Genesis 1:1-2 Amplified Bible
The Creation
1 In the beginning God ([a]Elohim) [b]created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was [c]formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Beginnings are important. Backgrounds about characters in novels and movies help us see the start of situations that have helped shaped them. Sometimes we introduce ourselves by telling about our ancestors or about relevant events that have shaped our family history. We pray that we recognize that who we are has a lot to do with the array of situations, the diverse people who came before us.
We ourselves have no memory of our beginnings. Memories do not begin to take shape until we are 4 years old-mine is the memory of my mom making my bed.
However, God was there at our very beginning when we were conceived in the darkness inside our mother’s womb (Psalm 139) in greatest detail, weaving us together within that darkness into who and where we all are walking today.
Similarly, the Bible’s first words about the earth are that it was “formless and empty” and that indescribable “darkness was over the surface of the deep”—a poetic way of saying that the world did not exist before God started creating.
Have you ever been in a cave without any flash lights on? It can be so dark that you can’t see your hands even when you touch your nose. The Bible begins with a darkness that is deeper than that. It’s the deepest darkness the Bible writers could possibly imagine: the depths, empty darkness, of the world not existing.
As we begin our time through this Advent 2024, looking forward to the light of Jesus’ coming, there is something very comforting about the Bible’s beginning.
John 1:1-5 Amplified Bible
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. 2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. 3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. 4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
However heavy and impossible our current circumstances may feel, the Bible reminds us that our story begins with the God who creates life in the midst of the deepest darkness imaginable. In other words, with God there is always hope the light of our salvation is already there, has always been there, will always be there and there is nothing even the darkest of darkness can do to change that.
Contemplate the Darkness as it was in the beginning of all things before God spoke and Creation responded – How the darkness could do nothing about it.
Contemplate the Hope before God spoke creation into being, the hope that began to be revealed as creation responded and the hope which surged like biggest Tsunami we could ever conceive of in our finite minds that despite the greatest efforts of the darkness to overcome that surging hope, it did not work.
Even in the greatest darkness anyone could conceive today – God has long since proven that hope has existed from the very beginning, Jesus is alive, is eternal!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 19 Amplified Bible
The Works and the Word of God.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.
2
Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.
3
There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.
4
Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,
5
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6
The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 