.
Where am I going, and what am I trying to do?
Make the case for exploring and establishing scripture's horizon in order to reflect heaven's will into the earth by viewing it through the first four words of its first sentence, "In the beginning God..." This is a First-Sentence Perspective.
Have you ever longed to see yourself as God sees you? To shed the cursed thinking that calls "evil" what He declared "good"? We just wrapped an epic 4-part journey following redemption threads from Genesis 1 into the ancient poetry that still sings over us today. From void to purpose spoken over all things, see how the God who creates and aligns is the God conforming us to Christ's image now. Listen as His grace untangles our striving and releases identity, freedom, and confidence to walk boldly in good works that reveal Jesus to the world. If you've struggled to stand firm in who you are or own the calling on your life, this glimpse behind the first words of Scripture may shift everything. Let it spark a revolution in how you embrace your God-crafted identity.
In this second installment, we delve into God's divine 'judgment' as a manifestation of His deep love for creation. The act of 'seeing' and declaring 'good'-ness in Genesis 1 sets the stage for understanding Jesus as the compassionate judge, mirroring the divine pattern. Explore how 'good' in God's eyes doesn't mean perfection but purpose, aligning with His original intent. Join us on this journey of divine alignment, human potential for 'good'-ness, and the redemptive grace found in Jesus.
Read more to uncover the profound implications of God's judgments and humanity's enduring potential for goodness, despite the impact of sin.
Join me on a four-part exploration of Genesis chapter 1 tracing a few key words in the creation narrative that reveal profound truths of God's character and purposes. In This Part 1, "God's ‘love’ Revealed," we will see that God ’saw’ His new creation, and fell in ‘love’ with all He had made. The writer of Genesis reveals creation in a 4-part pattern:
God ‘commands’ – “Let there be…, Let the ….”
God ‘sees’ – “God ’saw’ that it was …)
God ‘names’ – After each ‘Let there…’ is a name or description of what should be.
God ‘judges’ – As He ‘sees’ what He created, He judges it as ‘good.’
The most important words you may ever read are those found in Scripture's sentence.
"In the beginning...", are found in Genesis 1:1.
Immediately these words build anticipation and create perspective. What will we learn from the beginning? Why is the beginning important for us to know, so important that it must come first?
The answer is, to develop a First-Sentence Perspective for our relationship with God.
To fully grasp the meaning of "In the beginning...", we must understand the context and original audience. When God began to write down His story, He chose these words of all the words he had available to Him. Tell us far more than we usually understand. It is these seven Hebrew words, and the creation narrative that quickly follows, that help us make sense of everything else in life: Where did we come from and what are we meant to be?
Opening with the first verse of Genesis, this blog post unpacks the deep meaning and far-reaching implications of the declaration "In the beginning God ...." It analyzes how this first sentence systematically dethrones pagan gods by establishing the Lord as the sole Creator. The article explores how Genesis 1 counters nearby creation myths and reorients Israel's perspective of God's supreme authority. It also shows how the opening book of the Torah establishes the groundwork for comprehending humanity's rebellion and God's redemptive plan through a covenant people. The author highlights intertextual links of this First-Sentence Perspective, noting how New Testament writers pick up the threads back to the beginning of Scripture and center Christ as the fulfillment of its unified narrative.
Here is what might seem to be a ridiculously obvious statement: Jesus was focused first and foremost on God!
Even though you might think you already know that don't dismiss it too quickly. I'm not saying that Jesus had a pet project and He thought it might be cute to put God's name on it. That's how we do it. It is absolutely and unequivocally not what Jesus did.
We are called to live a First Sentence Lifestyle. Let's explore the consequences of losing awareness of the first sentence of scripture: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Ge 1:1
Time is more than minutes and hours. Explore the sacred nature of time revealed in the Bible and how God uses celestial markers to reveal his plan. Learn about the first "tick" and God's appointments for humanity.