This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1 (KJV)
Heaven and earth is all-encompassing.
The Hebrew word for heaven is "shamayim" which is used for all three definitions of heaven or heavens: the sky and the earth's atmosphere; the stars and all the expanding universe; the dwelling place of God. So, when the scripture says that God created the heaven(s) it means pretty much everything the we imagine exists beyond our physical world: the stars, space dust, the other planets - including anything that exists on those planets - and so on. (I don't want to get too specific as we don't really know for certain what exists out there, but suffice it to say that there is a whole lotta stuff out there.)
In regards to the earth, that includes the animals, the plants, the land, the seas, the sky, all the elements, the electromagnetic fields that hold molecular structures together, and just about everything else you might think of, even man.
In a nutshell, God created everything we know, have yet to know, and ever will know. He alone is responsible for its creation (Genesis 1:1, John 1:3, Col 1:16), its ongoing existence (Col. 1:17), and ultimately, for its destruction (2Pet 3:10, Rev. 21:1).
God existed before He created anything. Everything He created belongs to Him. It is of, by, and for Him and He can do with it as He pleases. We are in no position to question God, to question His acts, or to question His motives. We are one more piece of His creation to do with as He pleases - completely subject to His will.
God owes us nothing.
He has given us everything.
It's important to gain perspective and remember that "I" am not in control. If anything, "I" should tremble in fear and awe of Him and His creation. This is the building block upon which everything I know and do should be built. Then, when I look at the way He desires to know me, to engage with me, to sacrifice for me, I am beyond words. I am silenced by His amazing mercy and unfathomable grace.
"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"- Psalm 8
Showing posts with label Heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heaven. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Family Ties
This post is from my previous blog, Ear to the Heavens. Enjoy.
Blood is thicker than water.
Our western culture believes that family - the bond between a brother or sister, father or mother - is more important than any other relationship, and that, when push comes to shove, we always side with family, regardless of circumstances.
Blood is thicker than water.
I've even been witness to situations where a wife or husband would abandon their spouse and return to their parents or siblings when an event or circumstances has caused a rift. Blood relations are more important than even the marital covenant.
Blood is thicker than water.
Churches have been split when natural familial ties have been considered stronger than the bonds of Christ's love or His sacrfice. Wives have encouraged husbands to stand pridefully strong when the need of the moment is humility and, as a result, brothers in Christ have gone separate ways. We are united in water baptism, but family is blood.
Blood is thicker than water.
We westerners have little or no concept of what "covenant" means. Middle-eastern cultures have lived by covenant law for millenia. Making a covenant with another person is no little thing. Often, there is a process or ritual by which covenant is entered into. It usually involves some kind of sacrifice or blood spilling to emphasize the import of the agreement. At one time, the consequence for breaking covenant was death.
The two people entering into covenant would cut themselves, usually their hand or forearm, and then they would shake hands or cross forearms to allow their blood to mingle.(We, here in the west, have a similar thing kids often do to become "blood brothers.")
The two, bound by the blood covenant, have a responsibility to one another that is greater than that of any other relationship. If the one is hungry and the other has food, the one who has shares with the one who has not. If the one has a horse and the other does not, the one with the horse offers it to the other. No other relationship takes priority over that of the covenant partner.
So, if blood represents the covenant relationship, then what does water mean? Having only part of the picture - taking a phrase out of it's original context - always leads to misunderstanding.
The Blood of the Covenant is Thicker than the Water of the Womb.
We who have entered into covenant with Jesus Christ have a stronger bond with him than with any human, regardless of their genetic bond. Having been washed in the blood, having drank His blood - the blood of the new covenant - we have entered into the most powerful relationship we ever could and our responsibility to Him is greater than any other.
And our brothers and sisters in Christ are bound to us by the very same blood. The blood covenant relationship with Christ extends to His body: the church. The relationship we have with fellow believers is stronger and of higher importance than that of even "blood" relatives.
Blood is thicker than water.
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" [Jesus] asked.
Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother." - Mark 3:34-35
P.S. I rejoice that members of my family are also covenant blood brothers. It is awesome to know that the closest bonds on earth have been made closer by the blood of Christ and that those relationships will continue into eternity.
Blood is thicker than water.
Our western culture believes that family - the bond between a brother or sister, father or mother - is more important than any other relationship, and that, when push comes to shove, we always side with family, regardless of circumstances.
Blood is thicker than water.
I've even been witness to situations where a wife or husband would abandon their spouse and return to their parents or siblings when an event or circumstances has caused a rift. Blood relations are more important than even the marital covenant.
Blood is thicker than water.
Churches have been split when natural familial ties have been considered stronger than the bonds of Christ's love or His sacrfice. Wives have encouraged husbands to stand pridefully strong when the need of the moment is humility and, as a result, brothers in Christ have gone separate ways. We are united in water baptism, but family is blood.
Blood is thicker than water.
We westerners have little or no concept of what "covenant" means. Middle-eastern cultures have lived by covenant law for millenia. Making a covenant with another person is no little thing. Often, there is a process or ritual by which covenant is entered into. It usually involves some kind of sacrifice or blood spilling to emphasize the import of the agreement. At one time, the consequence for breaking covenant was death.
The two people entering into covenant would cut themselves, usually their hand or forearm, and then they would shake hands or cross forearms to allow their blood to mingle.(We, here in the west, have a similar thing kids often do to become "blood brothers.")
The two, bound by the blood covenant, have a responsibility to one another that is greater than that of any other relationship. If the one is hungry and the other has food, the one who has shares with the one who has not. If the one has a horse and the other does not, the one with the horse offers it to the other. No other relationship takes priority over that of the covenant partner.
So, if blood represents the covenant relationship, then what does water mean? Having only part of the picture - taking a phrase out of it's original context - always leads to misunderstanding.
The Blood of the Covenant is Thicker than the Water of the Womb.
We who have entered into covenant with Jesus Christ have a stronger bond with him than with any human, regardless of their genetic bond. Having been washed in the blood, having drank His blood - the blood of the new covenant - we have entered into the most powerful relationship we ever could and our responsibility to Him is greater than any other.
And our brothers and sisters in Christ are bound to us by the very same blood. The blood covenant relationship with Christ extends to His body: the church. The relationship we have with fellow believers is stronger and of higher importance than that of even "blood" relatives.
Blood is thicker than water.
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" [Jesus] asked.
Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother." - Mark 3:34-35
P.S. I rejoice that members of my family are also covenant blood brothers. It is awesome to know that the closest bonds on earth have been made closer by the blood of Christ and that those relationships will continue into eternity.
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