Musing – Why did God Create the World in that Sequence?

Hebraic Musing – Why did God Create the World in that Sequence?    

As further proof of the existence of a Master Designer, I am impressed with the sequence God used in His six days of creation.  “Evolutionists” do not get concerned with the sequence of creation; but the Master Designer used credible and essential logic as the Creator, while evolutionists contend that the Universe evolved by itself!!!

What is the creation sequence in the Biblical “account” (not “story”)?   Light; Separate water from land; Sky from earth; Vegetation - seed-bearing plants & trees; Separate day from night; Living creatures on land & birds in the air.  Then finally He created Man in His image.  What is important about that sequence?

Day One – The EARTH existed.  Gen.1:2  “Now the earth was formless and empty, … and the Spirit of God was hovering…”  NIV    Interesting note - the Spirit of God was hovering and anxious for something to happen!  So God said “Let there be light”.  The word “Light” has a lot of symbolism, i.e., the “Light of the World”!
Webster’s first definition – “something that makes vison possible.”

Day Two – God separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And God called the expanse “sky.”   Thus we have the heavens and land and water above & below, oceanic and atmospheric!

Day Three – First God separated the water to create “dry land”; and water was called “seas”.  Since He now had land, He said “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.”  God had to have dry land in order to plant reproducible vegetation!

Day Four – Now God needed light, so He created an expanse in the sky AND a sun and moon to govern day & night.  The Sun defines “days” and the Moon defines months, seasons and years.  The Sun is critically needed to warm, nurture and to grow the reproducible vegetation; which, BTW, could not wait millions of years for the Sun to be created!  Some would say this was the Garden of Eden?

Day Five – Now that God had water and land and food sources, so He could now create “the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.”  And the vegetation created yesterday became their necessary food!

Day Six – Now God was ready to create “living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.”  And these creatures (animals) had their vegetation as food! 
Now God was ready for His ultimate creation…in Gen. 1:26  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”   And gave man dominion over the animal creatures!

In summary – God could not create man until He provided the animal kingdom, and man and the creatures needed vegetation for nourishment.  Plants can’t grow without sunshine and water which can’t be available until land and water are separated to create atmosphere.  Did that sequence require a Master Designer?  And He designed His creation so that vegetables, creatures and man could all have the awesome God-given ability to procreate according to their kinds; fulfilling His ultimate plan!!!

Day Seven – Do you think God deserved or needed a Sabbath Rest after masterfully designing His creation?  

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

If an “Evolutionist” accepts the Biblical account as fact,
what else does he/she have to accept?
(that the universe was already in place!  If so, who put it in place?)

How was God able to create things that we intelligent beings still cannot replicate?

BTW, Global Warming is in the Bible!  In the last days “The first angel sounded his trumpet,
 and there came hail and fire …. A third of the earth was burned up,
a third of the trees were burned up,  and all the green grass was burned up.” Rev.8:7 

♫ O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
          I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed….♫   

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          February 25, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings” 

Musing – What Happens After You Die?

Hebraic Musing – What Happens After You Die?

Interesting question that I find myself trying not to dwell on!  We have a built in appreciation for our life and a desire to live forever; thus we have a fear of death, or of the unknown.  The Bible does tell us What Happens After You Die so that we might be able to put life into perspective.  What does the Bible say?

How do we get transported to Heaven?  In Luke 16:22 Jesus tells us what happens – “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.” NIV   So angels will usher your soul into Heaven.  Note that Jesus said “Abrahams side” instead of “My side”!  Where is Abraham?

How long after you die before you see God?   2 Corinthians 5:6-8 describes how we are either in the flesh or in His Home. “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  We live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

Will we be conscious and in command of our thinking, feelings, speech and memories?  As Jesus described the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, He made it clear that the people in Heaven as well as in Hell were very conscious and in command of their thinking, feelings, speech and memories.  Here’s excerpts from Jesus’ teaching:  “There was a rich man … At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, … “The time came when the beggar died …. The rich man also died … where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham … with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me … I am in agony ...'  Abraham replied, ‘… between us and you a great chasm…so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, …’  He (Rich man) answered, ‘… send Lazarus to my father's house…. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'  Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them’  …. ‘No, father Abraham,…but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'  …Abraham’s reply  ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”   Lazarus was conscious, thinking, feeling, speaking and remembering? 
Come to think of it, didn’t Jesus rise from the dead?  So why doesn’t everyone pay attention?!?!

How much more magnificent will the Praise and Worship be than what you have in your Sunday morning services?  Just think of being with angels and believers before the throne of God and Jesus Christ Himself!!!  Let’s take a peek from Rev.4:4-5 “Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.”   How does that compare to your Sunday morning’s Praise Team?

Will you still be aware of events and activities on earth?   “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.” Rev.6:9 

Will you recognize and talk to believers who preceded you to Heaven?  In the transfiguration incident we read that –  “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.”  Luke 9:30-31 

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

If you are still here, what is it that the LORD still needs you to do for Him?

Jesus rose from the dead!  So Mr. Rich Man, Why doesn’t everyone pay attention?!?!

Not all “Musings” are meant to be “Amusing”!

♫ When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be.
            When we all see Jesus, We'll sing and shout the victory .♫   

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          February 18, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note - This is just a sample of the challenging questions one encounters touring Ken Ham’s “Ark Encounter.”

Musing – America’s Harvest History and Restoration Needs

Hebraic Musing – America’s Harvest History and Restoration Needs

America came into existence at an interesting time. The world had just experienced a Great Awakening in the 16^th & 17^th centuries as the Renaissance resulted in  a transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity.  Renaissance was an intellectual version of humanism, derived from Roman and Greek philosophies making and became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature.

Gutenberg’s development of the printing press, circa 1436, triggered dramatic social and cultural revolutions. The sudden widespread dissemination of printed works gave direct rise to the European Renaissance.
BUT it also provided Bibles for the Laymen; biblical truths were available to the Western culture!

Martin Luther forever changed Christianity when he nailed his “95 Theses” to a church door in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation; which lead to the Church’s recognition of “Faith Alone" as the key to salvation.

Before America was a nation, she had her first Awakening from Jonathan Edwards in 1741, best known for his challenging message “Sinners at the hand of and Angry God”.  This Pre-Revolution event encouraged American Patriots to fight for religious freedom based on allegiance to Almighty God, not to a person on a throne in a palace.

Then a second Awakening came in 1825-1835 from likes of Charles Finley preaching the need for and understanding of personal salvation (and abolition of slavery and equal education for women).  The nation and Church learned to recognize our sinfulness so we’d be ready to receive the word of God.

BUT in 1859 Charles Darwin published “Origin of Species”, best known for its contributions to the “science of evolution” which proposes that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors.  This began a movement denying even the existence of a Creator God; and has since become a widely accepted belief system!

And in 1933 John Dewey and the American Humanist Association published the first, of many Humanist Manifestos, which “talk of a new religion and refers to humanism as a religious movement meant to transcend and replace previous, deity-based systems.”(Wikipedia ).  This belief system has significantly influenced our courts and education systems in America to systemically remove God from both.  The Bible is no longer the authority!!!

WHAT”S HAPPENING in “Christian” churches?  and   WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN?
Today we have Pastors afraid to preach on certain topics (sins) because “I don’t want to lose the crowd”.
What can/should you and I be doing about this loss of Biblical significance in American churches? 

God gave us a solution in a known verse – 2 Chronicles 7:14*   If we truly want to “Heal Our Land” we need to follow the step-wise God-provided Action Plan:

·      if my people – Those who have truly Made Him Lord and…

·      who are called by my name – and who openly Declare themselves as Christians…

·      will humble themselves – we need to Recognize ourselves as sinners needing to submit ourselves…

·      and pray – to Call upon the Our Lord from deep within our searching hearts…

·      and seek my face – To Look at God in the face, like a mischievous child having to look at a parent’s face…

·      and turn from their wicked ways – to Repent of all ways contrary to God’s ways…

And when that is done, God who is always faithful and trustworthy makes promises…

·      then will I hear from heaven – God will Hear your heart, and your Prayers…

·      and will forgive their sin – God’s Forgiveness will be completed… and …

·      and will heal their land - And that is or should be our Objective for the love of family and neighbors!

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Are Pastors trying to build a “crowd” or build God’s “Church”?

Old adage – “If you are not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”

Does God want to do something really big and great in 2020?

“Restore us, O God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” Psalm 80:7

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      February 11, 2020
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

Note – Inspired by Pastor Tom Hatley’s message – “The American Harvest”, January 12, 2020*   2 Chronicles 7:14   “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  NIV 

Musing - What will the New Earth & Heaven be like, Biblically?

Hebraic Musing - What will the New Earth & Heaven be like, Biblically?

Was Creation and Heaven the basis of God’s plan right from the beginning?   In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.   They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.  Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. Ps. 102:25-26

Should the destruction of this corrupt earth be a surprise?  It was foreseen and understood by Isaiah!
…look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. Isa. 51:6     

Were the OT’s prophetic messages understood by Peter in the NT?    I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets ….   First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.  They will say, “Where is this ‘coming' he promised?  Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 2 Pet. 3:2-4    

Peter knew that “scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires,”  And Peter knew what the scoffers would forget.  But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  Thus Peter knew what was coming.  He knew fire was coming, according to the Word in the OT!   By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.   2 Pet. 3:5-6&7    

What happens to our old earth?  Peter knew the OT’s prophesies so he wants us to look to the future.  Why?   2 Pet. 2:12-13    as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Paul, an OT scholar, also told of the fulfillment of God’s plan by the earth being “liberated from its bondage to decay.”    The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, …, in hope  that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  Rom. 8:19-21 

Having explained God’s plan, Paul had to tell us to be patient, and why!   We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Rom. 8:22-23

Isaiah knew of God’s ultimate plan, or was told.   “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”    Isaiah 65:17    

And Isaiah answered the question on the hearts of pet owners  – “Will my Fifi be with me in heaven?”  Apparently there will be Animals in the New Earth.   Isaiah 11:6-8  mentions  The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard … with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together… cow … the bear, … lion will eat straw like the ox.   The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child … the viper's nest.  

And we will have an improvement in our level of understanding since Isaiah 11:9 says … the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD …   .

Points to ponder   or   RSVP

Let us wake up and recognize that the universe is doomed, there is death everywhere!

Good News!  God’s plan can be summarized in the Six R’s of a Future Hope*, using biblical words:
Redeem      Restore      Recover      Return      Renew      Resurrect

♫ When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be.   When we all see Jesus, …   ♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                          February 4, 2020

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

.*  Each of these words begin with the “Re” prefix, suggesting a return to an original condition that was ruined or lost.

Note – Inspired by Randy Alcorn’s video presentation of “Heaven” from Creation Ministries Int’l