Day 1, 1st September: Genesis, Matthew, Psalms
New Beginnings
Andy Croft
Today’s readings:
Genesis 1:1-2:17
Matthew 1:1-25
Psalm 1:1-6
And so we begin.
And right at the start of this year the passages are all about all ‘beginnings’… The beginning of all creation and the beginning of Jesus’ life…
Genesis paints the picture of God speaking everything into existence… We can make things with our hands but ever tried speaking something into being? ‘Homework – write yourself…’ ‘Chocolate appear…’ Doesn’t quite happen does it?
We probably already know that God created everything, but how often do we pause, even for 30 seconds, to think about how astonishing this? Everything – from nothing – with just a word…
This passage shows us God designed us the way we are. You’re not a mistake. God said let there be light, and there was light. He said let there be Andy and there was Andy, let there be Emma and there was Emma. Just as God looks at creation and thinks it’s good so too he looks at you and thinks you’re pretty great. We can enjoy his pleasure over us… in the same way we enjoy it when our parents or mates tell us we’re great.
At the same time, there are things in all of us that need, not just a bit of help, but to be radically changed, at the moment none of us are perfect. Enter Jesus in Matthew. In the list of names in Matthew 1 there are prostitutes, murderers and adulterers (David vs6 murdered someone, Tamar vs 3 slept with her father-in-law). Jesus is coming from these sinful people to sinful people like you and I. You know all those sins we keep committing? All those ones which we promised God at Soul Survivor and Momentum we wouldn’t but we already have? Jesus comes once so that each day can be a new beginning for us, each week can be a new beginning and each year can be a new beginning.
Finally, we don’t become like Jesus in an instant. It takes time. Psalm 1 tells us this year is going to be a process but as we meditate on the Word of God, we’ll bit by bit, drop by drop, grow and change. Like a tree planted by streams of water. And in a years’ time, when we look back, we’ll see a change in us that is every bit as dramatic as light being born out of darkness.
God created with just a word. And now, as we begin this journey, it’s his Word that makes us new.
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Genesis speaks of the beginning. Matthew speaks of a new beginning. The God who created us is the God who has provided for our salvation. If we are to enjoy God’s salvation, we must learn to follow the wisdom of Psalm 1:1-2 – “Blessed is the one … whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.”
I’ve started reading it today, shut god out for way to long and a new year and a new start for me and this time I have God with me to help me along the way.
Good luck to everybody especially those who are starting today like me.
God Bless
Hey everyone, really looking forward to what God has in store for me through this. Got the bible for Christmas so have started on the calendar year. May you all receive Gods blessings as we read together.
Happy new years!
I’m only starting now too, it’s nice to know some other people are a few months behind! Reading through the comments so far it’s so encouraging and challenging to see so many people getting involved in this and really trying to engage with God’s word. This is going to be an exciting year!!
We have read day one a little late ! But we will catch up !
We want to ask has anyone discussed who wrote genesis, because it clearly wasn’t god . Has anybody considered the scientific evidence for the creation of the earth and how this fits in with genesis.
It was interesting to hear about the genealogy of jesus.!
Well the Bible tells us that the whole of scripture is God breathed which means it’s Gods word, so technically God did write it. It was discussed as to who he “dictated” it to, some (myself included) thought it to be Moses for the first five books – until it was pointed out that the death of Moses is recorded in there.
I’m sure you’ll find it interesting it take time to browse through the comments & questions (and it will take some time!) there’s some very interesting stuff in there!
Thanks Phil. The problem is if you aren’t sure who wrote it; how can you be sure God wanted it in the bible. Perhaps after Jesus we were supposed to have a new start.
Hi Guys – I may be a little late posting this word of encouagement here as I can see you’ve posted more recently (today – 19th) but if you are referring back here, I hope this helps. The first 5 books Gen – Deuteronomy are often called the “books of Moses”, and I’ve dug out an old text book and found the following.
“The following references ascribe authorship of the Pentateuch to Moses, Josh1:7,8; 1kings2:3; 2chron 34:14; Neh 8:1,14; 13:1; Luke 24:27,44; John 1:45; 5:45-47; acts 28-37.
Exodus 24:4 deut 31:9, 24-26are definately ascribed to him.”
“Whilst the closing chapter of Deut; is evidently not written by moses (ie his death) it is thought that joshua wrote the first 8 verses, and Ezra the last 4.”
Hope this helps a little.
Matthew 1:1-25
1:1-17 – This may be the beginning of the New Testament, but it is not the beginning of God’s revelation. It is not the beginning of His redemption. The birth of Christ is the continuation of the history of salvation, recorded in the Old Testament. Matthew takes us back to Abraham (1-2; Genesis 12:1-3). Recalling the great events of the Old Testament, he takes us through forty-two generations. This history is the story of God’s grace. We may illustrate this with two striking examples. Rahab (5) was a ‘prostitute’, yet, by the grace of God, through faith, she also takes her place with the people of God (Hebrews 11:31; Ephesians 2:8). The story of David and Uriah’s wife (6) is a story of deceit (2 Samuel 11) – ‘where sin increased, grace increased all the more’ (Romans 5:20)!
1:18-25 – The birth of Christ is a fulfilment of prophecy: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (23; Isaiah 7:14). Christ is ‘God with us’. He was born through the power of the Holy Spirit (18,20). He is still ‘God with us’, when we are ‘born of the Spirit’ (John 3:5). Some people do not believe what the Bible says here. They do not like the idea of a ‘virgin birth’. The Bible gives no encouragement to such unbelief. Matthew simply says, ‘This is the way it happened’ (18). In view of the amazing thing God was doing – sending His Son to be the Saviour of the World – why should we doubt that God took things out of man’s hands and worked in His own miraculous way? We rejoice not only in the miracle but also in its saving purpose: ‘He will save His people from their sins’ (21).
Psalm 1
The first Psalm contrasts two ways – the way of the Word and the way of the world, the way of blessing and the way of judgment. Encouraging us to build upon the solid foundation of God’s Word, the opening Psalm sets the tone for what is to follow. To whet your appetite for the Psalms, here are some early lessons: stability in the Lord (1:1-2); service for the Lord (2:11); salvation of the Lord (3:8); sanctification from the Lord (4:4-5); singing to the Lord (8:4); strength in the Lord (9:9). These are some of the blessings promised to those who ‘delight in the law of the Lord’ (1-2). With a God like this – full of so much blessing for us – what else can we do but rejoice in Him?
Genesis 1:1-2:17
1:1-3 – ‘Genesis’ means ‘beginning’. These opening verses challenge us to get our priorities right – (a) The priority of God (1). God comes first. Before anyone else is mentioned, He is there. (b) The priority of God’s Word (3). God is the first to speak. Before any human word is spoken, there is the Word of the Lord. (c) The priority of God’s Spirit (2). All was ‘empty’, all was ‘darkness’, yet the ‘Spirit of God’ was at work, and transformation was set in motion. Here, we have God’s priorities, set out in the Bible’s first three verses – Putting God first and listening to His Word, we are to pray for the moving of God’s Spirit, ‘hovering over’ our lives to transform them. For those who make God’s priorities their own, there is a promise of great blessing (Psalm 1:1-2). It is the great blessing of knowing Jesus Christ, our Saviour, as ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23).
1:4-13 – God speaks, and it is done (3,6-7,11). God is pleased with what He has done (4,10,12). This is the pattern of God’s original creation. It is to be the pattern of our life as a ‘new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God speaks to us and we say, ‘Your will be done’ (Matthew 6:10). We say, ‘let it be to me according to Your Word’ (Luke 1:38). God looks on such obedience, this ‘walking in the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:16,22-23), and He sees that it is ‘good’ (Micah 6:8). In these verses we read of the separation of the light and the darkness, the separation of the waters and the dry land, and the fruitfulness of God’s creation. There are lessons for us here. We are to ‘walk in the light’ (1 John 1:7). We are to let the Spirit’s ‘living water’ flow in us (John 7:39-39). Walking in the light, letting the living water flow – this is the way of fruitfulness.
1:14-25 – The Bible’s opening chapter is a great hymn of praise, emphasizing that all things have been created for the glory of God (Revelation 4:11). Nothing can be permitted to distract our attention from the Lord. He alone is worthy of worship. The creation of the ‘lights’ makes no reference to the sun and the moon. These were worshipped by neighbouring peoples. They are not gods. They are simply ‘lights’. Our worship is to be given to God alone. The waters teemed with living creatures. The land produced living creatures. Here, we have a picture of life. There is life where the living water of the Spirit is flowing freely among God’s people (Ezekiel 47:5-9). This water brings life to the land (Ezekiel 47:12). Moving with the flow of God’s Spirit, we are to pray that ‘the water of life’ will flow freely ‘for the healing of the nations’ (Revelation 22:2).
1:26-2:3 – We now come to the creation of humanity, male and female. Our creation is described in a distinctive way – created in the image of God (26-27). We are different from the rest of creation. We have been given dominion over ‘all the earth’ and ‘every living creature’ (26,28). We are different from God. He is the Creator. We are His creation. Created in God’s image, we have been created by Him and for Him. Though we have sinned (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23), now – in Jesus Christ – we have begun to live as a new creation (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10). The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1) and that ‘all things were created by Him and for Him’ (Colossians 1:16). This is the Saviour who is at work in us, enabling us to live as a new creation! Creation has been ‘completed’ (2:1). Salvation will be completed (Philippians 1:6)!
2:4-14 – We read of ‘the breath of life’, producing ‘a living being’ (7). Separated from God through our sin, we have become spiritually dead (Ephesians 4:18; 2:1). Through the Spirit, we have been ‘born again’. This new birth is brought about by the breath of life, the wind of the Spirit (John 3:5-8). As the river watered the garden (10), so our lives are to be watered by ‘the river’ which flows ‘from the throne of God and of the Lamb’ (Revelation 22:1). As we read of the ‘tree’ which features in our fall into sin (9; 3:2-6), our thoughts turn also to the ‘tree’ which forms the foundation of our salvation – Christ ‘Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness’ (1 Peter 2:24). In our hearts, we say, ‘God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 6:14).
2:15-17 – We noted, in 1:1-3, the importance of getting our priorities right – God, God’s Word, God’s Spirit. Here, we emphasize the importance of these priorities. We are under God. We must remember that He is God (15). We are to obey God’s Word (16-17). Here, we learn that the act of obedience is an act of freedom. In Christ, we are set free to obey God. God says, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden’. He does not then say, ‘You are free to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. He says, ‘You must not’. The act of disobedience is not an act of freedom. By choosing the way of sin, we show that we are in bondage. We are not free. We are the captives of sin, and we need to be set free – by Christ (John 8:32,36). We come to know God, choosing good rather than evil, as we follow the way of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:16; Hebrews 5:14).
I LOVED READING BIBLE IN A year it ALRADY MAKING ME BETTER AND CLOSER TO GOD i never new jesus was tempted by the devil to
When it comes to the birth of Jesus, we all know the facts…the major one being the fact that Mary was a virgin.
Women look up to Mary as a powerful figure of inspiration.
What we have is a teenage girl, completely denying herself, putting her reputation on the line and saying “Alright, God…your will not mine.”
Not only would she get stigmatised by her surrounding village, people would judge her, assume she’d been doing the naughty and sneaking around…you can fill in the blanks with what.
But, you know what?
Today, let our hearts be with Joseph.
We all know what it feels like to be hurt by people we love. We have all experieced something of a broken heart…think about how Joe felt that day when Mary told him she was pregnant.
Having returned home from working all day in the workshop, hoping to come home into the arms of the woman he dearly loved, completely adored…and she’s got big news. Her palms are sweaty, she’s looking anxious. She’s probably on the verge of tears. She’s scared. She loves him…and the nagging feeling in the back of her mind is the fear of losing him. Her lover, her future husband, her family.
Stuttering the words, holding on to the Lord’s strength…
“I’m pregnant.”
Woah. Hang on a second.
Pregnant?
You can imagine how he felt. His heart sinks, his pulse increases…now he’s got the sweaty palms, the stinging eyes, blinking back the tears…
His whole future with this beautiful woman has come crashing down around him, landing at his feet in a pile of devastation.
What is he going to do?
Stop there for a second – What would you do?
He could have thrown her out. Simple.
You want nothing to do with her. She’s disgraced you. She’s made you look like a fool. She’s been the opposite of what you thought she was; a pure woman. It’s done. Over.
Joseph doesn’t do this.
In fact, he pauses. He thinks. He doesn’t let his emotions take control of him.
He was a ‘good man’ and ‘he did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly’.
Wow.
Just stop and take that in.
He didn’t want to disgrace her. Despite everything, he couldn’t bring himself to shame her.
Instead, the Bible says he considered things.
His love for her must have been deep…this was going to be a tough decision.
But, by giving time and room to breathe, God was able to have space and room to breathe into his life.
God steps in.
Isn’t it wonderful when our Saviour does that?
When all seems lost, when we’re in the pit of despair, our hearts are aching and our options limited, Jesus steps in.
Sending the angel, Joe finds out that his wife has laid everything down and agreed to mother Jesus for his short stay on Earth.
The light of the world, the Father of all hearts – He’s coming back to redeem and to save. To conquer all, and to pour out His love for His aching world. Now’s not the time to leave her, but to stand beside her.
He followed God’s advice. He married her. Helped her. Took on the dirty looks, the judgemental stares and the snide comments.
It must have been tough, but by following God’s commands, he got to watch the Saviour of the world grow up! What a priveledge.
He got to be there when Jesus took his first steps, when he said his first words, when he was teething…Joseph taught him the family trade, laughed when Jesus laughed, held him when he cried and scooped him up in his arms when he fell down. He was there for his first miracle (that section is normally left out of baby books.) and panicked like any Dad would when Jesus was missing at the age of 12, only to be found in the Temple later that day.
This couple, instead of running when the going got tough, when they were opposed, when they were looked at strangely…when they just didn’t quite ‘fit’ into the conventions of the day…they simply got tougher. They stood on the promises of God, trusted in Him and stood by each other. They supported each other, and together they were supported by God.
I think there’s a lesson in that for us all.
Just to let you know, I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on this reading.
Amen. Powerful stuff. Thanks be to God for this insight. Thank you.
As someone that doesn’t quite fit… Thankyou. God’s message for me this week seems to be to stand on his promises. Thanks for your excellent post.
I think it is great we have started this new spiritual adventure together with passages of The Bible that describe new-ness.. like the Creation.
Everybody’s comments are really encouraging and I’m looking forward to seeing how we all grow together
I loved reading genesis today, it made me think about how amazing god’s creation really is, he made EVERYTHING, I never really think about that, and how awesome it really is.
x
I hope i’M gonna be able to keep up reading the bible in one year, it’ll be a massive acheivement and help me get closer to the God i love!
Thanks guys
well, this is gonna be hard for me tbh i have never really sat down for 10 minutes a week and looked at the bible and prayed about it, hopefully i’ll be able to get through this i really want to do this! keep up all the comments guys they are really helping my understanding
xx
I think the Bible in year is a GREAT idea!
It’s pretty dang awesome if you ask me!
I get up every morning real early just so i can read it!
Which is pretty dang awesome if you ask me!
I think without Soul Survivor telling me about reading the Bible in a year, i don’t think I’d have done it.
Which aint so awesome if you ask me!
Much Love and God’s Blessing,
From
a girl who likes Jamie R x
I agree with you!
Everything is awesome! It’s great to read the Bible!
It’s so fun, and i read it every day at Midnight! funfunfun
Had a countdown with friends to the start of September!
AWESOME
x
Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our own likeness…”
I never got this passage when I was little. Us? Our? Right there in the first chapter God shows himself to be more than just the one. It’s only when Jesus arrives that a full understanding of ‘us’ and ‘our’ can truly be reached.
I wonder if Moses understood this when he wrote it. Did he not say to God “Hey, God, back up a little. What do you mean by us?”
Jesus was right there at the beginning. The bible has always been his story. Even if it’s writers were not privvy to certain information at the time they wrote it.
Amazing!
What is the significance about 14 in Matthew 1:17??????
From what I’ve gathered from other people’s comments, the number 14 has been regarded as special in 2 ways
Firstly, Hebrew letters had numerical values, and ‘DAVID’ adds up to 14, so it was highlighting his significance.
Also, in Revelation it puts forward how the number 7 is the number of perfection, and 14=7×2, and someone else has mentioned how when you look at the generations, that means that there have been 6 sets of 7 up until Jesus, so he was born into the 7th set of 7.
Hope that was helpful, I only discovered this yesterday too!
wow! that is so cool! so many 7s! no wonder people think number 7 is the ‘lucky’ number!
I read Day 1 yesterday afternoon, but didn’t have time to log on afterwards. One of the verses I had to read a few times – Genesis 1:7, “So God … separated the water under the expanse from the water above it … called the expanse “sky”.” Um … that confused me, because it sounds like half the sea is above the sky … does that mean the clouds?
maybe, but dont forget that the sea is a reflection of the sky? or all land was underwater so if you where viewing this underwater on a plot of land and then suddenlly everything above you was lifted to the space above you, i suppose you would call it water (think about pirets of the carribien when they where upside down underwater then everything whooshed and all the water above them become the sky? bit crazy init lol)
Just to offer you another line of enquiry. The creationists believe the world was very different to what it is like now (supported by fossil evidence) and the key trigger to the change was the great flood in the time of Noah. So somehow there was a lot more water in the sky which provided a global incredibly fertile and protective climate for the earth (large plants, creatures, longevity). At the time of the flood all that water was ‘released’ from the sky onto the earth – which answers the question where did all the water come from. From then on the landscape and the climate dramatically changed impacting on all living things.
Wow that is amazing to here all about the change after the flood and making sense of what it was like before the flood. There is so much in the Bible which must explain tonnes of things for us. God has literally provided us with a manual on how to live and how the place that we live on works.
Hi everyone,
Yes i am still awake at this ridiculous hour, meticulously reading over everything and making notes. Brilliant comments guys.
Just wanna give a massive high five to soul survivor and a huge thanks!!!
Today our youth group met at church at midday to start the bibleinoneyear together and it was just such a flipping brilliant bible study. Everyone is really keen to do this. We’ve lacked on the bible front over the years and I think this spiritual feeding is gonna be the start of something amazing. Exciting times.
Goodnight.
p.s. – might just go ahead and read day 2 already!
Ok, so it’s not technically day 1 anymore, but it’s taken me ages to read through all the comments! (yes, I actually read every single one…)
.
Quite a bit of repetition, but really interesting, I’ve learnt quite a bit from having a read through them
I think it’s rather awesome to be doing this as a little (or not so little) online community, especially as I’m doing this on my own rather than as part of a group.
Hmm… better go get some sleep and be ready for the day 2 passages!
Exciting stuff
Wow!
So many beautiful people seeking answers and learning together.
You are never alone Hazelnut, when you seek God!
Keep at it all of you, Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Time for bed for me too, I rise at 6am each day to read the bible and go to the gym before work, every day is best lived with God, and put Him first always!
Time for bedibyes said zebedee, boiyng!!!
What I love about this is that we see the created on the first human, Adam, who was completely clean and without sin, and then we see the birth of Jesus, the second human born without sin, and then Psalm 1 which encourages us not to sin, it all fits together so perfectly, but then the Bible has a funny way of doing that… probably something to do with he author.
I’m still having a problem with the Matthew 1:18-25 link, so I’ll just post the comment directly.
–
The birth of Christ is a fulfilment of prophecy: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14).
Christ is ‘God with us’. He was born through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18,20). He is still ‘God with us’, when we are ‘born of the Spirit’ (John 3:5). Some people do not believe what the Bible says here. They do not like the idea of a ‘virgin birth’. The Bible gives no encouragement to such unbelief. Matthew simply says, ‘This is the way it happened’ (Matthew 1:18). In view of the amazing thing God was doing – sending His Son to be the Saviour of the World – why should we doubt that God took things out of man’s hands and worked in His own miraculous way? We rejoice not only in the miracle but also in its saving purpose: ‘He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21).
ahhh Printer 56! My friend throughout the summer. Send my love to her. Enjoyed today, really hoping I can stick at it throughout the year. No matter how busy I am, it’s never a good enough excuse to push the Bible out.
Hope i can see the year through. All of ous. I will be praying for ya`ll.
I was excitedly waiting too as most. Its amazing how today is all about beginnings. i believe this is truly the beginning of great time enjoying what the lord has to say and pouring more of him into us. A time which we draw closer to him together.
3 areas God is speaking to me is.
1. The power of the word, every word is a seed that bare fruit, what seeds are we planting and in what soil.
2. Order, the order of creation is absolute genius , What great wisdom, knowing what must come after what, and our provisions sorted before coming into the picture. It important to order our life according to Gods word. Applying it require the giver of that wisdom. With God there is no confusion. But order and peace.
3. Purpose: God clearly states what man was to do after creating him. Be fruitful, Increase., Fill the earth, Subdue it. everything we do must line up with this or work towards it.
I’m just pleased to have finished reading first readings before midnight!! Just hope and pray I can keep it up. Found the 3 readings really complimented each other well.
ok – has anyone spotted the poetry?? Page 1 – Genesis 1 – the 2 columns kind of help:
and God said, and God said, and God said; then God said …..
and God said, and God said, and God said; then God said …..
Is that me or is it there in the original Hebrew????
From what I can remember in my Hebrew module, yes it is. I can’t remember the name of the type of poetry, but the chapeter is definitely written in the style of a type of Hebrew poem.
am thrilled to get a response and in awe at your knowledge !
Let me know what type of poem when you unearth your notes!!
hi thanks for reply and info – tried to post a reply already so hope haven’t now posted twice but let me know if you work out what kind of poem etc!!
sorry that I cant find my notes! arrgh!
if you google “Genesis 1 poem”, it comes up with quite a bit.
From what I can remember in my Hebrew module, yes it is. I can’t remember the name of the type of poetry, but the chapter is definitely written in the style of a type of Hebrew poem.
Also check out what Rob Bell has to say about Genesis in “Everything is spiritual” – it’s the first topic he covers.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap68EG2K6Bc&p=5E15FE7DA51C73A7&index=1 I think that is most of what he has to say about Genesis, but the whole thing is brilliant and really worth watching completely if you can get your hands on it!
love bible in one year! cant wait to be filled and blessed and challenged.
ruth
Can people tell me what they think of Genesis? i mean do you take it literally or think its a metaphor or something. i personally believe its a metaphor because of a) the reliability of the source and b) because of the likelihood of it happening. We don’t see god work the way he does in Genesis today (saying something and then it appears). i believe God created all but i don’t think it was as instant as the book suggests.
Personally, I believe it to be a mixture of the two. Specifically, I believe the creation accounts to be figurative (but, as I have stressed plenty of times elsewhere, this is not something that should tear us christians apart!). Beyond that, it gets a bit trickier, because the Bible starts to come up with dates and names of settlements. There is a case to argue that Genesis 1 – 11 is mostly figurative (but its no where near clear cut), mostly based upon the difference in the way the author writes.
hope this helps a bit
Blessings
We are made in the image of God and in us he lives.can not wait 2 get deeper into the word!
I love the way this is set out and that we get to focus on parts we wouldn’t normally.
What struck me today was Gen2:4-9 Now from the previous verses we know that God made plants before humans but taking the hyphens as brackets – as I think they are intended – it looks that to some degree plants were first designed but then in the midst of man, caused them to grow out from the ground.
Just an observation. It could just be an Eden thing but v5-7 make it look global. Thoughts anyone?
364 to go! God bless.
*God caused
personally, I believe that Genesis one and two are two separate accounts – like we have four gospels, I believe that the two chapters have different perspectives and agendas.
The first chapter reads like a lot of ancient Hebrew poetry, and many would take the viewpoint that it was meant to be used in a kind of public way – like some churches have spoken bits (litergy) in their services.
The second chapter is a lot more organic, and centres very much on the story of the first man and woman.
Hope this helps a bit… Blessings.
i’ve been waiting for the bible in one year to start since i got it! i was so excited when it started today
x
i though ss b was soo good too
can’t wait to see what tomorrows entry holds, night everyone
Just loving how the trinity comes out across the three readings, plus the way in which we see massive stuff goin on in creation, alongside God acting up close & personal in individuals’ lives – e.g. Matt. 1v20.
I don’t quite get it
It says that God made light on the first day and separated day and night but God didn’t created the sun or moon until the third day! it makes no sense!
It starts off by saying that God separated light and darkness, and called these day and night. The sun is just a formation that produces light. So although God created the sun later light is already existing, It just isn’t being embodied in the sun. I’m not certain but I would suggest that the image of evening and morning is part of the poetic style in which this passage is written.
Hope this helps, I can see where you’re coming from.
the way i look at it is that God is awesome and if He wanted light, there would be light… even without the sun… just because He is God. Maybe he created the sun so that we as humans would have an explanation for light… but God doesnt need an explanation for it.
Hope that helped or gave u something to think about
Oh and also, maybe take literally the words of Jesus – “I am the Light of the world” … and Jesus was at creation …. just a thought
Is Lucifer ever described as ‘the darkness’? I don’t really know anything about the fall of Lucifer and am gonna buy a book about it because it sounds very interesting, but when I read the last bit of what you said, it made me think that maybe it was to do with Jesus and Lucifer being separated… it is an interesting thought…
i found these comments earlier and thought they might help answering your question
god bless
Spear says:
September 1, 2010 at 8:08 am
From reading the Genesis passage I’ve noticed that light was created on days 1 and 4.
On day 1 of creation God speaks light into the world but there’s no physical source. I think the source of the light here is Jesus as he is the light of the world or like in the book of Revelation were there was no sun in Heaven to shine but the glory of God shined.
On day 4 the sun, moon and stars were created, all showing God’s amazing power and glory.
Reply
Chris Munns says:
September 1, 2010 at 9:04 am
You seem to be implying that Jesus is “created” on Day 1, but as part of God, Jesus is present from the beginning (see John 1). So what precisely do you mean?
Reply
Spear says:
September 1, 2010 at 5:48 pm
I mean that Jesus provides the light as he is the light of the world and he wasn’t created quite rightly as he is part of the Trinity which you have already pointed out.
Stang says:
September 1, 2010 at 9:57 am
I used to think this was weird too… But thinking about it from an engineering point of view it actually makes perfect sense. When a workman is working on something they’ll work under a desk lamp (or work light)… Once they have finished their design they will show it off in a display cabinet for all to see. In the display cabinet the workman will shine spotlights onto his work so viewers can view it in its full glory.
Similarly God created a ‘work-light’ on the first day and spotlights on the the fourth. Hope that makes sense, I found it kinda cool.
Reply
Lou says:
September 1, 2010 at 11:51 am
Yeah the way I saw it was that he’d got this earth…and needed to see it to work on it….so ‘let there be light’ and I’m assuming this light is coming from God. Then after creating plants on day 3 he must have been like well I need to get it so these plants and the earth can function so create the sun to manage the giving light, seasons etc…… Question is what function have the stars?? Are they too give light to us in more than just a physical sense (cus lets face it the stars don provide enough light to see by at night) so are they there so that its not just a dark nights sky, or is it God showing his glory and power in amazing way to “shine the light” give us hope in him?? Don’t know about everyone else but I’ve always found seeing stars amazingly peaceful and just ‘WOW’!!
Hi Josh, It’s a mind boggler but I reckon that it’s because we’re so used to light coming from the sun, it seems like it doesn’t make sense for light or days to have existed BEFORE the sun. (Ask God when we get to Heaven but here’s to help picture it.) When you look up at space in the night, you see dark bluey purple behind the stars. Well imagine if that was all bright yellow instead of dark purple- just a different colour.
So instead of having half of space one colour and the other half another we have the sun to provide our light from one side. I don’t know how he did it tbh but hope this helps with imagining light without a light source!
God bless
I like to think of the “way of sinners” as like a path. Its not saying “well your a bit silly if you stand right in front of him, aren’t you?”, its saying if we are on that path, the path of sinners, then we’re just that, sinners, but if we turn away from that path, and follow the path set out my jesus, then we are truly blessed. Hope this helps, and sorry about the poor wording :/
x
The New American Standard Bible says, “path of sinners”.
It is good to look at other translations in order to understand the full meaning of some verses 
It is especially easy to do this on the website: http://www.biblegateway.com
The Amplified Bible says, “stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk”.
The New Living Translation says, “stand around with sinners”.
The Contemporary English Version says, “won’t follow sinners”.
The New Century Version says, “who don’t go where sinners go”.
etc etc etc, so I think you are thinking along the right lines
You can easily flick change the translation etc
Hey, i was just wondering, in todays passage it says that jesus was decended from all these people but actually the line goes to joseph who is not a blood relation to jesus so actaully jesus was not decended from Davis and all these people after all?? any ideas???
sorry posted it twice as i thought the first one crashed
Jesus is a decendent not by blood but by name and occupation. Many people (even more so today) have parents whom are not necessarily biologically their own but are still considered to be throughout their communities. So yes, Jesus may not be biologically decendent from David but yet he is.
Its not covered in our reading today, but the line of descendants in Luke is taken from the mothers side – so in any case, Jesus’ link to David is covered
Another thing is that Joseph would’ve adopted Jesus as his own, which gave him full legal status as father.
Hope this helps.
Blessings.
thanks very much, that helps alot
It is likely both Mary and Joseph we descended from the line of David, thus making Jesus descended of David biologically through his mothers side. Likely that Lukes genealogy follows Marys line.
(One of the most widely held theories suggests that Matthew’s account follows the lineage of Joseph, while Luke’s genealogy is that of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This interpretation would mean that Jacob was Joseph’s biological father, and Heli (Mary’s biological father) became Joseph’s surrogate father, thus making Joseph Heli’s heir through his marriage to Mary. If Heli had no sons, this would have been the normal custom. Also, if Mary and Joseph lived under the same roof with Heli, his “son-in-law” would have been called “son” and considered a descendent. Although it would have been unusual to trace a genealogy from the maternal side, there was nothing usual about the virgin birth. Additionally, if Mary (Jesus’ blood relative) was indeed a direct descendant of David, this would make her son “the seed of David” in keeping with Messianic prophecies.)
(http://christianity.about.com/od/biblefactsandlists/a/jesusgenealogy.htm)
Hey, i was wondering in todays passage it says that jesus was decended from all these people and its important cos he was decended from david and all that but actaully the line goes to joseph and joseph is not a blood relation to jesus so actaully jesues is not really decended from all these people? if that makes sence? any ideas????
yup get the question – 2 things, Joseph accepted Jesus as his son (or Mary would have been in big trouble) and that therefore made him a descendant of Joseph’s family, and Jews also trace their ancestory through their mothers – don’t know if that helps!
My understanding is that Mary was also was a descendent of King David (I asked this question once myself) so both Mary and Joseph came through David’s bloodline…
thanks for taking the time to answer my question, that really helps!
First time at soul survivor this year so glad to have picked up this book. Have just read the first day and I actually get it. My daughter has just come in as she has been waiting to read it as well looking forward tomorrow
Left it a bit late to get started, wish I had given myself more time to go through all the comments, but just want to send out tonnes of encouragement to everyone starting this journey today. I have tried many times to read the Bible chronologically (I am quite a methodical person) but have always given up, embarrassingly not long past Genesis. Today was a reminder of all those times as the first Chapter of Genesis must be my most read chapter of the Bible, however reading it alongside Matthew 1 gave it a new perspective and I feel more optimistic that this time I will get beyond Exodus! Really enjoyed reading some of the comments on here and hope to be able to contribute more throughout the year!
God Bless!
Wow i read this morning i’m so excited to be reading this once a day. i keep falling flat on my face but since soul survivor its been great and the bible in one year and this blog I’m hoping will keep me and many others tuned in to what God wants
I don’t know if this has already been said but someone should totally collate all these comments into The People’s Commentary of the bible. It’d be sweet as a nut!
I love this idea!!
I guess if they leave the blog up at the end of the year, then it kind of is the people’s commentary – online. No need to collate it or print it. That’s what I’ll be using it for as it builds up over the next 12 months.
I am so excited about the bible in a year!
But- like everyone else- I have alot of questions (sorry if they have already been answered previously, there are about 500 comments, that is alot to go through.)
1. Where was the Garden of Eden on Earth?
2. Do you believe in the theory that we, as humans, evolved from apes? What is your reasoning behind your view?
3. At Soul survivor this year, we were given Bible notes each morning for Crofty’s talks. I didn’t get the Day 2 sheet and on it there was more information about Jesus’ family tree and the numerical significance 0f 14 generations between david and exile and 14 between exile to Jesus. Does anyone have this that could paste or sum up? Or is there a resource on the internet that tells you?
Finally.
4. Does it say anywhere in the Bible that we can eat animals and meat? As it stated in the passage today that the ‘green plants were for food’?
Thanks
Hi to question 2 i think that it might of happened because i believe that it happened over an age not days so it makes sense.
But didn’t it also say that we owned all the animals as well which presumably means we can eat them?
i think it means that we are ment to look after them so by eating some we keep a balanced food web
Hey there, I’m glad you’re sharing the excitement! hopefully, my answers can help you.
1) The location of the Garden of Eden has long been debated, as well as whether or not there was such a place. I know it’s wikipedia, but… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Eden
Personally (as you will probably be able to tell in my later answer to number two), I don’t believe it is of massive importance.
2)I do indeed believe that the theory of evolution is the most accurate description of how our planet is a hotbed of such diverse organisms. I believe it, mainly because of two reasons: firstly, because most prominent scientists in this field who have studied it extensively believe it to be so. Secondly, I believe it because historically, since the theory came about, most church leaders backed it. Creationism is a relatively new thing, and the way in which some people have tried to make belief in a literal reading of Genesis 1 – 2 is baffling to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against people disagreeing with me on whether it really was six days or not, I just don’t think that peoples salvation rests upon it!
3) I did have the notes, but alas, Im afraid I accidently threw them away
4)We will get to this as we progress over the year (obviously!
), but the first command saying it was ok to eat meat was just after the flood – Noah and co. Thats Genesis 9 verse 1 – 4. God puts restrictions on eating meat there though. Jesus overules this law in the New testament, however, saying this:
“Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.
15Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ ”
17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.
18″Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?
19For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)”
Jesus wanted us to stop thinking about our diet so much, and pay attention to our thoughts and actions!
Anyway, hope this helps a bit. Blessings.
check out Romans 14 regarding what we are to eat.
If you wait till after the flood that’s when God gives us meat!
1. I’m going to just say here that I’m not sure. There’s been many theories about that and still are many being made. Personally, I wouldn’t see it as somewhere today as the world’s land has changed so much from then that it is very doubtful it was just one area. Because of the plates under the earth and electromagnetic field around the earth the land is constantly moving, so effectivally we are getting further and further away from the rest of Europe by a few centimeters each year. So to say exactly where it was would be almost impossible as the area may have been parts of other areas that have come from other places.
2. I don’t believe in Macro evolution myself, mainly because there are just too many gaps in this theory. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believen evolution doesn’t happen… it’s always happening around us (take girraffes for example), but I can’t see us evolving from Apes… otherwise the Apes would be dying out (as evolution means all the old animals that the evolved forms come from usually die out within a few hundred years… this is obviously not the case as there is evidence that Humans have been around for a few thousand)
3. If I remember correctly, I think the number 14 was significant because the numerical values of the letters in the name David add up to 14. So effectivally the geneology was saying David, David, David – which I think was also in one of the Samuals when he first became king (I’m not entirely sure about that bit, but I’m almost certain there’s somewhere where david’s name is called three times like that).
4. I’m going to reference a later point in the new testement where Peter has a vision where Jesus says to eat the animals but Peter says they are unclean. (kind of summarising the reading here really), and God uses this to say it’s his place to say what is clean and unclean, not ours – so in answer to your question – yes we can eat meat… and I think this shows us that
do you know the exact passage for nr 4.? cause i tried to find that one but couldn´t
thanks
‘Matthew underlines the David connection.Number 14 is a big deal, this is because in Hebrew, letters had a numerical value, so A might=4, B=6 etc. If we add up the letters in David’s name the number we get is 14! By grouping the family tree into groups of fourteen Matthew’s saying ’14,14,14, or David, david, david.’
Thats what I have on my sheet
1. i believe that eden was where mesopotamia (iraq, syria)[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia ]is today. in the garden of eden there was a river called euphrates and it flows threw this area…
2. i don´t believe we are related to apes, it doesn´t say anything like that in the bible, so it cannot be.
3.day 2 sheet says:
What Andy didn´t mention is that in verse 17 Matthew underlines the ´David´ connection. If you read it you´ll see the number 14 is a big deal, this is because in Hebrew letters had a numerical value, so A might=4, B=6 etc. If we add up the letters in David´s name the number we get is 14!By grouping the family tree into groups of fourteen Matthew´s saying “14, 14, 14″ or “David, David, David”
4. Read Genesis 9v2-4. I am sure that we are allowed to eat meat!!!
Some people might say, we shouldn´t eat pork and stuff because it is impure or so. I think thats religious and i don´t want to be like the pharisees by doing religious stuff and holding on to pointless traditions. we should just do what god says and not what people wants us to do because it´s a tradition..
hope that helps a bit
god bless, theresa
Number 4, I think God says something about eating animals after The Flood? (Y’know, Noah and what not). The impure animal stuff you refer to, there’s a whole story in the new testament about how we shouldn’t call anything God has made impure (or unclean) but that we can eat them all – Acts 10:17-48
)
In Mark it also says that it is not what we put into oursleves that is unclean it is what comes out of our hearts that does so. And it says that in saying this Jesus says that all foods are clean and i assume therefore, ok to eat. (mark 7 : 14 -24)
NO im sure we didnt evolve from apes because if we did there would be half human half ape things everywhere or there would be no apes at all because they all would have evolved. also god made us in his inage and he made us set apart from every other creature
The actual theory is not we evolved from apes but that humans and apes have the same ancestor which wasn’t an ape or a human but is who we come from. I think this is more plausible than us evolving from apes
1. The rivers mentioned would suggest somewhere in modern day Iraq.
2. I have no strong opinions, but the archeological evidence would seem to suggest that apes and humans had some kind of common ancestor. But at some point there still had to be some first humans. It depends on how literally you want to take Adam & Eve. If evolution was proved conclusively true tomorrow, it wouldn’t make a scrap of difference to my faith. Or, you could show me the tomb of Adam and Eve and it wouldn’t make a difference either.
3. The numerical significance is that the number 14 represents David, as other people have stated.
4. See after the flood. Genesis 9 verse 3.
Hope that helps.
Hey there, I’m glad you’re sharing the excitement! hopefully, my answers can help you.
1) The location of the Garden of Eden has long been debated, as well as whether or not there was such a place. Theres plenty of stuff on the net – if you google “location of eden”, you’ll come up with loads of sites
Personally (as you will probably be able to tell in my later answer to number two), I don’t believe it is of massive importance.
2)I do indeed believe that the theory of evolution is the most accurate description of how our planet is a hotbed of such diverse organisms. I believe it, mainly because of two reasons: firstly, because most prominent scientists in this field who have studied it extensively believe it to be so. Secondly, I believe it because historically, since the theory came about, most church leaders backed it. Creationism is a relatively new thing, and the way in which some people have tried to make belief in a literal reading of Genesis 1 – 2 is baffling to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against people disagreeing with me on whether it really was six days or not, I just don’t think that peoples salvation rests upon it!
3) I did have the notes, but alas, Im afraid I accidently threw them away
4)We will get to this as we progress over the year (obviously! ), but the first command saying it was ok to eat meat was just after the flood – Noah and co. Thats Genesis 9 verse 1 – 4. God puts restrictions on eating meat there though. Jesus overules this law in the New testament, however, saying this:
“Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.
15Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’ ”
17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.
18″Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?
19For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”)”
Jesus wanted us to stop thinking about our diet so much, and pay attention to our thoughts and actions!
Anyway, hope this helps a bit. Blessings.
2. I don’t believe in evolution mainly because after each day of creation God says that it is GOOD. As evolution is a cylce that is centred around death and the survival of the fittest I don’t believe it is compatible with the GOOD world that Genesis says God first created before sin and death entered the world.
4. I think that originally plants were for food because it was a perfect world but later after sin in Gen. 3 something had to be killed because of the sin. In Acts 9 God tells peter that he can eat anything but I’ve also heard in telks before that this dream represented that Jesus died for everyone. I think that whether you eat meat or not is up to the individual.
I hope I’ve helped
for your #3,
i have the sheet here and it says:
“Matt 1:1 – Matthew makes the link to King David in the first verse, then he shows us the family tree that shows the connections to David. What Andy didn’t mention is that in verse 17 Matthew underlines the ‘David’ connection. If you read it you’ll see the number 14 is a big deal, this is because in Hebrew letters had a numerical value, so A might = 4, B = 6 etc. If we add up the letters in David’s name the number we get is 14! By grouping the family tree into groups of fourteen Matthew’s saying ’14, 14, 14, or David, David, David’ ”
hope that helps
oh and Jesus and his disciples ate fish, so.. im guessing we can eat animals?
Science is actually closer to disproving the theory of evolution than it is to proving it. Whilst there is evidence of adaptation within species over time, there is no evidence of development of new species. The big problem in creation for science is that for creation to be true, there has to be a creator, a higher being than us, God. So if you don’t want to accept that there is a supreme being then you need an alternative to creation. So you could say that the theory of evolution is rooted in atheism and was put forward as a means to disprove the existence of God.
I must say i disagree I think that evolution is people who don’t believe in God trying to understand the world. We have God and so we don’t need to understand it but they feel something had to have happened. The whole God shaped hole thing. I personally believe that evolution could have happened and god created it.
I suppose it depends on how we interpret the creation story in Genesis 1 & 2. I personally take it to be literally 7 days, in which God created every individual and unique species. And I don’t see where that leaves room for evolution. But as Matthew says below, this is a secondary issue, and we should be looking at the “Why God created” than the “How God created”.
Hey there Phil, It’d be great to see some journals to back that claim up.
The theory of evolution put forward by darwin was never meant to be an argument against the existence of God. In fact, Darwin did not see such a connection,* and most Church leaders of the day backed his theory.
*Darwin himself was an agnostic. His reason was not the method of our being here, but the problem of suffering.
Helen, the art of Science is describing the world we see around them. Evolution is firmly within that tradition. it is based upon the how, not the why.
Personally I see no contradiction in the theory of evolution and a Creator God.
As I have stated before, we really need to put this in perspective too. this is a secondary issue. this should never be given the same precedence (or resources!) as matters regarding salvation, and should certainly not drive Christians away from each other!
Hi Matthew, I whole-heartedly agree that this is a secondary issue, by when I hear the kind of stuff Hawking has been spouting recently I get kinda defensive for God (not that He need me to stand his corner for him!)
Found this article intersting but long so I’ll just put the end up here.
Cambrian Explosion Disproves Evolution
“some of my favorite quotes on the subject by leading evolutionary scientists, and even Darwin himself. By their own words they admit this very important piece of the evolutionary puzzle does not fit, and never will. Enjoy.
“There is another and allied difficulty, which is much more serious. I allude to the manner in which species belonging to several of the main divisions of the animal kingdom suddenly appear in the lowest known fossiliferous rocks.” (Darwin, The Origin of Species, p. 348),
“The abrupt manner in which whole groups of species suddenly appear in certain formations, has been urged by several palaeontologists—for instance, by Agassiz, Pictet, and Sedgwick—as a fatal objection to the belief in the transmutation of species. If numerous species, belonging to the same genera or families, have really started into life at once, the fact would be fatal to the theory of evolution through natural selection.” (Ibid., p. 344),
“To the question why we do not find rich fossiliferous deposits belonging to these assumed earliest periods prior to the Cambrian system, I can give no satisfactory answer.” (Ibid., p. 350),
“The case at present must remain inexplicable, and may be truly urged as a valid argument against the views here entertained.” (Ibid., p. 351),
“The most famous such burst, the Cambrian explosion, marks the inception of modern multicellular life. Within just a few million years, nearly every major kind of animal anatomy appears in the fossil record for the first time … The Precambrian record is now sufficiently good that the old rationale about undiscovered sequences of smoothly transitional forms will no longer wash.” (Stephen Jay Gould, “An Asteroid to Die For,” Discover, October 1989, p. 65),
“And we find many of them [Cambrian fossils] already in an advanced state of evolution, the very first time they appear. It is as though they were just planted there, without any evolutionary history. Needless to say, this appearance of sudden planting has delighted creationists.” (Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1987, p. 229),
“One of the major unsolved problems of geology and evolution is the occurrence of diversified, multicellular marine invertebrates in Lower Cambrian rocks on all the continents and their absence in rocks of greater age.” (I. Axelrod, “Early Cambrian Marine Fauna,” Science, Vol. 128, 4 July 1958, p. 7),
“Evolutionary biology’s deepest paradox concerns this strange discontinuity. Why haven’t new animal body plans continued to crawl out of the evolutionary cauldron during the past hundreds of millions of years? Why are the ancient body plans so stable?” (Jeffrey S. Levinton, “The Big Bang of Animal Evolution,” Scientific American, Vol. 267, November 1992, p. 84),
“Granted an evolutionary origin of the main groups of animals, and not an act of special creation, the absence of any record whatsoever of a single member of any of the phyla in the Pre-Cambrian rocks remains as inexplicable on orthodox grounds as it was to Darwin.” (T. Neville George Professor of Geology at the University of Glasgow, “Fossils in Evolutionary Perspective,” Science Progress, Vol. 48, No. 189, January 1960, p. 5).
I’ve seen more stuff on DNA etc I’ll see if I can find it.
Whats your view of the report that Darwin found Christ before he died and regretted putting forth his theory. Urban myth or possible?
Good to debate
Just thinking though Matthew (since we agree this as a secondary issue) here’s probably not the place to get into lengthy discussion & postings.
I’ll just close with saying I googled “science disproves evolution” and the cases put forward seem to me to be more believable as evidence than what I find for “science proves evolution.”
I guess we’ll all find out in eternity!
I think what I should have said is that many atheists seem to take the theory of evolution in an attempt to prove that God doesnt exist, rather than tar all evoutionists with the same brush. My sincere apologies for the generalisations.
I love the paralell with Genesis 1 and Matthew 1: Out of nothing came everything (Genesis), and then out of everything comes the only thing we need (Mathew 1:1). Praise God!
This is brilliant !!
absolutely!
wow, that is one way to say it
Wasn’t going to do this. Now am. Very excited!
I love these comments as i think it will rely help people like me who read the bible but find it hard to take in what’s actually being said, or seem to forget what Iv’e just read minutes later. I’m looking forward to what we will be able to discover as we get further into the scriptures.
i find if you highlight or write in yuor bible bout what you learnt it helps you remember what youv read cus its easy to recap what youv learnt
thank you for this bible in one year because it has encouraged me to start to read the bible again. Even though it has been the first day god has really spoken to me
Thanks x x
I’m reading it a bit late, but I feel so excited about starting this bible in a year journey. It feels like it fit’s in nicely, time wise, with me returning to school tomorrow
but it feels good to start, I’ve never managed to read through the whole bible before, so this will be a first for me xx
I cant wait its gona b amazing and i’m really thankful that we all hve the opertunity to read through it with so many other people !
And hey imogen? um i’m with u on the getting distracted thing but i guess that u gota admit sometimes it wont happen. jst dont bash ureself up about it.
In the Genesis reading, it never says that God thought the world “perfect”, but “good”. I heard someone use this as a reason for volcanoes, earthquarks and stuff. Any thoughts, anyone?
Great idea, putting teaching with scripture, I hope I’ll be able to fisnish this one! XD Having started others before…
In terms of trying to use this as a reason for suffering, I’d probably veer away from it. I just don’t think a study of language is that beneficial to such a gritty question which is more often than not asked in a very grounded, rather than an academic, place.
I personally believe that the issue of suffering is not one which can be answered in our current state, and that it is unwise to try. The best we can do is offer up the ultimate answer: Jesus. We believe in a God who is not remote from His creation, but gets actively involved in it, and loves it so much that through Jesus, he offered up his own life to heal it. He is a God who cries when we hurt, and laughs when we laugh. This doesn’t answer the ultimate question of why there is suffering, but does offer the hope of a God who is sorting it out (and inviting us to help him along the way!)
Any thoughts?
hey hannah
i saw your thoughts and i began to think. maybe it says that god doesnt call it perfect because heaven is perfect and he doesnt want earth to be exactly like it because he wants us to get excited. sounds silly really, but thought it was a cool thing. or maybe, satan got in the way of creation and made the volcanoes etc, so he doesnt say perfect because the devil slightly ruined it. i honestly love volcanoes even though they are dangerous, but they are amazing.
good question, thank you. hope my view seems good
Zoe xxxxx
I think these questions are some of the hardest to answer when confronted about it. I too also love volcanoes but the damage they cause is awful. For stuff like that I usually try and look for the good in disasters (which granted is hard but who said life was easy) such as cooperation between countries to give aid
I think that good in this really does actually mean perfect as everything God makes was originally perfect. Suffering is a result of sin as after Adam and Eve’s sin they had to suffer because of it at the end of Gen. 3 and God killed an animal to make clothing for them. I think volcanoes and stuff like that are a mix of showing God’s glory but they also cause suffering as a result of our sin.
I hope this has helped.
hi
wow, i have been so excited to do this since i got the BIOY
i think it is so amazing that everyone is doing this
the thing is i get distracted really easily and i find it hard to stick to things – has anyone got any tips on how to keep this up for a YEAR?
x
I think it’s a good idea to try and go for the same time every day
Don’t see it as a task, see it as getting to know the person who loves you more than anyone can and ever will. Will be less of theory then and more of a love affair then:)
Good Luck
just pray and ask god to help you. the first few days or weeks might be difficult(and i am sure most of us will need loads of discipline) but just go through with it, you are gonna love the time with god, jesus and the holy spirit
god bless
We have decided to read together as a family – pray we can keep it up!
We found a typo and enjoyed spotting it and my son read “chaff” as “chav” which made us laugh.
A great start for us doing this as a family – thank you – we have at least 20 others in our church reading too
Great idea and hope you manage it! I read today’s readings with one of my daughters – it was a total joy, first time we have done that in ages, plus we have the whole youth group pledged to do this too! Go Fusion!!!
Again , like everyone else im so excited to start reading the BIOY but there has been one thing on my mind reading through Day Ones section of genesis!
. so what im trying to say is God wanted us to understand that he created the world but also for us to grow up (but on a larger scale (centuries)) to figure out that God created the “BIG BANG” :/ …… i dont know if im getting the point across to anyone or if anyone know what im tlaking about but if you could comment then thta would be great 
Now it was just a thought , but does anybody else think that maybe the big cheese didnt create the earth exactly to the words in the Bible but maybe who ever write Genesis write it in a way that the people could understand back before christ (BC) and any technology we have to this day. For example like the way we tell stories to small children about babies being brought by stalks so they can understand at there age but when they grow up they figure out that actually its alot more complicated (you know what im mean
Anthony
I’d pretty much agree with that. I think Mikey P put it well earlier on… the main emphasis of the creation narrative (or even narratives) found in the Bible is not how, but why.
I’m much more interested in what God thinks of Humankind than how he created us. And to see that he views us as made in his image is truly amazing!
Thanks Matthew Jeffery, God Bless You!!
Lord Your Wonderful and How I Love You
I agree it doesn’t really matter how we got here just that its amazing and we should make use of the time we have
I’m Soooo Glad That The Bible In A Year Has Been Started because as a newly Baptised Christian This year, I Was Thinking How Do I Start Going About Reading The Bible As I’m Not Good With Alot Of Reading But Having This Book Is Going To Make It Easier For Me As There Isn’t to much to read but you learn alot with just that many pages per day which is great. Soooo I’m Soooo Thankful For This Book Thanks Guys God Bless
And I Would Like To Say That Soul Survivor Week B 2010 was Truly Amazing xxxx
I struggle with reading the bible as well but i agree with you that this will make it a lot easier!
And yes, week B was completely AWESOME
Yeah Thats What I Thought to
Coz this way i wll get though the bible in a better way 
x
N YAY
Wander if anyone can help me…
I always thought that the creation of humanity was a lot more expanded upon before i read the passage today. I expected there to be a lot more, like the creation of Eve from Adam. Is it just this translation that shortens the story, if not, where did this idea come from that Eve was formed using a rib from Adam etc?
Hello Laura, have a peep at tomorrows reading. You’ll find your answer there. Take care.
That’s tomorrow.
I always thought that the creation of humanity was a lot more expanded upon before i read the passage today. I expected there to be a lot more, like the creation of Eve from Adam. Is it just this translation that shortens the story, if not, where did this idea come from that Eve was formed using a rib from Adam etc?
yeah, this reading stops just before the creation of eve from adam. you get to read about that tomorrow!
That was a great way to start reading the bible.
This is the first time i’ve read it and I seem to see messages about my trust in God’s word, as well as the extent of his power.
Though I was quite tired, so hopefully I can get to read it earlier
I’m so excited!!!!! This BIOY is gonna be awesome!
One question which I’m baffled by, in matthew it talks about how Mary and Joseph are going to be married but aren’t married yet…. then that would mean engaged but it says how Joseph would ‘divorce’ her quietly as not to disgrace her. But they weren’t married yet, so why is the term divorce used? Anyone know?? I tried to look it up to see if maybe back in the day divorce meant break up but it doesnt though.
Enjoy tomorrow everybody!
in those days engagement was a legal commitment like marriage, I then engagement was sort of the legal side and marriage the spiritual side.
It says ‘before they came together.’ I think this means in a physical sense, not marriage. It is why it says in Vs 25 ‘but he had no union with her until she gave birth.’ It says in Vs 19 ‘Because Joseph her husband…’ implying they were actually married at this point.
it nice to know that Jesus didn’t come from a perfect family. I always seem to read my bible a everyday for a week after soulsurvivor has finished and then as my shcedule gets busier it fades out, but i am looking forward to reading it all in one year with the help and encouragement of this website, and coming closer to God along the way
hey i think this is a great idea , and by reading this it will help me understand things in the bible more , i looking forward to reading 2moro , God bless and hugs too all xx
I don’t remember the tree of life in Genesis 2:9, when it says ‘In the garden were the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil’. Is this what stops them from dying before they are banished from the Garden of Eve? I thought there was just one tree :S
if i remember rightly there were two trees-the tree of good and evil and the tree of life. adam and eve both ate from the tree of good and evil whcih gave them knowledge of what evil is. but god removed them from the garden before they ate the tree of life too.
And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Genesis 3 v22
I am doing this with 10 peepsin my church and like everyone else loving the chance to actually get into God’s word everyday.
Thing from today which made me think was – it is often mentioned that Stars are like our sun but millions of miles away well I read that God created the Sun and the stars as two separate things – doesn’t say God created the Sun and then a lot of other Suns millions of miles away, just a thought that maybe the stars are just something marvelous God put there just because he can???
Anyway loving this and look forward to reading more and more.
Interesting point… but hasn’t it been discovered by astronomers (or someone..!) that the stars ARE suns? Perhaps God did just make them for us to marvel at though and they are just called stars for our world…which perhaps means that God has made Earth as the centre of the universe? Hm this just makes me wonder if God created Earth and then everything else to revolve around it.. I think I’m going round in circles here. Sorry if this was of no help!
Amazing how so many questions come from one small phrase.
Ignore all that…. I just realised how stupid I am… the stars are suns…or rather the suns are stars…!
Anyone know if there’s significance to the genealogy (as with the one in Luke) being traced through the male line when the Jewish faith is ‘carried’ through the mother?
Biologically, Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ father, so the genealogy appears, from our scientific, 21st century standpoint, to be an argument that shoots itself in the foot…
What’s the point of tracing it through the father’s line when Jesus wasn’t actually related to him?
what a good point. i’d be very interested to hear anyone’s thoughts as it’s bugging me now….
At a guess I would suggest its more looking at who Jesus decided to be associated with. He could have chosen to come from any family background but he chose this one. And as far as the people at the time were aware Joseph was the dad. Maybe its something to do with that too. Anyone got any other suggestions?
True, but I think it has something to do with the fact that Jesus could have been born into a line of greatness, but the family line of Joseph was not pretty.
Just shows that out of something so ugly comes something beautiful.
I thinks its to prove what had been prophised about the son of God would come from the line of David?
Good question!! Thoughts…
Mary was from the same tribe, so also of ‘David’s line’, so the root to David and Abraham is there either way. My commentary says that it gives Jesus his royal lineage, which comes through the Father.
Proof of Jesus’ lineage would have been vitally important to the Jews who were looking for the messiah.
I was told that in those days people used genealogies to prove that they were important or had the right to do something and I think Matthew was aiming the geneaolgy at the Jews living at the time, so that before he even said any of the miracles Jesus did he was stating that Jesus wan’t someone random but he actually had a really important background. Also it was pretty much unacceptable to have women in a geneaolgy back then so the fact that Matthew includes them and the ones he uses are all sinners or non-Jews was pretty outrageous in the first place. Besides even though they weren’t blood related God had planned for Jesus to be born to that family with Joseph ’cause he’d promised the Christ would come from descendants of Abraham and David…I think.
I agree though, I think it would be interesting to know the maternal genealogy.
I think both Rachel and H are spot on – this is Joseph’s family tree, because this is the royal line – you inherit your Jewishness from your mother, but the succession is from the king. That said, its a pretty murky line, with some pretty outrageous people. Matthew is interested in showing Jesus as a human being first and foremost, so this is a very earthly family tree. The one in Luke 3 goes right back to Adam becuase Luke is concerned with showing Jesus to be the great high priest and sacrifice necessary to redeem Adam’s sin. Oh, and the one in Luke 3 is probably the maternal line – its completely different, and it starts with “He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph”, which at the time was a subtle way of saying that Jesus is illegitimate, and this is therefore the line of the mother…
I once saw this poster of Jesus’ geneology and it showed that Mary and Joseph were distant cousins and so both share the same blood line including David and all the rest. Also it includes Mary in some other geneology I think.
I am so happy to be part of this. I have been having difficulties to read the Bible this last year and I am so excited about it. I found it short and I am looking fordward to what is next tomorrow. I have been reflecting a lot specially on the genesis part, it is amazing how God created everything, it is stunning!!!!
Thank you a lot!!!
Nuria
hi
like everybody i am really excited to start the BIOY but am struggling slightly to understand the psalms bit where it says “blessed is the man who does not…stand in the way of sinners”. Just wondering if anybody could explain this little bit to me. Thanks
Hi Bethany – if you have a different version of the bible it can be useful to check out how a passage is phrased in that version, eg the good news bible say ..who does not follow the example of sinners.”
I think this verse is really interesting as a whole as it describes the process of sin as a slow petrification – the man begins by walking in the advice of the wicked, but soon finds himself standing in sin, and then sitting in mockery. Where is there to go next but to lay down and die? In contrast the one who loves the law of God does not wither away, but instead produces fruit like a well watered tree. Likewise the righteous man is well planted, but the wicked are simply blown away and can not stand…
Great reading
Just wondering, how did the writer of genesis know about everything that happened? Vision, dream? hmmm
Really excited about reading all of this though!
that’s precisely what I began wondering while reading too – who wrote Genesis, and how do they know it?
I was fascinated at re-reading a passage I thought I knew pretty well, how different it was to what I was expecting…very exciting…
I ask my dad this question and i THINK that moses wrote the book of genesis.
the first 5 books of the Bible were written by Moses. Well by God actually, thru devine revelation to Moses.
99.9% of scholars would say that Moses didn’t write Genesis, but that it was written by a variety of people and compiled from a variety of sources. In fact same goes for most of the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible). Tradition has sometimes said that Moses wrote them, but it’s nigh on impossible, for one thing Deuteronomy records Moses death…
Point taken, never thought of that. I suppose the term “Books of Moses” could mean books about Moses rather than by Moses.
Thanks for sharing that
Yep I’ve heard somewhere that they are all written in different styles, so unlikely to be from the same person!
What stood out to me was the end of verse 16 in Genesis 1:
“ He also made the stars”.
It’s almost like an afterthought. There’s no hint of effort or of the true grandeur of that feat.
Our sun is so big that it could fit 109 earths in it. It could fit all of the planets in our system in it. It accounts for 98% of the total mass of our solar system. Yet it’s not even a particularly big star relative to others. And there are at least 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone (a conservative estimate). And there are at least 125 billion galaxies in the universe.
And He also made the stars. Amazing.
And this God is then also the one who comes to be known as Immanuel – God with us, in our form, amidst us, saving us (Matthew 1:23). Incredible.
It reminded me of 2 Corinthians 4:6 -
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
In creation we see a forshadowing of the new creation God does in us. God says ‘Let there be light’ in genesis, and in the same way he says let there be life in us when we become Christians. It is not hard work for God to change people. He does it with a word.
Excellent.
Booya!!! Great stuff!
i thought exactly the same, god is sooo amazing. there are billions of stars that are bigger than our sun and it´s just like
h, by the way, i also made the stars 
he´s brilliant.
Where do dinosaurs come into this? What age is our planet and what are your thoughts on evaluation? (Any one like muffins here
god created chocolate muffins )
Im guessing you mean evolution?
I think that evolution is a God driven process. We cannot begin to understand his methods, the argument that evolution disproves God is utter rubbish.
Yes, God created chocolate muffins.
my understanding is that there’s nothing in the passage to say the first flying birds, land animals and fish weren’t dinoasuars, which have since evolved into animals as we know then now.
I think that if you take the Bible fairly literally you find human beings have been around 10,000-12,000 years. The period before people were created is unclear, some take this as six days but the hebrew word can just as easily be translated as a period of time, I do not think the Bible is specific here as days without a sun do not mean much anyway (though some might disagree).
Dinosaurs could have been created in one of these periods of time and died out before the next one, or could have been created here and died out later in the great flood in genesis, who knows.
By ‘views on evolution,’ I am assuming you mean views on where humans came from? I am convinced by the concept of evolution (e.g. a breed of small horses becoming larger over time, single cell mutations in bacteria etc – these things are pretty indisputable).
Large scale evolutionary changes (exoskeleton to endoskeleton, asexual to sexual reproduction etc) are something I am less convinced about, and I’d need to look into it more to be sure, but I am instinctively opposed to the idea that we are made in the image of God, with knowledge of good and evil, yet came from soulless monkeys.
But to be honest, I am not too bothered how He created our world and created us, and I can’t look back in time and see, I am just happy that he did. ‘And he saw that it was good’ – absolutely love it!
Omg! So excited to be part of this! Sometimes I feel like following God can be a bit lonely and hard, but I already feel encouraged by how many other people are reading the Bible in a year
I hope it keeps the momentum going throughout the year 
I love how the word that started the universe came from the one who loves us and cares so much about us, even right now!! Amazing!!
Wow i’m just amazed at how excited at reading God’s word. I’ve struggled for a long time getting into God’s word as my attention span is rubbish but today I felt really excited and inspired to get in God’s word. What a great God we serve and i’m so thankful that he’s in my lifeXX
I just got back from an amazing time in france, where the pyrenees where absolutely stunning, and to think that God just made it all instantly, well, its incredible!
I’ve never fully read the bible… but really excited for the coming year!
This website is also really helpful in explaining what the passages are about so thank you
I never understood the reason for writing who is the father of who, but i just read on here that it’s because Jesus didn’t come from a perfect family and neither do we but god made us and loves us
its utterly amazing!
my brothers middle name is Perez and i didnt know Judah was the son of perez….looking forward to reading more!
its great we all get to do this activity and all in ONE YEAR!:)
i think its great what were doing and in a YEAR WOW!
Yo!
Questions:
- What is chaff? (Psalm 1: 4)
- Why will the wicked not stand in judgement? Shouldn’t they be judged, or am I interpreting this wrongly? (Psalm 1: 5)
Thanks peeps =).
Hi Lauren, Chaff is the outer shell of a grain of wheat, (not nice to eat) and I think you are interpreting ps 1:5 wrongly, the wicked certainly will be judged.
Hi Lauren
Chaff is the casings of seeds/grain- basically waste product from harvesting. It’s light, flimsy, not very nutritional and is easily blown away (as v4 suggests!)
And I think v5 means that they will be judged but, to use a modern phrase, will not have a leg to stand on. It might be better to read it as ‘not be able to stand in judgement’. I picture the wrath of God’s judgement and justice bearing down on everyone- and only those who are right with God will be able to stand up against it.
Hope that helps!
Yo,
vs. 4 – Chaff is like the left over bits of wheat fruit after you take away the main fruit part…so the waste of the good stuff. In comparison we can bear fresh fruit every month, and be juicy:)
vs.5 – I believe we all will be judged by God, but those who believe are lucky to know that Jesus is our defender in court. On our own we will always be guilty but in him we are saved. The ‘wicked’ as the verse says do not have this defence in court and will be deemed guilty.
Hope that helps :s
by “stand” they mean they will not remain firm
that confuses me too! what does this verse mean then?
i withdraw my previous comment lol
Thanks for all the help… I get it now.
I have decided to highlight stuff I am unsure about, find out about it so I can understand it and make notes =).
Yay!
Ive always struggled to read the bible, even when ive bought other “bible in a year”s although I believe that this could work if we all pull together
hiya everyone , its great, were off and running , thats how i felt when i read the opening lines , wham and it was happening, God breathed life into everything , no matter how small or large, he just said it and it was done…
with that in mind , god can make all the changes in our lives!! no matter how small or large, we just need to trust in him and grow, like we read in psalm 1, were the tree planted by the roots and remain firm, and if you stay close to the source that feeds it, (water) we will grow and spread like the vine… if your ever cold? you stay by the fire!!
lets all stay by the fire and grow whilst were on this journey…
as Andy and Mike both have said ” lets do it”
god bless
I sometimes find myself limiting God but after reading the genesis passage, I realised how incredible and BIG God really is. He thought up creation and how it functions. It’s just amazing. If God can cause the world to exist, He can do absolutely anything, no matter how impossible!!
i smell like God!!!
i love this comment x
wow theres so many people reading this, i feel privileged to be a part of it. i love the way we can read god’s word at any time and be reminded of how amazingly creative he is. he created every little part of me and thats amazing!
Hands up who loved Soul Survivor week B!!!!!!!
hey week C was better!!! LOL
*Raises hand*
week c was awesome!!!!!!!!!!
Loved it was the best week lol and it didn’t rain like week C
Week B was amazing! I’m sure week A and C and Momentum was AMAZING too. I really miss soul survivor but know were doing A bible in one year it feels like your all back , reading with me. It’s going to be an AMAZING journey! God bless everyone who’s reading
xxx
Raised also.
Woop Woop, loved it, especially that speaker they brought it.
I am so excited to be able to do this and I love reading my bible to day x
hi everyone!!!!!
todays psalm was epic!!!!!!!!!
whooooooooooooop. this is soo awsome! when i was little i managed to read my litte beginers bible!!!! but i’ve always wanted to read the whole complete bible!!!! so this is juast what i was looking for. hoopefully it will help us all grow in our reletionships with jesus, good luck everyone!!!!!! god be with you lol
I read it at midnight, i was counting down then opened it as soon as it was 12
i got a bit confused at the NT bit but that’s just becasue there were so many names, i memorised quite a lot of them though
i can’t wait til tomorow and i can read another bit
Well done Izzie – by the end of the year see if you can manage to remember all the books of the bible in order!!
Is there an official facebook fan page for this??
i hope so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So amazing that this has happened my youth group and me and also my family are reading this i love it
Just wanted to say that I am so excited to do this and thanks for putting it all together!
there are over twenty people in our youth group doing it, it’s brilliant!!
I’ve never read so much of it before – I’ve always been too lazy or something? – but now I have a real drive (after SS week A *squeal*) to learn more.
Let’s do this thang
Isn’t it amazing that before God created there isn’t it amazing that in the beginning there was darkness, and formless, like we are without God. I am astonished that God, is so creative, His creativity can be seen in how individual each person is and the amazing creation is, especially The dawn and dusk skys!!!! I love skies!!!!!
Thankyou for this amazing idea to do Bible in 1 year …. I’m sure it will inspire us all year!!!!!!
skies are awesome, but gods even more epic!!!!!!
‘I love skies’……haha love it.
The sky is pretty cool, its rather blue.
soul survivor was amazing i loved it,
Any way i loved the start of this the only thing that i didn’t get was that why was Jesus’ family tree so long and why there was so many generations. lol
everyone has a long family tree!!
You know when you apply for a job you have to provide what grades you got at school, etc? Well at the time of Jesus people decided how “good” you were by your family history. If you were related to good people you were seen as a good person, and vice versa.
The names in Jesus’ family tree are a mixture of good people and bad people. Basically it’s just saying that God doesn’t have favourites and that amazing things can come from even the smallest of people.
I’m unsure of why there is three diffrent scriptures in one day? are they even linked?
yea think about it’s talking about the beginning, the beginning of the world and the beginning of Jesus’ life and then psalms says about the sinners and believers
lol
No, they are not linked, but Crofty has made some links. It’s so we get a bit of OT, a bit of NT and a Psalm or Proverb each day. If you just had 4 pages of Leviticus each day for 7 days solid, it might get a bit hard going.
Was so excited to be starting the BIOY been meaning to do it for ages! a couple of questions:
1. I understand the meaning of using US and OUR in Gen 1 v26 but why in v27 it reverts to the singular? HIS and HE?
2. Why in Gen v30 does it say ‘I give every green plant for food’ – does this mean we should actually all be vegetarians – there doesnt seem any mention that the creatures created could be eaten?
Also I found the Psalm quite difficult to understand can anyone explain it in more simple terms?
It’s taken me ages to read through all the comments but I’ve learnt so much already – hope I can keep it up!
I think it is because vs26 is a quote from God. The author uses the singular term for God in all other instances in this chapter, I believe. Hope it helped a little!
Genesis 9:2-4 – God tells Noah and family they can eat meat, so being vegetarian is optional!
That could have just been an emergency measure because all vegetation had died in the flood. We have plants back now so that might not apply now.
I’m not a vegetarian (in fact I’m pretty against the philosophy) but that’s what a Christian vegetarian would say.
Hey
Gen 1 V 24 “God said let the land produce living creatures: Livestock…”
We call food supplies stock, animals are alive therefore – live stock….Also plants are a living organism. – in my belief, the bible does not encourage us to be veggies!
Psalm 1
You are blessed if you delight in the Lord basically, described in a parable, if a plant is planted near streams of water it will flourish, it will not perish >> If we delight in the Lord and meditate (pray) on his Law & word and remain in the way of rightousness, not wickedness, we will not perish, but flourish, grow.
1:5 – the wicked will not stand, but fall in the time of judgement – they will most certainly be judged. 1:6 -the way of the wicked will perish!
My views – hope they help & are not a bad interpretation.
Love yooooouuuu!!!!! <3
It also says in verse 28 “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” maybe subduing the creatures includes eating them?? I think Jesus ate fish with the disciples so if he did surely that can’t be wrong hmmm.( In Mark 8 – feeding of the 4,000 they ate fish)
Just wanted to add I really got the impression from this geneis text how God has put us as stewards of the earth and how badly we mess up. Wars, over fishing we pollute his planet his creation daily yet he sent his son into the world that we might gain eternal life , undeserving of Gods love for us he hands it to us for free his son taking the blame for us. It also makes me think of my own enviromental inpact on the planet.
I think that no animals were killed before the fall (that is to come tomorrow) so Adam and Eve would have lived off the Garden – however when the fall happened God spilled the blood of the animal to hide adam and eves sin (sound familiar) – and from that point killing animals and living of off animals was introduced – don’t think it was God initial intention but when sin entered the world the world became a mess and God created laws etc based around killing animals. So the eating the green stuff comment probably was right.
This is so Awesome!! I was at Momentum this year and met Mike after one of his seminars to ask him if he was going to do video diary’s or blogs for people to leave their thoughts or comments. God Bless Everyone and Good luck!!
hi i have just read day 1 with my mum
can some one please tell me why is jesus family tree so complicated? is there somewhere that i can go on the web to find out how to pronounce the names correctly and what they mean? Because it is very hard to understand the names and i am a very confused 13 year old! Thanks
His family tree isn’t complicated, it’s just very, very long!
The website linked should help with all your pronunciation problems ^^ it has links under the word’s page for meaning, too.
Good luck with reading BIOY!!
they talked about this at soul survivor the other year, there’s the 14 generations to david then to the exile then to jesus cos letters in hebrew have numerical value and david adds up to 14. it’s emphasising how jesus comes from david and how he’s the king. i think thats right. Basically his family tree is about as complicated as yours or mine, but his is showing he’s of royal birth
Hi Caitlin, http://betterdaysarecoming.com/bible/pronunciation.html – don’t know if this will help with pronunciation, it may do.
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/bibl.php – and I can’t vouch for the accuracy of these meanings, but I hope they help.
Be blessed.
I got up this morning I couldn’t wait to get started in actually reading my bible. I’m looking forward to this coming year and I am going to try and get up early to read the passages before I go to college. That way God’s word will be the first thing on my mind and last with me all day.
While reading the passages today, I just looked out of my window and was like wow. You created this with one word. I have never really appreciated that before or genesis.
awww i couldn’t wait either. I was so exited. I was looking around too and thinking. WOW. You created that, and this and that… oop and that…. you created everything God! Nice to be reading with you Hannah. God bless you
me either!
I have been really looking forward for today to start this adventure with my family…(you guys)…
I really found it amazing how Abraham and Jesus are linked from 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to exile to Babylon, and 14 from exile to CHRIST….
yeah that is pretty strange how they are split into sections of 14 … what does it mean? lol
Its because Matthew was trying to really point to king David and apparently the letters in the David correspond to numbers which add up to 14. Some crazy thing they used to do in bible times!
Also remember that Jesus fullfilled a number of predictions from the old testiment – so many it is impossible for a normal person to fullfill them. Confirming Jesus family tree was just confirming one of the predictions and I think that was what Matthew was showing people who knew the old testament at the time that Jesus came the way it was predicted and the way they would have read it even before he came.
Andy spoke about the importance of 14 in the Genealogy of Christ and here are a few reasons why!
“The Number Fourteen
Fourteen being a multiple of seven, partakes of its significance; and, being double that number, implies a double measure of spiritual perfection.
The number two with which it is combined (2×7) may, however, bring its own significance into its meaning, as in Matthew 1, where the genealogy of Jesus Christ is divided up and given in sets of 14 (2×7) generations, two being the number associated with incarnation.
The same principle may be applied to other multiples of seven, and Bible students can find their own illustrations. ”
Amazing huh? x
woah that’s pretty cool. I’ve never thought of it that way before
God said Pete and there was Pete lol awesomeness
verry true there pete….LOL
very very true!
I am making a point of reading my Bible in One Year at lunch time, in my classroom, so that firstly, other staff members know what I’m doing so they can encourage me to keep going, and secondly so that when students come in and ask what I’m doing I can share it with them. It feels wonderful to read all your comments and to feel a part of such a fantastic year long event.
God Bless all of you, and our journey through God’s word.
Awesome idea! might just try that…
That’s such a great idea. I may do that myself. God bless you
Great to be able to read God’s word together with so many other people. I was struck, with the way the reading stops part way through Genesis 2, how great it would be if creation had stayed as it was at that point, with man and woman in perfect harmony with God. And how awesome that when things didn’t stay like that God didn’t abandon his creation, but sent His only Son for us!
Hey guys, this is amazing that so many of you are doing this. At 5.30pm we had over 7100 different visits to this website.
I personally love the family tree in Matthew. In a culture where only men were included in a family tree Matthew deliberately goes out of his way to mention four women. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife). By this he is saying that everyone matters the same and Jesus identifies with us all. Three of them were foreigners and here he is saying it doesn’t matter what your race or ethnic background is, no one is excluded. Three of them were of dubious morals. Tamar tricked her father in law into sleeping with her, Rahab was a prostitute and Bathsheba committed adultery. By this God is saying that Jesus identifies with sinners and broken people.
Whether you believe the creation account represents six literal days or six periods of time, the point being made is that there is a “why” to creation and not just a “how”. In the beginning “God said” we read in Genesis and at the beginning of John’s gospel we read “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” referring to Jesus. There is the clue as to where Jesus was in the creation story. God the Son spoke the world into existence!
Just a few thoughts. Keep going for it everyone, this is so worth it!
Mike Pilavachi
WOW. you were bang on 6pm….. punctual Mr. P!!
Thanks for your thoughts and this great opportunity.
What an AMAZING God we serve
hey i thought 5 women were mentioned you missed out mary
Hey!
I really think that there should be a facebook page run alongside this site. I think it would be easier for people to follow. Plus I know some people who are following but using a regular bible and think they would benefit from being able to recieve updates of each days readings.
I think everybody did such an amazing job at Soul Survivor. I had an amazing time yet again at Soul Survivor A and really enjoyed working on a team! I cannot wait for next year where I will be working on a team again and am hoping to attend Momentum as a delegate.
Thanks Mike and Andy
God Bless
x
my mum said this too, she said “it just shows that God works with all kinds of people”
and i guess it means he really does forgive our sins
God is amazing and i love him, I’m so happy to be able to read the Bible in a year, and have encouragement from my family and also from Soul Survivor. x
Im loving this, i have always struggled to set time aside for God and reading the scripture, but this gives me something to focus on, and get stuck into. I have also found that people comments allow me to view the verses in a new light, i have written all over the pages for today with different people’s views. So for the first time in a long time i have really enjoyed reading the bible, i have spent a good hour and a half today reading comments, writting, making links and listening to worship music.
I feel awesome
Praise God and thank you guys
I was so excited waking up this morning knowing that I was starting out on this adventure with thousands of other people around the country. It’s amazing knowing that we have a creator God and a God who continually re-creates and makes things new. I was encouraged this morning as I read the genealogy in Matthew so see that the good, the bad and the ugly all played a part in the story which led towards Jesus’ birth. None of the people mentioned in the genealogy, even the heroes, were anything less that human and all made some serious mistakes. It’s good to know that God can and will use the broken, fallen and fallible to bring about his kingdom purposes.
So thrilled to see what God is doing in the 345 comments on Day 1, from peeps that are probably mostly young, well younger than me ! Fantastic. Well done Soul Survivor, Mike and Andy. Let’s keep pressing on to the goal…..August 31st 2011.
I am reading it as well, with some other oldies.
This is the first time ive ever thought about reading the bible in one year and im so so looking forward to it ! Its such a good layout
x
Why are is the start of Matthew in groups of 14?
This is what the Day 2: Bible Reading Notes from this years Soul Survivor say:
“Matthew makes the link to King David in the first verse, then he shows us the family tree that shows the connections to David. What Andy didn’t mention is that in verse 17 Matthew underlines the ‘David’ connection. If you read it you’ll see the number 14 is a big deal, this is because in Hebrew letters had a numerical value, so A might = 4, B = 6 etc. If we add up the letters in David’s name the number we get is 14! By grouping the family tree into groups of fourteen Matthew’s saying ’14, 14, 14′ or ‘David, David, David’.”
I think what Andy was saying is that this shows that Jesus is King because he his from David’s line. Luke also has a family tree in his gospel but he goes back to Adam.
I like most people, have always been overwhelmed by the Creation story, and how amazing it is the God knew how He wanted the world to be, and how He created us in His own image.
To re-read this confirms how I feel about my part in the world, my part as a Daughter of God, and how we follow Him and spread the Good News to bring His creation back to Him.
My Bible in a year hasnt come yet, so i’l be going onto the website everyday to get the bible readings! hopefully it’l come soon!
but i’m excited at starting it with everyone!
Have a long day to 8.30 pm enroling new students at college but then will be going home to start. Think this is an awesome idea
thanks guys x
Hi
my life’s a bit up in the air atm so it’s great to read genesis and be reminded how big and awesome God is. If he can keep control of the universe, he’s definitely in control of my life. x
like
So true. At times when our lives are busy and complicated, the beautiful simplicity and awe of Creation puts it into perspective. Truly amazing.
This is such a great idea – this is something I would never have been encouraged to do through my own church, and I am so happy to do this starting today. Every day is a fresh start, created by God, AND I am forgiven all over again. Amazing.
Joram says it was interesting learning about it and enjoyed doing it with his dad(andrew) Joram is pleased to be unique in his own special way and loved by God
Andrew says it is grerat to know we are special and god created us as we are
Like many have already stated they woke up and immediately read it, I too shared that same fate and plan on reading it every morning before I head off to College to ponder over it and also read it in the evening to concrete what I may have thought and to remind myself as well.
I am so happy to be able todo this thankyou for leting me be a paret of it Xx
I had such a rubbishy day at work today, but was full of excitment when I thought of getting home to read my “bible in one year” and I’ve just got home and now read it. What a great start, what a great feeling to know that our God mad each one of us exaclty as he wanted to! He didnt just “say” us into life either, He created us and then breathed us into life. Awesome!
I feel refreshed and alive again. Thank you Lord.
i love the bible in a year and its only the first day.
ive tryed reading the bible on my own cover too cover alot but never done it lets hope this time i might.
good luck everyone
I liked the way the Psalmist in Psalm 1:1 says,
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers”
He uses the progression of walk, stand, sit to describe our usually slow decline into a habit of sin. But it continues to say we don’t hang out in ‘sin saloon’, but instead chew on scripture day and night and God will direct your path.
Stay focused guys!!!
really glad you guys are doing this, it’s about time i got motivated to read my bible & having my youth group along side me is brill!
Quick question – is there any relevance to the 14 generations between each stage of Jesus’s genealogy??
Thanks and God bless x
I just thought it was to do with the important historic points @ which they ended…
1. Abraham to the reign of King David (Matthew 1:2-6).
2. David’s kingdom to the Babylonian captivity (Matthew 1:6-11).
3. Release from Babylonian captivity to Christ (Matthew 1:12-16).
But I could be wrong, I have been once before. It was a tuesday;)
i think it’s something like the letters in” david” add up to 14 and it says somewhere in the bible a great king will be born of david’s line so it could be highlighting that
I can’t believe I’m finally doing this! I’ve been meaning to read the bible cover to cover for a long time now, but never really found the motivation. Really excited!
One question though, I remember at Soul Survivor, either 2008 or 2009, when Mike or Andy was giving a talk and you said somethingabout the relevance of the number of generations between each event in Jesus’ family ancestory. What was that relevance? I’ve been racking my brains trying to remember!
I remember it being in 2009, but cant remember the relevance either, and I was trying too aswell. And i am pretty sure it was Andy that was doing that talk!
How can i remeber this sort of detail but not the actual point?!?
sorry
I’ve just managed to dig up Andy’s talk notes from this year, and they say that a possible explanation is that in the Hebrew letter-number system, the letters of David’s name add up to 14 (so 14, 14, 14 equals David, David David)
awesome, thanks Tom
So um.. what’s the significance of David?
Hi Sarah, David was/is regarded by Israel as their greatest King, and also it was prophesied that the Messiah would be of Davids line. Hence in Matthew’s gospel, which sets out to show Jesus as King and Messiah the emphasis on Davids line. Hope this helps
hi everyone,
ive just started reading genesis 1:1 and when u put all of life into purspective, and god made, created, plannned everything that had happened, is happening now and whats going to happen and he made the whole universe, its pretty awesome!!!!!
so im going to carry on reading now, but it does make you wonder
from ollie t
I’m really looking forward to this year even though I know it’s going to be tough!
I think it’s really nice that we can all read the bible together and in 1 year as well!!!
Good luck to everyone!
I haven’t read the bible in ages and I feel I have totally fallen away from God through this time. I picked up the link from a friend on Facebook and I am going to try my best to follow it and get back on course.
Thank you so much for putting it together.
So encouraging. Stick with it!
hey brilliant! And God’s never going to fall away from you!
First day! I didn’t realise it was the first ’til about an hour ago! I think the descriptions in that first chapter of Genesis are amazing, separating water from water sounds like a really cool descrition of the Earth’s atmosphere
Cheers to all at soul survivor, this will definitely be something that changes us!
i just know that i am going to grow so much in my faith though the bible in one year, the passage today was totally relevant and i understood it but reading some of the comments has just made me think about some of the verses in ways i wouldn’t have before.
im praying i will be able to carry on for the whole year and not miss a day
im excited and praise god that so many other are toooo
I’m really excited about this year and growing with God too!
I pray that I will carry on for the whole year as well!
In genesis 1:24 Its says ‘ God said”Let us make man in OUR image” Who does god mean by our?
Good question, could be to do with the trinity in the image of God and of Jesus that we would be kind and loving.
I think God means “our” as in the trinity so “Let the trinity make man in their image”.
Trinity as in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God knows the importance of having people around you, and it’s nice to know that God has a community too. I believe this is reference to the Trinity…but what I love too is that he doesn’t just say ‘image’ he also uses ‘likeness’.
Not only were we made with the same physical attributes as God (we actually look like him)!!! but we were also made in the likeness of God, meaning we have the ability to reason and feel the feelings which God does.
When I was younger, I was confused about that passage about us being made in God’s image because people said we don’t know what God looks like. Since we’re made in His image, doesn’t He look like us?
I was told in the Bible when it says that, it’s more likely referring to our free-will and such
It also says at the sart of Johns gospel chapter 1 verse 1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning”
then further on in verse 14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Basically what I take from this is that in the begining there was Jesus and God (and the whole spirit) where the word in Johns gospel is Jesus.
hope this helps
love the bible in a year, really is going to help me get through the whole bible, like many other people am slightly confused about the whole water and sky thing but having read some peoples responces have sort off understood it more, loving the way we can disscus it all together
xxx
it says in psalm1:6 that god watches over the righteous but he is everywhere so surely he watches over everyone not just the righteous?
I suppose it depends on what the passage means by watching over – I take it to mean, “looks after”, as in, watching over their needs.
hope this helps.
Blessings.
Yes I agree with Matthew. Just like my Mum asks me to keep and eye on my little brothers actually meaning, remember to feed them change the nappies, put them down for their naps, give them enough to drink, make sure they don’t drink bleach, so god keeps an eye on us.
I think this is part of the answer to the question, ” Why does God allow suffering” just like you can’t focus on two things at once (or like the bible says, have two masters” you either follow and get closer to God, or don’t follow and get further away from him. As we choose to walk in accordance to God’s righteous word he blesses us and fulfills our needs. As we choose walk away from God, we choose to walk away from his blessings. God gave us free will and he respects our decision (even when he knows we are wrong).
Thank you!!!you both were very helpfull
Bless you both
So excited to start reading the Bible with all of you!
It was so beautiful to read how God ‘breathed’ into us the breath of life, God is the source of our life from the begining and sustains us till the very end! Thanks to Him we have life, we can breath walk run jump sing dance laugh cry feel touch love, things we take so much for granted. we can do all this. .. all thanks to him.
I loved the verse ‘ He is like a tree planted by streams of water
Which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither
Whatever he does prospers ‘
Just made me think of how much God yields- how much He gives us when we give so little in return.
loving the concept! Really like this!
Just took ages to read through these comments…it’s really encouraging that so many people are engaging with this challenge. Just hope that Mike and Crofty will still be able to find time to put together next year’s events after trying to answer all our daily theological questions… :S
I’ve read today’s passages but I’ve gotta ask.. having just read Genesis.. where did God come from in the first place? Was he just always there? Cos I find it really hard to comprehend that, if that’s the case
It is really tough to comprehend but everything about the divinity of God is tough to comprehend! It is hard to get our minds around it but God just was. He chilled as the trinity. In Revelation 4 it talks about how some winged creatures sing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”. That gives us a hint that God just was and He will always be. Hope that helps and don’t worry it boggles my mind at times too!
now that’s a deep question!
I reckon the truthful answer would be that trying to conceive something (or more accurately, someone) that has always existed, and had no beginning is incomprehensible.
There’s a philosophical argument for the existence of God which i find quite helpful called the cosmological argument. It basically goes like this…
1) Everything around us has a cause. This cause equally had a cause (and so on)
2) This chain of causes cannot go on forever, which must mean that there is something in existence which had no cause, and started everything off.
3) This is what we would call God.
Google the cosmological argument, and I’m sure you’ll find much better explanations of it.
Blessings, Mat.
That’s really helpful and has kinda made me understand a little more
thankyou!
I find it easier to think of it like this:
We, are inside time, therefore, we feel the need to put something into some sort of a time line inside our head. However, for God to create a universe, he cannot be part of it. Time is part of our universe, therefore god is cannot be subject to time because if he were, he’d have to be part of this universe (as time effects things in this universe), and therefore (as he is outside of time) he doesn’t ever need to end, nor ever begin.
you should make an app for this it would mean i could read it on the bus without taking an extra book to school and carrying it around for the rest of the day
You don’t need an app. Just visit the website on your phone to get the commentary and the comments. Then use biblegateway.com or a Bible app for the text.
From my HTC
there are some Bible apps around – what you could do is make a note of your readings for the day, and look them up on one of the Bible Apps?
what an awesome thought – Humanity made in God’s image!
We are all, regardless of our backgrounds, valuable and precious to God.
I love the bit at the very beginning where it says ‘the spirit of God was hovering over the waters’
It just reminds you that God is always hovering everywhere, even before there was a world!!!
hey people!!
I’ve just read Gen 1, I love V 26 were God said let Us make man in OUR image, for me this is the first prophesy of Jesus/Trinity, in the very first book of the bible! Awesome!
…..i’m now going to read the rest in the garden…in the sun, that God made!
Thankyou Lord!!
Nice one SS! <3
this comment made me smile
i love how it feels like i know everyone and all of these comments are between friends, well i guess they are truly between brothers and sister
at first i had to read that verse a few times to think about why it says ‘our’ but i came to the same conclusion as you, its like God and Jesus are writing it together
ive noticed that and it makes u think about it and how he doesnt say im MY image he says in OUR IMAGE.
from ollie t
Heya everyone!
(Ellie)
We just read the passages together-very excited about the coming year.
I think it will be a real help when moving to uni later this month. I always assumed God was using the royal ‘we’-because He’s the King. I like the idea that He and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were writing it together. (Bryony)
I was struck by the ease that God called us into being. It just took a few words and shaped everything to his desires. That makes it feel awesome to be alive.
I think its amazing how God could create things from dust just by speaking
The amazing thing Sean – is that the original hebrew word used in Gen 1 vs 1 is bara which literally means “created out of nothing” there are 2 or 3 other hebrew words for create, as in craft, form, model, mould as you would a piece of plasicine but here, its bara – created out of nothing! WOW!!!
Awesome Awesome day 1
Loving this community of Word readers
lol we started reading it at midnight – cos we were up
keep on keeping on
Let there be Light
i started reading my bible in one year this morning. i’ve been looking forward to starting for days. such a pleasure to reading it with you all. 1 day down 364 to go … xx
I’m really excited to be doing this… I fail at reading my bible, so it’s nice to have support. I love how it always says, “God saw that it was good” and I find it interesting going through all the anscestory of Jesus.
I read mine on the way to church this morning
and I walked it! I kinda skim-read over the list of Jesus’ descendents in Matthew, haha! Also, I love how casually Matthew introduces the birth of Jesus, “… and so this is how the birth of Jesus came about…” 
Looking forward to getting deeper, and excited to get further into the Word! It’s gonna be great!
Adam Garrard!
Carl Senior!
They should have a ‘like’ button on this blog thing. I would have clicked it
Very original way of reading it!
xxx
Yeahh they should!
that’d be really cool.. and thanks, hehe! 
In verse 3 it mentions that God said let there be light and that it was good.
Verses 14, 15, 16 talks about God creating the stars for lights and greater and lesser lights for day and night.
So what was the light in verse 3?
Perhaps it’s the light coming from God himself.
i agree with Matthew i think the light (sun, stars and moon) God creates in Verses 14, 15 nad 16 is reasons for the light and the light in V 3 is God as the light and God is sustaining it. thats my thoughts.
hope this helps
I think the light in verse 3 possibly refers to light caused by God Himself as 1 John 1:5 says… ‘This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’
and also Jesus said he was the Light of the World and in John’s Gospel explains that the Word (Jesus) was with God in the beginning. Also its interesting that In revelation in the New Jerusalem won’t need the sun or moon as it will be lit by the Glory of God. I hope this helps.
Also, you cannot have time until you have light…
What really amazes me about this passage is that in verse 16 if chapter one it says God made two great lights…etc. And then it says: He also made the stars. What a sweeping statement! There are billions and billions of stars an endless galaxies that we don’t even know about that he made to show off his glory, and it describe him creating these billions f enormous balls of gas by saying he also made the stars! Incredible!
have a search for louie giglio indescribable on youtube Emily, hes done an amazing teaching on the universe
I was wondering if anyone could explain to me why the record of jesus’s genealogy is the male line, when Joseph wasn’t jesus’s ‘biological father’?
Because it was prophesised that the Messiah of the Jews (Jesus) would be born of David’s line and Joseph was of David’s line
In those days in that society all such things were done through the males, women never got much of a look-in. Some people think the account of Jesus’s genealogy in Luke, which is different, shows it through Mary’s line.
thank you!
Think of it like this
If your primary care giver was your mother and she married again to a guy who then is your step father, he may not be your biological Dad, but you are still in his family.
This is true Melanie, but it would not make you his ‘son’, while verse 1 clearly refers to ‘Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham”. Perhaps this is one of the parts I will accept before too much thinking about it makes my brain hurt.
Maybe Mary too was descended from David?
Luke 3 (page 276 of the Bible in One Year) suggests that Mary could be descended from David too. Verse 23 says ‘He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli’ etc. In those days the women didn’t count, so a genealogy wouldn’t have included women. Matthew’s genealogy does include some women however. Matthew’s genealogy says that Joseph was the son of Jacob, however Luke’s says he is the son of Heli. Obviously Joseph only has one father! Therefore Heli could have been Mary’s father, making Joseph his son in law. When Joseph married Mary, he became part of her family, and would have been called Heli’s son. In fact, Mary was Heli’s daughter, and therefore Jesus was Heli’s grandson and a descendent of David.
Wow! Completely overwhelmed by God!
He is amazing!
In Matthew 1:20 third line down it says “Joseph son of David” but looking at the Genealogy it shows thats Joseph is the son of Jacob not David. So why does it say son of David instead of Jacob???
If anyone can answer it would be much appreciated.
God Bless.
Hey!
I think in this instance, the word “son” is refering to Joseph being a decendent of David.
I presume that its refering to Josephs family linage from King David as Joseph was of line of Judah a direct descendant of Abraham through David. Jesus is also descirbed as the son of David in the New Testement although I think that is more to do with Christ being the fulfillment of the prophecy of the seed of David (2 Samuel 7:14-16). I hope thats helpful! x
o rite that makes more sense
thanks
Just a random question, in Genesis 1 verse 26, God says,
“Let us make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness”
Who is the our? Our meaning more than one being?
Which I know is not true or correct, just wondered why its worded like that
Jay xxxx
It just means in the image of the Trinitarian God 3 in 1 and all that … thats what i think anyway x
I’m guessing its in reference to the Trinity? The Godhead three in one, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Another view is that the plural wording is used to denote majesty as kings tradionally use the plural form in speaking of themselves. Hope thats somewhat helpful! xx
Ah I see, I was not sure if it was talking about the trinity or not, seeing as the son had not came into the world yet.
Jay: Jesus wasn’t IN the world yet, but he was still around. Jesus and the Holy Spirit were both there at creation, as that verse shows, he just hadn’t come to earth yet. Jesus is eternal, just as the Father is. Hope that makes sense.
Ahhhh I see, So he is making a reference to the Trinity
Cheers for the explanation oggy, Amy and Gemma 
xxxxxx
Very powerful stuff. A great start. Just a quick question though. In the Genesis passages, it clearly ends each day with:
And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. (or whatever day it is)
but on the seventh day it doesnt. Any idea why this is? But still all amazing stuff. Cheers guys and thanks for organising this.
God Bless
Perhaps it’s to sort of say that while the first six days, the six periods of creation had beginnings and ends, now that the seventh day is here and God is resting with us and the world he has made, that will never end
I don’t know really, just a thought I had
It was once put to me that the amount of time between the days in the creation story tie in to some sort of galaxy rotation and we are currently in the 7th rotation. So the events of day 5 (creation of birds and sea animals) and the events of day 6 ( creation of land animals) took roughly one galaxy rotation as did the events of day 4 to day 5. so we are currently in the 7th rotation which is Gods rest from creation and they day has not ended yet because we are still in it.
again just a thought
CM
In Genesis 1:6-8 it says that God separated the waters with an expanse…. on first glance you would think that was land.. BUT NO…. it says the expanse was the sky and it separated the waters from under it from the waters above it….
Does that mean that there is water ABOVE the sky? or does it mean clouds?
I think it means that there was a divide that separated the sea from the sky? I’m not entirely sure but that is my opinion.
but in my understanding of what u said that would still make it land…… but it says the expanse was the sky… arrrgh confusion already hahah
But you can still have sea and sky without land. Like oceans.
hmmmmmmm
Yeah my understanding of it is that the ‘expanse between the waters’ was a seperation between the sea and the mists of the skies and the water in the atmosphere but I could be wrong!
Yeh I totally was confused by that as well, man I’m loving how so many of us are in the same boat with this! But yeh I read i a few times and still was confused about the whol water above the sky thing…
ditto!
but glad there’s a place here to discuss!
so iv asked around a little and confused my friends hahahaha… but read verse 2…. before God even started there was water… and verse 9 says “let the water beneath the sky”
now also… in another translation (the NLT) it says the VAPOURS separate not the waters and then the VAPOURS gathered in one place to form the oceans… so maybe it is the translation that confuses us and maybe we’re thinking water on a big scale but really it was a misty vapour … ??
I love the vapours translation, because it goes perfectly hand in hand with the scientific theory of the start of the world. Our planet was a huge ball of molten stuff and as it cooled, hydrogen and oxygen fused and formed enormous amounts of water in the sky. As this got too much, it condensed to form the oceans and the clouds. Science and our faith are not opposed, they complement each other
There’s also another theory, that once there used to be a layer of dense water vapour around the earth, like the o-zone layer. The theory says that this water acted as an extra protection from the sun’s rays, and that also this water was what rained down in Noah’s flood. This could also add an explanation as to why people’s ages in the Bible began to get shorter and shorter after the flood. I’m not necessarily saying I believe it, but for someone to come up with that is pretty cool in my opinion!
This whole idea of reading God’s word together is incredible. I mean, we’re all brothers and sisters and helping each other out here! How awesome is that…?!
Bare in mind that the whole scripture is inspired by God, so I’m not denying any of the truth of this passage, but the story of creation was handed down by word of mouth, then written up by Moses (at least I think so anyway), so part of what is written may have been influenced by human understanding of the world and Science. And it was not an uncommon view that the sky was water floating above the earth – hence and explanation of rain, and the fact that the oceans appear to look the same as the sky.
Thats not necessarily the correct explantion, but in general I’d focus on more of the meaning behind the creation story, and the inpact it has on us, rather than getting caught up on all the Science, or details that we’re unsure about. Hope that helped at all? x
I was just about to comment something along the same lines, as in this is a story of creation to help the people at the time realise who God was and what he meant. so it wasnt/isnt entirely factual because they probably wouldnt have been able to grasp the concepts of the big bang, evolution and all that, so it was simplified into a story to demonstrate it in a more understandable way. much like Jesus used stories to teach the people.
i think… :L
The way it is described doesn’t need to be taken word for word as literal – it demonstrates God’s power and infinite creativity in a way that glorifies him!
oh yeah totally and there is always going to be stuff we willl never understand but i think its healthy to question and discuss and yeah basically wonder.. im excited at my confusion and my questions, i think as long as it doesnt bog you down, and you are excited by it all and ask questions out of that excitement its ok
Yeah this confused me as well, glad to know im not the only one….i thought it meant that that seperation came and thats what caused it to be sea and sky, as in the water was there, but isnt anymore after the speration if that makes any sense… argh first day and im already confused
Gemma,
My mate has a theory that there was water above the sky at one point. Gen 2 v5 says God had not sent rain yet plants grew because of the waters on the ground.
The through is that the water in the sky was there and it was these waters which were the source of the great flood of Noah.
not sure what proof we will ever get.
CM
i like that idea x
The sky is full of water vapour and Gen 6-8 is where God makes an atmospheric division by separating the waters of the earth from the water vapour in the sky (ionosphere stratosphere etc…) – A great Bible resource is Blue Letter Bible. There’s loads of explanations of the whole Bible on there.
Hey Gemma! Some people believe that when God first created the world there actually was water above the sky, I guess like all around the world. The idea is that up until the Flood there was never any rain at all, but that when it did rain for 40 days and nights it was this water that rained down (which is why it isn’t there anymore). I haven’t looked into it loads myself, but I remember someone telling me about it and that there is scientific evidence to support the idea. Cool concept so worth looking into if you’re interested!
Ah, just seen that Colin’s already said this! Should have read the whole discussion haha.
Quite a powerful start in more than one way. We all have to begin somewhere, now we just need to remain focused. Keeping an eye on the goal ahead will help you to continue on. just a quick question though, In Genesis passage, at the end of each day, it clearly states the end of the day but doesnt for the seventh day. not too sure what this could mean. Any ideas? Are we living in the seventh day and if so, what implecations does it have? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? thanks for organising this, it’s a real help
God Bless
the word ‘day’ in Gen 1+2 is ‘yom’ and I think it’s always translated as a 24 hour day in the rest of the Bible which would suggest God spent a day resting and made it holy. I don’t think we’re in the 7th day of creation as I don’t think he’s still resting but been pretty busy sorting out Israel (old testament) and now sorting us out aswell.
Gen 2:2 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Rested from all the work of creating, doesn’t say rested completely and put his feet up.
CM
1 down 364 to go
I am really excited to read my bible in one year, I cannot put my bible down or even take my eyes of it. For the first 14/15 years of me being a Christian I felt very lonely because I was very afraid that I was a lonely Christian, but when I went to soul survivor for the first time I made a lot more friends then I imagined. I was amazed at what god had created and what he had put together. I so thankful to the lord because he made me a better person, because before I was always angry with people for no reason, but when we had that prayer time at the end of the meetings and everyone prayed for each other, I felt forgiven and I felt so much better that I had cried all that anger out!
Thank you lord. God Bless
Amazing! I go check my facebook and find a wee link to this site! I’ve tried beforehand to read the bible from cover to cover when I was younger but you always get distracted :-/ It’s just amazing to find so many Christians doing it together so that we can encourage each other and to chat about the passages to strengthen each other faiths. Wow.
What an encouraging way to start the day it was this morning! And great reading some of these comments on the usually boring train into London. Let’s really push on in and delve deeper into the word. God has so much more to give us!
I love the fact that so many people reading the same passage has thrown up so many questions I would never even have considered. A couple of things stood out to me
1) God seperated the light from the dark (v3) and then, a few days later, thought we’d probably want a reason for the light so created the sun (v16). He lit the whole world for days with nothing but his will. How amazing is that!
2) Mary and Joseph were not rich, and didn’t have any political status, so it must have been a marriage of love. Then, before the wedding, he finds out she’s pregnant, which must meen she’s thrown his love in his face and slept with some random guy. I cannot imagine how much that must have hurt, but after a dream and a visit from an angel, Joseph wakes up and marries her. No ‘what if it wasn’t a real angel’ or ‘what if it’s just my mind telling me what I want to hear’, just trust in God and obidience. What I wouldn’t give for a faith like that
I thought a similar thing! What if it was just Joseph’s mind playing tricks on him? Or if he loved Mary so much, he would have wanted to stay with her- meaning he would hold onto any last bit of hope, even an angel appearing in his dream!
It’s amazing to see someone have so much faith in HIM! To know this angel was real and spoke a real message!
I think that many Christians, including myself, struggle with knowing when it’s God speaking to you and when it’s just your mind telling you something. Any advice?
..I think we all struggle with that.. But reading God’s word is a great place to start, He will really speak to you through what is written and therefore you KNOW it is from Him.
I’d also encourage you to pray about what you think God is saying and wait upon Him to reveal more to you if it’s from Him.
Up that helps
I am forever wondering if it’s God speaking to me so I usually ask a few questions. First, is what I’m hearing Biblical? Second, would Jesus do it? Third, would it show love to someone? And if it’s a really big thing or something i’m just not sure about, I ask God to confirm it. 1 Thesssalonians tells us to test everything so if you’re not sure, ask
Thanks guys!
God bless (:
This is very cool and a great blessing. I pray that everyone will keep on with this great way to get to know more of the Word of God.
I agree, this is a good thing. Thank you Soul Survivor for the encouragement.
I work for a christian television charity and as i was speaking to one of our partners on the phone this morning he spoke a word over me confirming i should be doing this reading the bible in a year! It was such a confirmation from God!
SO excited to get my bible….just need to buy it when i have not sneakily using the internet at work to read this site
DAY ONE!!!!!!! Its starts today and so did the the biginning great reading can not wait to get to know God more. God Bless you all xx
Oh my life so many blogs to read through!!
Just a couple of thoughts to add……
In genesis 1:26 he says let US make man in OUR image……who’s he talking to?? Is he lonely and talking to himself about making us to talk to??
Also what do u reckon happens when u eat from the tree of life?? Adam’s not told not to….why do you reckon that is? What’s the tree of life’s significance?
And finally…how cool is it that that God you know, jus on a average day of creation….BREATHED life into us…..can’t believe I only just figured out that what they say in funerals “from dust to dust” comes from genesis!! How very slow I am!!
Us is significant because its trinity, God never existed alone its father son and holy spirit in loving relationship with one-another, just like the start of John’s gospel where it says in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was God. Jesus is the word and before the beginning God existed in trinity.
Hi,
I’m not sure the idea of the trinity at creation is strictly correct when is says ‘Let US make man in our image…’ it is commonly agreed amongst biblical scholars that it is simply to emphasise the magnificence of God (he is so great he is more than one) and not evidence for the trinity at creation. Similarly in the original Hebrew, the word for God “Elohim” is also a plural word but again it is simply to emphasise God’s magnificence.
Hope this helps,
tx
The opening chapters of John’s Gospel mirrors Genesis 1. There he explains how Jesus (before he physically appeared on earth) was with God the Father during the creation process.
I agree with Dan!
CM
I’d agree with Dan also, and many excellent bible scholars (Chuck Missler, Perry Stone….etc) would say the same.
Eternal life with God is often symbolised as eating from the tree of life so by eating from it Adam and Eve could have enjoyed a permanent relationship as God’s children. However their sin seperated them from it thus kept them from obtaining eternal life- The tree of life also apprears in Revelation 22 in a description of people enjoying eternal life with God
xx
Oh I get it so they were banished from the garden of Eden so could no longer eat from the tree of eternal life so would die…..I get it now, thanks so much. And with the Trinty/God is so big he is plural thing
I think it’s great that everyone is going along this journey together! 187 responses already, and it’s only 12 o clock!
The creation story is a great way to start the Bible in One Year. (It may sound cheesy) but while reading I could see straight out of my window, looking out onto the grassy views I see every day. It’s amazing to know that HE made the world! Whenever I look out of my window now, I’ll be reminded that HIS work is amazing!!
Its so amazing to know that Im reading Gods word along with thousands of others here! I’m so amazed by God and his word!
God bless you all!
had the same feeling this morning as I sat in the garden and made a start on today readings with the sun shining down. The power and energy of many! I think the mornings will work for me to read the Bible, the first thing I do to start a new day.
Really excited about the year ahead
Love that bit in Genesis 1v16 – ‘He also made the stars’.
Like it was an afterthought or just something as a little extra….!
Ahaha, never noticed that before… “oh yeah, and he made all the stars as well”
yeah almost like.
He made the sun the moon, the people, the fish, the birds, the rivers, the mountains, the seas… etc… oh yeah. he also made thousands and thousands of giant balls of fire.
Just stated my bible and I’m sooo amazed at God…if you think about it, we are just a tiny speck in the universe and yet He still loves us and cares for us and He created us here on Earth and He knows everything about us! WOW!!
On a lighter note, who can pronounce every name in Jesus’s family tree? I know I can’t!! hehehe!
Have really enjoyed the first day of this, and I’ve already had a couple of things jump out at me from reading today’s passages with a commentary.
1. I’d never really thought much about the trees (Life/knowledge) in the Genesis passage but the author of my commentary drew on the possibility that they represent the choice we all have to make between saying yes or no to God. Adam and Eve made the wrong choice but we have the chance to make the right one.
2. The fourteen generations in Matthew had always puzzled me a bit, but having recently read Revelation and learned about the significance of the number 7 as being the number of perfection I wondered if there was a link there. Again, the suggestion made in the commentary helped a bit. The author suggested that Matthew believed the ‘six sevens’ (or 3 lots of 14 generations mentioned in the genealogy) had passed and that Jesus heralded the start of the ‘seventh seven’. Knowing what I did about 7 and perfection made the idea of the ‘seventh seven’ beginning with Jesus pretty amazing!
I am interested to find out if that has anything to do with the year of Jubilee aswell….. hope to find out more about that as we read on..
I might be a bit wrong here but if Jesus is the start of the seventh seven, doesn’t that imply there would be 6 more people after him in order to make it the seventh SEVEN. Hope that makes sense
I love the fact God’s words are so power he just has to speak existence into life. As we have God living in us our words are sooooo powerful and can really speak to life to others and I love how by speaking life into other you can see people change and begin to realise how amazing God is!! Love it!! x
All these questions and answers in the comments are very interesting and helpful so I thought I would ask something as well!
In Genesis it say that God rested on the 7th day, but in other parts of the Bible and in a lot of songs and things it says how God never grows weary and is never tired, so why the day of rest?
I am guessing from this the reason for the 7th day of rest is not actually so God can rest but maybe be so we know to rest on the Sabbath or maybe God just wanted to sit an enjoy his creation, so it wasn’t a rest in the recovery sense but God was simply doing nothing more than enjoying being with Humans and creation. What does anyone else think?
I think that’s right – I think he rested mainly to show us that it’s good to rest. It also says that God made that day holy. I think it’s to say to us that we should rest. As I mentioned somewhere in the comment I made a little while ago – it does actually help (and is biblical) and the 7th day is to remain holy for rest. It doesn’t mean to say that it was a Sunday (I’d be screwed if it was… considering I do stuff for the church I’m at on Sundays… and being in a methodist circuit occasionally go to other churches with my pastor to help out when his leading services), so yeah – it’s just saying “It’s good to rest every once in a while” and it says to people who read it – there’s no basis on saying “God doesn’t rest, so why should we”, as this says otherwise.
Hope that helps
Ben
hey!
yes i was thinking the same, he doesnt need rest! he’s GOD!
i like your idea,
the fact that he can sit and watch and admire his creation, and maybe he just used the word “rest” to say that he didnt do anything on the seventh day he just watched over his creation?
x
Hi,
We get the English word ‘rest’ from the Hebrew word ‘Shabbat’, it is the best translation but ‘Shabbat’ isn’t so much resting as it is stopping work or ‘sitting’. Maybe God was just sitting and watching how beautiful his creation was!
The fact that God dosnt get tired does not mean that he dosnt rest. In the same way that you might spend an hour cooking, you still stop and eat it at the end. I think your right, God does show us a suggested rhythm for living, resting one day every week, but at the same time he made it a Holy day. That means, from his perspective, one day in creation week he stops working/creating/building/ speaking things into being and enjoys his creation. We were made in His image out of love for relationship. It would be silly to cook a meal and not eat it.
I also believe that whilst God wasn’t tired, He wanted a rest; a rest spent with his new family. To enjoy their company. To love them, and be loved in return.
Not to mention this was before sin. This is the closest Earth ever got to being Heaven- like, and I would have thought God would want to enjoy that.
And yeah, you are right, he modeled the seven day week with a rest day for us, but I think I just wanted to explore the why a bit…
Totally!
Personally I think God went and hung out with Adam and Eve – we know he takes walks in the garden with them. Maybe there was a picnic. Maybe they had some beers. Maybe they went surfing or something… whatever it was, I’m thinking it was not just Shabbat but Shalom – complete peace, wholeness, healthiness, freedom, rest…
I agree that it isn’t resting as in a recovery sense. I think, he means resting as in being satisfied.
Sometimes it helps me to think about the opposite of things to work out exactly what it means. So oposite of being at rest is being restless. What does restless mean to you? When are you restless?
I think that God is saying that once a week we should devote the day to him, and be at rest. I think what he is saying, is that when we go to church and focus on God (not on work, or in God’s case creating thousands of things) and be at rest.
Kinda like, “dedicate a day to me and make it holy. let me give you rest on the sabbath.”
Reading about the creation made me realise that i was just something quckly created god has thought about every single bit of me just like he did about the world when he created it
WOW what more can i say
I love the lord
xxxxxxxxxx
Yayyyyyyyy so glad that we have started this yr is going to be a year full of hope and change. With Gods word to begin my day Im sure I will be able to put up with the silly comments People say to me for being one of his Followers !!
aaaaah.. this is all so exciting!!
ive learnt alot just from reading everybody’s comments!!
just wanted to say God is flipping awesome!
i believe he made the universe&everything in 7 days, it doesn’t mean those that don’t are worng to believe that, but seeing how he is awesome he can do anything! bend his own laws.. do things extraordinary.. anything really.
YAY!!
i dont no what to think about the days as there wasnt time back then and they didnt wear watches so a day back then is probably different to what it is now does that make sense
gosh.. i actually forgot about bible in a year breifly because my youthworker hasn’t given mine to me! :L i will make it a priority to get it off him now though. so im using my normal bible. my friend reminded me it was happening because he posted the website on facebook.. all these comments have been SOO useful. they’ve helped me understand the bible more already, and i havn’t got a question because it’s all been answered! :L all i can say is God is AWESOME!! it’s great to know i was made in his image, he loves how i look and is happy! ever scince week c i’ve been trying to read my bible again..but i think this will really help me to understand his word and know him better! thanks!
emma x
Here are just some thoughts and questions on today that came up…
Genesis 1:1-2:3: I really love the first chapter of Genesis in the sense that it just shows God’s perfection and how he is a bit of a perfectionist. He doesn’t leave any detail behind – and we can still see that today through the different things. I love the fact that everything is so precise that if anything was just a little bit more off either way there wouldn’t be life on earth. A question, yes, the spirt is mentioned, but is how is it implied that Jesus was also there at the beginning of time when he doesn’t mention God’s son – just a question. I’m pretty sure he was, just there isn’t anything there to suggest it. I also love the fact that God rests on the 7th day – which is a good backup for having a day of rest every week (I have actually made an effort to have that now… one day a week – and I’ve found it actually helps with my focus and energy the rest of the week – which is great).
Genesis 2:4-17: Again, I do like this bit as well – the four rivers coming up from the land… I’d love to actually see that happen. Again, just another quick question about that – is where the rivers run of any significance? And also was it significant that the Garden was on the East side of Eden (v 8). I feel that this part really shows God’s authority over everything and how God has commanded man to look after the earth. Nowadays – I think that probably means us.
Matthew 1: 1-17: When I first read this back when I first read matthew a few years ago, I saw absoulutly no relevence in the geneologies (I’m not really a big fan on them still, hence why I’m not really that fond of Chronicles) but when I looked at it in more detail, the importance of it shone more. the 14 generations – 3 times – that says a lot about the importance of Jesus via his line. Again a question – is it important that FIVE women were mentioned and it was five women that show the blood line (out of mere curiousity) and I remember from SS that Andy mentioned that the number 14 was the total if you added the numerical values of the letters, D, A, V, I and D (david) up so effectivally saying david 3 times (or was that on the handouts that were given out… either way it was there), and the fact that is 3 sets of 14 generations is pretty awesome… that’s 42 generations of waiting for Jews before the messiah came… plus an extra 33 years before the sins of the world were actually forgiven…
Matthew 1:18-25: another really good passage (along with pretty much almost every other passage in the bible). I admire the fact that Joseph acted almost instantly on what was happened. If it was me I’d probably have asked for some form of confirmation to make sure it wasn’t just voices in my head. I like the fact that God decided to use a virgin – the fact that he wasn’t concieved through sin says a lot – but I always wondered how many people actually KNEW that before the new testement was written? Also what would have people who knew Mary have thought about her – having been pregenant before being in marrige – it makes me think about what her community thought of her – was she outcast, or congratulated, even though concieving before marrige, which in Jewish tradition was a pretty big thing…. and it just reassures me that we can act on God’s word straight away – we were talking about double-mindedness in our bible study yesterday and it’s reassuring to read this and know that we can tell when it’s God – or at least Joseph – a carpenter could.
Psalm 1:1-6: verses 1-2 were two of the first verses I heard when I became a Christian and also some of my first memory verses. Back then I was a little worried – as my Dad was an athiest – so I was pratically under the same roof as one most of the time. However it’s reassuring to know that when judgement finally comes there won’t be any negative influences for us – and God will be there for us. I’m really happy that we can be called rightous because of Jesus. That is why this is one of my favourite psalms of all of them. It really is reassuring knowing all that stuff
In all – I’ve been really looking forward to start the bible in one year since I heard about it – as soon as I had my birthday money at soul survivor (pretty much the first night) it was one of the first things I picked up (along with the new survivor songbook – which was the 2nd thing I picked up – once I found it of course). And I’m really looking forward to the rest of the journey – and really hope to be more disciplined than other times that I’ve tried.
Hi Ben
Probably by the time I’ve posted this, everyone will have answered your questions, but just in case they haven’t…
Jesus at Creation
It’s only implied here in Genesis, not specifically stated. We get it from (for example) verse 26, ‘let us,’ says God. But don’t forget that God has given us the whole Bible, and so he expects us to read and trust the rest as we go on through the year. So when we get to John 1 and Colossians 1, we’ll see it made really really clear that Jesus was totally present and active in creation.
Five women?
Not sure that the number five itself is significant, but other people have commented really helpfully on the significance of those women — some high-profile sinners, some high-profile sinned against, some foreigners to the people of Israel, but folded in by God.
Hope those brief thoughts help…
Dave
Not sure if Jesus being there at the beginning is mentioned or implied in Genesis other than the ‘our image’ bit
But I seem to remember John 1:1 saying ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’
The Word being Jesus of course
Ben, Genesis 1:3 says “and God said [vayomer elohim]”. God’s word (Hebrew: dabar, Greek: logos) is later associated with ‘the son’ [and, in Philo, ‘the second God’ cf. Questions and Solutions in Genesis 2.62]. For a fuller treatment one can read Richard Bauckham’s “Jesus and the God of Israel” pp. 14, 16, 17, 18, 29, etc; for a contrasting opinion see James Dunn “Did the first Christians worship Jesus?” pp. 117-123. The Comparison with “Wisdom” [Chokmah/Sophia] should not be overlooked, a treatment on this can be found in the works of Ben Witherington III, Larry Hurtado, Bauckham, Dunn and others.
However, beyond all of this, attempting to ‘find’ the son/spirit in these texts is not necessarily productive. Of course, one feature of reading scripture [however you define that] is Christo-centrically, but this can easily lead to “Jesus-olatry” (Dunn, Worship Jesus?, p. 147) if it is not used as a focus on the Father [who, as should be evident, is the ‘main’ character of this account].
With regards to God’s ‘rest’ on the seventh day: it is more accurate to describe what occurred as God ceasing to do work [not ‘resting’ in the sense of ‘I became tired’ but ‘I stopped doing what I did before’].
“The East” plays a huge role in Israelite tradition for an obvious reason – they were exiled in/to “The East”. So, when Adam and Eve are expelled they are exiled eastwards. When Cain is exiled, he is exiled eastwards, etc. The author of the text is alluding to Israel’s (and Judah’s) exiles.
I love genealogies [and so did the Ancient Near East; see particularly D. Oakman and K. Hanson’s “Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts” p. 26-30]. What I find interesting about the named women is they were all involved in sexually … ambiguous[?] … relationships: Tamar [who was raped and still called, in the Septuagint, “parthenos” ("virgin")] partook in Onan’s coitus interruptus. Rahab was a prostitute. Ruth has been conjectured to be a homosexual [I, personally, don’t agree with that conclusion] and even a seductress [Ruth 3:1-6, etc.]. Uriah’s Wife [i.e., Bathsheba] was an Adultress. And then we have Mary, Theotokos, described [as with Tamar] as parthenos, one who would shame and endanger her and her husband if the pregnancy was found [as with Bathsheba]. The five women are strikingly important for what I believe Matthew is saying…
Gematria is a very subjective art. However, it is true that under standard rules DVD [dalet, vav, dalet] is 4+6+4 = 14. It is also evident that Matthew has been selective in his choosing generations [one may look at the exclusions in Matthew 1:8 cp. 2 Chronicles 21-26] for the specific task of having these so-called ‘14’ generations.
I would love for you to elaborate on “conceived through sin” – are you implying that the God-ordained act of sex [Genesis 1:28] is somehow sinful?!
Taking Bailey’s model of oral traditions [“Informal Controlled Oral Tradition and the Synoptic Gospels” Asia Journal of Theology 5, 34-51; adopted (and adapted), to an extent, by N T Wright (Jesus and the Victory of God, pp. 133-7), James Dunn (Jesus Remembered, pp. 205-10) and Richard Bauckham (Jesus and The Eyewitnesses, pp. 240-263, esp. 252-263)] we would have to assume that Mary herself was the witness in the early church to this tradition (or, on Dunn’s view[?] the early church community she partook in, which would most like be the Jerusalem Church). This would lead us to believe that most would have known this (cf. that it appears in a large amount of early Christian literature).
The text implies it wasn’t known to her community when it would have been important (Matthew 1:24 – he took her as a wife before Jesus was born, we can only guess at how far pregnant Mary was). There is no way, given the sociology, she would have been seen as righteous if it were known she had not been impregnated by her husband.
Ben, as you personally know, I seem to be lacking in references to extra-biblical material [the apocrypha, church fathers, pseudepigrapha, mishnah, DSS, etc.] for this particularly discussion. I, strangely for me, am feeling tired at 4am in the morning so haven’t been able to do as much research as I would have liked to. I hope what I’ve written has been enlightening.
Q-Quaint
x.
Just been ringing round all the youth that signed up to do bible in a year. To my amazement most of the 20 of them had already done it!! What a way to start…
Started this morning by fishing out the applied OT and NT commentary to help me get a bit more out of this. Really excited to be a part of this. I’m disabled and largely housebound, so struggle to even get to church, let alone something like SS!
The notes really touched me. Seeing ‘let there be Emma’ type notes, and how God made us just as we are is something I keep needing to hear. To be born with a birth defect is tough to understand ‘You are fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know this full well’ (Psalm 139). I don’t feel like I can have ‘life to the full’.
This was an awesome encouragement that God loves me just as I am, and whilst I can’t quite understand that, maybe I don’t need to. Maybe I just need to accept it.
I’m also going to get my husband doing this – he’ll love the blog and videos
Really excited about this! Are the rivers surrounding the garden of eden Significant. I never knew there names till today?
I enjoyed it none the less.
Good to know over 12 000 people are doing it with me
Reading Genesis 2 I just had one of those experiences when you re-read something and then something complelety new reveals itself – and I was totally overwhelmed by the love that God has for Adam … he didnt make him in Eden, it says he put him there – he chose this very special place, where he would be safe, and then added even more to it – he grew the most beautiful trees with the best fruits. God even trusted him enough to place him in the same garden as the tree of life and the tree of knowledge! You can just see the delight God had in doing all that for Adam and just how cherished he was! I was just blown away seeing that this morning so I thought I’d share it!
Incredible insight. Thanks for sharing this
Yeah, that really stood out to me too! I hadn’t noticed it before and I’ve read the beginning of Genesis quite a bit. The way he creates Adam and then creates things after Adam that were pleasing for the eye etc. It’s awesome.
Hi everyone!
What i don’t understand in the genesis creation stories is why in chapter 2 verse 5 it says that God made man when ‘no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up’ but before in the last chapter he made man after he made all the vegetation. Any clues?
Lara
Think (but am prepared to be corrected) that this means there are no crops that need tending yet, as there is no-one there to tend them. Also, God hadn’t sent the rain yet. I usually try reading it in a different translation (or use biblegateway website!) as this often helps to clarify the meaning.
It says that no vegetation had sprung up because the lord had not sent rain and there was no man to work the ground. I may be wrong, but could the Lord have created and planted these things, so that they were ready to grow when the rains came and man was ready to tend them?
Isen’t it amazing the way God can speak these things into existance, and yet that same all powerful God holds us in his hands. I love the theam of new beginings but I think psalm one reminds us to be in reverance of him maybe we should attempt to make this more prominant in our new beginings.
Psalm 1
Blessed are you for avoiding wicked consultation.
Blessed are you for avoiding sinful association.
Rather, in the law of the Lord take jubilation.
Rather, in the law of the Lord endure Meditation.
Planted by a flowing river, he is like a tree,
and in its season bearing fruit is its guarantee.
Whatever he does he does well, leaving no debris.
But not so for the wicked; the wind shall make them flee.
For the wicked will not be able to face God and stand.
At the assembly of the righteous the wicked are banned.
The righteous ways are watched over from God’s right hand,
but the evil, wicked ways shall perish at Gods command.
Love the way you have written that, it’s really cool! It also makes it easier for me to understand so thank you!!!
I always wondered whether in the original bible the Psalms (being songs/poems unto God) rhymed…
maybe this is what it would have sounded like?
I was so excited to start this today and even more so when I saw all the comments on here. Reading the creation story again reminded me just how awesome God is!!!
Isnt it fantastic that God created everything, where i live there is a common and you can go up to the top and see the cathedral and the whole of th city it amazing to just sit and be peaceful and to just look at what god created its awesome God is fantastic i love him so much
Why did God make the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
Because he is God and he can make what he likes. He told Adam and Eve not to eat from it but, as God gave them free will, they chose not to. It isn’t a case of why did he make it but why did Adam and Eve go against God. I hope that helps?
that is a really good question
tell me this:
Which love is greater?
Love number one:
A wife loves her husband so very very much. He is all she desires, she spends all day everyday inside the house preparing his meals, looking after his house, awaiting his return.
She has never seen another man like him, or rather she has never seen another man.
Love number two:
A wife loves her husband so very very much. He is all she desires, she spends all day everyday inside the house preparing his meals, looking after his house, awaiting his return.
She has never seen another man like him, she has seen that other men (of which she has seen many) there is no single man that satisfies her emotionally and spiritually like he does.
Or how about seeing it like this.
Person 1: I love porridge (personally, bleehh no thanks, it’s just an example)
Person 2: so do I, my mum once gave me that instant oats so easy stuff, but nothing compared to the real porridge.
Person 1: Really? I’ve never eaten anything but porridge, i just love it too much.
Basically what I’m trying to illustrate is that it is different being madly in love with someone (or porridge) because it’s all you’ve ever known how to love, it’s another thing to single out the thing that is special and being madly in love with that person (or bowl of porridge).
God wants us to single him out as the way the truth and the life. But how could we choose him over something else, if there was no something else so choose him over.
So he put the tree there so that they could choose to follow him, or follow their desires (to eat from the tree).
i really like that! when i was reading the stories i was thinking, what is this girl on about and was slightly confused but it’s a really good way of putting it and makes alot much clearer. i have friends who i am trying to bring to know God and they like the idea of it but can’t get their heads around how if God does exist why does bad stuff still happen and i think this illistration will really help. THANKYOU! x
That’s awesome! thanks guys! Never looked at it as a lesson of free will and choice but it’s really obvious to me now!… awesome stuff!
In Genesis, The LORD created the earth as we know it in 6 days. Do we know whether these 6 days are literal or are they used to reference a vast expanse of time? It is interesting to note that the order in which things were created follows that of which modern science accepts. Obviously the Earth came first, then land formed, the atmosphere, then animals and then later on in time, Humans.
Where it is written ‘Let US create man in OUR image’ does that reference the trinity? Does the son of God ‘exist’ at this point or is it meaning only the FATHER and the SPIRIT?
Also, what is the significance of the 14 generations mentioned in Matthew? It is amazing how God ensured that Christ was descended from Abraham.
When Matthew writes about the birth of Christ, he says that Joseph planned to divorce mary in secret because she was pregnant before they were married. How can you divorce someone without being married to them? And does this mean that Joseph assumed she had cheated?
So many questions, but im going to enjoy this journey!
Yes, the Trinity existed from the start.
Oh, and the engagement agreement then was binding, so this meant it could only be broken by divorce (see, I was listening in that sermon…)
Thanks, that cleared that one up!
Hi,
Not to poo poo anyones ideas about the trinity and the plurality of god BUT when is says ‘Let US make man in our image…’ it is commonly agreed amongst biblical scholars that it is simply to emphasise the magnificence of God and not evidence for the trinity at creation. Similarly in the original Hebrew, the word for God “Elohim” is also a plural word but again it is simply to emphasise God’s magnificence.
Hope this helps,
tx
Aren’t the trinity and a plural God two different things? As Christians, we declare our faith in ONE God in the creed, yet the Trinity (Triune God) doesn’t contradict this.
I was taught by one tutor that the Trinity did exist at Creation (and after reading the NT I couldn’t disagree with this) but another tutor felt this was merely a translation error – words in Hebrew that simply couldn’t be adequately expressed in English.
Right throughout the year, we’re going to bump up against things that will be taught slightly differently in some churches, denominations, or colleges. The most important thing to remember is our unity in important doctrinal issues, and the fact we are all reading together, to build up and encourage each other.
Oh golly, I feel as befuddled as I did at theological college…
Hey Emma,
Yeah I’m not sure why I said plurality(think I had Elohim being a plural word on my mind!!). I understand what you’re saying and you make a very good point about different teachings etc.
I agree with you, I think the new testament does suggest the trinity was present at creation and in fact I think this is quite important otherwise the God in the OT is inconsistent with the God of the NT. What I meant to get across was the fact that from this passage alone we shouldn’t conclude that the trinity was present at creation. The reference to “us” and “our” doesn’t infer the trinity when you understand what the Hebrew is trying to express; the magnificence of God.
**Tangent!!**
In fact Mormons cite the plural expressions of us, our and Elohim as backup to their doctrines about God and exaltation. If they understood the meaning of the original Hebrew(and indeed read many other passages of scripture!) they would see they have misinterpreted it.
****
Anyway, it’s a pleasure to be reading the bible with you and great that we can discuss and learn something from each other.
tx
In answer to your question about the number 14…
The number 7 signifies perfection, and 17 is 2X7. Six sevens have past (3X14) which means that Jesus is the beginning of the seventh seven. . . if that makes sense =P There is also some theory that 14 is the numerical value of the name David to do with the Hebrew letters and their equivalent numbers. Hope that helps!
Thanks, I didnt know that. Its like some secret biblical code!
I think Dan Brown could probably stretch a book out of this one!
actually 2×7=14
WOW
very exciting! 
I’m liking that last little comment Andy made. “God created with just a word. And now, as we begin this journey, it’s his Word that makes us new”
It’s great benign able to see re similarities been the old and new testament! It’s really inspiring!
The thought that came into my head was that has God hung the stars one by one, but put me and you where he wants us to shine like stars! That’s the same God that created the world using words! x
x
I loved the bit from matthew! I couldn’t say any of the names. But it is really interesting to know JC’s family tree. x
I was so overexcited about starting the bible in one year today, seems like the 1st of september would never ever come, but finally its here
anyway, todays reading was great, in Genesis I find it amazing how our heavenly father created everything…depending on what you believe you may believe it happened in a week, or a day may represent years but whatever you believe its still incredible. Thank God that we can enjoy his amazing creation, and Jesus means we can enjoy it without conviction, if we have faith <3Lets keep it going now we started guys <3
Momentum over and now begins something that will last for a year, but continue to flurish in our hearts! I got up this morning remembering that it was the 1st, couldnt wait to just start, i mean there is so much to take from the bible, i just never really knew where to begin, so the bible in one year is just the best way! But something that hit me was the fact that wow there are like what. . . 63 books in the bible. . .all to be fitted into on year. . .AHHHH!!! But i have hope, holding onto possibilities everywhere. . .there are people all around this country doing the same thing. . .HOW AMAZING!!! God be with us all and bless us on this journey of learning to seek, and seeking to find. . .God is what we’ll find!!
Are the rivers in the garden in Eden of any importance? They made the names really clear as if it was really important and I hadn’t heard of them until today, should I have?
I’m loving this already, I got up and read the verses then came on the site and Wow. I kind of just skimmed the Genesis extract whilst reading, but then looking at the post for today made me think. This. Is. Amazing. This is not something to be taken lightly… :O
Ummm… In v17 of Matthew I noticed there’s a repetition of ‘fourteen generations’, does this number have any significance or is it just pointing out that there’s a similar timespan between some of the ‘big names’ of the Bible??
At SSA, Crofty said that there was a significance of the number 14 but I cannot remember the importance rn. Maybe Crofty will explain later^^~
To Jews the number 14 signified King David, so the 14 generations pointed out to the Jews that Jesus was a relative of King David – which was important if he was to be the Messiah!
Got up and remembered it was the 1st of September. So of I went of to read the bible. But as I finshed I got confused at the reading of matthew becuase it said how Babylon is so special. I know Babylon is where the devil lives. BUT WHY IS BABYLON SO SPECIAL AND WHY DOES IT GET MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE?
Because it was an actual place on Earth in Old Testament times. And it invaded Israel (well, Judah specifically) in 522BC and carried the people off into Exile, which was a significant historical event for the Jews. If you have the SS Bible In 1 Year, look at page 6 of the timeline.
This passage is just using the exile to Babylon as a timeline. There is no mention of it being special. Babylon is not very special it was just a very powerful nation that conquered places and took God’s people captive. It’s not the plac where the devil lives (to my knowledge) it was just a very corrupt place. When we get to read through 2 Kings we will learn more about this context (Josiah was King at the time that’s why it’s mentioned in the timline)
Hope that helps a little.
the revelation talks a lot about (the harlot) babylon, it has a lot to do with the apocalyse, the endtimes, the rapture and all that stuff. i mean, it doesn´t really say that babylon is special but in a way it is special because somewhen in the near future it is gonna be the antichrists “capital-city”….
hope that helps a bit
Theresa
So happy to have started the BIOY!! Have been iching to start since week b…
I have a question about the “expanse”. It says that the expanse was called sky and that it separated water from water. This implies that above the sky there are more oceans or seas (or just water). I don’t see how it can mean rainclouds because, a) it later said that God had not caused it to rain and b) because rainclouds would have been in the sky and not above it. In science lessons we never learnt that, included in the layers of the world was water!? So is it still there if it was created above the sky? Someone told me it was used in the great flood? I don’t understand it at all!
Thank you
It says in Genesis 7:11 “… on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.” I think that was probably the water from above heaven, but if we think of how huge and amazing God’s creation is and how vast the expanse of the universe is, maybe the water is still there holding it all together? One day we will be able to sit a his feet and marvel even more at creation and he’ll answer all those questions for us.
Great start to the year
some of these comments are really helping me understand today’s passages a lot more (e.g. the comment and answers about why inly some wives are mentioned) Thanks guys 
Wow I am so proud that I have started as before I came to soul survivor I didn’t even know Jesus but soul survivor changed me and now doing the bible in one year is really encouraging me.
Thanks Mike and Andy
Reading that just put a big smile on my face! Thats so exciting!!
Oh!, this is exciting! Reading the same bit of the Bible with thousands more! I cannot contain my excitemnet. I set my alarm especially to read the Bible today. I felt different after I finished…
I feel that the writter of Psalm is a little big-headed. I feel that the Psalm is describing the writer and how “he meditates day and night” (vs2) and “whatever he does prospers” (vs3). I am not putting down the Bible in anyway but I think the writer believes that he is more holy and more righteous than others. What does everyone else think?
In the Psalm, the Psalmist rights not about himself, but about the ‘righteous man’. Basically, I see the Psalm to be showing how one can be righteous in the eyes of God, but also extolling how the LORD watches over his devoted children, and how he will never let them fall. Also, the ‘righteous man’ does not just obey the Word of God, but also he delights in it (v2). I hope this helps…?
Jonny
Oh! I understand now! I can see your perspective and I think that is how it is meant to be read. Thank you very much! I shall take that to heart^^
Awesome start to the year. The Genesis reading is very confusing and has alot crammed into it. It is hard to believe that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th but God is AMAZING anyway. It may not be literal though. Its a bit conplicated stuffing the first chapter with the whole of the creation.
Matthew is really good. I found myself just reading the names and not taking much in. However in the birth of Jesus I thought it was a bit longer than that and that Matthew explained more about angels and shepards coming. In Verse 18 it says they were pledged to be married. So they werent married but in 19 he says he will divorse her???
The psalm is great too.
Hiya yeh i did wounder the same things bout it saying that mary and joseph were pledged to be married but how come it said it verse 19 he says he will divorce her how does this work ??
I have been looking for a while to read bible in year but could never find the right one somepeople suggeseted this one and wow only day 1 and learnt quite alot
I have asked that question before and I was told that back then engagement was legally binding as well as marrage so he would have had to divorce her even if they were not married yet. I am working off memory here though so if thats not quite right someone please feel free to correct me
@JT I’ve definitely heard that before. Engagements were legally binding so ‘divorce’ is probably the best way to translate it based on our understanding.
Hi, ye JT you are right – pledged to be married was legally binding. And Mark, I beleive the days are literal days, in Psalm 90:4 it speaks of “a thousand years in God’s sight” is like a day to us. God is beyond and outside of time so its really hard to understand these kind of things. I think it’s just awesome!
Wow, this is fantastic! I’ve recently started going through the Bible a chapter a day on Twitter (@biblesummary). It’s going to take me three-and-a-half years so I’m almost jealous of your speed!
You can also do it this way you can always buy the bible in a year or you can just log on here everyday and get the scriptures they you can read it in a year too
Like many we have been looking forward to starting the ‘Bible in one year’ with everyone, however we had neglected to read our bible as we were saving ourselves for the Soul Survivor version over the summer. What a rookie mistake – however just amazed about God’s Grace covering us as we read this morning and full of thanks that with reading a few verses from HIS word that our lives are being changed slowly but surely.
Awesome start!
xxx
Those words have already meant so much to me!
I have a tingling in my stomach and am so excited and ready to be changed, wooooo
My mum is also going to do this!!
So glad to have finally started!!
‘..and they will call him Immanuel”-which means “God with us”‘
God With Us. Wow.
Just wow.
This is awesome i love it God was with us then and he is with us now. Fabulous what and awesome God we have
this gave me goose bumps >.<
oh my gosh this is going to be an amazing year
Did god only make adam and eve or other people because there is alot of people on earth now?
Nar,
Check out the beginning verses – as God tells the birds of the earth to multiply – He also tells the humans – one of the first few commandments of God to mankind – Get jiggy!
That’s one of the points where Genesis gets a bit confusing for me. We’ll soon get to the bit where Adam and Eve their sons, Cain and Abel. They’re the only ones mentioned but when Cain is banished God puts a mark on him so nobody else will kill him. The question is – who is there to kill him? There’s also the issue that no daughters are mentioned and if they were there then there seems to be some incest here…
It’s possible that Adam and Eve were just the first humans made and there were others which just weren’t mentioned in Genesis? I guess we can’t really know.
Just a little idea to provoke some debate here – try thinking about the “people ” at the start of Genesis as tribes and groups, rather than individuals. This makes particular sense if you remember that “Adam” just means “man”. It also helps explain the idea that somebody can live for 930 years as well as explaining how there seem to be rather more people around than a literal interpretation allows for.
What is the bit about the 4 headwaters about? It just seemed a bit random in the middle of this amazing creation story
Absolutley loving the bible in the year though and so many of the comments posted here have been a massive help to me understanding this passage already
thanks guys!
I think it is just describing what Eden looks like. It is saying about the four rivers at the bottom. Some other people looked at this and wondered if it was the two rivers in Iraq. There are only two left but they think that two more ran through Saudi Arabia which used to be Havilah and one going through Saudi Arabia but running through into possibly Egypt which mabee was Cush. No-one knows if that is right though. And then Eden would have been a bit of the edge of Iran and the sea and the edge of Saudi Arabia. No-one knows though because its probably not. Bit of History there. lol.
In Genesis, does the author use the the time frame of a day to be a metephor for the speed and ease at which god created the earth and everything in it or is he being literal?
The sun was created on day four, and this governs what we determine to call a day, whehter its due to the earths rotation as is known today or whehter the repetative nature of the rising and setting of the sun making the belief (before columbus) to be that the sun rotated round the earth. So is a day a methephor or is it literally a day?
It seems to depend on how you interpret the book of Genesis- some people will take it as fundamental truth (even to the word to word level), whilst others will take it as a description of creation (in order to glorify God) rather than a literal account of our creation. I am of this view as I have seen a number of sources which describe Genesis as being written in a jewish poem form- as God inspired poetry. Personally, I don’t feel this takes anything away from Genesis at all and makes it even more amazing for me- that a God who can create us with a thought had designed the fundamental laws of physics and nature! WOW!
The hebrew word יוֹמ (yom) meaning day which is used here is also used later in the bible to describe long periods of time rather than 24 hour periods. For example in 1 Kings 11:42 “The time Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.” the Hebrew word from which ‘time’ is translated is in fact יוֹמ (yom). In this instance ‘yom’ describes a period of 40 years.
Hope that helps people!
tx
I’ve been looking at my ‘Bible in One Year’ every since I left Soul Survivor Week B! I read the first few pages but stopped at Day 1. It seems like it’s going to be a good year!
I’ve been so excited about this since i bought my bible in one year back at SSA. It been sitting at my best side waiting for today. Im buzzing with excited and really cant wait to get to know God through his word this year Yahhhhh.
One thing i didnt quite understand was Genisis 1:26 “Then God said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” I understand that God created us in His image but here it says OUR is it meaning (Father, son and Holy spirit) because they are one so that confuzzled me abit.
The lists of names haha God was laughing when i attemted to prononce them haha he has a brilliant sense of humour
at the end of the list of names Matthew 1:16 “and Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” I have read this passage loads of times. Am i right in saying Joseph the son of Jacob the Father of Jesus the Husband of Mary is this the same Joseph as “Technicoloured Dream coat Joseph” If so i cant believe i never realised this before. Isnt it strange how you suddendly read something that you’ve read loads of times before and you learn something new.
Great Start to the year, cant wait to keep going.
hey, good work on the enthusiasm!
yeah, loads of people think it’s really significant that god says “let us make man in OUR own image”. it kind of says that we’re made in the image of the trinity, which means part of how we’re made is to be in community- like God is in community with himself! cool.
there’s probably way more to it than that, but i thought you might be interested.
and there are 2 different josephs mention. joseph the son of jacob is joseph and the technicolour dreamcoat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVsGv0e4V7I) and then joseph, husband of mary, jesus’ kind of dad, is a different joseph, quite a few centuries later. it would have been a hebrew name that many people had. it kind of means “God increases” in hebrew.
i hope that was helpful! x
They’re two different Joseph’s, the ‘Dreamcoat’ Jospeh comes into the bible around Genesis 30 I think.
And the ‘our image’ is Father, Son, Holy Spirit
Ah I’m so excited.
I am so excited like you are! I think you are right in saying OUR is Father, Son and Holy Spirit as God is a God of relationships so in creating us it is an outpouring of His love. There is a relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and The God of One desires to be in a relationship with us because of His love for us.
Jacob and Joseph (and his coat) of the old testament are different to Jacob and Joseph (the carpenter) of the new testament but I like the link here!
Hannah
Well thats confusing to have Two Jacobs and Joseph’s haha silly me we at least i know now haha its great to be reading God words and be able to learn new things and discuss them like this thanks guys hope you enjoy reading Gods Word
hey, i don’t think it is the same Joseph, if you look right at the beginning of the genealogy, it says ” Jacob was the Father of Judah and his brothers”. I think that this was the Father of the technicoloured dreamcoat Joseph. Also, the two are in different testaments of the Bible – this means that they were probably born thousands of years apart!!
ahhhh of yeh i silly am i of course it says it right at the start of the names about the other joseph thanks haha i feel stupid now
Hey, Jennifer!
Your question about Joseph: it is not the same Joseph. The Joseph in the Technicolour Dream Coat was wayy back in Genesis! I believe (I am sorry if i am wrong!) Joseph was the brother of Jacob who was the son of Isaac in vs2. I hope that helped.
And I was at Soul Survivor A as well! Where were you camping!?
Hi yeh i just realised that now and feel really stupid i was red 5 where was you
This year is going to be awesome its only day one and ive already learned so much
[replying to post below]
WHAT!? I was in Red 5 as well! Did you have that massive teepee tent?
No wayy how cool, no i didnt we had the caravan, and 4 other tents around that, you may of seen me im small and i wore bright pink wellies all week
We had a marquee and 4 tents next to the grey road bit. Were you further away from the road? You might have been next to us ^w^
I think we mite have been next to you we were by the hedge not next to the road. We was quite loud haha. Did u have someone called olly in your group because i heard someone in that group keep saying his name so i thought it would be funny to shout out at 1am OLLY really loud to see if anyone said anything haha
We didn’t have anyone called Olly but our youth leader did say he had to shout to get our neighbours to stop talking:’) It’s crazy that we were so close to each other and so coincidental we commented on the same thing!
I no its weird haha. Hope you had a good week and i hope you enjoy reading the bible this year
Thank you, I did enjoy my week. I hope you enjoyed yours as well and that it was very fulfilling. I am really excited! knowing that there are thousands of other people reading the same verse and getting confused at the same time xD I hope you enjoy your Bible-ing as well^^~
Errr, I thought that it was the same Joseph…Isaac and rebecca had the twins, Esau and Jacob, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, and then had to run away where he worked for seven years to marry rachel, but married Leah, and then worked another 7 to marry Rachel. Rachel gave birth to Joseph, as rachel was Jacob’s favourite wife, Joseph was his favourite son. Hence the coat.
Joseph father of Jesus cant be ‘technicoloured dreamcoat’ Joseph, its a completely different period.
I think so anyway, someone tell me if im wrong?
Richard
Your all right i just had a blond moment haha silly me thanks anyway
Hi Jennifer
Awesome that you’re enjoying reading so much. God’s Word is amazing, isn’t it? Psalm 119 says it’s sweeter than honey. Let’s pray we keep appreciating it — and Him — like that.
Just to let you know that the two Josephs aren’t the same. Technicoloured-dreamcoat Joseph was around right back in the day, before Moses. (In fact, it was because Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave that the Israelites were in Egypt when Moses was raised up to rescue them.) In Matthew’s list of names, Joseph was the son of Jacob in verse 2, one of Judah’s brothers. Then, years and years later, along came another Jacob, who also called one of his sons Joseph, and it was that Joseph who had the privilege of being Jesus’ adopted dad.
Pretty amazing how God works through all those generations, isn’t it?
Hope that helps!
Dave
I see you all beat me to it, I’m obviously too slow…
Thanks anyway dave i cant believe i sed it after reading verse two haha
Hi,
Not to poo poo anyones ideas about the trinity and the plurality of god BUT when is says ‘Let US make man in our image…’ it is commonly agreed amongst biblical scholars that it is simply to emphasise the magnificence of God and not evidence for the trinity at creation. Similarly in the original Hebrew, the word for God “Elohim” is also a plural word but again it is simply to emphasise God’s magnificence.
Hope this helps,
tx
Hi Tim,
I think it would be fairer to say ‘agreed by some biblical scholars’ – there’s still a significant number of professional theologians who would have absolutely no problem in affirming the presence of the Trinity in creation and the use of the plural Elohim. Hebrew arguably has no ‘plurals of majesty’ (the Royal ‘We’), so when God says ‘Us’ he must be talking to someone else, someone else who is joining in the act of creation…
You have both totally confused me and i dont understand a word of what you just said
Do the names of the rivers running through the garden of Eden have a spefic meaning. i.e if they are translated into to hebrew or greek what is there meaning?
Yep:
Pishon = increase
Gihon = bursting forth
Tigris = rapid
Euphrates = fruitfulness
I really hope they do, it would be really cool if they had a deaper meaning, like peace or faith.
Hopefully Andy or Mike will comment on this later to let us know
thank you folks. that an awsered my question
x
In Genesis 1:30, is says ‘… all the birds in the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it…’ but I’m sure I’ve been told that humans are the only ones who had the ‘breath of life’, would it have been the same breath of life as Adam and Eve got? or are we really at the same level as the rest of creation but God promoted us to govern the rest?
Hannah
I guess ‘breath of life’ may literally refer to oxygen and the ability to breathe it. You seem to get a lot of double meanings in the Bible like when Jesus talks about “living water” in John 4. I’m assuming this time we’re supposed to take it as literal breath rather than some spiritual metaphor.
I was SO happy the 1st of September finally came! I’ve been eyeing up my bible waiting desperately to get into it!
I prefer the way my old bible translated it, purely because it’s easier to remember, but this bible translates it beautifully. My old one says, “Oh the joys of those who delight in doing God’s will” simple, yet incredible 
I love how we’ve been introduced to it all; earth and mankind and then Jesus and ourselves.
I wondered about whether there was any significance in the 14 generations? in Jesus’ geneology.
Also, HOW cool is it that the Holy Spirit came about before anything! Genesis 1:2 says “…and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” amazing.
Finally, Psalm 1:1-3 is my favourite verse of all time
Hope everyone has a lovely day!
Hey guys, I was thinking, there are so many bad things in the world, I’m not talking about greed, hate, anger etc. more like poisonous gases that occur naturally, and flesh-eating plants in the amazon, as well as various bugs and gnats which seem to have no purpose other than to spread diseases. Are all these gases and diseases of our own doing, or did God create some of them, and if so, why? Is there a Pandora’s- box type episode in the Bible which shows the release of disease and the like?
Maybe, God did give us free will, hence the Adam and Eve situation with the luring of the serpent. When that happened, God brought about death, and probably other punisments as well. All of these sinful things in the world, including harmful things- poisonous gasses etc, came about because of our sin.
Sucks right
I think the Pandora’s box episode was the fall when Adam and Eve chose to eat from the tree of knowledge. Considering God made everything yes I think he did make the gnats and the wasps and the flesh eating whatevers however I don’t think they were evil until the fall came, i.e. didn’t spread diseases etc.
I’m not so sure about the flesh-eating, today’s scripture said the animals ate “the green plants”…can’t imagine how that worked out for tigers etc., but the bible also says one day the lion and the lamb will lie down together
All the gases and plants that seem bad are only bad if you look at them in certain ways. So many medicines, products and chemicals come from toxic things. Poison can be a protection to stop the good stuff that we need from coming to harm.
What a fantastic way to look at it in
In verse 26 God makes man the ruler of all creation – it is intimately linked to Adam and his fate. When Adam sins, his relationship with God is broken ,and his very self is twisted out of shape and doomed to die. As goes Adam, so goes the creation – Romans 8;20-22 “The entire creation groans in pain” because of what was done to it not of its own will, but by the will of one man, and it waits to be freed from its bondage to decay. From the fall comes everything bad – just as Adam was broken and doomed to die, so was his kingdom. Praise be to God then, that what one man broke, one man can fix. And as the second Adam, Jesus comes to bring about the reconciliation of all things, and to fix everything that has been broken – “Behold! I make everything new again!” Amen.
Great start to hopefully a great year of getting into God’s word.
for all you non morning folk out there……
I’m doing my reading the night before, so i can still join in the morning
discussions
I think some of todays readings were about how powerful and mighty God is and that we should obey him. Particually in todays psalm.
Hi Susie, good to see you off to a flying start!
I agree, it demonstrates his amazing power and that He can create such wonder – early last night the evening sun had a ‘halo’ like nothing that I have seen before – a vertical rainbow to it’s left and right (Teacher voice “don’t look directly at the sun!”). Wow. But the Psalm certainly lays it on the line for us…follow his ways, or there will be consequences. (I love v3 – be a tree planted by streams of water…)
Really looking forward to this journey through the bible with you all. Please check that I am keeping up to date!
Bible In A Year??!! I thought it said Bible In A Day.
I’ve already read Revelation 22 (I won’t spoil it for you, but… we win).
Haha great summary of the bible; we win!
This.
Haha love it
on facebook i would now press the “like” button.
Wish I could speak stuff into existence. Good start to a good year:)
i was just wondering why some of the women (in mathew) are mentioned as mothers and some arn’t and why some talk about *insert name* and brothers?
also, it said in genesis 2 that if adam and eve ate from the tree they would die however they didnt die when they did eat it, so i assume it doesnt mean a literal death?
(I think) In Hebrew the verb is continuous, so ‘would’ doesn’t mean immediately. They did die eventually and they wouldn’t have if they had not eaten the fruit. Hope this helps!
They would die in the sense that they would then be sinners for disobeying God. As Jesus didn’t come then to save them of their sins they are dying the same way people these days who don’t know God are dying, they don’t have eternal life as they haven’t accepted salvation.
I’m assuiming that the women mention in mathew are there to help us understand that Jesus decended from sinners! Making him more and more human.
I also feel that the in genesis 2 the death perhaps means a life full of sin and bad things. As later on in their story they get thrown out of the garden and into lives of sin.
Hi Lizzie, I believe Judah’s brothers as they (including Judah) are the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. As others have mentioned women would not normally feature in genealogies, but these women were important they highlight important things about the breadth of God’s love Israel at the time was a male dominated, very patriotic (often to the point of xenophobia particularly regarding Moabites and Samaritans) so the fact that in the family of Christ there are people like Rahab a prostitute and Ruth a Moabite, is truly astounding it means that God’s love isn’t just for the very specific people of the tribe of Israel. Certain cults misread Rev 7:4-8 as suggesting only 144,000 people will go to heaven, seemingly deliberately ignoring the wonderful next two verses
Rev7:9-11
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples of all languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
These verses, and the Creation in Gen 1 and the genealogy in Matt 1 show that our God is not a little God with some power and some love but that our God is all powerful and is Love, there is nothing beyond his reach, no one to unlovable for him to save!
Regarding the death thing, yes it relates to physical death as well as the more serious second death. Luckily for Adam and Eve God did not say instant death as we can tell when we read that Adam lived to the ripe old age of 930. Luckily for us Jesus died so that we don’t have to day the second death but instead can be raised to eternal life with him!
sorry Fiona, I didn’t see your post, and apologies everyone for my poor typing replace to on line 20 with too and day on line 20 with die and ‘are mentioned’ after brothers on line 1 and it should hopefully all make sense.
I think it means a physical death (eventually), but also a spiritual death; a separation from God, creating a gap that could only be bridged when Jesus died on the cross.
I think it means that when they eat the fruit off the forbidden tree they will eventually die instead of living on forever because they had sinned by not doing what God had said to them.
Great start of an awesome year, Love it !
Love it.
It was read at my baptism 3 years ago 
Gunna be an awesome year.
Psalm 1 is one of my favourites
I’m excited about this year and getting closer to God! I’m getting baptised this weekend and I’m really excited!
Im so excited to read the bible in a year!
Good luck to everyone reading it with me!
Done day one, some brilliant stuff. Just wondered if anybody knew why in the Matthew 1 passage why Ruth and “Uriah’s wife” are the only two women mentioned. Why them and not the others?
Bless you guys.
Tamar was also mentioned and Rahab an of course Mary.
But my guess is that because the genealogy to show that Jesus was the descendant of David, son of Abraham, through the male line. The women aren’t all so important. I think the ones that are mentioned are in there to make the point that Jesus was the descendant of sinners, adulterers, prostitutes and murderers.
Hope that helped…
Thats true for some but alot of the men werent very nice either. Also alot of people knew about Ruth and ruth is a book in the Bible. She wasnt known as a sinner in the Bible she was known as just being very faithful to her mother inlaw. It was a way of just helping to come all the way to Jesus through the family. Rahab was a prostitute but was also known as someone faithful by hiding the spys in her house and saving their lives. We will come to that story anyway.
Jesus was also a descendant of many women, not just a line of men, and that’s why these ones are mentioned. Tamar, Ruth, Bethsheba, Mary….they are all very important! No one should think Jesus only descended from men!
i don’t understand when it says;Genesis,verse 6 ”let there be an expanse between the waters to separate waters from waters… and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it”
I’m assuming it’s referring to the sea on one side of the divide and rain on the other, on the basis that it seemed like there had to be some store of water “up there” for the rain to come from (which, to be fair, there is – clouds).
Also some people think that before the flood, God storred alot of water above the sky and used it to keep the earth healthy. Then he used it in the flood to flood the earth. There are also stories about big springs that were underground aswell. These popped out the ground to flood it aswell. It was a way of keeping everything healthy but today we arent as healthy and live for shorter times. There are some weird stories about! lol.
Just finished reading day one’s passages and a couple of things occured to me:
Genesis 1 vs 27 says “male & female he created them” but I know in chapter 2 it goes on to describe God making Adam and Eve. So is chapter 2 a more detailed explanation of what God was up to on the 6th day or did God create men and women on the 6th day but then make Adam & Eve after the 7 days for the purpose of living in the garden of Eden?
All the people listed in the genealogy of Jesus – are they all mentioned in the old testament. I recognise a lot of the names but was curious to find out more about the less well known people.
Some view Genesis 2 as an alternative creation story. I’ve always viewed it as a more detailed explanation of Day 6 and don’t see any contradiction. Genesis 1 is quite a poetic telling of the story (repeated themes of “God said…” “It was good”, etc). Whereas Genesis 2 is more narrative and sets up the rest of the book.
The other guys all appear in the OT. Best way to find out more is to go to somewhere like biblegateway.com and do a search on their names… Or wait a few months and we’ll get to them sometime anyway!
Question – why are there 2 accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 of how the earth and man were created?
(oh I went and looked it up – apparently Genesis 2 isn’t different its simply from a slightly different stance and adds to the original text – hmm still reads like something different to me so will ask on the blog)
Question – what was significant about there being 14 generations before David and 14 generations after?
(looked this up to, apparently the name David in Hebrew can be converted to numbers and is the number 14 so the significance for the Jewish community of the time – Matthew was writing to Jewish Christian’s with his gospel – is that this is further evidence that Jesus was the Messiah).
In 1: 6-7 it talks about placing air (the sky) between two bits of water (one being the sea). However, there is’t another sea above the sky. What is this talking about?
Rain clouds ?
Heavens?
yeh i think it was heaven or possibly the atmosphere
Some things that have sprung out at me when reading today’s reading…
1. God has created man in his image but he made them male and female, and so both men and women are made in his image and yet we are different, reflecting different aspects of God’s character. As a woman it is important to remember that we have specific qualities that reflect something of God that men don’t! Perhaps it would be good to brainstorm these….(Gen 1v27)
2. When God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of good and evil he didn’t just say ‘you can’t do this’ but he gave him a reason, he told him the consequences of his actions – which would be death. This is a pretty big reason not to. There are many things God has asked us not to do, and in many cases the reasons are very obvious – we know what the consequences will be but we still sin! If we spent more time remembering why God has told us not to do certain things, and what the consequences are maybe we wouldn’t sin as often? (Gen 2v16-17).
3. I hadn’t read before that Joseph had no union with Mary until she had given birth to Jesus. I think this is an important point when reflecting on how Joseph had understood something of who Jesus is. (Matt 1v25)
I’m jst reading through the comments myself, when reading, I saw the bit about Joseph having no union to Mary, but I don’t know what that means. Does it mean they didn’t have sex…?
Yes.
Yeah, I noticed this too! It really confused me. Is it talking about marriage or sex?! Clearly, it says, ”But he had no union with her until she gave birth t a son.” That ‘until’ means that after Jesus was born, they either got married or had sex! I can’t really understand which though.
It’s talking about sex if Joseph hadnt married Mary before the birth there would have been a huge scandle. To preserve Mary’s virginity he didn’t sleep with her before Jesus was born.
Oh and some answers to questions I saw:
@Shari: There’s only 5 women’s names as in the Jewish culture back then, women were just less important. When making a genealogy (which was very important for a Jew: it was all about your family!) just the names of the men were mentioned, the women stayed at home I guess… the names which still are mentioned are important to the timeline: like Ruth.
@Josh: the Spirit already existed since forever (the trinity has always been, and will always be), but in Acts 2 it came available for everybody.
@Jeremiah Jose: to give the short answer: yes, I believe you still can be a Christian: it’s very normal to doubt. IMO it’s not vital to your relationship with God if you believe if this actually happened or not, as long as your heart is sincere.
re – your comment @ Jeremiah Jose: I agree you can still be a Christian and not necessarily believe that it happened in seven 24 hour periods, but I disagree that it won’t impact your relationship with Him.
By taking the very first words of the Bible as not literal, you run the risk of applying the same logic to anything you read later that isn’t what you want to hear. It also limits God to our weak and changing view of the physical universe.
If we do believe that we were created by God, then surely He also created physics and biology and so can bend (or break) them to His will. I think the important thing here is to take what the Bible directly says, and know that in His wisdom and power, God created the entire fabric of life and the universe, whether or not it was 7 days or 7 periods of time.
If we disbelieve the 7 literal days categorically though, how then can we believe in Jesus’ miracles, His resurrection, or ascension? How can we believe that the Holy Spirit works in us if He is limited by the physics of the universe?
I don’t believe that not believing in 7 literal days is a deal-breaker – as long as you believe that God *could* have created the universe anyway he wanted (7 days or 7 billion years).
Believing that the evidence suggests evolution doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t believe the miracles. Believing that some parts of the Bible are not literal doesn’t mean believing that none of it is. As long as you have good reasons for why you believe what you believe.
For me the important aspect is that God did create the universe out of nothing (however he did it) and that it was good. Which is what the passage itself seems to be saying.
What I meant with “it won’t impact your relationship with God” is that you can believe in God with either of those views on creation…it doesn’t matter to the bigger picture.
One thing I’d like to raise with the whole Genesis thing is that you have to look at the context in which it was written, when God revealed it to Moses, he revealed it to him in a way that he would understand, and a way that the jewish people would understand, not as a scientific textbook like thing. So, rather than saying that this is the way the Bible says it, so science must be wrong, or saying the opposite, we must realise that we’re looking at 2 different things here.
Genesis 1′s prime purpose is not to give a scientifically accurate description of how the universe was created, if it was, no one but the big G would understand it. It was written, first and foremost, to say why the earth came to be, and to set the scene for the rest of the Bible. The message it gives us is not meant to be how the earth was created, but its meant to say why God created it, and that he created man in his image, and that he made it good.
I’m not saying that the earth wasn’t created in that way, or indeed that it was, I’m not sure myself, but I don’t think it is what we should focus on, really, we should focus on the fact that God did make the earth, and indeed, he made each one of us, in his own image, because he loves us, and he thinks we’re great.
I agree that it isn’t a scientific thing and it was revealed to Moses in a way that he would understand and the people would understand. It cannot be taken literally because even between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 there are contradictions in how the earth was created. For example in Gen 2:7 it says that ‘God formed the man’ but then in Gen 2:9 it tells us about God making the trees grow but in Genesis one thius is not the order that things are created, man was last. It has to be interpretated for its real meaning and not for its scientific accuracy, not that this even matters in the eyes of God who can do the impossible, so all is believable in this way.
That was really cool. Thanks so much guys for helping me get into God’s word. I thought Genesis was amazing. It’s very general and I’ve skimmed through it in the past not stopping to think that in those instants the vast complexity of the Earth was made with just a few spoken words from God’s part. I mean, stuff like sunflowers changing the direction they point in or animals that store food for the winter or even that the sun is just at the right distance and heat for us not to burn or freeze…all that just came from the mind of God which is just cool! Likewise, to see God’s order and perfect plan that makes Jesus come from Abraham and David’s line is proper mind blowing stuff!!!
Can wait for Day 2
Astronomers say the Earth is in the Golidlocks zone – not too hot and not too cold ! Kind of just right strangely enough
I’ve been looking forward to 1st september for so long !!! and I got up bright and early to read it. I know it’s going to be challenging, but I can’t wait to be challenged, so that I grow into a stronger person by fighting through it. And once I have fought, I know that I wont be disappointed and that it will be really worth it
One thing that I noticed was the fact that vs. 27 already says “male and female” he created.” And in 28: “God blessed /them”
Is this used as an argument that people use for intelligent design or whatever you wanna call it? (first God creates mankind, and at a certain moment in time, maybe a billion years later he creates Adam: this is described after the 7th day, in chapter 2.)
Does any smart scholar have anything to say about this?
I don’t say this is true btw, just some thoughts that came to mind
If you went to momentum, there was a talk on this
I didn’t go, but one of my best friends sat down and told me all of it.
maybe download the talks from the festivals from the website when they’re available.
The word ‘man’ has been translated wrong, in it’s origional context, te hebrew/greek (I don’t know?) word actually means ‘human’ or ‘mankind’. But it’s been translated wrong to ‘man’ making people believe ‘men’ were created before ‘women’, when infact God created ‘mankind’ and then male and female equally out of mankind.
You can also use the geneology to back this up, because in those days, you wouldn’t mention a woman alongside a man in a geneology, yet in the line of Jesus, the son of God, there are women mentioned.
It’s a whole different preach in it’s own
Hope that helped
Yep. I believe the Hebrew word ‘adam’ means ‘man’ in the sense of ‘mankind’ or ‘humanity’. There is another word ‘ish’ which means ‘human male’. Just as ‘ishah’ means ‘human female’. So ch.2 v.23 ‘she shall be called woman [ishah] because she was taken out of man [ish]‘.
Btw, this is all from memory, so Hebrew scholars feel free to correct me.
I was at SSC: would’ve loved to go to Momentum but couldn’t
Anyway what you say is all fair and well, but it doesn’t really answer my question. This is vs 27:
“So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
And then in 2:22:
“And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”
So in vs 27 it seems like he creates them at the same moment, unlike the story we all know with Adam who names all the animals, feels lonely, etc.
Ok This is more of a reply to HPJ. From the way I read it I knod of thought that chapter 1 genesis is a bit of a summary over creation, then 2 goes into a bit of detail over day 6 and Adam’s creation…..not sure whether that day spans the time between Adam and Eve being created so that both male and female of mankind are made on one day, or whether that happens later, although Eve is made out of Adam so technically mankind is made with Adam’s creation…..
I don’t know if this is right, but my RS teacher said that there are two different acounts of Creation in Genesis; the one in 1:27 where it seems like God created Adam and Eve at the same time, and the one in 2:22 where Eve was taken from Adam. He said that the account in Genesis 2:22 is a lot older (ie it was written before) the first one.
Don’t know if that helps or not; I just remembered it just now.
Thank you, what a brilliant way to motivate us to read our bibles together, really exciting!
From reading the Genesis passage I’ve noticed that light was created on days 1 and 4.
On day 1 of creation God speaks light into the world but there’s no physical source. I think the source of the light here is Jesus as he is the light of the world or like in the book of Revelation were there was no sun in Heaven to shine but the glory of God shined.
On day 4 the sun, moon and stars were created, all showing God’s amazing power and glory.
You seem to be implying that Jesus is “created” on Day 1, but as part of God, Jesus is present from the beginning (see John 1). So what precisely do you mean?
I mean that Jesus provides the light as he is the light of the world and he wasn’t created quite rightly as he is part of the Trinity which you have already pointed out.
I used to think this was weird too… But thinking about it from an engineering point of view it actually makes perfect sense. When a workman is working on something they’ll work under a desk lamp (or work light)… Once they have finished their design they will show it off in a display cabinet for all to see. In the display cabinet the workman will shine spotlights onto his work so viewers can view it in its full glory.
Similarly God created a ‘work-light’ on the first day and spotlights on the the fourth. Hope that makes sense, I found it kinda cool.
Yeah the way I saw it was that he’d got this earth…and needed to see it to work on it….so ‘let there be light’ and I’m assuming this light is coming from God. Then after creating plants on day 3 he must have been like well I need to get it so these plants and the earth can function so create the sun to manage the giving light, seasons etc…… Question is what function have the stars?? Are they too give light to us in more than just a physical sense (cus lets face it the stars don provide enough light to see by at night) so are they there so that its not just a dark nights sky, or is it God showing his glory and power in amazing way to “shine the light” give us hope in him?? Don’t know about everyone else but I’ve always found seeing stars amazingly peaceful and just ‘WOW’!!
How could Mary be pregnant by the Spirit if Jesus didn’t send the Spirit down until many years later?
Read genesis 1:2.
I never noticed that before
Awesome.
The Holy Spirit has always been around – Gen 1v2. When the Holy Spirit came after Jesus ascended into heaven it was to be in a new way, within us, to empower and enable us to live this life for him.
The Holy Spirit was always there. And did come upon certain people before Act. like at Jesus baptism.
…and the Spirit has always been life giving, all verdant, all-greening. In Gen 1:2 the spirit hovers over the waters, literally ‘broods’ over the waters, like a mother hen hatching, warming and protecting her offspring. It is only when God breathes into Adam, only when he places the Ruach inside of him, that be becomes a living being. And it is only when we are born again of the Spirit that we truly live again…
Equally excited about Bible in one year and had a sneak preview last night. How amazing God created us and ‘God saw all that he had made, and it was very good’. This truth jumped out of the page at me and made me cry – the mighty loving creator of the Universe who quite literally spoke and brought things to life from nothing created you and me in his own image and looks on us with goodness. WOW – what an encouragement and what a hope for change – that we can trust God to change us as we mediatate on his word. Well done you guys this is inspired. God bless you all Jo x
First!
Looking forward to spending a year reading the bible with some of my friends, just read the genesis passage. Really makes me wonder when and where it was written. And the image of God speaking and suddenly an empty universe becomes filled with light is amazing.
Praise God for his use of sinful individuals for great things… outrageous grace if ever there was! As Andy says, Jesus is in the genealogy of sinners… God takes us in our weaknesses and failings and… LOVES US! Even beyond that, he chooses to USE US! How incredibly awesome is that?! This is our response: “Lord, here I am; send me, use me.”
PRAISE THE LORD!
So can you be a true christian and not believe that Genesis 1 actuallly happened as it is written? I mean is it important to believe that God created the universe in seven days and that night and day were created before the sun? But then if we don’t believe it, how are we gonna get by this year, reading a bible that we chose parts to believe and parts not to believe – what do you guys think?
true you can’t just pick parts of the bible you like and leave others you don’t you take the bible as a whole
It may not have been literally 7 days as we know it. Time for God is different than time for us, I mean He never sleeps so the days could drag on.
A thousand years to us would be but a day to God.
I hope you don’t have to believe that Genesis 1 happened as written or I’m kinda stuffed. I believe that there is sufficient evidence to see Genesis as a non-literal piece of writing if you so choose – for example, the way that it is written and laid out from a purely linguistic point of view suggests to me a poem, rather than a narrative account (see the repetition of certain phrases like “God saw that it was good” or the way that it’s laid out into what seem almost like verses or stanzas).
But I do think that, being part of Scripture, Genesis 1 must be relevant in some way – it’s just that I see it as an expression of God’s power and glory, rather than a literal step-by-step account of Creation.
Hope that’s helpful!
There is evidence to suggest that the creation story was written as a poem rather than a factual account, and there’s evidence to suggest that the world can’t have been made in seven days.
but regardless of the evidence, we KNOW that God is….God. and therefore all powerful, and nothign is impossible for him. so it’s not like he wouldn’t be ABLE to make the world in 7 days.
so if he can, and his word says he did, why doubt it?
The ‘evidence’ there is on earth could have been put there or manipulated by the devil; as a way of making us doubt god.
There is no evidence that proves how the Earth was made, only scientific theory! I to believe Gen 1 is more poetic than factual but I do believe that God can and possibly did create the universe in 6 days and possibly in that order too. Remember that WE, the pinnacle of His creation, are the centre of His universe as far as God is concerned so in my eyes starting with the earth and creating everything around it makes sense even though we revolve around the sun!
I completely agree! God has the power to do whatever he wants! And he still CHOOSES to give us free will and choice to accept or reject him even though rejection must cause him so much pain. WOW! What an awesome God have I?!
In heaven there is no time…I believe that a day here is representative of many years
But i would never doubt God for a second, I believe Genesis is written the way it is for people to be able to understand it better, especially in a time when many weren’t as educated…God wanted to get his message through to EVERYBODY from the start, his Love for us is so amazing <3
Hey everybody, how cool is this!
Not to completely reject creationism(they have some very good arguments!!) but in backup to what beth said the hebrew word יוֹמ (yom) meaning day which is used here is also used later in the bible to describe long periods of time rather than 24 hour periods. For example in 1 Kings 11:42 “The time Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.” the Hebrew word from which ‘time’ is translated is in fact יוֹמ (yom). In this instance ‘yom’ describes a period of 40 years.
Hope that helps people!
tx
yeh it could have been 1000 years but it defidently happened the big bang is just people trying to make up something because there afraid to believe in the creation. i’m sorry but i think you have to pick and mix
The big bang theory can exist simultaneously with Creation!
I personally am quite a scientist in my approach to the world, but I totally know God is real! I couldn’t tell you if the world was created in the method demonstrated by the big bang theory, but scientists are pretty certain it was…
When you look at the big bang theory, you’ll be amazed by it! And I personally think God can totally have created in that way! He’s definitely intelligent, creative and powerful enough to have done so!
So, Big Bang theory in no way rules out the existance of God! In my opinion, it just shows how awesome he is!!!
Plus scientists can’t work out what happened in something like the first 1/43 of a second (not quite sure, but somewhere in that scale) And you can’t create something from nothing (unless your God) so again, this can’t rule out God, only show his awesomeness!!!
And just as Big Bang doesn’t rule out God, God doesn’t rule out Big Bang…. Just that for now, only he knows the method by which he did it!!!!
Don’t know if that makes sense?
Just some thoughts set off by this thread (and others):
Genesis tells us the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ of creation, not necessarily the ‘how’ – its not a science textbook. If the author (Moses for the sake of argument) had written something like ‘In the begining was a sub-spacial vacuum emboitment…’ it wouldn’t have had the same ring to it, and most likely no one would have understood him. On the contrary though, ‘In the beginning, God…’ tells us all we realy need to know – I’m happy to let the scientists have whatever they need to make sense of the universe within their frame of reference, as long as they’ll let me have “In the beginning, God”. Its all about God. I’m happy with the big bang though – the Hebrew for ‘In the beginning’ (Bereshith) means creation ex nihilo, out of nothing, which sounds very much like most explanations of the Big Bang that I’ve ever heard. And as someone else has already said, seven days (Yom) can mean seven non-specific but potentially very long periods of time, meaning the scientific age of the world can still be correct within the bounds of the Genesis story. The poetry of Genesis is doing something different and deeper than science – its telling us where we came from, not merely how…
Seeing as God knows all that’s in our hearts I like to think that he can see that we’re trying so even if we interpret parts of the Bible a bit wrong he’s still like “Ok, at least you tried. Here’s how I actually meant it…”
Haha I’d love to think you are right Philippa
The thing I don’t understand about the creation story is whether it was 7 days or millions of years how come it says God created light before the sun? Maybe God was the light?? I don’t know.
i am the Light of the world???? just a thought
Couple of things that helped me in Genesis 1:
v1 starts by saying that God is behind creation – simples – we’ll see more of that later in the year
v2 gives the context of the rest of chapter 1 – the earth has been formed already, but it’s dark at sea-level and God’s presence is there, the HSp
I think you can work out possibilities from there – eg
v3,4 the atmosphere starting to open up, the earth’s rotation making it light sometimes and dark later.
v6 the atmosphere gets dry between the cloud cover above and the sea below
v9 water level drops, revealing land
v14 the cloud cover reduces so you can see the sun, moon and stars from ground level
Just some ideas…
I agree that the order is right and even that is amazing given they did not understand how planets work when Genesis was written!
It definitely makes you go wow when you watch TV programs and see the huge number of animals, fish, birds, plants etc
Of course your the light of the world Gemma. Bam-Bam!
woo first of many days done
does the number 14 have any sigificance in any other parts in the bible ??
yeh you would think that the jews might have though hey its been 14 generations since the exile maybe this kids going to be of some importance
wow Jesus came the most sinful people but still he was the perfect human.
finally the 1st of september is here woop woop XD have read my passage and here ares ome questions that got me thinking???
why does it in mathew chapter 1 verse 1 – 17 only mention5 womens name???
and how come in verse 17 why is the number 14 so important???
The genealogy is to show that Jesus was David’s descendant through the male line. Therefore the women aren’t so important. I think the ones that are in there are to emphasise the fact that Jesus descended from sinners eg. murders, adulterers and prostitutes.
ahh right thanks it really confused me what about the number 14 why is that so important???
King David was the last great leader that they’d had so the people were all waiting for another leader like him. In Hebrew, letters had numerical values as well and the letters of David add up to 14.
The groups of the family tree are 14 at a time so basically just spelling out David to highlight the link between David and Jesus, showing his importance
hope that helps
Crofty mentioned it during the Bible studies in the mornings at SS. In Hebrew letters have numerical value, so if we add up the letters in David’s name, we get 14. So the grouping of 14 is kinda emphasising the importance of the David connection
)
ahh right thank you
god bless am looking forward for 2morrows scripture 
Thanks for the comments, I have tried this a number of times and never really seen it like that before – looking forward to continuing and seeing how this progresses
Me to jp me too!
Hello! Just read my copy of Bible In One Year! It’s amazing how the whole thing starts on the day I begin life at my new college! Is there anyone else starting something new today?
Really excited about doing this as we strongly feel that getting into the word every single day will change us for the better.
Genesis 1:26-27 – God didn’t have to create us in His own image, but by choosing to do so, He made it a personal relationship.
Matthew 1 – Not a coincidence that there were 14 generations between Abraham and David, David to exile and exile to Jesus. God knew each of these individual (He didn’t just come for the ‘godly’ and the righteous.
Psalm 1:2-3 – ‘delight in the law of the Lord’. This could be taken to be the Bible, so getting into the word will result in spiritual growth and fruitfulness (Psalm 1:3 – ‘like a tree planted by streams of water’, which, like Phil Wickham’s song could relate to us being like a tree so easily swayed but with firm foundations rooted securely in God.
Good luck to everyone
Genesis 1:26-27 (the message translation) -
‘God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” 27 God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female.’
God made us in his image, and reflecting his nature- We were made as copies of God- but I notice that the bible describes it as reflecting God. I think this is a great point- Yes we were made to be like god, but we need God to reflect off of us, we can’t do it alone.
Let them be in our nature so that they can be responsible for the fish in the sea the birds in the air etc. Just as God takes responsibility for us his creation, and make sure that we have food and all that we need ( if we are willing to recieve it from him) he expects us to do the same. As image bearers of God, we are expected to do god-like things. Just like a child in school uniform is expected to study and comply to the school rules, or like a warrior in full armour is expected to fight. Being an image bearer means that we reflect God so that others can see him too. We wear the image of God, it’s time that we lived up to the responsibility that this carries.
With great responsibility comes great authority- and we have amazing authority in Jesus.
I love your point on the 14 generations. It was no accident, nor a coincidence. God had it planned out to every detail. God knew each of the people in the 14 generations- he also had a calling for each and every person in the 14 generations. He knew before they were born where in the genealogy of Jesus they fell. A lot of those people did some pretty horrible things, but that didn’t change the calling that God had on their life. Often we are to ashamed to fulfil our calling due to our past, but God wants us to know, he knows us inside and out and loves us the same. Ever heard the phrase, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder?” Our value is given by the onlooker. God still sees us as beautiful no matter what we’ve done, so much so that he was willing to pay the greatest price for us. “he looked down at creation and saw it was GOOD”
It’s time we were a little less preoccupied with ourselves, seeing all our faults, and started focussing on God, and his plan for us.
Psalm 1:1-6 (the message translation):
’1 How well God must like you – you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College. 2 Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. 3 You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom. 4 You’re not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust – 5 Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people. 6 God charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.’
For me this confirms exactly what I feel God is telling me in the scripture above. God charts the road I take, it’s time I followed it whole heartedly, thrilling to God’s word, chewing on scripture day and night. It’s time i focussed more on Gods calling for me than the road i built myself. The road I built is Skid Row.
Such power did God invest in us. Such power did the Lord have when he spoke us into life, and such power did God sacrifice for us on the cross, and such power has he given to us through Christ our saviour.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ65aNv28Jc – and if our god is for us, then what could ever stop us?
It’s great starting with the story explaining the problem (Genesis) and the start of the solution! (Jesus
This is my first complete bible read and I am looking sooo forward to exploring and finding out even more about the God who made and cherishes me!
I’ve read through the Bible chronologically before, but this is exciting reading the New and Old Testaments alongside each other. The thing that jumped out at me today was that the Holy Spirit was there at the beginning of creation, and at the beginning of the rescue plan for the new creation. May the Spirit of God ‘hover’ over us today!
wow i hadn’t thought of that wow
So excited to get up this morning and read my bible in a year!
So excited to be starting it with you all!
I was really exited too. Todays entry as really good. It so cool reading a bit everyday! Soul Survivor week B was amazing, and i’m sure the other weeks and momentum was too. I can’t wait until tommorows entry! God bless everyone, and goodnight
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