God created the heavens and the earth and it was good.
Genesis 1:27-31 7 God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
In the beginning Adam was given dominion over all the earth to care for it. God’s paradise was given to us perfect but it came with restrictions to not eat of the one thing that could separate us from our Creator God…the knowledge of evil. Adam and Eve broke that Covenant. The serpent in deceiving them only wanted to destroy the world and everything created by God for us.
Genesis 2:8-9 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God wanted to protect our innocence and our dependence on Him alone and the deceiver only strives to open our eyes to the evil that is in him and plant the mindset that it is all about us, our wants and our desires for power and control. He wants to destroy our faith and trust in God alone.
Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Forbidden to eat of the knowledge of good and evil was the only restriction in the Covenant of God to mankind in Adam and Eve.
God has total control over His covenants with mankind. He made them and He has the right to end them. It is mans’ responsibility to adhere to His rules.
That same serpent from Genesis today only strives to kill, steal and destroy everything that God created for us. God, from the start had already planned for the salvation of mankind in Jesus. Fearing his loss of control over the minds of man he knew that God’s salvation to the world in Jesus would come to destroy him. Satan tried to stop the coming of Jesus through Herod. but the wise men were warned of his plan to kill the Christ child. through the divine intervention of Holy Spirit and His warning to the wise men and to Joseph his plans were stopped.
The deceiver hates Jesus knowing that through Him the world could be saved. John 3:16-18. Satan knows that his power is limited and it has an end.
Jesus the Christ has conquered sin and death in His birth, death and resurrection. Christ within us is the hope of God’s glory to all who accept Him.
Revelation 21:5-7 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” 6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
A new heaven and a new earth, that satan will have no part in, will be established with mankind. Everything will be brand new. All the suffering of humanity will end in the peace of Christ’s rule. In our faith in Jesus the Christ alone we are saved. We have seen the light and it is good. It is finished! Carla
John 1:4 (ESV) "In him was life, and the life was the light of men."
Have you ever considered how each Gospel account begins? Mark opens at the start of Jesus' earthly ministry.Matthew unfolds Jesus' human genealogy reaching back to Abraham. Luke paints an intimate picture of Jesus' birth and then traces His lineage, this time back to Adam.
Then we read John. With his sights set on the divine nature of Jesus, John ventured into the mysteries of heaven itself to trace Jesus' existence back to ... well, always. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4).
I must confess that as I read these God-inspired words, I get chills, and I want to take off my shoes as if standing on holy ground. Throughout the Old Testament, light and fire represented purity, holiness, wisdom, righteousness, restoration and the presence of God (2 Chronicles 7:1-3; Psalm 27:1; Exodus 3:2; etc.). But the gospel reveals that Light now has a name: Jesus. Later in his book, John recorded this truth in Jesus' own words: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12a).
The Light of Men
● Jesus is the Creator of light. He is God, and when "God said, 'Let there be light' ... there was light" (Genesis 1:3).
● Jesus also reveals the light of God's glory. In one miraculous instance in Matthew 17:2, Jesus even physically "shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light." Revelation 1:16 uses similar imagery to show how our Savior will be "like the sun shining in full strength" as the King of heaven in eternity.
● Finally, Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1), and He fulfills all that light symbolizes in the Word of God. He is pure, holy, wise, righteous, restorative and ever-present.
The Life of Men
● Jesus brought forth not only light but all life at creation (John 1:3-4).
● Though we are dead in our sins, those who trust in Jesus for salvation are granted new spiritual life(Romans 6:11; Ephesians 2:4-5). He forgives our sin and restores our relationship with God.
● And one day, Jesus will return to bring resurrection life to all who have believed in Him (John 14:2-3). In the presence of God, we will finally dwell forever in His light.
First5
Paulo Coehlo’s reminder that, “It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.” Yes. The ordinary is the hiding place for the holy.
Here's my invitation to you; take a moment to pause, and give thanks for all the small and simple gifts that have enriched your life during this holiday season…knowing that the light from simple gifts, spills and gives hope to the world around us. Yes, remembering that “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” (Howard Zinn). Sabbath Moments
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