Tag Archives: creation

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”  (Romans 8:22, NIV)

Making sense of the apparent senselessness of many of the things we encounter in life is frustratingly difficult unless we maintain a perspective that is informed by God’s viewpoint.

In today’s passage, Paul states that all of creation is in transition.  If we do not believe that God’s perfect creation was — and is — corrupted by sin, it is frustratingly difficult to account for the dysfunction we see in every aspect of life.

If we do not believe that God’s plan of redemption is at work, both in the past and in the present; and that this plan is moving toward a divinely-ordered end, our frustration will soon become despair.

Do all that you must to maintain God’s point of view, particularly in the difficult spots.  – Luther

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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, NLT)

When we’ve lost our way, it helps to return to the beginning; the starting point; the original idea.

In explaining the origin of all that we are and all that we see, the writer of Genesis puts God at the starting point.

We may regret days of our past — and the decisions made there — but today is a new day!

As you begin it, remember: With God, all things are possible; and God makes all things new.  – Luther

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“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers — the moon and the stars you set in place — what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? (Psalm 8:3-4, NLT)

The span of the universe is not measured in miles, but in light-years. The moon and the stars — witnesses to every generation of humanity since Adam — maintain their mysterious magnificence.

The psalmist marvels at the fact that the finite, flawed, foundering beings that we are, nevertheless occupy the thoughts of the Creator of the universe; and, somehow, warrant the condescension and the salvation of the Maker of the moon and the stars.

Do we, like the psalmist, marvel, too?  – Luther

Reminder: As normal, Daily Encouragement will not be posted on Sunday.  Lord willing, see you again on Monday.  Have a great day of rest, reflection, and worship!

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