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1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. (Genesis 1:1-2:4a NIV Bible)
Happy Thursday, dear Friend! May the blessings of God bring you joy and peace on this day. Strive to become a blessing to all. The latest update on Baby Emma is that she may have Enterovirus-Rhinovirus. I don't know if the family has plans to move her to Corpus Christi or San Antonio, but let us continue to pray for that precious baby. I pray all is well with you. Our pastor, The Rev. Dr. Matt Pennington spent the night in the hospital after suffering a lingering virus-like illness plus fatigue from the entire "Super Bowl" of Christmas-New Year's services led to him getting much needed rest in Memorial Hospital of Gonzales. Please pray that he make a speedy and complete recovery soon! Please remember others that have asked for prayers from us that God quickly restore them all to health and wholeness!
The arrival of the Baby Jesus and later His presentation for baptism made me think that from the "once upon a time" beginning of all things until the "They all lived happily ever after" we have come up with quite a list of broken things that serve only to break us and separate us from God's desired plan of relationship in the garden of paradise with Him. The list is too long for me to list, but just the opening pages introduce us to our more than average ability to come up with some doozy things; disobedience, lack of trust, murder, and that among brothers, and then the list continues with things I best not name, for as the comedian says, "we don't need much leading into temptation because we do a pretty good job of finding it ourselves and stepping right into it!" And as one version of the Bible says, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son. And we cannot argue with God's timing! We may say both, "What took so long?" and "Why aren't more people responding?" The first verse of Genesis reminds us over and over again that "God saw it was good," and we take the reins and choose our own way and not God's way. Thus the need for Jesus to say, "Hey y'all, we're broken and that's why John is here to baptize us; in hopes of making us clean and whole.
The Creation Story as we studied it here, and the presentation of Jesus at the Jordan River serve to again remind us of God's interest and involvement in our story. It is a story of love and redemption, a story of grace and peace, and while others still seek to re-write it according to their plans and purposes, God does not waver, nor does God stop always loving us. If Creation was all about making order out of chaos, Jesus' presence and power serves to do the same in in our lives. We are quite good at taking order and making chaos out of it, are we not? Jesus says, "Let me come into your life and make all things new!"
As we prepare for worship on Sunday, may we again pause to examine our lives. It take a lot of work to judge others, and many of us do take too much time in doing just that; let us examine ourselves honestly and with determination to allow Jesus to make us whole and better. Into His loving hands we can turn over all things that have not served us in a positive manner. May people turn to us when they see just what God can do, and may they ask the same for themselves!
PRAYER: Awesome God, we stand in awe of Your power and creativity, as we contemplate the wonder of Your creation. Fill our hearts with gratitude for the gift of life and for the privilege of participating in Your ongoing story. May our lives reflect the love and care you have shown in bringing the universe into being. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Go forth today with the echo of creation in your heart, carrying a sense of awe and responsibility as you walk through the world, a co-creator in God's magnificent story. Stay open to God's leading for changes needed in your life.
Receive my love for you and thankfulness to God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
