OUT OF NOTHING

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1 NKJV).

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No light. No sky. No land. It’s incomprehensible to our finite thinking - the barren nothingness that existed before Genesis 1:1.

Then suddenly, through the work of the Almighty, God supplanted nothingness with “the heavens and the earth.” The Divine hand reached through the void and produced a place, a world, a universe. Through the magnificent convergence of the workings of the Godhead - with the Son enacting the will of the Father as the Agent of creation, and the Holy Spirit as the hovering Presence - nothing became something. History began its long march toward today.

The first verse of Genesis provides us with sufficient concepts to contemplate for a lifetime. This introductory statement speaks of enough glory, enough majesty, enough awe to leave us speechless before God. Just as today we would have no life, no breath, no existence without His sustaining action, neither would we have the cosmos without His mighty act at the moment of creation.

Christians are accused by some scientists of being naive because they believe the creation story as recorded in the book of Genesis. Yet these same scientists are inconsistent in making such a charge because they also arrive at their position of evolution by faith. However, their faith is based on their own limited observation and fallible interpretation. This puts those who reject God at a disadvantage. The basis of their confidence is faulty and unreliable. As Christians, we have a distinct advantage: we accept what the Creator Himself declares in the Bible. Our faith is based on what He has proclaimed. We need never be ashamed to say that we accept His word by faith. It gives us true understanding

So, in awe we wonder what went on before “the beginning.” With breathless praise we marvel at the words “God created the heavens and the earth.” We read - and we stand in adoration. “Nothing” has never been so fascinating!

Adapted from Our Daily Bread

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God’s work of creating is done; our work of praising has just begun!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Heavens

In Genesis 1:1 we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth!” (NKJV)

Heavens is the Hebrew word shamayim (‏שָׁמַיִם‎ = shaw-mah'-yim). The word is from an unused root meaning to be lofty, or the sky. Further, shamayim is also rendered firmament or expanse (Gen. 1:8). This carries the idea of a canopy, a covering of sky above the earth. The early sky contained more water vapor than it does now. At the time of the Flood, shamayim was called the ‘windows of heaven,’ like floodgates or doors which poured forth rain for forty days and nights (7:11ff). Thus rain came from the heaven (8:2; 28:17; Ps. 78:23); and the stars resided in the heaven (22:17). Thus shamayim clearly refers to the visible sky.

Further, the sky is associated with God as His place of dwelling with the angels (Deut. 33:26; 1 Ki. 8:23; Ps. 2:4), but neither the sky, the earth nor all creation can contain Him (1 Ki. 8:27). Note also that the Lord is sometimes called “the God of heaven,” which is a frequently used Aramaic expression (2 Chr. 36:23; Psalm 136:26; Jonah 1:9). He is also “Yahweh, God of the heavens” (Gen. 24:7).

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That this throne would be an eternal throne: Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 27; Micah 4:7

New Testament Fulfillment – Luke 1:33

Bible Facts

When dealing with disease, clothes and body should be washed under running water (Lev. 15:13). For centuries people naively washed in standing water. Today we recognize the need to wash away germs with fresh water.

Bible Quiz

What were the first things in Creation God saw as “good?”

**Answer to last week’s trivia:According to Genesis 1, what was the first thing God said? “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3)

That’s in the Bible

“Tomorrow will take care of itself”

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof!” (Matt. 6:34 KJV).

From time to time, we all get caught up in worrying about the future. Jesus knew this and instructed us to “take therefore no thought for the morrow.” The future is in His hands, not ours, and that is the reason we don’t need to worry about next week, next year, or any other time in the future. Further, tomorrow doesn’t take care of itself without the Lord directing it. Christians realize this, but the world likes to use this expression as if tomorrow had a mind of its own.

Did You Know – Christian History

Peter N. Deyneka, Sr. was born July 12, 1897 in what is present day Belarus. He was a Russian-American evangelist and a missionary to the Russian diaspora. Deyneka immigrated to Chicago in 1914, where he worked in a machine shop. He was reared in the Russian Orthodox Church and briefly claimed.

However, a desire to hear eloquent English brought him to the Moody Memorial Church. Peter was astonished to find hundreds of Christians of all ages there. He had expected to see only a few old women. The music moved him. “You, there, you need to be born again!” To Peter Deyneka, it seemed that evangelist Paul Radar was pointing directly at him. As the sermon went on, he felt smaller and smaller. He wondered who had tipped off this preacher about his sins. As Radar spoke, a voice inside Peter said, “You are a lost sinner.”

That night he put away his wild dances, smoking, and cursing. His landlord saw that he was smiling and accused him of being drunk. “No, I’m not drunk. I’m saved.” Peter could not sleep that night for joy. The next morning he was still smiling. “Peter, you’re still drunk,” said the man. “No,” said Peter. “I’m a new person.” Over the next several decades he proved it. Peter Deyneka became known as Peter Dynamite for his bold and powerful presentation of the gospel. He visited Russia, where thousands hung on his messages. He was one of the founders of the Russian Gospel Association (later called the Slavic Gospel Association), which brought the Bible to East European immigrants on every inhabited continent. Deyneka also wrote several books, including an autobiography, and used short wave radio stations to broadcast the gospel to millions who lived behind the Iron Curtain.

A Little Humor

Three men were arguing over whose profession was first established on earth. “Mine was,” said the surgeon. “The Bible says that Eve was made by carving a rib out of Adam.” “Not at all,” said the engineer. “An engineering job came before that. In six days the earth was created out of chaos. And that was an engineer’s job.” “Yes,” said the politician. “But who created the chaos.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that man can understand!”