Genesis 1:3-5 NASB

(3) Then God said, "Let there be light "; and there was light. (4) 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, one day.

"Then God said..."  God spoke everything into existence.  In those few words are exhibited God's power and authority.  God said it, so it happened.  With His words God willed all of creation.  

"...'Let there be light.'; and there was light."  God commanded light into existence and immediately it was there.  God has the power to not only create light, He also has the power to compel immediate obedience. 

"God saw that the light was good;"   What light is there in your life?  Is it good?  Is it useful and beneficial?  Light serves a great purpose in our lives.  In addition to illumination, it gives us depth and color.  Light generates energy which in turn generates warmth.  The energy light produces also helps our plants to grow.  Jesus, as the light of our world, exposes the sin in our lives.  This gives us the opportunity to repent and grow in our Christian lives.  He gives our lives depth and color.  His gives us the energy to grow more Christ-like.  He fuels our lamps so that we may shine His message to the world.  Without Jesus my world would be a very dark place indeed.

I'm rather curious about this.  The next part of the verse says, "and God separated the light from the darkness."  Light by its very nature dispels darkness.  It illuminates the dark corners where we want to hide our dirty laundry.  How is it that it needed to be separated from the darkness?  I've been meditating on this for a while.  The image that comes to my mind when I think of this part of verse 4 is of an astronaut as he walks in space.  According to Hollywood, it is dark in space, there is no source of light.  However, you can see because of the reflection of light from the sun and stars.  Hmm, I believe this one needs more meditation.

"God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."  I read a devotional recently, it spoke on the subject of the Jewish night and day.  Most of the modern world patterns their day after the Roman tradition of midnight to midnight, forcing us to begin our days with rising in the morning.  The Jews, among other cultures, started their days at sundown the night before.  The thought in this devotional is that we should start our days resting in the Lord's embrace, resting and refueling, letting God energize us for the day ahead.  That is an appealing thought to me. 

Well, I will be musing on these thoughts over the next few days.  Maybe I'll be writing more...

Genesis 1:1-2 NASB continued

I've been meditating on this verse the last few days.  I guess you could say I am experiencing a Genesis of a sorts in my own life.  It seemed appropriate to start over from the very beginning.

Before existence there was nothing except God.  God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  I've heard people say that before creation there was a vacuum (apart from God).  But I don't feel this is true.  God is omnipresent, He is everywhere.  There was God and God was everything.  That means when God spoke our world into creation He is part of creation.  Nothing exists without Him, nothing is without Him.  That means God is in everyone, EVERYONE!  God is not just in the hearts of Christians.  He is also in the hearts of atheists and agnostics.  He is in the hearts of sinners (including all Christians).  He is in the hearts of all our friends and family, our loved ones and our mere acquaintences.  That also means He is in the hearts of our enemies, the bullies, the frenemies, the ones we love to hate and those we hate to love.  He is in the hearts of Muslim extremists and Buddhists.  He is in the hearts of every member of every religion and/or non-religion.  He is in the hearts of robbers and thieves and murderers.  He is in the hearts of the people who use and abuse us.  The people who beat and rape and molest and irrevocably harm us.  The people we trust and the people we don't.  Now I understand why we are called to love our enemies.

Genesis 1:1-2 NASB

(1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 

My Ryrie Study Bible says that this beginning was not the beginning of eternity, just a break in eternity, the creation of the world.  Prior to this beginning there was nothing and no one except God.  God in all His power and majesty.  Have you ever wondered why God created the heavens and the earth?  Why God created man?  Especially since He knew man was destined to disobey and disappoint Him.  Was He bored, did He need some entertainment? 

We may never know what prompted God to create the heavens and the earth.  His ways are higher than our ways and I'm sure it's not our place to understand.  I cannot even imagine nothing existing.  It hurts my mind trying to imagine it.  As I said, it's not my place to understand.  It is however, my place to be grateful for His love for out of that love came this creation.  I am eternally grateful that God did create the heavens and the earth.  I am eternally grateful He populated this earth.  I am eternally grateful that I will be spending eternity with Him and with Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

Lord, thank you for creation.  It is a wonderful gift to us, your children.  Thank you for this, my new beginning.  I want my life to reflect Your radiance and Your beauty.  Show me the path You would have me take from here on out.

In the name of Your son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to redeem me from my sins.   AMEN