Christ Church Daily Devotion April 29 2024

The Daily Devotion for April 29, 2024, in Christchurch discusses the creation story from Genesis. It highlights the order and repetition in God's work and emphasizes the belief that God created us. The transcript suggests observing and appreciating the beauty of the world as a form of worship. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for April 29, 2024. Today we will be reading from Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1-5 and verses 26-31. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day. Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image and our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in His own image. In the image of God He created them, male and female, He created them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth, and all the birds in the sky, and all the creatures that move along the ground, everything that has breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day. This is the first creation story, with the second one coming in the next chapter. Don't you love the repetition that marks the poetry of this awesome story? Each day of creation begins with God saying, Let there be. And God's creating work unfolds. Each day ends with God observing that the new creation of that day is good. And there is evening and morning, as the days are counted off in order. In fact, order is a hallmark of this story. God created things in the order required to enable each succeeding thing to be sustained. There was light and soil and water before plants were created, and those provided food for the animals and finally for the humans. I enjoy teaching a class on basic Christian beliefs. The kinds of things on which all Christian churches and denominations agree. The first class session is on the nature of God and how Christians view God. A light topic. I ask the class members to share their concepts of God and get answers like love, all-knowing and all-powerful, the Trinity, and so on. Without fail, someone will describe their concept of God as our Creator. The belief that God created us is at the root or foundation of our faith. Your personal worship option today is to observe the world around you. Spring has come and fresh leaves fill the trees. The dullness of winter has turned into the green and bright colors of new life. Give thanks today to God for creating such a beautiful world and for creating us to enjoy and care for it.