QT 7/8/2025 Gen 1:20–23, God's creation means that his manual is necessary

Genesis 1:20–23 (ESV) —

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

 

NOTE: The phrase "according to their kinds" would correlate to a comment by John Stott where he proposed a God-directed evolutionary process used for creation. There are a number of prominent Christians who are not opposed to the idea. Again, the point is that God created life, not how he created life. The only aspect of a God-directed evolution that appeals to me is that it solves a major problem with random evolution in that there is really not enough time in the universe to randomly create even the simplest cell, let alone a creature. Survival of the fittest and adaption fail to shorten the time or increase the mathematical probabilities. On the other hand, an intelligently directed evolution does resolve most problems with evolution.

 

But the point of Genesis is not to solve scientific questions but to help us to understand God and ourselves. He created us. He blessed us (as we see with the birds and the sea creatures). He created all things for us to enjoy. And he established the basic rules that will give us joy if we follow. Unfortunately, almost every rule in the first few chapters of Genesis is actively broken and disavowed today. And we wonder why life is so painful and unfulfilling.

 

PONDER:

1. Do I believe the culture and worldview today know what is best for my life or am I willing to believe that God, my creator, knows what is best?
2. Have I rejected the view that God created (however he did it)? Creation is the foundation we stand upon (literally)

 

PRAYER: Father, I pray in this day that people would return back to the foundations of our faith which are found in Genesis. I pray for people to slow down and think of life, real life. I pray that people would seek you in this day of anger, political strife, and emotional upheaval. Open our eyes Lord, we want to see you.