8-30-2015

 Good Morning All!!                       

          Genesis 1:26; “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

    How well do you prepare for a trip?  Most people put some effort into it.  They plan on where they are going.  They calculate what method of transportation they will use.  They calculate the type of clothing that they will need.  They calculate how they will obtain food.  They usually make plans for where they will sleep if the trip is longer than a day.  They make allowances for taking care of pets, plants and the mail.  They might even plot out a map or else make sure the GPS is working and the updates are current.  Sometimes they even include a timed itinerary of where they will be and when they will be at any given time.

    As we look at creation, we can see many different nuances to our human existence.  One that I hope we see is the significance of man being created last.  We can see it in a couple of ways.  First, man is God’s crowning creature.  We are created in God’s image, in God’s likeness and given dominion over creation.  We are entrusted with the honor and responsibility of caring for creation.  This is a truly awe inspiring task.  Yet as we contemplate the depth of this task, we should also notice something else.  By creating man last, God placed everything that man would need in place for his future journey.

    God placed it all there, prior to the creation of man.  He created the land and the day cycle.  He created the animals, the plants and the sea creatures and had everything in place and then created man, in his image, to care for the rest of creation.  God had everything in place as he breathed life into man.  Just as God laid out everything that Adam would need; he lays everything out for you as well.

    As we go through our journey, we can take comfort in the fact that God has prepared the journey for us to walk and placed on that path the many things that we will need.  As we go, we can know with all certainty that God accompanies us in the face.  We can take comfort in the fact that, even though we may not see the pathway clearly, God does and provides for us through all the ups and downs of the pathway ahead.  We can go forward both confident that our journey continues to always be in God’s loving hands and at peace that he has provided for us.

Gracious Father, thank you for providing for all my needs.  Thank you for sending Jesus to provide for my salvation and your Holy Spirit to be my companion on the journey.  Give me the boldness to speak your word and to trust your direction.  Bring those who are lost and unsure of their way under your benevolent care.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret