• CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS VIEWS IN IUO

  MEDITATIONS ON HEAVENLY ⓂANNA* SUNDAY 1ST JANUARY, 2023

  Posted by Daniel on 5 January 2023 at 9:45 am

  *<div>
  </div><div>*HOW TO BEGIN THE NEW YEAR WITH GOD*</div><div>
  </div><div>*TEXT:* Genesis 1:1-2</div><div>
  </div><div>1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.</div><div>2. 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.</div><div>
  </div><div>*TIMELESS TRUTH:* _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 1:2.</div><div>
  </div><div>INTRODUCTION</div><div>Some sublime lessons from the our text will help every person in knowing how to start the new year with God. What will make a year new and better is not new date but a new or renewed decision, desire, determination and holy desperation. The account of creation or the beginning, though written by Moses, could only be known through divine revelation and inspiration. This is because some of the accounts, which cannot be faulted by spiritually enlightened mind, preceeded the creation of man. Embedded is the existence of God, accounts of creation, including the creation of man, the essence of creation, and how to relate with God directly. The secret of beginning with God is in experientially knowing God Himself. Our text, vv1,2 is just a summary. Read on.</div><div>
  </div><div>*1. The existence of God*</div><div>a. “In the beginning God…” v1. The Hebrew word translated “beginning” means “dateless past”. It was a time before the concept of time. It has implications.</div><div>* No one can know the exact time that the creation happened. Even if God wants to tell man, He will not because man only think in terms of time and all these happened before time. Therefore, no finite man can conceive it or understand it.</div><div>* The idea of some theologians that God created the universe about 6000 BC is false.</div><div>* The suggestion of science that the age of the world is about 13.8 Billion years cannot be true. This is because the world was created before time. No finite mind can understand the concept of dateless past. However, Science has helped us to understand that the world cannot be 8000 years old.</div><div>b. “In the beginning God…”, v1. The Hebrew word translated “God” is a uniplural word which most times mean more than one person. Thus we have a first revelation of the Godhead as being more than one person. V2 identifies one of them as the Spirit of God. He is a separate entity and personality. The fact that He could move over the waters and create is an indication that He is an intelligent personality. Never treat God as a force. He is a person.</div><div>c. “In the beginning God…”, v1, shows that God exists, thus disproving atheism. It shows that God is separate and distinct from the Universe since He created it. Therefore, pantheism is false.</div><div>
  </div><div>*Question*</div><div>What are the theories of God and creation that this verse 1 proves false?</div><div>
  </div><div>*2. The expression of His greatness*</div><div>a. “In the beginning God created…” v1. The text shows that whether the world evolved or through “Big bang Theory”, the fact is that, creation was done by a divine personality called God. While scientists can use any form of theory or word to describe creation, God has given us the account of creation in a simple language that anybody who wants the truth can understand. </div><div>b. “In the beginning God created…” shows that God must be a person. This is obvious from the intelligence of many of the created beings.</div><div>c. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” v1. The creation is a deliberate expression of the greatness of God in a way human being or finite mind can comprehend.</div><div>d. The word “heaven” is taken from the Hebrew word that is better expressed “heavens”. </div><div>* This reveals that apart from the earth, there are many :heavens” that God created. The Bible says this before scientists started discovering them. The Bible does not tell us how many because human minds cannot fully comprehend it. Science only gives a clue.</div><div>* Our universe has about 10 raised to power 50 planets (trillions of trillions trillions..) of which the earth is just one. The earth is just less than a grain of sand in the Universe of planets. Yet God sees all humans on earth perfectly without a telescope. Can you imagine how sharp the eyes of God are?🤷‍♂️</div><div>* There are other parallel universes in trillions trillions trillions and astronauts keep on discovering them.</div><div>* Even though the earth is comparatively like a grain of sand, it will take about 1.5 years to travel from one end of the earth to the other end at the car high speed of 120km/hour.</div><div>* The moon is our closest neighbour. If you are travelling from the earth to the moon at the car speed of 120km/hour, it will take about 88 years to travel to and fro. Is the moon really close to us as we think? Can you see how the human mind often gets many things about God and creation very wrong? Man need a revelation from God or else his knowledge and perception of heavenly things will not be reliable most of the times.</div><div>* This is a tip of the iceberg of God’s heaven as far as what can be observed now. Only infinitesimal fractions are observable by scientists. So man will not understand if God downloads the details. Human language cannot explain this.👌</div><div>
  </div><div>*Question*</div><div>Can you now ponder a little about the greatness of God by pondering about the heavens?</div><div>
  </div><div>*3. Experiencing God*</div><div>a. “The earth was without form and void (empty) and darkness was upon the face of the deep”, v2.</div><div>b. The earth was meaningless, useless and empty until the Spirt of God moved on it and brought meaning, purpose and sense out of it. </div><div>c. This is a divine deliberate illustration of the human mind. It is, and will remain in waste, vanity, meaningless, purposeless and in total darkness concerning the truth without a divine revelation and illumination. You and I are not exceptions of course. This is how the state of the mind of sinners are🤷‍♂️</div><div>d. “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” v2. </div><div>* This is just a summary of what happened at each day of creation. The Spirit of God MOVED first before any creation became meaningful and useful.</div><div>* The Spirit of God must move first in the heart and mind of man before emptiness, vanity, darkness, ignorance, and godlessness can be out of his life. There is no alternative. “The wind (of the Holy Spirit) must blow within first and make the man born again before he could know and experience God, understand the purpose of creation and have power to walk in the character of God. Jesus said “Ye must be born again”, Read John 3:3,5,7,8.</div><div>e. New and better things in the year only starts with simple faith in the existence of the God of creation and surrendering the heart and life to Jesus the co-Creator of the Universe, including you, and allowing the Holy Spirit to move in your life and make you a new creature. Every move of progress and better things in the new year must be preceeded by the move of the Holy Spirit in your life and you must regularly seek for it. “Without Me, ye can do nothing🤜</div><div>
  </div><div>*Question*</div><div>Have you had a personal encounter with the move of the Holy Spirit saving you from the power of sin?</div><div>
  </div><div>*Prayer points*</div><div>God, I give you all praise and adoration as the Creator of the universe and my soul🙏</div><div>I hereby surrender my life to Jesus afresh and ask that you give my life meaning and purpose for the new year🙏</div><div>Spirit of God, I need you in my life and journey. Enter into my life afresh and keep filling me everyday🙏</div><div>Move in the church to help the godless to experience Jesus this year, so they can have meaning and transformation of their lives🙏</div><div>
  </div><div>*HYMN* *HOW GREAT THOU ART*</div><div>
  </div><div>1. O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,</div><div>Consider all the works Thy hands hath made,</div><div>I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,</div><div>Thy pow’r thro’ out the universe displayed,</div><div> </div><div> Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;</div><div> How great Thou art, how great Thou art!</div><div> Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;</div><div> How great Thou art, how great Thou art!</div><div> </div><div>2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander,</div><div>And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;</div><div>When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,</div><div>And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;</div><div> </div><div>3. And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,</div><div>Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;</div><div>That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,</div><div>He bled and died to take away my sin;</div><div> </div><div>4. When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation,</div><div>And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!</div><div>Then I shall bow in humble adoration,</div><div>And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!</div><div>
  </div><div>*The Bible in One Year* Genesis 1-3.</div><div>
  </div><div>Happy New Year👏👏</div>

  Daniel replied 1 year, 3 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
• 0 Replies

Log In to Reply