Welcome 2021!!

2021 -- It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing.

Bye 2020

Movin' On to 2021

BE MORE COURAGEOUS‼

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow encountered the Cowardly Lion on their way to see the Wizard.  At first, the lion pretended to be ferocious until one -- more courageous than he -- confronted him.  When the Cowardly Lion began to chase Dorothy’s dog, Toto, she ran out of hiding and smacked him on the nose.  That’s when they discovered the lion was a fake.  Dorothy is a perfect example of bravery in the face of fear, and of how courage overrides that fear.

Confrontation is probably one of the hardest things for some to do, and yet it is so very necessary.

I had a former coworker whose habits used to annoy me to no end.  I wouldn’t address her actions, I just put up with her behavior day in and day out.  It got to the point where I tried to avoid her as much as possible, but that didn’t work because her job directly interacted with and affected mine.  After about a year of putting up with her shenanigans, one day I finally exploded all over her like a volcano eruption. It was not pretty.  If I had dealt with the situation long before I was past fed up, I am sure I would’ve handled the problem much better.  I realize now that the person most harmed by not confronting the situation was me.  Harboring resentment is never healthy.

Another time, I had a new boss whom I needed to confront his behavior toward me.  I was petrified, but I liked my job and knew it must be done.  The discussion went well. He received my feedback and even corrected his actions. The relationship blossomed from there.  The remainder of the time I worked under him, we respected one another. It was one of the best jobs I ever had.  I am glad I summed up the courage to discuss it with him.

Webster’s Dictionary defines courage as the mental and moral strength to venture out, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.

Nelson Mandela was known to say, “I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Sometimes fear can be deception creating the emotion from an imaginary problem.  When I first moved into the house with my husband, I heard noises that sounded as if they were in our house, but it was actually a next door neighbor going in and out of their house.  These strange noises were freaking me out and always seemed to occur when I was home alone. Someone created an acronym of the word FEAR.

False

Evidence

Appearing

Real… 

…and freaking me the heck out when I was home alone.

Another inspiring person created an acronym for COURAGE.

Continuing

Onward

Under

Rigorous

And

Grinding

Experiences

Recently, I heard a song that spoke to me so deeply.  The song is called The Breakup Song by Francesca Battistelli.  She is breaking up with fear because she has had as much of fear as she can take.  She said she refused to let fear tell her what she is not, because her identity is entirely strong, brave and free. This is Francesca triumphing over fear. She sang that fear has no part in her story and will never be welcomed here. I put this song on repeat until I had memorized all the lyrics and could recite them in my sleep.

Where does courage come from? What makes some more courageous than others? Does the Navy SEAL soldier shake in his boots on the battle field? I’ll bet he is brave in spite of the fear.

I am reminded of the story of David and Goliath.  Long before young David fought and killed this nine-foot giant, he was shepherding his father’s sheep. He confronted a lion attempting to escape with one of the sheep, and another time, a bear tried to attack his flock. On both occasions, David went after the predators and struck and killed these ferocious animals. By the time David encountered Goliath, he had full confidence that Goliath was meat for the buzzards.

Breaking up with fear may be hard to do, but I am going to practice, practice, practice until I build up enough courage to override the fear that is prohibiting me from accomplishing more and being all I can be. David killed a lion, killed a bear, and killed Goliath.  He went on to become a great warrior, and eventually became king.  How much more could I accomplish with this same mindset?

The Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz summed it up…

What makes a king out of a slave?

What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage!

What makes the elephant charge his tusk, in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!

What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder?

What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage!

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

Who puts the "ape" in apricot?

And what have they got that I ain't got? COURAGE!

He Knows My Name

I don’t remember what triggered the thought, but yesterday I said to the Lord, “When I get to the pearly gates, I don’t want You to have to lean over to the angel and ask him to remind You what my name is. I want to live my life down here so when You see me coming, You say, ‘Hey, here come Sugar Sweet!’”

I recall a passage in Matthew 7 where Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

He said, “I NEVER knew you.” I don’t want to be that one He NEVER knew, and neither do I want to be the one the angel has to remind Him of my name.

When the prodigal son returned to his father, he saw his son coming from a long way off and ran out to meet him, fell on his neck, and kissed him. Now that’s what I’m talking about! 

Today I was watching videos while I cleaned the kitchen and a song came on by Tasha Cobbs Leonard called You Know My Name. She said, “Oh, how You walk with me, and oh how You talk with me, and oh how You tell me, I am Your own. You know my name.” 

He knows me! He knows my name! And when the time comes, He’ll gladly welcome me home.

The Worst in Me

Westerns is one of my husband's favorite things to watch on TV. I am more into reading, so that's what we do when we're relaxing at home. He's watching Westerns and I'm reading.

Writer's like to think that every story has to have an antagonist, and especially writers of Westerns. The problem is, it always seems to bring out the worst in me. I get distracted from my reading and I am now hoping someone will shoot the cantankerous and onery antagonist. No grace, just shoot him dead, and I'm always relieved when that happens. Someone finally puts them out of my misery.

One of the things that fires up my anger, are people who are evil for sport. They get their kicks out of their troublesome ways.

Psalm 139:19 (NKJV) Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.

What does that say about me, that I am sitting there wishing someone would shoot this character so we can move the story along with him out of the way?

Why is it that I have no compassion for them? How does God manage to have endless mercy and abounding grace for these type people and I have none? (Heavy sigh.)

How ironic isn't it that the worst in them is also bringing out the worst in me? The difference however, is that I'm concerned about it in a way that they're not. I heard a preacher say, "You may sin the same sin you used to sin when you were a sinner, but you don't sin the same sins in the same way." The Holy Spirit's presence in our inner being incites conflict, so our attitudes toward our actions are different than they used to be. So even if I'm overcome by a wicked desire to see harm come to my fellow man, there's a part of me that's not really okay with that.

The apostle Paul describes it this way:

Romans 7:19-25 (NLT) I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life-that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

The Answer: Sow to the Spirit and reap everlasting life.

Galatians 6:8-9 (NKJV) For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Little by little

Day by day

Jesus is changing me

In every way.

It's been slow going

But there's a knowing

I'm not the same person

I used to be.

Oh how excited I am to see

The future dazzling, wonderful me!

Keep calm and carry on.

Learning to Trust Again

The reason Lucy keeps pulling the ball away when Charlie attempts to kick it, is because she keeps remembering that very first time. She held the ball but Charlie Brown kicked her hand. Now she has trust issues remembering the pain she felt.

How do you trust again when pain stands in the way? And just about the time you think you've gotten past it, you snatch the ball away, proving that it still has you instead.

God wants to heal you every where you hurt.

Lift your hands to Him and say,

God I need You

I need You right away.

God will take the pain away and cause your heart to trust again. 🛐

Dear Lord, God of my salvation, take this pain away, put a smile on my face, a song in my heart, and dancing in my feet. Don't let the disappointments of life take me out and keep me stunted in a place of constant mistrust. Let Your presence come and Your healing touch bind up my wounds. Let forgiveness take place. Take away my skepticism and let me trust again, living life to the fullness that You intended, fulfilling the purpose You meant for me. Stop me from hurting myself and others. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen. 🙏

Ask The Why

A story is told of a young bride that was baking a ham.  When her husband asked why she was cutting off the end of the ham, she replied that her mother made the best hams and she always cut off the ends.

He asked if she would mind if he called her up and asked why she cut the ends off the ham.

"Sure. Call her up."

"Hello mother. May I asked you a question?," he inquired.

"Sure."

"I noticed my wife is cutting off the end of the ham, and when I asked her why she said that you always did and you baked the best hams. May I ask why you cut off the ends of the ham?"

"My mother made the best hams in the county and she always cut off the ends."

"Hmmm, do you mind if I call her up and ask her why?"

"Sure. Call her up."

"Hello grandmother. I noticed my wife is cutting off the ends of the ham and when I questioned why she said her mother always did.  When I questioned her mother, she said it is because you always did and you baked the best ham in the county. May I ask why you cut off the ends of the ham?"

"Oh yes son, I cut off the ends because my pan was too small."

THE PROBLEM WITH TRADITION:

Matthew 15:1-3 (NKJV) Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"

You Mean I Have to Love Everybody?

I need to make a confession, because I need the blood of Jesus to cleanse me of it.

I recently went on a retreat where I was alone for five days. I knew the Lord was present, He had been dealing with me about issues in my heart. I was also getting answers to long-standing questions so there was no doubt that I was not totally alone at the cabin. I just didn't have any face-to-face human interaction.

About halfway through the retreat, I confessed to the Lord that I was missing that human presence. It actually came as a surprise to me because I am very, very introverted and love my times of isolation. One of the things that I enjoy about writing is that I am most alive when left alone. But there at the cabin, the opposite occurred. Being so isolated made me miss human interaction. The Lord said of Adam, "It is not good that man should be alone."

The very next day after I got home, we had guests in our home. For some reason, I kept getting barraged with questions about why I kept things as I did in my home. Who and what and where and when and why and how. I felt like I was on trial for my housekeeping, organizing skills, or lack there of.

Suddenly, I began to resent the presence of human beings in my house. I could have returned to the cabin right then and there and been totally at peace with total seclusion. The frustration I felt that day has not left me, and I'm still feeling some kind of way about it. It didn't seem to offer me the feeling I was longing for at the cabin.

Since I've been back from the cabin, I happened to run across a passage of scripture in Matthew where Jesus was teaching on love. Whoops.

Jesus taught that we are to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, do good to both evil people and good people, imitating the Father perfectly in this regard. Whoops again.

At the cabin, there was no one there to offend me therefore, I had an opportunity to miss them. Back home for one day, and they came into my house and offended me, and weeks later I am still struggling.

The book of James says we should confess our sins, trespasses, unfaithfulness, and iniquities to one another so we may pray for one another. The prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. Pray for me y'all.

Heavenly Father,

   I know I am a work in progress. The epistle of First John asks how can we say we love You whom we have not seen, and not love our brother whom we have seen. I don't know the answer to this question, but You can change my heart to love my neighbor as myself, and to walk in the fruit of the Spirit while I am still on this earth. I need to somehow put aside thinking of myself, so I'm not so easily offended, and learn how to come to love the unlovely. Let Your love abide in my heart toward my fellow man. Where ever there is peace on earth, let me play a part in it by sowing my peace with it. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

When faith is tested

Endurance grows

When endurance is fully developed

We will be perfect and complete.

All Things Working Together

In every single aspect of our lives, God is weaving together the threads to make something beautiful. When you look at the backside of an embroidery piece, the stitching is wild and messy. That's life. Messy. But God has a purpose for everything He allows. He is the great artist of our souls, intertwining every single thread of our lives to weave an extraordinary masterpiece.

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Eph. 2:10 (NKJV)

Nothing we go through in life is wasted on God, He uses all of it. He takes our messy lives and works it together for our good. We are the work of His hands, and His work is not inferior. You're a one-of-a-kind work of art, even when all you can see is the backside of messy life.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

And we know that all things

work together for good

to those who love God,

to those who are the called

according to His purpose.

 

Souls Under Construction

Our tender souls have been embodied by this world’s value system… love those who love you and hate those who hate you, for example (Matt. 5:43). But the believer in Christ must not be governed by the behavior of this world’s system. Once we receive Christ through faith and belief, we are indwelt by His Holy Spirit who begins to change us by guiding and re-shaping our thought patterns, which ultimately governs our behavior. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them (Matt. 7:20).

Our souls begin to gradually change form when our minds and hearts are renewed and reconstructed. New wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved (Luke 5:38). The more we become Christ-like the greater our effectiveness in the body of Christ and in His kingdom. We become beacons of light on a motion sensor, shining in a dark world… when you walk by it, the light come on. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16 NKJV).

Regeneration of the soul is instantaneous at the time of conversion, but transformation takes time and is a steady, continuous effort.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2 NKJV).

Shortly after my conversion, the Lord showed me a vision. I was looking at my reflection in the mirror and my facial features began to change. My eyes, nose, ears, mouth, jawbone, and forehead all began to morph slowly one-by-one until my reflection in the mirror was Christ’s. The apostle Paul says, “All believers behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from faith to faith and glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).

And I am certain that God, who began this good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Phil. 1:6 NLT).

#myperspective

Justice Cometh - Blacks Lives Matter

The fact that we are having COVID-19 and race crusades side-by-side in America is a testament to the fact that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (quote from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.). God eventually does come to the aide of oppressed people. He said of the Israelites in Exodus 3:8, “I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” He led them out of slavery and into the Promised Land.

When we say Black Lives Matter, it is not to disqualify all other lives - nor is it to imply that all lives don’t matter except the Black ones. It is to simply highlight a long history of Black lives not mattering in this country. It is to raise a consciousness that Blacks are not inferior to any other race simply because of the color of our skin.

Black Lives Matter is simply a movement in peaceful protest for how we are being treated in this country since the time Plymouth Rock landed on us and we were brought here in shackles. For the sake of having the conversation on race relations and civil injustice, it is how we protest... that alongside all other races in America, Black lives certainly do matter. We are not superior, and we are not inferior.

When athletes kneel in protest, they are not dishonoring veterans, nor the flag, nor the country – they are simply using their platform as a professional athlete in America to raise the level of consciousness in peaceful protest against a country continually undermining Black folk, who are just as much a part of this country as everyone else.

The Constitution says, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice..."

God says, "I am come down to ensure this said Justice, is truly established among all citizens of the United States of America, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Let's make America great, truly great, by eliminating racism where it begins, in our own hearts.

God said, "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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (from COVID-19)."

Justice will not come until those who are not injured, are just as outraged as those who are. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

We Shall Overcome Someday is an old Negro spiritual that rang throughout the initial civil rights movement. Try to pretend, if you will, that systemic racism does not exist in America, but it's everywhere and visibly apparent and obvious, even to the blind. This country has oppressed African Americans well after the Emancipation Proclamation was invoked, from generation to generation, even to this very day (voter suppression for example). Deep in my heart, I do believe that we have overcome today.  #myperspective

 BLACK LIVES MATTER.

1 Kings 8:59 (NLT) May these words that I have prayed in the presence of the LORD be before Him constantly, day and night, so that the LORD our God may give justice to me and to His people.

Psalm 37:28 (NKJV) For the LORD loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

Psalm 72:4 (NKJV) He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor.

Psalm 89:14 (NKJV) Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face.

Psalm 103:6 ( NKJV) The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

Psalm 140:12 (NKJV) I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor.

Proverbs 2:8 (NKJV) He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.

Isaiah 12:4-5 (NKJV) And in that day you will say: “Praise the LORD, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for He has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth."

Amen.

Truth About Paul's Thorn in the Flesh

The Truth About the Apostle Paul's

Thorn in the Flesh

This post was updated.

Please follow this link to the updated version.

https://richardsonblogger.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-thorn-in-pauls-flesh.html

The Promise of Answered Prayers

My compassionate High Priest is the source of making it possible to get my prayers answered when all “these things” are stacked against me.  ●  He is at the right hand of Father God making intercession for me.  ●  He is the Mediator between me and God and He always live to make intercession for me in the presence of Father God.  ●  And likewise, the Holy Spirit also helps in my weaknesses, because I don’t know what I should pray for as I ought to, but He Himself makes intercession for me according to the will of God.  ●  Now, this is the confidence that I have in Christ Jesus, that if I ask anything according to God’s will, He hears me. And if I know that He hears me, whatever I’m asking, I know that I have the petitions that I’ve asked of Him.  ●  If I abide in Him, and His word abides in me, I can ask for what I desire, and it shall be done.  ●  Whatever I ask of Father God, in Jesus’s name, He will give it to me.  ●  Let it be as He has said. Amen.

 

Unanswered Calls and Unanswered Prayers

 

For about 3 years now I have been struggling with unanswered prayers. Sending prayers up and getting no responses, completely ignoring me. It drove me to frustration and disappointment. Even my desire to pray grew cold and seemed useless. For the last couple of days the Lord has been ministering to me concerning my disappointments and helping me to feel better and He renewed my faith concerning prayer and its effectiveness.

This morning I got a glimpse of what it feels like to be God calling to us and getting no response. The Lord God said in Isaiah 65, "I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts." Judgment and punishment came to the whole nation of Israel because the Lord God said, "When I called, you did not answer, when I spoke, you did not hear but did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight."

The same way I felt about my unanswered prayers is how God felt about His unanswered calls. It is as if we saw Him on the Caller ID and refused to answer the phone.

So here we are at war with Coronavirus COVID-19, Racial division and civil unrest. Harmful effects of climate change. Disharmony in our nation's capitol and across our United States.

God called but we did not answer and here we are.

The prophet Isaiah compared the faithful to a small cluster of grapes in a large field that was about to be destroyed. God said, "I will not destroy them all, My faithful servants will be protected and restored. But the nation will suffer and grieve for sorrow of heart."

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) 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 I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Mark 12:30 (NKJV) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

My Encounter With Shame

When I was about eight years old, my sister and I walked to the neighborhood convenience store (now called Jeremy’s Grocery in the photo). On the way home I had to go to the bathroom really, really bad and I was pretty sure that I was not going to be able to hold it till I got to the toilet.

My sister was livid at the thought of my excreting in my britches right there on the city street. She screamed at me to hurry so we could make it home in time. But... I sat down on the side of the road and relieved myself.

She beat me back to the house by about 30 seconds, and by the time I walked in the door, everyone who was in the house knew of the shameful thing that had just occurred in my short little life, and hers.

Another time, around that same age, someone caught me digging in my nose and eating a booger. For I don’t know how long, people started addressing me as The Booger Girl.

Shame and humiliation can be the backbone for many kinds of emotional pain that are side effects and consequences of shame. There was no such thing as social media when I was eight years old, but what if it was, and they had put my humiliating experiences on blast? I would not have been able to live it down, or know how to get over it. Even now, I can remember the negative emotions that washed over me when someone would look me in the face and say, “Booger Girl!” I regretted that they had caught me eating boogers.

I heard a preacher say that someone asked him, “If every thought that you ever had would be exposed on a screen right now, would you still have your job as pastor?” He responded, “Oh God no! Would you still have any friends?” If others could sometimes hear what we were thinking about them, they would leave us to our thoughts permanently.

My husband’s daughter and her three children have had to move in with us and I have hated nearly every minute of it. My lifestyle and their lifestyle differs on so many levels, and the ugly thoughts that invades my mind is quite embarrassing and I am truly glad that they are not exposed on a screen or heard aloud. It would be more shameful than excreting in my britches on the city street.

As Christians, we are encouraged to love others as we love ourselves. Jesus said, “Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” I am ashamed to say that these are no where near the thoughts I have been having about this situation. And it is no where near how I have even prayed about it. I have tried to pretend on the outside that I am okay with this, while wearing my inner mask to cover the shame of my real thoughts. I even considered leaving my husband to escape this situation, but I love my husband. So, I am stuck... pretending on the outside and feeling shame and dissatisfied on the inside, hoping that my Heavenly Father is not too grieved at my hypocrisy.

A story is told in Mark chapter 1 of a leper that came to Jesus with his shame. The leper said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus said, “I am willing.” He healed the man’s shame immediately. The leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

The apostle John said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

The writer of Hebrews says in chapter 12, that for the joy set before Him, Christ endured the cross despising the shame. Now, having disarmed principalities and powers, He has made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them at the cross. He is now on the opposite end of shame, sitting honorably at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and our need for feeling humiliated has been squashed at the cross. I am daughter of the King, and He has declared that in that day I shall not be shamed for any of my deeds in which I transgress against Him (Zephaniah 3:11). The Lord has spoken, let it be as He has said. Amen.

The Day Satan Was Kicked Out

Introduction to The Gap Theory

Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, something catastrophic happened. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The next verse says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

The images of chaos, disaster, darkness and devastation says something occurred between verses 1 and 2 that is not recorded there. What happened in the gap of Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that caused the earth to become without form, and void of inhabitants?

As a result of God’s fierce anger, Satan got kicked out of heaven, that’s what happened. He hit earth at the speed of lightning, and with such force, that it became without form and void.

God Saw That It Was Good

During creation week described in Genesis 1:3 through 1:31, everything God created, He saw that it was good. God did not move forward in the creation process till He confirmed what He had just completed was good.

The first thing God did in this re-formation process was to establish light in the physical darkness, because He is light, and it represents His presence. He called out light and saw that it was good. He divided the already existing waters of earth from the clouds. He separated already existing seas and dry land and saw that it was good. He made grass and vegetation and saw that it was good. He made the sun, moon and the stars and saw that it was good. He made all the sea creatures, and every living thing that moves, and the birds, and saw that it was good. He made all animal life, both walking and creeping and saw that it was good. Then God looked at everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

God did not create the heavens and the earth and then leave it in a state of chaos… empty and dark. Everything God created, He saw that it was good. It is written by the prophet Isaiah that earth was created to be inhabited, not to be formless and empty.

For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:18)

The Original Creation in The Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

The heavens and the earth were perfect in the beginning, until it somehow became without form and void.

I believe there was an original creation that took place in the beginning, and also a reformation of creation after something happened that put it in a state of chaos. Both times, I believe that God used six days to complete the task of making and re-making heaven and earth.

Matter is not eternal. Without any pre-existing material God brought the earth and all matter into existence.

All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. (John 1:3)

Before time began, the Word (who is the pre-incarnate Christ Jesus) was already in existence. He is eternal. He is a part of God. He was in the bosom of the Father. He was involved in the creationary process. He became flesh and blood through the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary.

In a conversation that God had with Job from the land of Uz, He gives a meticulous account of the earth’s creation to include the angels singing and rejoicing at its wonderful splendor. They did not shout for joy over something that was without form and void. When God laid the foundations of earth, He took careful measurements placing it in perfect alignment in the solar system. There was nothing left to chance, He used wisdom to create everything.

“Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)

You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. (Heb. 1:10)

He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding. (Jer. 51:15)

The original creation in Genesis 1:1 was a place where dinosaurs lived. What ever fossils scientists have found that date back millions of years, I believe, did exist on earth prior to the devastation.

Lucifer in The Beginning

Prior to Satan’s fall, his name was Lucifer which means Day Star - Son of the Morning. He was one of God’s three archangels. He was in a place called Eden, the garden of God but this was not the same Garden of Eden that was the home of Adam and Eve. This place existed many, many millions of years before Adam and Eve… maybe even before time began. God created Lucifer, and of course, He saw that it was good. Everything was created by God, including the devil. Lucifer was perfect at his creation, and beautiful in appearance, probably the most beautiful angel God ever created. The prophet Ezekiel describes how majestic he was, using the king of Tyrus as a backdrop.

Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.’” (Ezekiel 28:12-15)

Lucifer’s Downfall

Lucifer became filled with pride because of his beauty. Lucifer said he would exalt his throne above the stars of God. I’m sure that means all the other angels. Angels are often referred to as stars. In God’s fierce anger (Jer. 4:26), Satan was cast out of heaven and his beauty was destroyed. The eternal Word, (Jesus pre-incarnate) said He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. He was no longer Lucifer (son of the morning), but he was now Satan (the adversary). He no longer held any authority in God’s angelic kingdom. Satan along with a third of the heavenly beings are now adversaries who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom they may devour.

And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18)

Jesus (the Word pre-incarnate) saw Satan’s forceful eviction from heaven (the seat of authority). This doesn’t mean that Satan had no further access to heaven, for other Scriptures clearly indicate that Satan maintained this access even after his fall (Job 1:6, 2:1). However, Ezekiel 28:18 indicates that Satan was absolutely and completely cast out of God’s heavenly government and his place of authority.

You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. (Ezek. 28:18)

The Triumph Over Evil

When the 70 appointed disciples returned from ministry, they enthusiastically told that the demons were subject to them in Jesus’s name. But Jesus was not surprised nor impressed. He remembers the demise of Satan’s authority and power. He gives this authority over the enemy to His disciples to trample on him and rise above any means which the enemy would use to hurt them.

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19)

No weapons formed against us shall prosper. The enemy has been disarmed and rendered powerless under the mighty name of Jesus.

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross). (Colossians 2:15)

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” (Revelation 12:9-12)

Bibliography

Holy Bible, The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version.  Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., 1997, 2011, 2012.  Scripture from any Thomas Nelson Bible translation may be quoted in any form up to 500 verses or less without written permission.

The King James Version Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc. 1994.