Genesis: God of Creation: Session 5 - Paradise Lost

(These are my notes from Session 5, per Jen Wilkin)

Look at Genesis Chapter 3 in light of what we have seen in Chapters 1 and 2.

We've seen some big questions get answered:

• We can tell where everything came from
• We know that man was created to bring glory to God and announce the glory of God
• We've answered some "what-if" questions of who we are and why we're here

This session, we will answer another fundamental question: why is there sin and suffering.  What Chapter 3 is going to answer for us is how did everything get to be so broken.  

For the believer, there is another layer to this that is even more personal: why does our God allow sin and suffering?  There are important things to keep in mind as we consder this question:

• We do not mean to say, knowing that God has allowed evil, that evil is good.  In the sum total of things, it must be for God's good and our good or evil would not exist.  Let's place this in an eternal perspective so we can say "I don't understand how this can be something for God's glory, but"....
• We can trust God.  If God is who He says He is that His creation is good, we need to trust that it is good because He is good.  When we speak of a Sovreign God who allows evil and suffering, we have to always hold it in the tension of knowing that He is infinitely good.  This is not a question we can answer satisfactoritly at this time.  But because we trust God and affirm that He is good, one day we will look back on all of this and say "I see it now."

Take A Look at Genesis 3

Verse 1: God is referred to as Elohim, a personal God and a transcendent God. The serpent is meant to be understood as the devil (John 8:44) - "deceiving from the beginning".  

Let's pull apart what's going on in these verses.  Notice how the serpent makes his approach in verse 1:  "actually say" - in our venacular we would say "seriously? Are you kidding me right now?"

"Any tree": is this what God said?

What's the serpent doing here?  He's casting doubt on the truthfulness of God.  He's appealing to something he hopes is in the woman.

Verse 2: She brings it back around to what God really said "we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden."

Verse 3: Look what Eve does.  She said they should not touch the tree that is in the center of the garden.  Did God say this?  No.  What does this remind you of?  Eve is easing herself towards the forbidden thing with her words.  She overstates.  She adds to the words of God.  What next?  She said "don't touch it lest you die."  Did God say this?  No.  He said "lest you surely die."  

So first, she adds to what God has said and then diminishes what God has said.

Verse 4: "You shall not surely die."  The serpent knew.  He echoed the actual words of God.  What do we see here so far?

• Adding to the truth (Eve)
• Diminishing the truth (Eve)
• Flatly contradicting the truth (Serpent)

He waits until Eve has moved down this progression and comes out to say the opposite "you will not surely die."

Verse 5: The enemy is good at deception.  Is this statement true?  Will they become like God?  Well, sort of.  They are going to have an awareness of their own sin.  They are going to understand good and evil in a way they didn't before.  But, will they become like God?  No, because they're limited.

"For God knows" - what does the serpent imply?  He implies that God is withholding something good.  He plants seeds of doubt. 

What is Eve's response?  We will see this in verse 6.

Verse 6: Eve moves through what is for us as well a familiar process.  First she saw (eyes), desired, took, and then gave to eat.  We see here the common pattern of sin:

• I see it
• I want it
• I take it
• I eat it 

Notice how this works: it is an outside to inside pattern.  This is an anti-gospel.  We want to believe the lie that the external things can fix the internal us.  The gospel says the opposite.  The fruit is:

• Practical
• Beautiful
• Beneficial

These are the three highly desirable qualities of the fruit.  What's the problem?

• It is not necessary
• It is not allowed for her

Where did the problem begin?  When she looked at it (saw).  Eve did not start by wanting the fruit.  She started by looking at the fruit.  Desire is inflamed by seeing.  So, fix our eyes on worthier things.

What's Next

Not only does Eve reach for the fruit and eat it, but she's like "hey, Adam, try some."  This is what we do as well.  We spread our sin.  We recruit others to our sin pattern so we don't have to be alone.

Why is it when Eve hands Adam the fruit he doesn't say "God said we will surely die."  But, he takes it instead and eats it.  Because he watches Eve take the fruit, she bites it and she doesn't die. 

God is a liar, but is He? Because as soon as she takes the fruit, she is surely dying. Adam joins Eve in her sin.

Verse 7: It says that "immediately" they knew they were naked - shame comes walking into the garden.  What was the solution to their nakedness?  They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin clothes.

How do we cover our shame?  We sin, we feel the shame, we construct for ourselves flimsy garments of outward righteousness.

Verse 8: This is a tragic verse.  When they hear the "sound", they immediately know it's the Lord God.  The garden was the place that the Lord God was with them.  There's another meaning for this word "garden" - sanctuary.  The Lord God comes to walk in the sanctuary.  He is "God with them."  Their reponse now?  Hide.

Verse 9: Notice that when they hear God in the garden, they do not call to Him.  God initiates the dialogue by saying "where are you?"  Hold on, omniscient God already knows.  What is He doing?  He's drawing man into the dialogue for the purpose of drawing him to repentance.

This is His kindness.  He does the same thing with you.  When God gives us the opportunity to confess, let's meet Him with honesty.  

Verse 10:  Adam has learned from the serpent how to twist language in this verse.  

Verses 11-12:  "Who told you that you were naked?"  Look what Adam says in verse 12.  It looks like, at first, he is blaming Eve, but at closer glance, he is really blaming God "whom you gave to me."  James 1:13 tells us though that God does not tempt.

Verse 13: Eve blames the serpent.  Why doesn't the woman blame Adam?  Because she looks at the man and for the first time, she fears him.

Verses 14-15: There's no redemption for the serpent, no dialogue.  The serpent is doomed to the dust.  The dust where Adam came from.  "And dust you shall eat" literally means "you shall bite the dust."  The serpent is condemned to a life of humiliation and despair.  To eat dust is to know defeat.  Also says "I will put".  Where have we heard this elsewhere?  "Let there be".... God is actually creating something again here in the midst of this tragic scene.

There was already enmity coming from the serpent to the woman, but what is the new thing?  It's the enemity the woman will feel towards the serpent.  She will do everything she can to yield an offspring that will be his demise.  The gospel right here!  This is a prophecy of Christ.  It will be through the woman that the chosen seed comes.  Someone will be brought forth who will crush the serpent (satan).  This is called protoevangelium - the first gosepl. 

Verse 16: What He says to the woman is about so much more than pain in childbearing.  She is going to give birth to the first murderer.  To be a mother is to experience separations and agonies.

Where it was commanded that the two shall become one flesh, now her desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her.  They were created to co-labor; now there will be competition - adversarial relationship.

Verses 17-19: The problem is Adam listened to someone (Eve) instead of God.  He should have listened to the words of God.  His ability to joyfully work and keep the garden will now be subverted.

He came from dust, works the dust, and will return to the dust - pretty dismal.  

Verse 20: Look at Adam's response in this verse.  He then calls his wife "Eve" which means "life-giver", because she was the mother of all living.  What sticks in Adam's mind after all this?  That there is hope.  This woman is a life-giver and from her will come the One who will crush the head of the serpent.  He speaks a prophetic word of hope over Eve in the name he gives to her.

Verse 21: Where did these "garments of skin" come from?  Animals had to die.  Sacrifice of an innocent animal to cover the shame.  It is God who provides the first sacrifice, as it is God who will provide the final one.

Verse 22: God doesn't finish the sentence in this verse.  There's this pause where you can fill in the blank.  What is implied here?  Let him not be frozen in his current state by eating from the Tree of Life.  Let him not be trapped eternally in a state of sin.

Verse 23:  God sent Adam out from the garden (sanctuary) of Eden.  The sanctuary where there was peace and "God with us."

Verse 24: Heartbreaking that Adam and Eve must be driven from the garden.  What do we understand that they must be driven from the garden?  They understand exactly what they're losing.

God defends His holiness by having the Tree of Life guarded.  So a sanctuary guarded by Cherubim with flaming swords.  Does it sound like anything you have heard anywhere else?

When a tabernacle is commanded to be built in the desert, it is commanded that on the Eastern gate, Cherubim be worked into the curtains.  Also, in the curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, Cherubim again on the thick veil between them to shield them from the Shekinah glory *of God.

So what does Christ do when He comes?

"New Adam".
The NT speaks of Him in Romans 5:12-18 as the  one who comes to do what the first Adam could not do.

The first Adam gives physical life to the human race.  The second Adam gives eternal life to the human race.

The first Adam was given dominion over the earth.  The second Adam is given dominion over all things.

The first Adam is given a bride after being put into a deep sleep and brought back to wakefulness.  The second Adam is laid in the ground with a sleep of death and is raised to life and given the bride of the Church.

The first Adam endures a piviotal testing and he fails.  The second Adam endures a pivotal testing and is perfectly obedient to death on a cross.

In Both Stories

We see a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  For surely at no other place and time was the knowledge of good and evil more purely displayed than on a hill on a cross.

It was the tree that separated us from the presence of God, and it is a tree that restores us to the presence of God.

The curtain is torn at the second Adam's death (Jesus) - top to bottom.  The Cherubim no longer guard the way to the presence of God.  We are ushered once again into the presence of God.  

Revelation 22:1-3 shows us a picture of the new heavens and new earth.  John is being given a tour by an angel.

The gates of the New Jerusalem are being thrown wide to us because of the finished work of Christ.  We live in the "already but not yet".  We already enjoy some of the fruits of being made whole by the Holy Spirit and also knowing that we still war with sin.

Think About This
The first Adam inhales the breath of God.  The NT tells us that the second Adam (Jesus) exhales the Spirit of God.  The Spirit now dwells in us because with His dying breath He made that possible.

We should live with an eye toward Eden returning to earth.  With an eye toward once again inhabiting the sanctuary that Adam and Eve only know to value as they were being driven from it.

*Shekinah Glory

Shekinah glory is a visible manifestation of God on earth whose presence is portrayed through a natural occurrence.  The Shekinah is a Hebrew name meaning - dwelling or who dwells.  Shekinah glory means "He caused to dwell", referring to the Divine presence of God.

Next Session:  Session 6 Cain and Abel

Genesis: God of Creation: Session 4 "Created in the Image of God

(These are my notes from this session)

From last week in session 3, it was said that the creation account was trying to answer two questions for us:

• Who created
• Why did God create

It was said that God created all things for His glory.  We saw last week at the end of Day 6, the man and woman being created - created in the image of God.

This was a new thing in relation to everything else God had created.  To be created in the image of God is to reflect who God is.  How do we reflect who God is?  In the way that we interact with the rest of creation, we interact with it the way God would have if He were here.

In the person of Christ, God did enter into creation in a body; so when we speak of being image bearers, what we are saying is we should look like Christ.

Three Things in Genesis 1 Creation Account

Regarding the man and the woman, there were three things to see:

• When God created them, He gave dominion to both the man and the woman.  They bore equal responsibility
• They are also equal image bearers.  It means that both man and woman are necessary for the image of God to be demonstrated to the world.  They are both necessary for dominion to occur.
• God gives equal blessing to the man and the woman

What's Next? Chapter 2

In Genesis 2:4 we sort of get a deja vu here.  What's happening?  The clue in the text is this "these are the generations."  This now introduces a new section of the text.

Moses starting with this phrase means he's going to tell you something in addition to or to follow up on what he's told you before.  This is "what's next."

A good student of the Bible should ask: "how do I connect what came before to where I am now?"  These texts take on deeper meaning when we read them in the context of what we've already seen in the chapter that's preceded.

Is he actually repeating in Chapter 2 what he told us in Chapter 1?  No.  It's a much more narrow focus.  He has zoomed in.  We're going to get a close up of a particular aspect of the creation narrative.

The focus here in Chapter 2 shifts to humans, although the focus is also still on God.  It's less poetic and less repetitive.

What We Can Learn

The first thing we need to see is in verse 4.  God is referred to in a way He was not referred to in Chapter 1.  In Chapter 1, He was simply called "Elohim" - God Almighty.  In Chapter 2, He's now called "LORD God" - Yahweh (personal title). 

God now is seen for us not just as a transcendent God on high (Chapter 1) but now as the God who is near and personal.

Matthew 6:9 the Lord's Prayer "our Father who art in heaven", encapsulates this idea.  It's important for us to remember:

• God is both transcendent and
• Personal

We have to see Him as both and we need Him as both.  The God we meet in Chapter 2 is the God on high and also a personal God.

Verse 5-6

It's a time reference.  Rain is not a thing at this point.

Verse 7

Man is created from the dust whereas in Chapter 1 it says he was created in the image of God (a more exalted view).  Man is combination of that which is sacred and that which is low.  The word for man is "Adam."  The word for dust is "adamah".  The word for breath is "ruah".  The same word used in Chapter 1 for "Spirit of God was hovering."

Jen asked us to look at the picture here:

• Man formed out of the dust - what is common and low
• God then Himself breathes into his nostrils

We see the gesture here of giving life that is so intimate.  God could have spoke life into man, but He didn't.  He exhaled into man and brought life.

Verses 8-9

Notice where the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil are placed:  in the middle.  These names are typological.  Why? Because they demonstrate God's Sovereign right to decree who has life and to decree what is right and what is wrong.  God determines morality and gives life as He chooses.

They are set at the center of the garden because they should be the central consideration of the garden's inhabitants.

Notice: "The Lord God planted a garden in Eden" (verse 8).  Garden here translates to "protected area."  The word Eden means "delight."  

So, the LORD God plants a protected area of delight.  He planted it in the East - relative to where Mt. Siani is.  How does this transmit to Moses' original audience? They had been in the desert for 40 years, breathing in sand, wondering when provision would come etc.  This was something they were longing for.

More Specifics - Verses 10-14

When we hear these rivers, Jen said we get a bit thrown off.  Moses is telling them locations that are familiar to them.  Why?  Because he wants them to understand - this is a real place.  This did happen.

Verses 15-17

Remember these words - "you shall surely die."  This will be important when we get into our chapter next week.  He tells them:

• Don't eat of the tree
• A certainty will occur to you
• You will die

So man is:

• In a protected garden
• He is to work and keep it (understand that Eden was a place where work was given to man as in Gen. 1:28
• Be fruitful
• Multiply
• Subdue
• Have dominion

Verse 18

What did we see last week?  "It was good" over and over again.  All of a sudden we have introduced "not good."  The word helper here means "necessary, alli, indespensable".  This word helper is used elsewhere in the OT speaking of God Himself helping His people in times of great need.  What the woman is going to bring to the table will be essential and indespensable.

Verses 19-20

Wouldn't you think that in verse 19 God would then put the man to sleep, take the rib and make woman?  But that's not what He does.

What does He do instead?  

He brought the animals to Adam to name them.  What is He doing?

• He is bringing order out of chaos
• He is fulfilling the cultural mandate
• He is exercising dominion

What do you think is the subtext that is running through Adam's mind at this point?  "Not like me."  "There was not found a helper fit for him." 

Verses 21-22

What happens?  Woman is made.

Verse 23

Look at Adam's response.  The word "woman" (E-sha) - because she was taken out of man (E-shish).  Sounds relatively the same.  He's saying "this is at last same of my same.  She shall be called like me because she came from me."  Men and women share so many things in common.

The first thing Adam had to say was "this one's like me."  When we begin to separate men and women, there comes this contempt that lives between us.  Our sacred text is saying something extremely different.  It says: men and women are created in the image of God, by the same God, in the garden.

Note

When Adam says "she shall be called woman", he is doing what he's done elsewhere - he's classifying her, placing her in the same "class" as himself.

Verses 24-25

Think about the significance of verse 24: "they shall become one flesh."  Why is this an important idea to hold on to?  Look at Ephesians 5:22-23 where it talks about the relationship between Christ and the Church - it draws an analogy to marriage.  Christ cares for the spiritual body of the Church, and He then parallels how husbands are to interact with their wives: care for them as their own bodies - or flesh, nourish and cherish it.

The husband is to regard his wife as his own flesh - "flesh of my flesh; bone of my bone."  

Another important thing there happens in verse 25 - naked and not ashamed.  A picture of:

• Innocence
• Vulnerability

We have a Bible that starts with Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and says this is how it should have been and this is how it will be one day (Revelation 21).

For Us

As believers, we are inviting "Eden" into our current experience and saying to others "there was once a protected area of delight and let me just give you a snapshot of what it might be like."

We go forward everyday doing our work and knowing that whatever we do, we work at it as unto the Lord.

All work is good work when it's done to the glory of God.

Next Session: Session 5 "Paradise Lost"

Wives: Five Essential Ingredients for Your Marriage

Whether you are thinking about marriage, engaged, just married or have been married for some time, these 5 ingredients are essential.

I had a young women say to me recemtly, "but he's not doing what I expected when we got married.  We went through pre-marital counseling and agreed on these things", and then verbally listing those things to me.  I listened to her vent and cry.  In this situation, you don't want to list things back to her that she should be doing as well.  You just listen at this point - that's what a woman wants.  Don't try to fix it.

After the venting and crying, she said she felt better and like a weight had been lifted off of her.  I said this "affirm him in what he's already doing."

You see, marriage is two unlike people coming together from different backgrounds, life experiences, and upbringing.  A marrying together of these things does take work - add into that mix a male and female (which I believe marriage should be as in Genesis) which are two different "cultures" in themselves with regard to communication, emotions and thinking, you have a work in progress.

Here are my 5 top things:

Let go of your expectations.  Who he was before you married him will be who he is when you marry him.  Only God has the right to change your mate - not you.  If you lay down a list of expectations after you're married, look for him to pull back, get defensive and not communicate with you.  If he's not taking charge of something, seems to lack motivation in certain areas, agreed to things before you were married but now has no follow-through, affirm what he is already doing.  

Give him affirmation.  In the case of this young woman, she hadn't thought of doing that.  She is a task-oriented woman.  Follow-through is important to her.  Lists are important to her.  She's been a single mom for over 5 years and had to follow-through, make lists, take all responsibility for herself and her daughter.  He had been single, never married, no children.  He's still working on being a husband and a dad too.  Guys need to be emotionally supported and encouraged.  They need you to recognize what they have done.  This goes a long way. Sincerely do this.  My advice was: do for him what you want him to do for you. "You go first" is what I'm saying.  Hmmm...seems like that's somewhere in the Bible right?

Learn your husband.  What does that mean?  Study him.  Learn his dislikes, likes, moods, body language, the way he communicates.  My husband and I did this with our girls but also between us.  It's not too late even if you've been married for a while.  You might say "that's too much work".  Yes, it is work.  Marriage is work.  Successful and healthy marriages don't just happen.

Don't make "to-do" lists for him. What?  I did this with my husband.  Guess what?  Didn't like it.  He felt like a servant doing his master's bidding.  If there are things you want done, sit down with your husband and make a list together.  Did you notice the words "with" and "together?"  That's the key.  This is what we do now.  I also have my to-do list just for what I need to do on my own. My husband loves to make a big deal of checking jobs off his list that we made together.  I enjoy making the list together.

Step into your husband's world.  As women, we can be quite selfish.  We want our husband to understand us and communicate like we do.  We want them to always step into our "women world" but have we ever stepped into theirs?  Men do not communicate like women.  We share all of our emotions in a matter of minutes - highs and lows. Men do not. They open up while doing something, so do something with him: walk, work on a project together, take a drive and explore, do what interests him.  You'll be surprised!

That's my five.  There is a lot more to be sure.  This is what I have discovered in my 42 years of marriage.

Genesis: God of Creation: Session 3 "Six Days and a Rest"

These are my notes from Session 3 of "God of Creation" by Jen Wilkin.

If you haven't purchased the workbook, you need to.  So much is explained further in the workbook that accompanies this series.

Notes:

The account was primarily concerned with asking two questions, Jen says:

• Who created
• Why He created

The question that we usually ask though is: the how.  Jen's purpose is to honor the text and what the text is saying to us, and to answer the questions the text is wanting us to ask.

We saw:

• That God alone created
• He created for His glory
• His creation was an orderly work

Why do you think Moses spent so much time repeating the formula found in Genesis 1:3-31?

We find there is:

• Command ("let there be")
• Report (of what was created)
• Assessment ("and it was good")
• A statement of dominion
• A time marker

These are some of the repetitive statements Jen gives us:

• And God said, let there be
• And it was so
• And it was good
• And God called

To answer the previous questions, Jen says we need to look at the original audience.  They did not have a copy of the text like we do today.

"It's going to be read to a group of people who need to remember it", Jen states.

Another reason for the high-level of repetition, she says, is "because of what the text is trying to say: trying to give us order in which everything was done."  This text has a very specific shape.  God is the subject of the creation narrative 35 times.

In Genesis 1:2, the NIV reads that it was "formless and empty."  These two things are remedied in this creation account.  God is going to bring:

• Form
• And fullness

Jen asks this: "why is the spirit hovering?"  "The spirit is eagerly anticipating, waiting for the signal, waiting for God to speak, so the spirit can do what the spirit does."

The spirit gives life.

So the "spirit hovering is waiting to breathe life into God's created act."

Day 1 Genesis 1:3-5

The repetition we will continue to see is "and it was good."  What is that truly saying - this pronouncement of goodness on every day of creation?  Jen says it means perfect, complete.  With human creativity, Jen states, there's a sense in us that it's never done, never complete, never good enough.  When God speaks that it's good over His creation, then it is exactly as He had intended.  It's complete.

In verse 4, we see that God is a God who separates.  This is His first act of separation.

Going on to verse 5, He "called".  When He calls, He is exercising dominion over it, taking responsbility for it.  Think about the order of this - God creating order out of chaos (He is good at that).

Another question Jen asks is "why does Moses say evening first before morning?  Because the audience is Jews - because their day begins at sundown.

Day 2 Genesis 1:6-8

What is going on in these verses?  Moses is talking about the atmosphere being established - the clouds:

• Water is in the sky
• Water is in the ocean

The heaven used here is not the heaven where God dwells - it means the sky.

Day 3 Genesis 1:9-13

Once again, an act of separation - separating water from land.  God gives form to the earth and vegetation on day 3.

Day 4 Genesis 1:14-19

There is another act of separation.  The question Jen asks is: "why doesn't Moses just say "the sun" (greater light) and "moon" (lesser light) in this passage?  Think about the original audience.  They had just come out of Egypt where the principle deities are the sun god and the moon goddess.  He's making a statement about who is truly God.  

Why were the son and moon worshiped?  They were believed to bring about fertility in the harvest cycle.

The way this is laid out is saying "my people who follow me, listen, the Egyptians gods work for me". This is a statement against idolatry regarding the sun and moon (God owns it).

In summary, regarding what God has given form to is:

• The heavens - light
• The seas, sky
• The earth

Now, He's going to give fullness to those particular kingdoms mentioned above.  To the heavens by populating the heavens (light) with the luminaries (sun, moon, stars).

Day 5 Genesis 1:20-23

God gives fullness by populating the sea and the expanse with birds and fish.

Day 6 Genesis 1:24-26

What just happened?  There has been a rhythmic, repetitive text all along until day 6 and the pattern breaks.  The rhythm shifts.  Pay attention because something new is happening.

It changes from "God said" and "let there be" to "and let us" make man in our image.  Jen states that nothing given the creation account has been given this level of attention.  "It's still talking about God and how humans are created in some unique way to reflect God" - nothing else in creation does.

They are to be given dominion (responsibility) as well over all that's been created - a call to stewardship, Jen states.

In verse 27, it breaks into poetry (you can read this).  This is in triade form - saying the same thing three different ways.

Read Genesis 1:28-31

God grants fullness by populating the earth with land animals and humans.  Jen asks us to look at the shape of the text.  It makes a picture:

• Three days of giving form
• Three days of giving corresponding fullness

Day 7 Genesis 2:1-2

He then separates a day of creation for a day of rest.  Notice the word "finished" (also read Matthew 11:28-29).  The question posed was this "when does Jesus Christ establish soul rest for you and me?"  When He hangs on the cross and says "it is finished" (John 19:30).

Read Genesis 2:2b-3

God does not grow weary.  He didn't need to rest.  So why the day of rest?  Look at the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:8-11).  The commandment having to do with sabbath is much longer.  God set up this pattern.  Why?  Because that is the way we worship God.  We cease from working to remind us who is in charge - it's not us!

Sabbath rest is the "ceasing of labor for the purpose of actively devoting ourselves to the joyful task of worship - our true calling."

We are to remember the sabbath as well (4th commandment).  Why?  Because we are prone to forget.

Jen states that there's more going on here than "the cosmos coming to be."

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  Paul uses new creation specifically.  We looked at 1 Peter 2:9-10 where it says "we were called out of darkness (formless) into His marvelous light (fullness)."

Jen gave many scriptures in the NT relating back to Genesis with words such as new creation, separate, fruitfulness, multiplying, being created in His image, ruling and subduing, finding rest" (all related to the creation story).

Notice on day 7 that the text does not end "and there was evening and there was morning" because the sabbath rest for us will go on into eternity.  It will not end.

Lastly, "just as God finished the work of the first creation, He will finish the work of the new creation."

He will be faithful to finish the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6).

Next: Session 4 "Created in the Image of God" Genesis 2:4-25

Colossians Chapter 1 Summary Notes

These notes that I am sharing are my summary notes from reading Colossians chapter one.

Chapter One
Paul is an apostle by God's will and nobody else's will.  He's writing this letter to the faithful believers at Colossae.

Paul and Timothy are thankful when they pray for these believers in Colassae because of two things:

• Their faith in Christ Jesus
• The love they have for all the saints

The gospel that these believers heard has grown among them and all over the world as well.

Ephapras was the one who brought the gospel to them and also the one who told Paul and Timothy what was happening in Colossae.

Because of what they heard about this believing church, Paul and Timothy constantly are praying for them.  What are they praying though?

• That they will be filled with the knowledge of God's will
• Praying for wisdom and spiritual understanding to accompany this knowledge

What's the reason they are praying for this?  So that:

• They may walk worthy of the Lord
• They may fully please the Lord
• They may bear fruit in every good work
• They may grow in the knowledge of God

He also continues to pray:  (Can you see that Paul and Timothy are prayer warriors?)

• They may be strengthened with all power
• Prays for all endurance
• Prays for all patience
• Prays that with joy they will give thanks to the Father

Thanking the Father for what?

• Enabling them to share in the saints inheritance in the light
• Rescuing them from the domain of darkness
• Transferring them into the Kingdom of the Son 
• For redemption
• For the forgiveness of sins

He then begins to share about who Christ is:

• The image of the invisible God
• The first-born of all creation
• All things were created by Him
• He was before all things
• In Him all things hold together
• He's the head of the body
• He's the head of the church
• He's the beginning
• He's the first-born of the dead
• He's pre-eminent
• All the fullness of God dwells in Him
• Peace was made by Him through the cross with His blood

We have been reconciled because of Christ's death.  We were once alienated and hostile, doing evil works.  But why would He reconcile us? To present us holy, blameless and above reproach.  This is love!

But there is an IF here as well regarding being presented holy, blameless and above reproach.  IF:

• We continue in the faith
• We remain stable
• We remain steadfast
• We don't shift from the hope we have because of the gospel we have heard

Paul rejoices in his sufferings (many of us don't like this part).  For whose sake does he rejoice in his sufferings?

The Colossae believers sake.  He became a minister to make the gospel fully known.  If he has to suffer for doing this - he will.

What is the glory of this mystery Paul talks about?  "Christ in you, the hope of glory".

Paul:

• Proclaims Christ
• Warns
• Teaches with wisdom
• Toils
• Struggles but with God's energy which powerfully works in him

Paul is a true Apostle!

Next: Colossians 2

Erin Corbin Story

My abusive marriage ended in 1989, after he filed for divorce.

Moving back into my mom’s house after this, I turned away from Christ.  Hanging out at the neighborhood bar on the west side of Flint, I began connecting with people that I knew from high school - people who were familiar. 

This led me down a path I never imagined.  

Eventually starting a relationship, I began to see him regularly.  This unfortunate connection soon brought an unexpected event – pregnancy. 

Absolute panic washed over me with a violent force.  I thought, “what do I do now?”  My mind whirled, drowning me in a sea of regret and landing me in an abortion clinic.

The father of the child I was carrying was already pursuing another relationship.  I knew I had to tell him. He was completely surprised, but agreed with my decision for an abortion and offered to pay half.

With the appointment made on the recommendation of Planned Parenthood, I entered the abortion clinic by myself to terminate the six-week pregnancy. My thought was “let’s just do this and get it over with.”

After the procedure, I walked out of the clinic relieved that it was over.  Not wanting to face the grief that entered my life that day, I kept this a secret buried deep within my heart.  I suffered in silence, wrapped in a cloak of shame. 

After this devastation in my life, I made the decision to return to college and finish the dental hygiene program, graduating and being licensed in 1992.  Grief and shame were still tucked away in my soul.

During this college program, I began a relationship which lasted six years.  Being in a relationship seemed to be my answer when I felt lonely, afraid or needy.

Still haunting me in the back of my mind was the knowledge that I needed to return to God, surrender my life completely and stop running.  My question was “how do I do this?” 

My journey back to God began one day as I watched a program by T.D. Jakes.  He talked about getting out of our comfort zone.  My comfort zone was being in relationships.  I knew this was for me, and I began my journey back to the Lord walking away from this man.  I returned to the One who had always loved me with the love I was seeking.

Upon my return to God, I started attending a church called New Community Church.  Still not aware that I needed some type of therapy from having the abortion several years later, I struggled in my Christian walk. 

Shame and grief not dealt with can paralyze us from moving forward to healing and purpose.  These feelings were so deeply rooted in the caverns of my soul, but I was still unaware and a mild depression began to set in.

I had no idea that these symptoms were related to my previous abortion.  Hadn’t I put that behind me and tried to forget? But this was the very thing that was holding me back from moving forward in my Christian walk.  Something had to be done.   I made the decision right then to stop living in the shadows of my past and start living in the light of my Savior.

I believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit was prompting me to deal with this.  This confirmation came when I stumbled upon a ministry called Rachel’s Vineyard - a ministry for women who have had abortions.

My weekend retreat of healing was soon to begin.

A Catholic social worker began Rachel’s Vineyard.  Having counseled numerous women who had abortions, she noticed a common denominator: Most of the women she talked to had problems with depression.   Realizing this, the Lord led her to create the ministry Rachel’s Vineyard.

I had just started seeing Jim, who is my husband now, when I went to this weekend retreat in the mid 2000’s.

God’s Spirit was all over that weekend.  I was taken through steps of praying and had help processing what happened - processing my grief and mourning this loss, something that I had never done. 

Wave upon wave of emotion pounded onto the soft shore of my heart.

The Holy Spirit was bringing healing.

The weekend culminated in a memorial service where we received a birth certificate having had the opportunity to name our baby.  It was a way of making it tangible, helping me to unleash my bottled up grief and shame.  The symbolism of this service was powerful.

Freedom came

Through this retreat, God brought to me a soul-cleansing, spirit-led release.  I was able to release this child to God, and He healed the under currents of depression and my hidden grief and shame.  I prayed for forgiveness not only for what I had done but also forgiveness for myself - many times women cannot forgive themselves.

The guilt and shame that had paralyzed and overpowered my life was gone.

When I think about my abortion experience now, it is with hope:  The hope of seeing my little one again in heaven.

God is a God who forgives and a God who heals.

My Thoughts

If you are living with the pain of abortion, please let God help you.  He will heal.

Maybe some of the problems you are experiencing emotionally or even physically might have its root in having had an abortion.  God can heal.

If you are considering an abortion, think clearly about the consequences.  For those who have had abortions and never dealt with the trauma, or are still grieving the loss and shame, get some good Christian counseling.  There are services available.  Talk about it and relinquish the bottled up pain.

As we all know, life shows up in unexpected ways but God has a way of redeeming those situations in our life. 

I praise God that he opened the door and gave me the awareness that I needed help.  I praise God for the retreat that brought hope back into my life and healed my pain.

If you need healing from the pain of an abortion, please visit the link below:

Rachel’s Vineyard:    http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/

Erin Corbin

Interviewed, written & edited by Sharon Garner

Diane Breckenridge Story

My 10-year promise to God had been broken.  In breaking the promise, I was unaware of the ramifications it would ignite.     

After a two year involvement with a man, I made a promise to God that I would not get tangled up in anymore dating relationships.  I needed to concentrate on raising my kids, Courtney and Nick. 

With this promise made, I raised my children and had a blast.  During this time, I started a ministry called “Renewed Hope” to reach out to women who had been abused.  Things were going well.

Unfortunately, this was not to last.  

My promise fell apart in September of 2009 when I met Rodney.  I knew he had some issues, but I was not fully aware, as yet, of how deep those issues went.

At this time, Courtney was in college and Nick had graduated from high school.  I had nothing to do anymore, thinking, “nobody needs me”.  Since Rodney said he was a Christian, I thought, “Okay God, this must be for me.” I literally talked myself into believing that this was right—that God had sent him to me.  I even allowed him to move into my home.  I should have gotten a clue when my son moved out to live with another family, but I didn’t.

With Rodney living in my house, I soon became aware that he was addicted to crack.  Because of who I am, I tried to help him, but the wrong way.  It’s never a good idea to try to be someone’s Savior.   

Christmas of that same year found me in a state of depression. Since allowing him to move in, the Holy Spirit was convicting me big time, and my children intervened.  They “kidnapped” me—taking me to my church to see one of my pastors.  His response: “We’ve got to get him out of your house”.  Eventually, he did leave, ending this disastrous relationship that had lasted close to four years.  My son then returned home.

When I look back on this

I realize I had no idea the hurt my children endured, especially my son.  I was all they had growing up.    

I became immersed in shame, and began surrendering  to my thoughts thinking, “I fell at church, fell at work, and hurt my children, now it’s all hitting me.”

Filled with regret, and repeatedly getting hit with thoughts of unworthiness, I began to push people out of my life.  Overwhelmed with feelings of shame, I began to have problems with my hip.

Freedom One Sunday Morning

It came to a head one Sunday morning at church in April of 2013, when I went up for prayer for my hips.  “You’ve got to pray for my hips.  I’m sick of this pain and being on pain meds”, I said to my friend Marvin.  Marvin prayed for me, but also said, “Diane, I’ve got to tell you something. God says he wants to do a great work through you, and he’s going to heal your pain, but first he has to heal your emotional pain”, so Marvin prayed for me.

This was the beginning of my life being changed forever in April of 2013.  The change continued during a sermon series Pastor Bruce had started on embracing God’s love. He stressed how our sins have been forgiven as far as the east is from the west, even explaining that north and south have an end point, but east and west do not. I thought “Wow! That’s it! God you’ve forgiven me”.

God's Continued Work

During the next few months, God continued to work in me, and Thanksgiving morning of 2013, while at the gym, my freedom came.  God spoke to me as I exercised and sang songs from my iPod.  While praising God and sobbing, He spoke to me the word “shame” and said, “it’s going to kill you.  This is what you’ve got to let go of and the unworthiness”.  As the songs played and with my eyes closed, I saw visions of chains breaking off of me. The Holy Spirit kept saying “name your chains.” So I named my chains—unworthiness and shame.  God was definitely getting my attention as the songs continued playing:  “He Knows My Name” and “Moving Forward”. 

I learned something about myself through all this, and it has changed me.  I now like me.  I laugh more, have my joy back, I’m more obedient to God and I have hope.  Oh yes, and the pain in my hips is gone.  I have been set free. 

My ministry “Renewed Hope” is restarted after many road blocks and detours. This difficult time has taught me I cannot do anything without God, and if I don’t listen to him, my life can become a chaotic mess.  I have learned that even at my worst, God will use me to witness to other people.

Now, I know God loves me unconditionally.  

He has brought me out of feeling shameful and unworthy.  I am convinced He did everything possible to get my attention until He just took me to the end.  It’s as if He said, “Okay Diane, you’ve got everybody out of your life now, except me.”  If God tried that hard to hang onto me and never gave up on me, He must really want something from me.  You don’t serve God because you’re trying to get in with Him.  You serve Him because of what He’s already done for you.  Why wouldn’t you want to?

I think my heart is more compassionate now.  And because of what I’ve been through, I’ve had more opportunities to talk about shame and how it can cripple you.

The darkness isn’t there anymore and the unfilled emptiness is gone.  I can now worship freely again. God has used this experience to mold and shape me because He wants me to lean on Him alone.

Written by Sharon Garner

Interviewing Diane Breckenridge

Sue Drake Story

These past few years have been quite stressful.  I thought a few months of sick leave would relieve the horrible pain that consumed my every moment, and then, I could once again handle the stresses of my job.  But I needed relief from the anxiety that was threatening to push me over the edge of no return.

But the sick leave did not work as I had hoped. 

Instead, I experienced increased pain and stress, and I was unable to return to work.  Now I’m on narcotic medications in an attempt to bring some relief to my physical pain, and I still deal with stress that goes along with losing a pretty decent paying job.

I had fallen into an abyss where I could see no hope, but God blessed me with a few trusted dear friends who would hope for me when I couldn’t.

My physical problems started at birth. 

I was born with a rare, degenerative bone and joint birth defect that has resulted in over a dozen surgeries and multiple injuries, and now the diagnosis of severe fibromyalgia on top of it.  I live every day in chronic pain, and cannot remember what it is to be pain-free.

As I grew, I allowed these defects, abnormalities, and pain to cause wrong thinking about myself.  I began to think of myself as defective.  I already had seen myself as different as a consequence of dealing with this all of my life, and that came with emotional pain.  Adding to this, a marriage to a man who rejected me and was emotionally and verbally abusive only caused more messed up thinking about who I was.  This accelerated beyond my control.  I took on the identity of a failure, a loser, and undesirable.  Thank God that I sought counseling, for I honestly believe I would not be here today if I had not done so.  She literally saved my life.

Life seemed so much easier when I kept hidden the deep pain of my soul: the raw and bleeding hurts, rejections, abuses.  Nevertheless, I began to share a little here and there with my closest friends, but because of the fear of rejection and deception by the enemy, I kept the worst of my pain inside.

Then one day my world crumbled all around me. 

I realized that the healing that I needed when I first went on sick leave was not happening.  My mom had to have chemotherapy after having a mastectomy a few months before, and then months of radiation.  My nephew, who was only 22, was killed in an accident during this time, adding grief and sorrow to my feelings of failure and rejection. A month later, my boss, who was one of my dearest friends, died suddenly. I broke down. I lay in bed staring at the four walls, not wanting to get up, just wanting to sleep. 

“Would there ever be an end to all of this?” I thought.  It was hard enough when you’re strong, but I was in a fragile place, and just wanted to disappear.

I know that God is with me and can heal my unrelenting pain. 

I never doubted that through all of this.  But there have definitely been times where I have wondered where He was and why I have had to go through this.  I am not talking about a desert experience; I am talking about a death experience.  A death of who I was, who I thought I would be.

I’ve realized that I have a choice of who I want to be.  I don’t have a choice when it comes to my physical difficulties.  There is no medical cure.  There is no hope physically when you have a disease that causes degeneration of your bones and joints.  I will live in pain, but always praying for the day when God will completely heal me.  Fatigue will overwhelm me at times.  I will no longer be able to function athletically as I once did.  My emotions will be affected and mentally I will deal with loss of concentration and memory due to the intense pain.

However, I do have a choice to live or die—to live physically, emotionally and mentally. I may have no control in the natural, but I do have a choice whether I allow God to use me the way I am or just survive.  As far as my choices go, I know that I may not always make the right ones.  I will have seasons where I’m angry, discouraged and want to give up.  But there are also those times when I lay all of that aside and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in my life, to use me as He chooses.  I wish that I could say I am brave and strong and have “super human” abilities that cause me to never have bad days, days of self pity, but I’m human.  I live in a body that, at times, screams and cries out in pain and mental anguish.  But in the midst of the unrelenting pain, I still trust in Him who made me, in Him who can heal me.

I’m trusting the Lord for direction for healing of my physical body. I do have a peace that He is going to see me through this, but having no clue what tomorrow will bring.  I know that God can make a way where there seems to be no way.  I just have to trust and quit trying to figure it out for Him. 

My prayer is this:

Lord, help me to trust, help me to lay my frustrations, my worries down.  I don’t want to have an emotional relapse.  I need your strength, mine is gone.  Yours is better anyhow.  Thank you for the foundation that you have laid in me so many years ago and continue to build, mend, and repair.  Because of your foundation under my feet, I can express to you my insecurities, my anguish, my fears, my emotional and mental pain. You know my heart, I’m trusting that you will not let my feet stumble.  I am still trusting that one day I will be made completely whole.  I will not give up.

Edited by Sharon Garner

Taken from Sue Drake's Journal Writings 

Laura Rodriguez Story

Sheer panic swept into every cell of my body. “I’m pregnant?” I never imagined this would happen.  

Visiting Planned Parenthood with a friend, I received a pregnancy test finding out I was six weeks pregnant.  

Walking out the door, a numbing feeling of dread crept slowly into my heart.  How was I going to face the reality of a positive pregnancy test at the immature age of 17?

Drowning in regret, panic and uncertainty, the weight of emotion was so heavy that I could scarcely draw a breath.

I had allowed myself to walk away from my Christian upbringing and put God on the back burner of my life - letting my guard down and now facing a decision that could impact the rest of my life.

Having relayed this news to my boyfriend Rudy, with knots in my stomach, I finally got the courage to break this news to my parents. The devastation they felt I will never forget.  The decision was placed on my shoulders.  I had a choice to make.

My Decision

Feeling overwhelmed and thinking “I’m a Junior in High School. How can I do this in front of everyone”? I made the decision to get an abortion.

The easiest option. 

The option that would make it all go away.

Receiving a list of abortion clinics from Planned Parenthood, when I had my pregnancy test, I made an appointment with a clinic in Detroit.  Planned Parenthood in Flint, at the time of my test, gave me absolutely no counseling or other options. 

I surrendered to the wrong notion that abortion was the only logical choice. I was afraid, young and ignorant and not in a right relationship with God.

Hesitantly believing the lies the enemy spoke through the voices of those employed at the clinic, I made the appointment with a clinic in Detroit to have my abortion.

When the dreaded day of the appointment arrived, my parents drove me to the Detroit clinic to end my child’s life.

Walking into the waiting room, I found it full of women and young girls waiting to abort their baby.  Women who were married and already had children, stating they didn’t want more.  It was a surreal feeling – waiting to end a life.

I was herded from the waiting room into another room, and yet another room, with no ultrasound, counseling or options afforded to me.

The young woman taking my blood pressure would not look me in the eyes, but kept up a light conversation with another employee. Noticing she was married and pregnant, I thought, “you don’t care about me at all”, and wondering how she could do this while being pregnant herself.

Once it was over, I had pain and discomfort but also thinking, “okay, it’s done.  It’s over.  I can now put this behind me.”  Relief came, but it would soon raise its ugly head again eight years later.

Leaving the clinic, the only words spoken to me were: “here are some birth control pills.  We’ll get you started so you don’t have to go through this again.”

From this point on, my parents made it very clear to me they did not want Rudy or I seeing each other for a time.  I was raised in a Christian home with Christian values.  Rudy was not a believer.  I knew what was right but chose to resist the tug of the Holy Spirit.

I had no idea how far down I had pushed the reality of my abortion.  It was never discussed.  No one wanted to remember that horrible event.

After a period of time, Rudy and I were able to see each other again.  But once promiscuity starts, it’s hard to stop.

We eventually married when I was 19 and Rudy was 24.  I would soon come to realize how my soul had been suffering for 8 years after my abortion.

When Rudy and I were thinking about starting a family, the issue of my abortion rose up inside me once again.  I became very angry - angry with a society that would feed the lie of abortion so blatantly to young girls and women.  I became very militant against abortion and had to find an outlet for this anger.  I spent one year counseling at the Answer Center for Women, confronting girls and women who were contemplating abortion or had already had one. I had not yet realized my own need for healing.

My Healing

My healing came one night when I was lying in bed praying a generic prayer over our extended families.  Rudy was working a late shift.

I felt a hand on my back so powerful, that I turned around and thought somebody was in the room.  God spoke to me “I want you to go back and remember everything.  I want you to remember from the time you found out to everything you experienced because I have a healing for you.” 

I thought I had dealt with my abortion by asking forgiveness, doing counseling and fighting abortion.  I needed healing?  Just look at the mercy of God that He would come to me and speak of my need for healing. I was forced to confront my past and healing came that night. God unearthed the deeply rooted shame hidden in the caverns of my soul.

Praise God for that day when His presence burst into my life so powerfully, so unexpectedly to bring healing and crush the lies of the enemy beneath His Sovereignty.

My Passion

                                               

I have no doubt now that God welcomed my precious unborn baby into His arms that day.  My passion is for the girls and women who think abortion is the answer because society says, “it’s okay.” It’s a devastation you cannot get over on your own.  You can heal and go on, but you will never forget.

In the many years that have passed since my abortion, I have become an advocate for the unborn child, an advocate to express to young girls and women that abortion is not the answer.

The Ending

God completed His work of healing in my life that night.

After I had my second child, Emily, I had a miscarriage.  I named my miscarried baby and also at that time, I named my aborted baby. 

I know there is a baby waiting for me in Heaven – the one I miscarried, but also the baby I aborted.  What a reunion that will be.

God healed and restored me.  I have two girls, Sara and Emily, who are such a blessing to me and my husband along with six grandchildren.

God is a God who forgives, a God who heals.  If you are living with the pain of an abortion, please allow God to help you and bring healing to your soul.

Verses For Reflection

Psalm 130:3-4             I John 1:9            

Psalm 32:5                  Psalm 103:12

Interviewed, written and edited by Sharon Garner