Monday, June 1, 2026

          Genesis opens with the creation story.  We learn that God was in the beginning and that He made all that has been made.  Genesis 1:3 opens with these words, “And God said.” That is a powerful statement.  The means of creation was God’s spoken word.  That is to say God spoke everything that presently exists into existence.  Once there was nothing. Zero!  Before God spoke there was nothing.  But when God spoke, everything changed and the creation began to take shape and form.  That’s a staggering thought!  For those who might advocate for a “big bang” origin of the universe, these three words, “And God said,” counter that theory.  Creation did not emerge from nothing.  Indeed, God was and is, if you will, “the big bang.”  He, and He alone, is the agent behind creation and the existence of earth, life on earth and all that stars and planets that we can see and even beyond what we can see.  Again, that is a staggering thought.
            When you read Genesis 1, you find the same refrain echoing through this chapter, “And God said.”  God commanded the creation to come into existence.  God did not say “bang” and then allow everything to rush forward like a runaway train.  God created carefully by design, with purpose and for His glory.  We learn that God carefully created human life in His own image.  Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  Long before this earth and life on this earth came into existence, the eternal and infinite God we worship was there.  He was present—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  But God did not remain silent.  He spoke.  He commanded that the creation He designed come into being simply by the declaration of His Word.
            We give thanks today that God continued to speak long past the initial moments of creation where things began to take shape.  Today, we possess God’s Word.  His Word shows us His ways and His standards for how we are to live.  God is the creator: He alone was present in the beginning.  So, this truth teaches us that God decides what is good or bad and right or wrong.  We take our values not from culture, influencers, trends or whatever we may wish was true.  We take our values from God—what He has deemed to be good or bad.  Vance Havner, the late Baptist preacher, once humorously but wisely said that we may have our own ideas how the universe ought to be run.  But the problem is we do not have our own universe to run.  We live in the universe made by the Lord who made us.  God owns the universe—not us.  And His ownership gives Him the fiat right to declare how it should exist.
            When you read the Bible, take some time to consider all the occasions where the Bible says that “God said” or “the LORD said.”  He has not left us adrift and aimless about how to live in this world.  Do we routinely listen to what God has said in His Word or do we try to apply our wisdom to situations that we face?  Does Scripture shape the way we think and live?  Is Scripture simply an afterthought—or something we deploy as a way of backing up what we have already chosen to believe?  Good theology and lasting values always begin with God.  Why?  Because only God was in the beginning.  Just as His spoken Word produced the creation out of nothing, He continues to form, shape and direct His people by His Word today—the Word that we know as Scripture.  As you read the Bible, breathe into your mind and heart what God has said.  God’s written Word remains timeless for us as the lasting authority for all that we believe and cherish.  We hear God in His Word today—clearly, graciously and providentially.  Give thanks today that God has spoken.  And live out of your life what He has said and declared to be right, true and good.  Have a great Monday!