Observations on Genesis . . . the first few chapters

Genesis 1,

The creation story is to me the beginning of a conversation between God and man.

Man's accountability began, his innocence ended. Man's wisdom for his plight? The wisdom he gained from eating that tree? Let's see,

* Adam and Eve hid themselves

  --> both with sewn together fig leaves and in the shrubbery when they heard God comin' awalkin'

* they tried to re-direct blame, deflecting?

* Cain killed Abel to deal with jealousy, and God's displeasure

* God's heart was broken, because man's violence. That is when the flood was imminent. Then he found Noah, and decided to slay all but his family, and the animals.

   --> it was because of violence "brotherly hatred" instead of "brotherly love"

God's solution, the remnant. Mercy!

Authenticity of the Bible. Its really true, as it is written, its the inspired word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-18

Genesis 1... In the beginning God

• He started it all
• He continues it
• He is in control

Romans 1:21

Troubled Times

What exactly is the nature of my own 'unbelief'? In the past I've thought maybe God would protect us from all that ails the worldly, but I realize we are all just as vulnerable to cancer - for instance - as anyone is. I've been teaching this Sunday School class now for going on two years. One thing I keep going back to is that the time of testing is coming to us all, like a path we cannot climb out of, and the path leads to a furnace of fire, but there is a door into it, and a door out the other side . . . there's a time of testing, and that time will pass. And what comes out is not the same as what goes in. Raw goes in, and Gold comes out. And of this time of testing I say this, that it is our relationship with God NOW that will take us through that time of testing.

When my first marriage fell apart, I was so steeped in sin, so confused, and all along feeling like I was doing just fine. I was so far from where he has brought me to now. So much has been shed, and burned away, that I could not even begin to list them, and good riddance! I'm not perfect... having not yet passed from this life to the next . . . but it is always in hind sight that we see how Blind we've been.

I once told God, I'd go anywhere He'd call me to go, as long as He'd be there with me, and that has never changed. I just never imagined the trials He would call me to!

The nature of my 'unbelief' ? I don't believe in a trouble free life anymore. I don't believe that I'll some day be exempt from life's hard times. And when I am going through hard times, I need to more and more realize it has nothing to do with me somehow deserving it (as in punishment from God) and has more to do with the perfecting of my faith.

See 1 Peter chapter 1

Prayer

Reading my buddy Ken's journal today I was once again inspired about prayer. I realize that I've let seemingly unanswered prayer discourage me, and life itself discourage me from praying.

Today is Sunday, and I'll be singing for the first time up front with a small group of men. I'm one of the two tenor's. It's one of my desires ---> to bless others through singing and music.

Well, keep it short, eh? This is pretty short! Have a good day.

Diagnosis

On October 30, 2010 I went to the lab to have my quarterly blood work done, and I'd already made an appointment to see a new doctor who was closer to home. My reason for changing doctors was mostly because my original doctor was about an hour's drive away from my place, and add that to waiting in her office for an hour, even if I had an appointment, that was a pretty big chunk of day to have available - 3 hours!
I had some other periodic things to look after like having my prescriptions refilled, and I needed a physical for work, which needs being done once every three years, but I also had one big thing on my mind, and that big thing was me! I'd weighed myself on the home bathroom scale, and I was an enormous 280 lbs. I'd been holding out at 260 lbs for the last couple of years, and suddenly going up 20 lbs really scared me. I found myself trying to figure out a way to beg the doctor to help me lose weight. My last doctor told me to go out and buy a book on the south beach diet . . . which is full of recipes containing foods that are way out of my price range. "Let them eat cake" comes to mind!
Well, upon entering my new doctors office on the Tuesday following my lab work, he pulled up my chart, and there on the screen he said was evidence that I was now officially a diabetic. My previous doctor had been warning me about this, and expecting it as sure as sure, so it wasn't a big surprise to me. But on the other hand, the doctor seemed to be quite serious about the need to do something about it all, and promptly made an appointment for me to come in a couple of weeks later to see him and a nurse, who turned out to be a "Chronic Disease Management Coordinator" for my area here. But, I'm jumping ahead!
The following Friday Cheryl and I went out and during out grocery shopping I found one of my favorite little kind of journals. Its Black with Red Corners, and just lined paper on the inside. Its about 5 x 6 " per page. That would be November 5, 2010. That night, and the following day were the beginnings of my diabetic journal. My plan was/is simple, to keep track of  my daily battle with Diabetes, and my weight. My wife has been diabetic now for years, so the fear aspect of it was minimized for me, since I've seen for myself how manageable it is with diet and exercise. We'd also taken a course together on the topic at a local hospital, and learned all about blood glucose testing, etc. Since Cheryl had a test kit already I just started to use hers, so that when I went to see my nurse and doctor again, I'd have some data for them to examine, and speed things along with my treatment. I began to keep track of what I ate, my blood sugar data, and any exercise. By the time I got there for my next appointment, they could at least see my motivation for getting well, and I had some good questions for them to answer, and they gave me some unexpected information as far as what my goals should be.
I've been quite nervous about the regular exercise part of it for quite sometime now, and its mostly just neurosis, ie) fears not based in fact . . . perhaps I could be kind to myself and call it anxiety . . . regardless, I held off on the exercise part of it. As a bit of a bonus I've been able to see independent results for what impact diet has had on my diabetes without the exercise. And now that I've begun the exercise part of it now, so I'm able to see just how that bumps up the impact.
Ever since November 5, 2010 I've kept track of all of these things. At first I was testing 10 times a day, but I'm down to about 6 times per day now. And I'm only testing when I do something new. For instance, a new recipe or meal plan will generate a before and after test. And these past two days I've done a before/after workout testing.
The most thrilling part is that for the most part I've lost or held my weight everyday since. A couple of days ago I had a beer with dinner, and omgosh! I was 4 lbs heavier and my blood glucose was higher than its been for days! Most days I've been at about 6.6 mmols, but this day after the beer was 7.9! I was aghast!
I've also been doing some research into what restaurant food will do. That is to prepare ahead for the inevitable day when I am out of time in the morning getting out the door for work, and needing to go out to eat before I can get back home. So far Thai Chicken Salad at McDonald's, and a 6" Veggie with Cheese sub with 9 grain whole wheat from Subway are both good choices. But I do notice that the sodium content sends me into a weird kind of hyper feeling.
I found out from the wife that my starting weight was 280 lbs minus a 3 pound correction, equals 277 lbs. This morning I was at 264.5 lbs.
Well, that's all for now, take care anyone!

Salvation

Saved from what?

How important is it, I wonder, for us to realize our own sinfulness? 1 John 1:9 comes to mind.

• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

When I'm typing up these thoughts I'm using a standard computer, with a screen, mouse, and keyboard. In order to begin typing I have to see where my cursor is. Without the cursor, I have no common beginning point with the computer. As I hit keys on the keyboard, the computer will interpret these key strokes based on where the cursor is. This is a simple illustration of where we're at with God. Acknowledging our sin is the beginning point of faith. Faith is living according to the word of God rather than according to our own  understanding. Our understanding can be from our minds, our emotions, or cravings. In order to live according to faith, we also need to realize we become new creations when we accept Christ, through faith.

• Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

This is the beginning of the path called the walk of faith. You heard the word of truth, and believed. That's your part. God's part is bringing the good news of the gospel to you, and when you respond by hearing and believing God continues the conversation by giving us the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit becomes resident within us from this point. The guarantee is through the process of sanctification, where the Holy Spirit leads us into truth, the truth of God's word. Our response of obedience, yields the fruit of the spirit.

Phew! God Bless you today. If you have any questions, please submit them via comments, and then everyone will benefit from the question and the answer!

Faith

I'm thankful this morning for so many things. One that's brought me to my blog is my job. I was in a pastor's office when he helped me to see that the way out of my current dilemma was to pay attention to the need at hand. I had a wife, and two children, and no job to support us. That was about 20½ years ago. I sat down, and figured out how much money I needed to support them, broke it down to an hourly wage, and began looking for a job that paid at least that much. I applied for a position as a bus driver, based on the wage. It turned out I had an aptitude for the job as well, which came to light as I went through the hiring process.

At the time my idea of how I would fulfill the calling on my life was dramatically different than what it is now. And the idea of getting a job like bus driving seemed to be far from what God would have in mind for me. I thought I was headed for being a pastor of a church quite frankly. And yet at the same time I thought God's will for my life would be foreign, strange, and unexpected. I didn't realize that God's will for my life would be as simple as the bible says. Let's start with that verse about whatsoever your hand findeth to do, do with all your might.

• Ecclesiastes 9:9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. 11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. (ESV)

Wow! There's lots more there on this topic than I realized, God's so good! I often find if I go an look up a scripture that's only partially come to mind, that God has something more for me there than I initially realize! I think the "wife" here is figurative as well as literal. One's wife is what one is devoting one's self to. If you're unable to put your spouse first, don't have a spouse. And realize this from the start. But if you have a wife, devote yourself to her, meaning she has a high place in the day to day priorities of life, the first priority. Second only to God himself. Salomon's labeling of our lives as "vain" is intriguing! There is no work or toil in the grave . . . and then finally he lists the six basic pursuits, swift, strong, wise, riches, intelligence, or knowledge. And then notes that "time and chance" happen to them all. Those pursuits may be for happiness, or security, or for peace . . . I think the list refers back to the wife reference. Its a famous expression amoung the youth I've spoken to, "I'm not going to end up like..." and they have some person (usually their parents) whom they're not going to end up like. They have come up with the opposite of role model. They know what they DO NOT want to end up like. I call this living life according to a negative rather than a positive.

So to really boil it down to a simple statement, how 'bout "Apply yourself with your whole heart to the demands of the moment". What we perceive as a "demand" comes from within. And a demand can only come from who is in charge. What scares you the most, what causes you to stop whatever you are doing and listen, and obey. Its like you're walking along through the woods, looking for food cuz you're starving. . . when suddenly! a rifle shot, a bullet whizzing hissing hits the tree beside you and showers your face with splinters! You dive for the ground, no longer thinking of hunger! That's a demand! With that another couple of verses spring to mind, Matthew 6:33-34, and Proverbs 1:7

• Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)
• Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (ESV)

Jesus is the one speaking in Matthew 6 here. Its part of the "Sermon On The Mount."

God is the only one you need ever fear, all else is secondary. "His Kingdom" is one which acknowledges him as supreme. And HE IS supreme. To "seek" that is to acknowledge it, and to interpret all that happens in the light of that ultimate truth,

• Romans 1:²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

And there in vs 34 of Matthew 6 we see "the moment" don't worry about tomorrow, take care of today. Looking at "His Kingdom" would simply be defined as what? Let's go to Websters on-line and see what they have to say, I looked up "kingdom"

• "a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen"

HIS kingdom would give us the mono- of monarch. Sole authority. Very foreign to us democracy types. We've steered away from having one person in charge. For what? To get away from corruption and abuse? Really? Yet God's word says that HE is in charge, it IS his kingdom! He's on the throne! Regardless of whatever else gives us cause to fear, our primary concern is God's opinion on matters at hand. The story of Robin Hood comes to mind. His allegiance is to the King Richard, and his rebellion against Prince John is due to Prince John's rebellion against King Richard. Note that Robin Hood cares for the needs of the helpless go read Matthew 25:31-46 for a tangent I'll resist for now! Robin Hood doesn't willingly martyr himself, who would care for the needy?


His Righteousness? Well if the one in charge has such a thing, we'd better make sure we know what that is! There is a differentiation being made here between His Righteousness and any other kind of righteousness, but first of all Jesus is telling us that we need it! There are two basic pursuits above all others. His Kingdom and His Righteousness. And the promise is that "all these things" will be added as well. That's a reference to all the things Jesus has just spoken about in the previous verses of Matthew chapter six.


So, what is His Righteousness?

• Matthew 22:36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

I'll give you a clue, Jesus is "His Righteousness" through him we have forgiveness... that's where we all need to start. And that forgiveness comes through us acknowledging we have not lived according to the rule of God's authority - the term we know so well - sin.

• Romans 14:23 ". . . and everything that does not come from faith is sin."

Jesus is talking about living by faith. Faith begins, continues, and ends with those two things, "His Kingdom" and "His Righteousness".

May God hold your feet to your own flames

• Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. 5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. 10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. 11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.

•  Isaiah 50:11 ...set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames, But don't expect me to just stand there and watch. I'll hold your feet to those flames. (The Message)

Quite often, if not always, my attempts to stir up trouble for others has backfired, and I end up being the one burnt!
And quite often, I pray it be more often, how often I am comforted while comforting others! My calling and passion is described there in verse 4,

• The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.