In the Beginning…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
IN OUR DAILY BIBLE READING AND STUDY, Barbara and I have come to the Gospel of John. Our method is to read and then read commentary and perhaps discuss. Sometimes it is easy and fast and sometimes we may have to tie the horses to a tree and stay a while. This is one of those “stay a while” places. We’ll give credit to John because, first thing, he reverts all the way back to Genesis 1:1. We can’t study John without going back to Genesis.
THE REASON JOHN GOES BACK TO GENESIS 1:1, is that he is about to write about the one who was the co-creator of the earth and universe with God-the-Father. It bears heavily upon us that God wants us to include the Old Testament in our Bible study. To yank the New Testament story of salvation out of the Bible as an independent subject, is to do what God never intended.
WITHOUT GENESIS, JOHN IS INCOMPLETE. Without Genesis, the root and foundation of the Bible is missing. So, the first words of the Gospel of John, are also the first words of the book of Genesis. In short: the book of Genesis is history and not a made-up story; not an allegory. Without Genesis, there’s no need for the four Gospels or the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
THE NEXT FEW DAYS, WE WILL BE LOOKING AT GENESIS, the foundation of the Bible. Two themes are prominent: God’s creation of the universe and earth, and the world-wide flood and Noah’s ark. Then, there is the vast array of an infinite variety of life forms that explode upon the earth. Did God create the earth and its life, or did it create itself? The enormous variety of life forms on the earth demand an explanation of how they got here! Thomas A. Edison, who gave us the light bulb, thought that the presence of a blade of grass was complicated enough to demand an explanation.
DID GOD CREATE THE EARTH IN SIX 24-HOUR DAYS, or did He take billions of years to do it? How can we know? What did ancient Jewish tradition believe about the creation days? Is Jewish tradition reliable? What do the Bible writers believe about creation? What did the Jewish historian, Josephus (37A.D.-100 A.D.) believe about the days of creation? Who changed the ancient established meaning of “six-day creation” and why was it changed?
HOW OLD IS A ROCK? How were rocks formed? What do the Grand Canyon and the 1980 explosive earthquake at Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington have in common?
Was there a worldwide flood? Why would an Australian, high school science teacher (Ken Ham) come to America and spend a hundred million dollars building a big boat in Kentucky? Not only so, but why are thousands of people driving to Townsend, Kentucky to visit he Ark? God willing, we will be highlighting the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis.
THE FOLLOWING LINK WILL GIVE YOU FREE ACCESS TO SHORT CLIPS of the set of videos done by geologists and historians as they discuss: “Is Genesis History.” We have reviewed the full set and it is worth the time spent. https://isgenesishistory.com/free-videos-is-genesis-history/
IN 1961 A SOUTHERN BAPTIST PROFESSOR (Elliot) WROTE A BOOK ON GENESIS that caused an uproar in the rank and file Southern Baptist churches. I remember it well. Here is a link that will give you some substance of what Mr. Elliot wrote and why it eventually resulted in his resignation. But, the themes of the controversy are alive and well today, 60 years later. http://www.bpnews.net/41095/1961-controversy-over-the-message-of-genesis-gets-baptist-historians-reflections
THE BIG QUESTION ABOUT GENESIS CAN BE STATED IN THIS QUESTION: “Is Genesis History?” Today, we, as a people, cannot have a world and its life forms that were made by a God. We cannot have a God that defines unacceptable behavior to the point that He would drown everybody on earth except eight people in an ark designed by Him.
We cannot hear about Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed because of one of the favorite sins of today.
THE ARK WAS BUILT BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENCE ON EARTH. (Genesis 6). We, as a people, cannot have a God who would frown on the slaughter of millions of babies in the womb. If Jesus should come to earth again riding on a donkey, would He be killed again? We cannot have a God who would burn the earth to purge it of sin (2 Peter 3:10-12).
Our new thing is that if we were born with an urge, it must be OK to practice it because “we were born with the urge to do so.” Does that cover it? God will have the last word. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JULY 19, 2019 - FRIDAY
A.M. Psalm 7-9 P.M. Acts 17:1-15
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Good Verse to Memorize:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44)
Song for Today:
There’s A Great Day Coming (2:26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxNZKfGLJ98&list=RDMxNZKfGLJ98&start_radio=1
Health Hint:
Cross-linking of tissue cells. Part of the aging process is caused by what is called: “cross linking.” When your windshield wiper blades harden and begin to bounce and make noise on your windshield, it is caused by cross linking. When the flapper in the tank of your commode will no longer close off and stop the flow of water, the flapper has hardened and will have to be replaced.
AS WE AGE, CROSS-LINKING OCCURS IN OUR BODIES in various tissues. It causes practical problems and our first reaction to it may be to learn how to compensate. Our lips are a prime target for cross-linking. This results in slurred speech and drooling because the lips do not close well to make a seal. It may or may not happen all over the body at the same time. It can make swallowing difficult. It may cause tablets or food to clog up in the esophagus. I have had my esophagus stretched because of a closing up of the esophagus and will probably have it done again sometime when needed.
CROSS-LINKING CAN STIFFEN THE FOCUSING MUSCLES of the eyes. Raising the chin slightly may help. If the head is tilted downward, the eyes must offset that tilt and requires more action from the eye muscles in order to focus.
CROSS-LINKING MAY PLAY A ROLE IN CONSTIPATION OF THE BOWEL, and malfunctioning of the valve that controls gas. Cross-linking may be involved when the bladder leaks for several reasons, like stepping in a low place, getting up from a sitting position, laughing, sneezing, coughing. etc.
CROSS-LINKING IN THE ARTERIES MAY INCREASE BLOOD PRESSURE and that’s not something to ignore. Not long ago, I discovered I can no longer whistle. In my younger days I played trombone and did a lot of whistling. I especially enjoyed whistling “The Whistler and His Dog.” It’s a feisty number I heard somewhere and picked it up to entertain myself. It sounds a lot like “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” (I whistled that one too.) You can listen to it through the link below. The Whistler and His Dog (3:32) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk1n2Df701M
I HAVE READ NOTHING THAT INDICATES A WAY TO REVERSE CROSS-LINKING of body tissue. Slowing its formation is the best approach. Some writers blame the American intake of sugar as a causing factor. You may want to spend some time with Google and type in a variety of phrases that will open websites for you. Look for prevention, minimizing, reducing and accommodation.
Here’s a link for further reading on cross-linking https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=age- related+cross+linking+of+tissue&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart
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