Tag Archives: empty

2 BY THE WAY…IN THE BEGINNING

Bible Study, ,

The story of God and people is a circle…beginning, in Genesis 1, first with a mess, 

“The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT

…then with a garden…and  fruit trees… 

“Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…and, after millennia of sorting out the mess…concluding, in Revelation 22, where Genesis began, with a city and a river…and fruit trees!

“Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

However, Genesis 1 is not the record of creation. It’s the story of restoration…and preparation. It breaks into something that was already there…a planet, strangely sinister in its description…shapeless…desolate…empty…ruined…dark. The Hebrew words describe a place of destruction and death. 

Why was this planet, which was obviously a part of God’s creation, since only God can make a planet, in such a ruined state? Was it still in the process of being formed or was it created perfect but ruined by an opposing force in the universe? It’s not for us to know. 

We know one thing…God had a very special plan for this piece of useless matter floating in a sea of nothingness. So, He set the clock going from zero…day one… and got to work. 

The Hebrew words chosen to describe what God did say less about the process and more about His purpose…to replace chaos with order…to prepare a perfect place for His forever family…to fill it up with everything necessary for human life. 

What the translators tell us about what God “created” is actually describing how God “filled” the earth with every form of life. The word “bara” (create) has another meaning…and one that seems more appropriate than “create” or “made” in this context.  It can also mean “to make fat”. 

Consider this verse…God speaking to Eli…the old priest in Israel…

“Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves (the Hebrew word is “bara”) on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’”

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God judged Eli and his sons because the sons dishonoured Him by becoming fat on the choice parts of the sacrifices belonging to God.   

Is it possible, then, that Genesis 1 describes, not what God made…since the earth, in its original form, already existed…but what the earth became when He lit it up with Himself and filled it up with vegetation and creatures as the perfect place for His children?

Whatever caused the darkness and chaos was replaced with light, order, and a physical creation filled up with what pleased Him. When His work complete, it was a perfect planet in harmonious coexistence with a functional universe, fully prepared and awaiting the formation of His masterpiece. This “Adam”, this man made of dust, would be a reflection of Himself…fashioned to manage…to work with Him and for Him on this perfect, beautiful ball in space. 

The man God planned was not merely spoken into existence as were the plants and creatures of the land, water, and air. He was put together, piece by piece, according to the blueprint of the Son of God Himself. We know that creation was the work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Put Genesis 1 and John 1 together, and we have the Master Craftsmen at work to fashion this crown of God’s handiwork. 

The first man was fashioned from dust…from the elements of the earth…a clay model of Jesus in His earthly form. He was inextricably joined to God by the breath of God that gave him life. He became a living being, both Hebrew words for “image” and “likeness” conveying the idea of a shadow resembling God, not the real thing but a being who resembled God in a limited way. 

The implications are clear. Man was not God but…his resemblance to God, first, separated him from the rest of creation. He was not the pinnacle of animal flesh, nor did he morph upward from animals.  He was separate, different, unique! 

Second, he could do what no animal could do. He could commune with his Creator. He could have fellowship with his Creator… listen, talk, and understand, through language, his mind, his thoughts, his ability to reason, the thoughts of God. Infinite as His Creator was and finite as the man was, they were connected because God’s life (“ruach”… breath…Spirit) was in him. 

The distance between man and animals is clearly illustrated by Adam’s aloneness despite the creatures around him. 

“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” …So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found…Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. “The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬, ‭20‬, ‭22‬-23NIV‬‬

This is the beautiful story of God’s intention…God’s intervention…the blueprint for His perfect creation…to share His world, His love, and His life…with beings who could love Him freely in return, and co-exist with Him in perfect harmony under His benevolent rule…until…

…one of His own creation…a heavenly being…interfered with God’s plan, re-introduced the mess…and set the scene for millennia of struggle between Himself and His own chosen people…

…until…His own Son came to earth, born of the human race, clothed in the same flesh He created in the beginning, lived the perfect life He intended for His human offspring, and died the death God never intended for His children. 

Jesus closed the circle, set the plan back on track, and finished what He started…a new race…a renewed family…redeemed from slavery to sin…transferred from Satan’s dominion to His own kingdom of peace, justice, and truth…and in the process of being restored to His image. 

That’s the story of creation, and re-creation…the story of the Bible…your story…my story…and God’s story…a story of mercy, grace, and power which continues and will continue until the circle is finally closed. 

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – EMPTY IS DANGEROUS

Bible Study, ,

EMPTY IS DANGEROUS

“When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he had never gotten cleaned up in the first place.” Luke 11:14-16.

According to Jesus, just as it is impossible to be neutral when it comes to my attitude to Him, it is also impossible to remain empty of a spiritual ‘master’. The human spirit was created to be in submission to God. Satan’s lie is that a person can be his own master. He sold that lie to Eve and it landed her, Adam and the whole human race under his dominion.

The attitude of the human being is expressed in Psalm 2:3, “Let’s get free of God! Cast loose from Messiah”, with the mistaken notion that he can be independent of any controlling spirit.

The opposite is true. If Jesus is not invited in to become the master of my heart, once I have repudiated demonic occupation of my heart, I must not think that I can go it alone. He will return and if he finds no-one in charge, he’ll invade with a whole hoard of controlling spirits worse than himself.

How does this work in practice? Many believers think that they cannot be influenced by demons, but this is not true. What happens when someone is falsely accused, insulted or offended in some way by another person? The first reaction is to be hurt. Anger follows, to cover up the hurt, self-pity, feeling like a victim, the desire to pay back, taking it out on someone else, usually a family member…these are all sinful responses to emotional pain.

An even worse scenario when life deals a believer a blow is to blame, turn on and abandon God as though He were responsible for the suffering. “Why did God allow this to happen?” is the question asked, as though God somehow manipulates people’s wills to do things His way. Man chose to turn from God, (and he still does) and there are always consequences, often involving innocent people.

This leaves the vacuum of which Jesus was speaking and demons, under Satan’s direction, capitalise on the opportunity to invade and occupy. How often it happens when a believer abandons faith in God because of false expectations; he throws all caution to the wind and becomes more sinful than he was before he believed in Jesus.

This is a warning every believer ought to heed. God is not responsible for our woes but He is always ready to bring good out of evil if we choose to keep trusting in His goodness. He never disappoints those who put their trust in Him.

Empty is Dangerous

Christian Life, , ,

EMPTY IS DANGEROUS

“When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil. When it doesn’t find anyone it says, ‘I’ll go back to my old haunt.’ On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he had never gotten cleaned up in the first place.” Luke 11:24-26 (The Message).

According to Jesus, just as it is impossible to be neutral when it comes to our attitude to Him, it is also impossible to remain empty of a spiritual ‘master’. The human spirit was created to be in submission to God. Satan’s lie is that a person can be his own master. He sold that lie to Eve and it landed her, Adam and the whole human race under his dominion.

The attitude of the human being is expressed in Psalm 2:3, “Let’s get free of God! Cast loose from Messiah”, with the mistaken notion that he can be independent of any controlling spirit.

The opposite is true. If Jesus is not invited in to become the master of our hearts, once we have repudiated demonic occupation of our hearts, we must not think that we can go it alone. He will return and if he finds no-one in charge, he’ll invade with a whole hoard of controlling spirits worse than himself.

How does this work in practice? Many believers think that they cannot be influenced by demons, but this is not true. What happens when someone is falsely accused, insulted or offended in some way by another person? The first reaction is to be hurt. Anger follows, to cover up the hurt, self-pity, feeling like a victim, the desire to pay back, taking it out on someone else, usually a family member…these are all sinful responses to emotional pain.

An even worse scenario when life deals a believer a blow is to blame, turn on and abandon God as though He were responsible for the suffering. “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” is the question asked, as though God somehow manipulates people’s wills to do things His way. Man chose to turn from God, (and he still does) and there are always consequences, often involving innocent people.

This leaves the vacuum of which Jesus was speaking and demons, under Satan’s direction, capitalise on the opportunity to invade and occupy. How often it happens, when a believer abandons faith in God because of false expectations, he throws all caution to the wind and becomes more sinful than he was before he believed in Jesus.

This is a warning every believer ought to heed. God is not responsible for our woes but He is always ready to bring good out of evil if we choose to keep trusting in His goodness. He never disappoints those who put their trust in Him.