GENESIS

We had such a wonderful day at Church yesterday.  The music was wonderful and moving, the testimonies a powerful blessing, the fellowship is always outstanding, and the preaching was blessed of God.  What an honor to pastor such wonderful people.  Powerful!  Praise God! I'm starting in Genesis again today and have two months to go through the Bible.  I have marked several thoughts this morning, and I will get to as many of them as I can.  Here they are: 1) IT ALL BEGINS WITH GOD- Gen. 1:1 "In the beginning God..."  Not only did creation begin with God, but everything does!  Our lives begin when God allows conception to take place.  Our marriage is to begin with God.  Our business should begin with God.  Our churches, most certainly, should begin with God.  Our child rearing must begin with God.  God is not One we add to our lives....  God is who we begin with!  Are you starting your day with God? 2) MAN'S CHARGE-Genesis 1:28  "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."   It is pretty plain that God gave us a world to enjoy and be in charge of.  We are not the ones that destroy this earth, we are the caretakers of this earth.  3) SONS AND DAUGHTERS- It says of Adam:  Genesis 5:4  "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:"  Here we see that after Adam and Eve had Cain, Able, and Seth, that they had sons and daughters.  This phrase is mentioned after every one who bore a son first.  The name of the firstborn is mentioned, but not all the sons and daughters and they lived hundreds of years after the first one was born.  Also, it is interesting to note that they started having children younger and younger.  It starts off about 100 years old, then goes to the sixties, and after the flood, drops down to the mid thirties.  Now, usually in the twenties for our lives!  God is good to bless us with children, and the world's teaching is .... just have one or two.... but God tells us that children are a great blessing and His inheritance.  Enjoy your children and don't be afraid to have a house full of them.  3) THOUGH SAVED- We know that God destroyed for this reason:  Genesis 6:5  "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."   But, after the flood, God said this about the wonderful people He had just salvaged from a wicked world:  Genesis 8:21  "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done."   These people were saved from the flood, and yet.... they had the same problem...."the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth". Our greatest enemy is... ourselves!  We must constantly be working on our thought life to help us be spiritual, not carnal, Christians.  Work on this today. 4) FAITH-Genesis 15:6  "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."   Abraham placed his faith in God's promises and that alone was counted to him for righteousness.  We are saved by faith, not by works.  Our faith in Jesus Christ saves us!  Praise the LORD!! Well, I enjoyed starting all over today.  Hope some of these insights will help you understand more of the Bible as well.  May God bless you!   Pastor Mike Mutchler