Dear Friends,

It is so easy to get confused about our place before God. We become anxious because we are trying to do what only God can do. We strive and fight for things that God would provide if we just asked.

James 4:1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so, you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

When we forget our place before God we suffer and bring destruction to everyone and everything around us. This series of talks is designed to teach us “who we are and aren’t before God. A good beginning place is always at the beginning. Your God is the Creator and you are the creature. Any confusion on this leads to idolatry. Job was reminded of this.

Job 38:4-13 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; 9  When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, 10  And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, 11  And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’? 12 “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

 

Blessings,

Joe

Preparing for Sunday “In Christ” Week 2

 

Focusing on God as the Creator keeps us humble and aware of who we are and who God is.

Psalms 19:1-2 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.

 

 

Describe an experience where creation spoke to you about God’s greatness?

Romans 1:19-20 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

 

 

What is the connection between really believing God is the creator and how to treat other people?

James 3:8-12 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

 

 

What is the connection between really believing God is the creator and how to treat all the rest of creation?

Psalms 24:1-2 A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains the world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

1 Corinthians 10:24-26 Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. 25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; 26 FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS.

 

 

How did sin corrupt our treatment of creation as under rulers and keepers?

Genesis 1:28  God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.

Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Romans 1:21-22 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools.

 

 

How does our desire to be god pervert our rule over the earth?

 

 

Who is your creator?

Colossians 1:15-19 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.