/In beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was
empty and void, and darkness on the face of the depths. And the Spirit
of God was swooping on the face of the waters. And God said, "Be light!"
and light was! And God saw the light for good, and God distinguished
between the light and between the darkness. And God called the light
"day", and the darkness He called "night". And there was evening, and
there was morning. Day one. And God said, "Be a dome in the midst of the
waters, and be a separation between waters and waters." And God made the
dome and separated between the waters which were below the dome and the
waters which were above the dome; and it was so. And God called the dome
"heaven". And there was evening, and there was morning. Day two...And
God said, "May the earth emit living souls in their species, behemoths
and small animals and living creatures of the earth in their species";
and it was so...And God saw it for good. And God said, "Let us make man
in our image, as our likeness, and may they rule over the fish of the
water, and the birds of the heavens, and over the behemoths and over all
the earth, and over all the small animals which flock on the
earth."...And God saw all which He made and look, much good; and there
was evening and there was morning. Day 6.
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God speaks, and stuff happens! Yet we have trouble believing it,
sometimes. Some doubt that only God's voice was involved in creation.
"There must have been some pre-existing material, or primordial soup, or
something" they ponder. Others assume that God could do so much in just
6 days. "Each 'day' must really mean millions of years" they postulate.
Still others disbelieve that God made so many different creatures. "It
all must have evolved from 1 very simple life-form" they think.
But God spoke and made everything there is out of absolutely nothing! It
wasn't...and then it was! He made every single species there is without
the help of any kind of evolution, and even caused them to reproduce
after their own species! And all this God did in 6 regular, evening &
morning, 24-hour days. Why should this astound people? With God, all
things are possible! He could have created it all in an instant...but
chose to take 6 days for our sake--so that we would have a weekly schedule.
So, if God could create the entire universe with just his voice in 144
hours time, surely God could take care of simpler things nowadays,
right? But not everyone is quick to believe that either. When the royal
official's son was sick in Capernaum, folks expected Jesus to come
quickly from Cana to do some exciting, miraculous sign for them to gaze
at. They just couldn't believe Jesus could heal the boy from such a
distance, with only His words. But He did. And amazingly, the official
believed it!
God says it, and it happens! God tells living creatures to live on the
earth, and they do! Jesus says that the official's son will live, and He
does! Wow! We have a God Whose very words hold the power of life and
death! God could say, "Die" and you would die. In fact, God has every
right to do so. You doubt Him so often, relying on yourself or trusting
other means which you think gives you a satisfied life. He could speak,
"Die" and in an instant, your heart would stop beating, & your breath
would stop.
But that's not what God likes to do. By nature He is a "Creator", not a
"destroyer". God just loves to speak words of "life", and when He does,
things live! He speaks words of life to you this day, declaring your
deadly sins forgiven so that you may live forever! He proclaims the
gracious love of Jesus to you, Who gave His life as a forfeit for yours
at the cross, suffering your death so, in exchange, you have life
eternal in heaven. Your pastor speaks such words of life to you often.
And you know that when God speaks, stuff happens! When God connects His
word to simple water, it becomes a gracious water of life, a living
water which quenches your thirst for Christ's righteousness, which He
gives you in trade for your sins which He bore in His body on the tree
of Calvary. When God places His word into the voicebox of your Pastor,
he hears your confession and proclaims you to be absolutely forgiven, as
surely & certainly as Jesus' Own proclamation to you.
When God takes the words of institution Jesus spoke at the Last Supper,
and they are spoken over simple bread & wine, those elements become the
body of Christ given for you, and His blood shed for you at the + for
your forgiveness. These words of Jesus' death become for you words of
your life! God speaks, and life is created. Jesus speaks, and life is
restored. Your Lord speaks to you and your life is renewed forevermore.
His word proclaimed, & sacramental word in action give you life! Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
john.drosend...@gmail.com
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