Through the Bible in 66 Days - Genesis

 

We often ask questions like: Where did we come from in terms of the origin of life? Why is there so much evil in the world? Why can’t we ever seem to find peace? The answers to these big questions can be found in the book of Genesis in the Bible.

Genesis tells the story of our world—God's perfect creation, humanity's rebellion against Him, and the downward spiral that followed. This first book of the Bible describes significant social disruption, domestic abuse, and problems that regrettably have become normalized in our society. It recounts the first murder, lying, scamming, gang wars, riots, and other issues that bring us face-to-face with dysfunctional families and siblings betraying one another. Effectively, it portrays a society remarkably similar to ours, a world filled with selfishness. One major question arises: How did the world spiral out of control so quickly? The answer is later found in the holy scriptures: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12, Legacy Standard Bible).

Death is the great leveler

 

To walk up through the ash is hard work but it is possible to hire sticks to give help as the way is difficult to the summit of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.  It is worth the climb as one gazes into the crater of the volcano where steam or smoke is emitted and one simply hopes that it will not erupt while standing on the rim.  It did erupt, of course, on 24th August 79AD.  It exploded with great intensity and sent ash and clouds upward into the sky and the nearby cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were buried under the debris. Thousands lost their lives. The cities were excavated by archeologists hundreds of years later and it is a sobering experience to walk amongst those streets and into houses which were once thriving but now only reveal the rocklike bodies of people who died under the ash and poison gases.  

One young man of seventeen years of age named Pliny saw it happen and described what he experienced.  He wrote that you could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants and the shouting of men; some were calling for parents, others for children or wives, trying to recognise them by their voices.  For many of the people it seemed that the universe had been plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.  Thankfully a good number did escape by reaching the harbour and getting on boats indeed many thousands were saved in this way. 

Take heed all ye who pass by

 

Just off the south-west coast of the island of Jersey sits a lighthouse called La Corbière. One of its fascinating features is that there is a path linking the lighthouse to the coast, which can only be used at low tide. When the sea rises, the path is completely covered, leaving the lighthouse inaccessible and isolated in the sea.

Visitors to La Corbière will notice that at the start of the path out to the lighthouse there is a sign, which reads:

IN MEMORY OF

PETER EDWIN LARBALESTIER

ASSISTANT KEEPER AT CORBIÈRE LIGHTHOUSE.

WHO, ON 28TH MAY 1946 GAVE HIS LIFE

IN ATTEMPTING TO RESCUE A VISITOR

CUT OFF BY THE INCOMING TIDE.

TAKE HEED ALL YE WHO PASS BY.

This sign challenges the reader to “take heed” of two things: first, take heed of the danger of being cut off by the rising tide, and second, take heed of the honourable man who died to save a stranger. Likewise, the gospel message requires a twofold taking heed by us: of the danger that we are in, and of the blessed Man Who died to save us from it.

Why we struggle to follow instructions!

 

In the last post we thought about our need as humans to ‘follow the manufacturers instructions’ i.e. to understand that we were created by God and cannot operate successfully in life until we accept this (for more details see the note below **). 

Putting this in Bible language the original creation was perfect but as a result of an act of self will (the Bible uses the words sin, iniquity, transgression etc) we are broken, damaged by sin and spiritually dead. The verse from the Bible that I would use to substantiate this is Romans 5. 12 - ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’. 

The word of God, the Bible, also states that sin and the potential to do great evil lies latent in everyone of us (not so latent at times). We all think evil thoughts that thankfully are not always translated into evil behaviour but if we are honest we sin regularly in word, thought and actions. The Lord Jesus explained in Mark chapter 7 verses 14-23 that we have an internal problem of sin that comes to the surface and defiles us. Please don’t measure the accuracy of these statements by your own subjective assessment of what is good or bad. We have to consider what God, original law giver has to say about subject as His standards are well above ours. When measured by God and His word we are forced to admit that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (God’s glorious standard),’ Romans 3. 23. 

Following the Manufacturers Guidelines

The family unit was designed to be the most basic unit in societal structure. The first humans (Adam & Eve) were created to be one cohesive unit from the very beginning of time. This is why the marriage relationship is under so much attack. If family and the key individuals who compose this domestic unit can be undermined and shown to be irrelevant then the basic building blocks of society will be destroyed and society is slowly dismantled. 

So what’s the issue - you may ask?  Is there a problem with society modifying itself or morphing into any shape the current generation fancies?

We should never forget!

24 years ago 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights. 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning. 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift. 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning patrol. 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift of saving lives. None of them saw past 10:00am Sept 11, 2001. All of them ushered out into eternity.

This reminds me that we must always remember tomorrow is not promised.

There is no more important thing than knowing we are ready to meet our creator should tonight be our last.

The Bible says - Prepare to meet God

And, 'boast not about tomorrow for you do not know what a day will bring forth'

Thankfully it also says:

For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life, John 3 v16 

What if living in an advanced society is not enough?

The ongoing development of technology is revolutionising every dimension of the human experience. Advances in genetics are helping doctors diagnose, treat, and prevent disease on an unprecedented scale. Retailers are developing ways to deliver their products to our homes via drones. Mobile devices allow people to work remotely more easily than ever. Autonomous vehicles may eventually enable people to commute to the office while working in their cars (if people go to an office at all). As a result, suburbs will extend farther from city centres than ever before. It’s hard to identify a dimension of our daily lives that is unaffected by the amazing advances of technology. Those with the skill and discipline to create and market such remarkable inventions deserve the gratitude of those of us who benefit from their expertise daily. And yet, despite all our astounding scientific progress our world is still in trouble. For instance:

Is it true?

 

Sometimes you wonder if the information you get is actually true, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall. With the advent of AI, and the ease with which images can now be altered and manipulated, along with the deliberate spread ofmisinformation on social media, how can you be sure of the truth of a matter?

Some organisations like the BBC have “Verify” procedures which check their news
reports to give some reassurance. Against this there are online statements and
Twitter posts which carry the label “Truth”, but that name hides their intent and
content.

In court cases and public enquiries, evidence must be backed up and established by
two or three witnesses. This fundamental aspect of testimony was declared in the
Bible around 3500 years ago (Deuteronomy 19.15) and remains basic to the
administration of justice in civilised societies. False witnesses sometimes try to
bolster an unworthy cause, as happened when Jesus Christ was being tried by
Pontius Pilate. They failed, but the sentence was still a serious miscarriage of justice.

Queen Elizabeth II

 

Three years ago this week Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 surrounded by her family. In the year of her Platinum Jubilee, the longest serving monarch passed away at her beloved Scottish estate, Balmoral. 

Buckingham Palace made the simple announcement at 6.30pm on Thursday 8 September 2022, stating: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

For 70 years Her Majesty The Queen had been the centre of our culture. The Queen’s image has adorned billions of coins and banknotes and sat proudly on letters carrying good news and bad. Her name has been given to places near and far, buildings, ships and train lines. She sat for hundreds of portraits and inspired thousands more. She had been imitated more than any other public figure, BUT there was only one original. 

On Friday 3 June 2022 Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York delivered the sermon in St Paul's Cathedral during a service to mark and celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and the very original person she was. On that occasion he reminded us that, “Jesus is worth following because Jesus shows us who God is, and what our humanity could be. And there are many occasions in the gospels where we see Jesus Himself, faithful to His vocation, seeking out places of replenishing so that He can learn God’s way. The purpose of the Christian faith is to know and to do God’s will.

Do you know God as your Father?

 

To be rejected and left alone is a dreadful experience and one which can cause and leave deep emotional and psychological scars for life in those abandoned.  Simone Lang was an Australian school teacher who spent some time in India.  There, she taught in a Christian school to help educate the poor and those who could not afford to go to the state schools.  In the school was a little boy by the name of Jonathan and he lived in a nearby children’s home. 

She got to know the little boy, and gradually he opened up his heart to her as she conversed with him.  His parents had abandoned him when he was three years old and had left him at the children’s home.  They had abdicated all responsibility for him and had left him to be brought up by others who would try to show him some sort of love and kindness.  His parents were still alive and one day he received a letter from them stating that they would come and visit him on a particular day, namely the first day of December.  This gave him a wonderful feeling and he shared his excitement of looking forward to seeing his parents with Simone. She realised that this would be a wonderful day for this little boy. 

How to join the winning side

 

When I was in grammar school many years ago, I can always remember counting how many boys were in my class on the days when football took place.  Inevitably there were some who would have been off ill with some malady or other, but I was always delighted if the absentees were an odd number.

Why?  Well, let me explain.

We were an even number of boys in the class – 32 to be exact – so if an odd number of boys were not in school, it meant there would be an odd number reporting for football that afternoon.

And that was important to me.

Have I captured your curiosity?  Let me explain further.

The Humber Bridge

 

In 1981, a bridge across the Humber Estuary was opened to traffic crossing the estuary from 5 miles west of Kingston upon Hull to Barton on Humber. It was a marvellous feat of engineering, being at the time the longest single span bridge in the world.

The opening did not only provide continuous access day and night across the estuary, but it also brought to an end over 600 years of ferry history. The modern ferry service began in the nineteenth century between Hull and New Holland, a bleak windy place in North Lincolnshire. A pier was built there, which was served by the Barton on Humber to Grimsby and Cleethorpes local train service. It was the quickest and shortest way from Hull to Lincolnshire, thus avoiding a long circuitous journey inland. Over the years, the ferry service was operated by a variety of ships. One of the most well-known was the 594 ton paddle steamer ‘Lincoln Castle’ the last coal fired ship of its kind in Britain, before its withdrawal in 1978.

Leaves or Fruit

Just recently I had a question put to me that, at first, seemed so simplistic as to be ridiculous.

The question was, ”What is the difference between the leaves and fruit of a tree?” My unspoken response was, “Everything!  They are different in shape, in texture, in colour…… the list seemed endless.” But then I went a little further and the question began to make sense. “What is the difference in purpose between the leaves and the fruit?”

I still didn’t grasp the reasoning behind the question until the answer was given. “The leaves are for the benefit of the tree, but the fruit is for the benefit of others.”

Are your children happy?

Children should be happy. One of the Bible predictions about the future is that, when Jesus reigns, “the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets” (Zech 8.5). 

One test of a nation’s moral character is its treatment of the innocent, the weak, and the vulnerable. If such members of society live in fear of abuse, mistreatment, or death, it seems obvious to all right-thinking people that there is a moral deficiency in the nation. 

Children should live free from such fears. They will one day. They certainly do not now. 

Children are not safe in the streets. They are not safe in the schools. They are not safe (often) in their own homes. Sadly they are not even safe in the womb of their mother. How cold, callous, and celebrative of wickedness must a nation be to rejoice in the slaughter of infants? Is this how society improves? Should we slaughter the innocent for the sins of the guilty?