Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

SCRIPTURE

Genesis 1:20 2:4a (NRSV)
God creates

And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

DEVOTION

Yesterday, we celebrated God’s awesome creativity, imagination, and power in creating the sky, sun, moon, stars, Earth, vegetation and fruit. Today we continue that celebration as we bear witness to God’s creation of all of the living creatures big and small on land, sea, and air.

I am most touched by God’s creation of human beings. Scripture records, “"Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Isn’t this awesome?! We are made in the image and likeness of the God who loves us so much that God created the heavens and earth for our enjoyment and gave Jesus Christ for our salvation and redemption!

Since God is loving, generous, creative, and imaginative, we too can be described with these adjectives! When God created us, God gave us “dominion” or “stewardship” over the Earth. As stewards, we are to take care of our planet as assigned caretakers, but not as owners.

God is the maker and sole owner of all created things! As we begin to regard ourselves as stewards and caretakers of God’s garden, I believe that Christians will more seriously attend to the ministries of environmental stewardship. I also believe that we will come to a new understanding of the awesome responsibility we have to not only enjoy the earth, and the fruit thereof, but also to care for and keep it as well.

To be honest, I always thought of this “green movement” as a big joke until a pastor recently reminded me that John 3:16 can be rightly translated, “For God so loved the “cosmos” that God gave Jesus…”

Whoa! God not only loves human beings, but God also loves the world—or the cosmos—and sent Jesus to redeem them both!

If God loves the world that much, then it seems to me that we have a sacred duty, or obligation, to practice creation care to the best of our ability. As we carry out our ministry, or service, of environmental stewardship toward this great planet that was lovingly crafted by God to be our home, we will make it our business to do all that we know how to do to keep the Earth healthy for those of us dependent upon it in the present and for every future generation to come.

When God created the heavens and the earth, God said, “It is good,” but, when God finished creating human beings and looked at all that God had made, God said, “It is very good.”

Let us live up to our “very good” status, with the help of God, and be the caretakers and stewards of the Earth that God intends for us to be!

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

What is one thing you can start doing today to preserve the Earth for future generations?

Loving God, you created me in your image and declared that I am “very good.” Help me to be a good steward over the Earth that you have placed in my care. I am honored that you would entrust humanity with such an awesome responsibility; please help me to do my part as a Christian should. I love you and I want future generations to be able to love you too in health and safety on this planet. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“GO GREEN” ANNOUNCEMENTS

I have recently purchased The Green Bible. It is interesting! All of the verses having to do with the earth and creation are highlighted in the color green. If you would like a copy, you can purchase it at your local bookstore, or through the amazon.com link to the right.

If you would like some practical ideas about how you—and your family—can begin to practice environmental stewardship, or creation care, please see the following links.

Action Suggestions
http://www.creationcare.org/resources/sunday/actions.php

50 Practical Steps to Get Started
http://www.servegodsavetheplanet.org/?page_id=102



ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus" found at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

We are celebrating with the 11 people who have recently put all their hope in Jesus! Happy Re-birthday!

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right! Thanks for reading and please come again.

Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com