34.v. “In the beginning, God created”

 

Genesis 1:1  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 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.  

 Nehemiah 9:6     “You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

 Job 38:4    “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

 Psalms 33:6     By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

 Psalms 33:9   For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

 Psalms 104:24    O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

 Psalms 121:2    My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

 Psalms 148:5    Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.

 Ecclesiastes 12:1   Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

 Isaiah 40:26   Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

 Jeremiah 10:12    It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 

 Acts 17:24    The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

 Colossians 1:16-17    For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

 Hebrews 11:3   By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

 Revelation 4:11   “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

 Romans 1:19-20   For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Isaiah 65:17   “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

 Revelation 21:6    And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

 Revelation 22:13   I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Christ in his human nature, is the visible discovery of the invisible God, and he that hath seen Him hath seen the Father. Let us adore these mysteries in humble faith, and behold the glory of the Lord in Christ Jesus. (Henry)

The universe was built by the Creator to be his own property; to be the theater on which he would accomplish his purposes, and display his perfections. There is no other reason why the universe exists at all than that such was the will of God; there is nothing else that is to be explained. No one can contemplate this vast and wonderful universe without seeing that He who has made it is worthy to “receive glory, and honor, and power.” (Barnes)

We are not self-existent. We were formed from nothing at the pleasure of God alone. He spoke and all things came into existence. What He has created, He knows, He created it. Everything in heaven or earth that is either seen or unseen was created by God, by His wisdom and power for His pleasure. Even you. This same One and Only God who created heaven and earth and all that is in it created YOU. I am not sure how our free will works into all of this creation, but sure enough, we have been given it to either choose to believe, honor, glorify, worship, trust, obey, follow, and rely upon Him, or to deny, reject, turn away from, refuse, cast aside, dismiss, ignore, shut out, or give at arm’s length. It is in this “free will” where we intentionally choose our eternal destiny of heaven or hell. These too were created by God. How sad is it that multitudes of God’s creations past, present, and future intentionally choose eternal hell in torment forever and ever? Man’s worldly wisdom tries very hard to explain away creation by God and many believe these lies willingly at their eternal demise. Blessed is the person who lives all their days with the single purpose in all they think, say, and do, to bring honor and glory to their Creator, Savior, Redeemer – God.

30.g. ” But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

 

Matthew 4:1  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

 John 14:30   I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,

 Hebrews 2:18   For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

 Hebrews 4:15-16   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 Psalms 143:10   Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

 Isaiah 48:16-17    Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

 Galatians 5:16    But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

There is no way anyone can fulfill the lust of the flesh as they walk in the Spirit. The two simply don’t go together. The Holy Spirit doesn’t move in us to gratify our fallen desires and passions, but to teach us about Jesus and to guide us in the path of Jesus. This is the key to righteous living – walking in the Spirit, not trying to live with desires for the fleshly and Spirit.  We try to do this, don’t we?  We have certain areas of fleshly and worldly desires that we secretly tuck away into corners of our minds.  We seek to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in what we deem appropriate and do not expose these secret passions, vises, addictions, pleasures, or wants and we can also hide, greed, hate, envy, fear, anger, or pride.  We don’t allow the Holy Spirit’s quiet whispers to penetrate our minds in these areas.  For some reason, we hang on to them but deny that we are. And then, there is Satan ready to tempt us with the very things we think we have control over. We may say that is just who I am or how I was raised or some other way to justify allowing them space in our lives.  There is no middle ground where we can stand firm. There is no possible way to be open to being led by the Holy Spirit and try to keep areas of our lives unyielded to the very leading that will draw us closer to a life that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all we say think and do.  

The rock of my salvation

Psalms 89:26  He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’  And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.  My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.  I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.  If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,  if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,  then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,  but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.  I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

Matthew 26:39     And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Luke 23:46     Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

John 11:41     So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

John 20:17     Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Hebrews 1:5     For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”?

Psalms 18:46     The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—

Psalms 62:2     He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.  On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

2 Samuel 22:47    “The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

Isaiah 50:7     But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.  He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.  Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

Isaiah 59:21     “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

The rock of my salvation.  We have times we seem to experience being broken and unable to see blessings, joy, peace, and hope. Life happens and is going along fine and then out of the blue it is upside down.  The rock of my salvation, my refuge, my strength, my hope, my joy, my peace, my defender, my power, my help, and my guidance are all words used by men who looked to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in times of trouble.  These men chose to keep in the presence of God at all times.   Keeping close to God and seeking His help is easy in broken and confusing times of our life.      Shouldn’t we want to desire to be close to God at all times living to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him?   Holding on to God’s hand through life is so much easier than running off into things alone.  Listening to His whispers of guidance each day and staying in communion with Him will keep our heart, mind, and soul focused with hope, joy, and peace.

Not as I will

My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work

When I read this passage and along with other scriptures, where the disciples all say they will never leave or deny  Jesus even until death – I have the same thoughts as the disciples.  I will not deny Jesus and not my will but as God wills for my life.  The reality is that there is a battle that goes on everyday with fulfilling these thoughts of fully living for and doing what God purposes.  Throughout each day there are times of being selfish, unkind, greedy, proud, unthankful, lacking faith, not obeying, self seeking …….. My food is more to do with my will than God’s.  I am so thankful for His grace and mercy, for his forgiveness, for never leaving me in this state but rather leading me closer and closer to Him.  Do you know what also helps me in my walk to stay closer to Him? – The encouragement and examples I witness in the walk of my brothers and sisters in Christ.  We all have times of being weak, lacking faith, helpless, proud, self serving, but God does not leave us and He allows us to see His work in others as encouragement and examples – Living to honor and glorify God is also showing hope, love, peace, humbleness, kindness, faith, joy, to those needing encouragement to do His will.  Be a living example today.

Matthew 26:39
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will

Isaiah 50:5
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame

John 4:34
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work