Monday, Aug. 12
Genesis 1:1 – 2:3 Read it here

There’s no better place to start than the beginning, and Genesis starts with the beginning on a grand scale.
One of the first things we notice about Genesis is that the creation story is told twice, in two different ways. This first account is big, with a cosmic sweep, while the one we’ll read tomorrow feels more personal and intimate. Today’s verses recount the six-day creation; tomorrow’s recount the story of Adam and Eve.
A lot of effort can be spent trying to blend the two accounts, but it’s significant that the Bible doesn’t do that. It just tells the stories and leaves each to carry its own message.
For today, that message is God’s greatness and power; his omnipotence and glory. God can create something where before there was nothing. God can, by his will, bring order into chaos.
Sometimes these are the things we need most to remember about God. God is infinitely greater, wiser and more powerful than we are.
But as we go through scripture, it’s good to remember that the Bible doesn’t shy away from our complex understanding of how we relate to God. Sometimes God feels nearby, like a parent or a friend; other times God feels distant and unapproachable.
Both of those perceptions are true to our own experience. As we continue reading through the weeks and months to come, reflect on how your perception of God changes depending on your circumstances, and how the Biblical picture of God also changes depending on the circumstances of each writer, and remember that only as we take these many different perceptions into account can we begin to see the real, living God who is behind them all.

– Rev. Mark Fleming

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