word in our lives daily.. we set ourselves up against an enemy who will convince us he is our best friend, all the while stealing, killing, and destroying every good thing in our lives. Pay attention.

No Matter How Crafty... (Gen 3:1-5)

Genesis 3:1-5

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You^[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

Did you catch that?... He said that the serpent was crafty (sneaky, tricky, skilled at manipulation, manipulating people, manipulating the words of God, manipulating the situation, the opportunity, the right moment as well as the wrong moment)... The serpent wasn't really asking the woman what God said, he already knew. He was scoffing what God had said in disbelief and disgust, as though God was trying to set boundaries and limits that were unfair and un-fun.

He casually leaves out the whole truth of what God said, quotes partial truths.. which are lies. So often when people feel that the Bible is untrue or full of contradiction, it is because they have not read it or studied it in it's entirety. Here is Satan from the beginning, causing such seeming contradiction and questioning of God.

He is a master in his technique, because by using such an approach.. it causes Eve to begin explaining about the trees in the midst of the Garden. It puts her mind on the forbidden fruit.. which is not sin in itself.. but it puts her mind on the forbidden fruit in a spirit/atmosphere of questioning God. It takes the seed of the enemy's words and plants it in her thoughts, searching for an open door to cause doubt and rebellion to spring to life in her heart.

Yes, Satan is crafty.. the serpent.. that woman, that person, that temptation, that door of evil.. that chooses to satisfy it's own lusts as it yields to Satan so that he can bring life to rebellion against God and death to those loved by God. He then uses the talents, skills, and God given abilities of the people he is able to influence and woo, in an effort to manipulate and convince others to doubt and rebel against God. All that for one purpose.. to steal, to kill, and to devour. He has no concern or sincerity for your rights or your fun or for justice in any way.. he uses you and everyone and everything to feed the fires of his hatred against God. He lies to you and works every angle to keep you deceived and in the dark. Blinds you with the darkness of all that you lust for.

Often times we think, poor serpent.. but there was more at work than we realize. There was something about the serpent that was able to make Eve put her guard down. There was something about the serpent that Satan could use in powerful ways. If the serpent was skilled at craftiness and cunning, which in itself isn't sin.. there was some kind of animal instinct in it that was easily manipulated by Satan into something evil. There are things I am unsure of concerning the serpent.. but nothing that I need to know now. I will ask God about it in heaven one day. For now, the point being that Satan can get in the head of any creature pretty much, possessing them, and using them for evil.. unless they call upon God to help them to resist.. and they choose to resist.

Satan tempts, we choose. There is no one to blame but ourselves. There will be a time near the end of all things, when Satan will be bound and people will still sin against God.. There will be no more claims or excuses that the devil made you do it. It's not the fault of our spouse, or our boss, or our family, or even our enemies. From the beginning.. we choose between life and death in every experience. God promises a way of escape every time.. we choose to sin.. or we choose to cut that temptation off no matter what it costs us.

We choose.. we fail.. or we succeed.. in the big and in the small.. we bring death to ourselves and those we love, or we bring LIFE. Stop looking for excuses and make up your mind to confess, repent (turn your back to it), and do it right. We choose.. me.. you.. all of us and each of us.. we choose. That is the key to what Christ spoke of when he said that all power in heaven and in earth was given to him.. and that we could be like him. We can own up to our failures and shortcomings and clean up and do it right.. every advantage is given us to win.. for ourselves and for God and for those we love as well as those who hate us.. power to affect the future of all for the Goodness of God because of the Goodness of God our Father... that's power.

Choose what is right <3

Genesis 3

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You^[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,^[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool^[c] of the day, and the man and his wifehid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”^[d] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring^[e] and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for^[f] your husband,
    and he shall rule over you.”

¹⁷ And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

²⁰ The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.^[g] 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

An Inside Look (Gen 2)

Genesis 2

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The heavens and the earth were finished in this era of the Creation of Man as we know it. The heavens were the sky and atmosphere of the earth. The host were all the bodies of matter and the systems they operate in in the sky as they relate to the earth, such as the sun and moon and stars. When the planets and space were created, I’m not sure.

On the seventh day, God rested, which brings to mind the question, “How can God get tired so that he needs rest?” But rest does not necessarily mean that someone must be tired. Rest merely means to break from your work and to take some time to enjoy the fruit of it with the people you share it with. God rested, he finished his work and took the seventh day to enjoy it with his children. Perhaps God designed mankind as needing rest from his physical labor, to ensure that he would make it a priority to enjoy the fruit of it with the people he loves and with God, his Father. Idk… but I am sure it was not that God was exhausted and weak and needed a day to re-coop.

⁴ These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ When no bush of the field^[a] was yet in the land^[b] and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ and a mist^[c] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground andbreathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. ⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Reading this initially, several questions came to mind. I wondered how man could be created before any bushes or plant life had been created. Then it occurred to me that Genesis 1 was a detailed and ordered account of creation.. the plant life was created, it just hadn’t begun to break forth out of the ground. The land was still barren appearance-wise, when man was created and given life. Then God created the Garden of Eden, with fully grown trees and plant life for food to sustain him until the rest of the earth had time to ripen. And here in this garden, God also planted the two trees which seemed separated from the rest of the plant life. I am not sure why. But their presence was clearly necessary if man was to be free to choose obedience and relationship  with God or not. They provided freedom to choose, and they protected the free will of mankind. The verses that follow go on to describe in more detail the placing of man in the Garden AFTER he was created on the earth. He was told to take care of it and rule and reign over it for God. With the exception of the two trees, the mandate was given that he was not to eat from them or he would die. That death would involve a complete death, physically (death of his body, returning to dust) and spiritually (second death, his eternal spirit separated from God).

¹⁰ A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat^[d] of it you shall surely die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for^[e] him.” ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed^[f] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam^[g]there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made^[h] into a woman and brought her to the man. 

²³ Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.”^[i]

After man was put in the garden, the animals that were created were all brought to him (also put into the garden after being created on the earth as man was). Man was told at this point to name each one in search of a suitable companion, a helper. But none was found. So God caused Adam to sleep, and he took a part of him to create woman. This is such a great picture of the Godhead.. Father, Son, and Spirit. She was taken from the Man (earthly father) just as the Son (Jesus) was taken from the Godhead to perform a specific role, temporary, but having lasting effects on many things including himself. She was given the role of HELPER just as the Holy Spirit was sent by Christ from the Godhead to perform the role of paraclete (one called alongside to help). There are so many levels in which mankind was created in the image of God, but they are all rooted in being One, in relationship with each other, in helping and serving and being a part of guarding the wholeness of all that is Good. That’s pretty incredible. What a beautiful thing to be a part of.. family.

The animals were brought to Adam, God knowing that none would be a suitable helper or companion to man. Adam just needed to sense the absence of the woman, in order to appreciate the role that God would create her to perform. The revelation of his need of her, as a friend and a soul-mate. Perhaps, it was so that he could feel the difference between a relationship that is outside of your spirit as compared to one that is created from within, a part of you, that thing that completes you and brings that sense of wholeness. Perhaps it was also to help him to value her for more than just the role she performed, her works, but to value her for who she was and is... to treasure the internal rather than just the external. 

Perhaps it was so that he would not see his role of having authority as being greater than her role of submission.. rather that her value as a wife, as family, as part of himself, that other that completes him would be the treasure of her worth. Seeing her as his equal, causes a sense of humility when he glimpses the sacrifice of her role of submission. She gives herself for the good of the family, while the man wields his authority for the good of the family. Both a reflection of Christ, both performing specific roles, both of great worth to each other and to God. 

One in Christ.. that is what makes a marriage work.
Anything else is death.


²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

This closing passage is so key because it emphasizes the replication of the family, and yet the limits. Every family formed on the earth becomes another mirror image of the Godhead, and speaks the name of God just by being. It is made clear that after children are raised to maturity they are to leave that family unit and form another.. repeating the name of God in the earth.. replenishing.. filling the earth with the glory of God.. not just bodies.

Honor is to be given always to our parents for their role and sacrifice and love for God and for us. But as adults, it is our calling and purpose to leave that family unit and birth another.. every time a family is formed in the earth it is a continual declaration of "Glory to God!"

I also love that they were naked. There was no doubt or lack of understanding.. purpose was clear and beautiful and valued.. there was absolute freedom because there was absolute obedience and ownership of the will of God. Some day, that freedom will return to us, because of the sacrifice and price that God paid to redeem us back to him once again. Some day, everyone will have made their choices to accept that freedom.. or to reject the free, yet costly gift offered to them.



~ On a side note.. I think it is just another reason that Scripture says that God hates divorce.. it mars the beauty that God designed the family to declare.. adultery, fornication, homosexuality.. all those sexual sins moves the family and each of us further away from the image of God.. the character of Christ.. declaring the Glory of the Lord in all the earth.

~ Yes, there is mercy and forgiveness.. but scars remain.. the church must do some serious back pedalling concerning all such issues that make divorce so acceptable and popular these days.

 

Plurals of Creation (Gen 1:24-31)

Fourth Day, plant life was created.

Fifth Day, birds and sea animals were created.

(Gen 1:14-23)

Sixth and Final day of Creation: Animals and Mankind.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

God had thought through and discussed this new creation he was about to form. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all three knew what this new creation was, and the risk of such a creation, a child made in the image of God and placed in a network of relationship called Family, a reflection of his maker, with the freedom to embrace a loving father or reject him.

God wanted a child to love, to share all the Goodness that he ruled and reigned over.

Then God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Plurals.

God is many things, performing many roles, and yet concerning the earth and mankind..
God is an "us" consisting of Father (daddy), Son (child and heir), and Spirit (mom).

Man is a "them" consisting of Male (daddy) and Female (mom), with the ability to procreate (children).

I love that the Holy Spirit is the divine "paraclete" which literally means
"one called along side to help."

And the woman was created and ordained to be the male's "helper".

So much attention has been given to men as the one given spiritual authority like the Father over the family.. and yet so often women are belittled and taken for granted as a gopher or slave. So much confusion as to the role of both. It was designed to flow and operate based on giving -- more so than sheer obedience.. a cheerful giver allows obedience to be effective without offense, for the wholeness of all.

That's a huge thing.. "A CHEERFUL GIVER (HELPER, WIFE, IMAGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT) ALLOWS OBEDIENCE (SERVICE, SUBMISSION) TO BE EFFECTIVE WITHOUT OFFENSE, FOR THE WHOLENESS OF ALL"

When men lord their God-given gift over women as though they are above them.. it corrupts the beauty and health of the relationship. It imprisons the woman as a slave to his selfish ambition rather than freeing her to nurture the relationship and the wholeness of the man, their marriage, and their family. When a man abuses the authority given to him as a gift of God by abusing the woman given to him (also as a gift of God), he brings destruction and bondage to himself, his success, and his relationship with God and Man.

Just as when a woman is selfishly motivated by ambition so that she demands to lead.. to have authority over her husband's sincere attempts to lead his family as God has directed him. She brings destruction to her own home and to herself and all that she holds dear. Sometimes, men refuse to lead.. sometimes he just doesn't want to for whatever reason.. then the woman must pick up the ball to lead those she loves to victory (as with Deborah and Abigail).

It was very interesting to me that Man was given dominion over the animals, the fish and the birds. But the plant life was given as a gift to man and all the animal life on the earth. Plant life was given as food to both, just as air was given to breathe.  I find that little detail interesting though I don't fully understand the significance of it.. I will keep it in the back of my mind knowing that at some time as I read through Scripture it will open more fully and some greater significance will emerge. 

So here on the sixth day.. God completed this new creation of mankind and all that was made for him to have dominion over and that was necessary to sustain him as a whole and healthy creation, a child, as an image and living being representing the children of God, loved and cherished, cared for and given purpose. God called all that was made those six days.. GOOD.

Day Seven: God rested.

Called to Procreate (Gen 1:6-13)

Called to Procreate
<sup>Genesis 1:6-13

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”7 And God made[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that wereabove the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth,[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

First day, God created Light and Day and Night over the empty face of the earth, covered with water. Not sure when he set it to spin.. but it would have to have been already spinning or set to spinning on the first day, because he declares that evening and morning pass marking the first day. And since morning and evening are result of the separation of Light and Darkness, it makes sense. Then he says each subsequent day that it was evening and morning marking the beginning and end of each one.</sup> 

Second day, he created the layers of atmosphere, clouds (water based) as a canopy over the earth. This is also known as the first heaven, space is the second heaven, and God's domain is the third Heaven. So heaven or heavens has different meanings in Scripture depending on what is being spoken about. It can be confusing to think of the separation of water from water.. vertical separation.. until you realize it is a reference to separating water vapor from the water that was covering the whole earth.  That cloud cover would protect the earth and the life he was about to create upon it from the powerful rays of the sun. And yet, such an atmosphere would still allow the benefits and need of the light that was set in the heavens to shine upon it. 

Once again, even the concept of space and the interconnectedness of the planets and such, reveal the unity and order and oneness of all that God has created. It is such a clear declaration of God's ownership and authority and care over all that exists in heaven and in earth and in all that is under the earth.. physically, spiritually, wholly. What great peace of mind to know that all things truly are in the hands of a loving God...  that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.. which is always GOODNESS.  That is why he made a point to declare that all that he created in the earth was Good.. that was the design he set in place from the beginning. That is what he is redeeming us to, that image, that Goodness. 

Third day, he separated the waters into the seas and made dry land appear, and he created plant life. Interesting thing in that the plant life and animal life were designed to play a part in the creation process, all possessing seed within itself to procreate after it's kind.. much like man. Perhaps the earth was themed with Creation. Perhaps, that was the inspiration of God for creating man, to make a place where things were seeded, including the image of God. Not just God as three distinct beings or persons, but the whole of him as being one. The concept of creation is rooted in the concept of family and unity. Mankind created in his image, commanded to replentish the earth, to marry, to have children, to become family as representatives of the family of God.. it is a beautiful thing. I could see why Satan was so jealous. He wanted so much to be like God and here was a creation given that privilege. No wonder he hates us so much and wants to destroy us and mar us so that we become so far from the image of God.. the image that we were designed to represent. No wonder his joy is seeing how far into sin and hell he can drag us, away from God and looking nothing like the loving Father who created us because of his great love for us, for family.  wow...

Beginnings (Gen 1:1-5)

"1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day."

There is a theory called THE GAP THEORY that believes that there is an expanse of time that passes between verses one and two. I believe this theory, though I am not an avid scholar of it. The opening statement clarifies that God did in fact create the heavens and the earth in it's beginning. Then it continues in verse two by describing the state of the earth, at the time that mankind was created to have dominion over it and care for it, as children of God who had inherited it from him. This makes sense to me considering that the earth is billions of years old, but mankind can only be traced back a very short time in the fossil record as having existed on the earth. The fossil record doesn't lie. That's why it disproves evolution. If creatures evolved from germs in a puddle of goo... there would be tons of bones and creatures that were half one animal and half another.. but none exist.. except a minuscule  mutation or deformity.

The earth is described as empty and dark, flooded and covered with water, without mountains and valleys.. pretty much just a faceless ball of matter covered with a layer of water suspended in space.. There is much speculation about the history of the earth before the creation of mankind and the reforming of the earth for him to inhabit. But it is all mere speculation.. God gives little clue as to what it was like, because it does not matter in the current work that is playing out in this hour. It's just not something we need to know right now.

Perhaps that former creation was caught in the violence that ensued when Satan was cast out of the heavens and chose to invade the earth. Perhaps, God wanted to recreate and restore the beauty of nature that was on the earth, and so he created mankind to care for it. Perhaps that is part of the reason Satan hates mankind so much because Satan wanted to steal the earth to set up his own kingdom.. but God created mankind to dominate it and rule over it. Satan isn't God.. he is an angel, and angels don't have the power to create.. they can't even play a part in creating more angels. Only man was made in the image of God with that gift.. we get to play a part in creation, the birth of children, a role in the creation and journey of a soul. Satan wanted that power, that sense of being like God. But it was given to mankind instead.

Jealousy.. though not sibling rivalry. Satan is a created being, an angel.. but he is not a man. Angels are creatures as we are, loved by God, fashioned by him for service and blessing, but not made in the image of God. So they are not God and they are not Man.. they are a creation of God, a creature all their own.. but greatly loved by God nonetheless.

God elevated mankind a little above the angels as the Plan of Salvation was laid in place should man ever choose to rebel against God as Satan did. That plan involved God sending Jesus in the role of the Son of God, a man, to reclaim the earth. Man was given dominion over it.. but if man rebelled against God, he was to die. The only way to save the earth and mankind, was for God to become a man (the only man without sin), and own the earth and all in it's domain for God. Otherwise things would digress again, the earth would be uninhabited and Satan would lay claim to dwell there again. Ruling what is not his to rule. Causing death and destruction of the world God had created to be full of Goodness. There needed to be a man without sin, who had the right to live and not die, who could restore mankind's right to dominate the earth again.. God shed his glory and came down to be one of us, Jesus laid claim to the earth for God.

So begins the creation and journey of mankind. The earth has been here for billions of eons.. not so with man. The beginning of the earth was long before us.. but our journey is here and now. We were created in the image of God and placed on the earth to REPLENTISH it. Which is another reason the Gap Theory seems so real. To replentish something means to fill it once again. Which means the earth was once full before we were created. Something happened and it died and became empty and formless and shrouded by darkness.

We are part of something so much bigger than we can fathom. It is a matter of do we believe that God is loving and good, and do we believe that we can trust him even when we don't understand the big picture. We must choose. Not choosing is choosing just the same. You either believe and follow God.. or you don't. And no one can manipulate you or force you or convince you in your decision. You choose based on the internal, and then you act out according to that choice. People can say alot of things.. but it is their actions, their character, how they treat people in the end that reveals who they truly are.

You choose, as do I.

Genesis 1

(English Standard Version - ESV)

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
⁶ And God said, “Let there be an expanse^[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”⁷ And God made^[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that wereabove the expanse. And it was so. ⁸ And God called the expanse Heaven.^[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
⁹ And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth,^[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
¹¹ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants^[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. ¹² The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
¹⁴ And 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,^[f] and for days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷ And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
²⁰ And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds^[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
²⁴ And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man^[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.