March 2 – Genesis 1:1-3; Genesis 6
Lesson: Where do we see Him first?
Dear Lord, bless our time with you today. Meet us where we are at, guide our minds, and hold our hearts as we search for Your truth.
First, do your own quiet time and 4R journaling. When you are completed, come back here for the lesson.
Request Gods’ help
Read Genesis 1:1-3; Genesis 6
Record a verse that stands out to you
Respond to God
Honestly, I struggled choosing today’s reading, it was a toss up between this and 1 Peter 4. But, because Genesis is the beginning, we start there. In your own time, though, take a read of 1 Peter 4, you will find it lines up so beautifully with Genesis 6. Okay, chapter 6 tells us that we are stewards of God’s grace and ought not to join others in the floods of debauchery. Do you see? From the very beginning the Spirit was calling us to that repentance, that faith walk. It didn’t just start in Jesus’ time… well yes it did; because Jesus was at the beginning. Ok, it didn’t just start in New Testament time, it started at the very beginning.
When we think of the Holy Spirit, do we only think in terms of the New Testament? Maybe… I know I tend to. But He was very much present from the beginning. Take a look at a verse we probably know really well and a few that maybe we don’t.
Genesis 1:2, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Job 26:13, “By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.”
Isaiah 32:15, “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.”
Ezekiel 36:27, “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
You get the picture. He was there. And He played a huge part in the lives of those who God called to Him. Consider today’s reading, which may seem an odd passage for today. But just hear me out for a minute. There was increasing corruption on the earth, the Spirit called for repentance and righteous living, but the people did not listen. And in the throes of their ultimate destruction, destruction by flood, that same flood was faithful Noah’s own personal baptism! A rescue plan was set in motion even before creation was created. God knew then that we would need rescuing now. What a God He is! So rest assured that the Holy Spirit isn’t in His own adolescence… He is full grown! (And always has been).
Take comfort in the knowledge that He knew one day it would be your heart He would inhabit! That one day you would cry out for rescue and restoration, that God would send Him to you, to abide with you until you pass from this earth. He knew we would be alone, first without Him and then without Jesus. And that never was the intent. He never wanted you to be alone. And you aren’t. Are you ready to spend a month learning all the different ways that you are not alone? Oh, how I am so eager to walk that walk with you!
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You are the Master Designer. The world, it takes our breath away at its beauty, its fierceness, its wonder. And yet it is nothing compared to You. We praise You, Lord, we praise You!
What’s next?
As the Spirit leads, in the comment section below, share what He has laid on your heart.
Then join us again tomorrow to learn about the ministry of conviction.
