Category: Old Testament

From The Beginning To New Beginnings

~ Sowmya Gali ~ 2 Comments

Genesis 1: 1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…

The expansive galaxy we live in is spinning at an incredible speed of 490,000 miles per hour and requires 200 million years to make one rotation. We do not have an exact number of stars in our own galaxy. Our galaxy is spinning around to make its rotation. Beside our galaxy there are over billion other galaxies in this vast universe. Yet this complex sea of stars functions with remarkable order and efficiency. Whatever the world view about creation maybe; man with his finite mind may concur that we came into existence with a bang (Big Bang theory). However, it requires more than faith to believe that a supernatural force is behind this expanse.

Now that we can make an educated guess that the supernatural force could be God, the Creator, it begs to ask, ‘why’. Why did God choose to create a universe with billions of galaxies and countless stars? Among those stars He chose Sun and planet Earth for mankind. We can conclude that if a person is creative in nature, then they are very passionate about their creativity. They put all their energies and time to create something unique. Not that we are comparing God to a mere man, but just pointing to the known fact behind creative minds. Therefore, God being a creative one, put His love in everything He created.

Enter Genesis 2: 4. Until this verse, God or Elohim was the word used for God. When man came into picture, God had transformed into Lord God or Yahweh Elohim meaning breath of God or grace of God. The entire universe was created by His word but His prized creation required His hands and His breath. That is how much passion and care He put in to create us even to the point of breathing in His breath into us. When God wrapped up creation with creating man and woman, He looked at His creation and was thoroughly satisfied. His finished work was flawless and He admired and adored His creation. We are the product of His love. Genesis 1: 31 – God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.

As one year draws to a close and a new one begins, we all tend to make hasty promises both to ourselves and others. Often, we try to recollect what resolutions we made at the beginning of the year. We promise ourselves that we will be better people, more attentive to our spouses/children/parents and others in our lives, be more charitable, take better care of ourselves through diet and exercise. More often than not we fail. Why do we fail so utterly year after year? Yet we continue to make those resolutions. We fail because we try to do in our own strength. We are so overconfident of our success that we fail to rely on the strength of the One who is all powerful.

Therefore, instead of making several new resolutions that require a lot of human effort and less of God’s strength, let us make one resolution that would take care of the rest. Let us cry out to God like the Psalmist in Psalms 73: 28, “It is good for me to draw near God.” When we look towards the skies and beyond, we can perceive how finitely small we are. Our only effort would have to be that we draw closer to God and be confident of God’s unfailing love for us just like Apostle John. Instead of our continued belief in our unworthiness and our failings, we must possess an utmost assurance of God’s infinite love and confidence in us.

Now we are one step into seeing our resolution being accomplished. Once we are closer to God, we tend to behave like Him. Some of His Goodness rubs off onto us. We tend to become more forgiving, much kinder and irreverent to the things of this world. Soon we will come to a realization that beauty, wealth, power, love, marriage and worldly pleasures are good things but not the best. The best will always be loving God and basking in His love for us. That eventually leads us to the best possible life with complete joy and satisfaction right here on this earth when we are still living. For we know that, that is what awaits us in the future glory in heaven. Therefore, the best life we can have right now is by drawing closer to the One who loves us like no other.

When we confess how frail we are and the measure of our days on earth (Psalm 39: 4-13), then our depressing days will turn into dynamic ones. Yes, we all are bound to die one day if the Lord tarries. However, when our hope is in God, every day of our lives can be more meaningful. Even to the point where in death too we are alive. When we come to such a realization, we tend to walk out of our selfish cocoons and fly like butterflies. We won’t be looking at ourselves – our weaknesses, our failures or for that matter even our strengths. Instead, we’ll be looking at Him who strengthens us. His love for us causes us to forget ourselves. We will stand in awe of His awesomeness and yield to His amazing grace.

Therefore, beloved, for once try to make this resolution: draw close to Him who loves us like no other. He definitely will not disappoint us. When we can fathom how infinitely awesome our Heavenly Father, the author and finisher of everything is, then these trivial things that we lust after don’t matter. Beware of the side effects though – you might be acting like Him: forgiving easily, being charitable, compassionate towards the weak and suffering and always rejoicing.

May the God of abundant grace and abounding love bless you and prosper you in the New Year.

Misplaced Priorities

~ Sowmya Gali

Haggai 1: 5 – 9

5. Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

6. “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

7. Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

8. “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

9. “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

It is common all across the cultures of this world that a person should get a good and decent education, have a career, marry, build a house, raise a family and settle down. A person who doesn’t follow this set-in-stone formula is considered a rebel, a person who might end up lonely and miserable. One generation strives to make their lives better so that their next generation might enjoy the fruit of the previous generation. Passing on the inheritance of a good and decent life is considered a virtuous endeavor. We consider that it is a very normal thing to do. Faith in God is still in the picture but somewhere in a corner.

During the rebuilding of the second temple, in the second-year reign of Darius, God’s Word came to Haggai. The work on the temple came to a standstill. The people who returned to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of rebuilding the temple, set aside their temple rebuilding duties and were rebuilding their own houses. Thereby, they were neglecting the rebuilding the House of God. God was greatly disappointed with these people for neglecting their sole purpose in returning to Jerusalem.

Therefore, God warns them that if they continue to neglect their rebuilding duties, He will bring losses to the people involved. Whatever effort they would put in, and try to be successful, they will continue to suffer loss. When Darius gave permission for a few to return to Jerusalem, the sole purpose was to rebuild the temple of God which lay in ruins but not rebuild their own dilapidated homes. Their misplaced priorities brought them more ruin. Their prayers were returning to them void. All their efforts into building their own homes brought about distress and discord among the remnant. Their priority should have been to rebuild the House of God. Instead, rebuilding their homes became a priority. They neglected the House of God.

In the New Testament, Jesus asked us to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness and all the other things will be added to us (Matthew 6: 33). Jesus meant that we should prioritize God’s Kingdom and not our own lives. When we place God first, His Kingdom first, His Church first, then we will prosper in all our ways. How are we building His temple today? Are we prioritizing in our lives and hearts to building the Church? How are we preparing the Bride of Christ for the Bridegroom?

In addition to Christ’s command, the Apostles also warned us to be busy about building God’s Kingdom, adding more souls to the Kingdom, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. James challenges us to show our faithfulness to God and His Kingdom by our works (James 2: 18). If we truly love God, we will take care of the orphan and the widow. That is how we will build the Kingdom, one soul at a time. When we make God our priority, then building God’s Kingdom, His body of believers, and His Church would become our priority. When our priorities are placed in a right fashion, then we will see prosperity in all aspects of life. Instead of building our lives, we must strive to build His Kingdom.

Today, when we see all our efforts bringing naught, we must realize where our priorities lie. If we change the course and stick to the path of God, then we will be able to see the progress not only in God’s Kingdom but also in our own lives. When we are busy with Kingdom building duties, God will enable us to live in houses which we didn’t build. He will enable us to eat food that we didn’t labor to grow. And drink wine from the vineyard which we didn’t plant (Joshua 24: 13). We don’t have to worry about our next generation, because they have watched us prioritizing God and His Kingdom. They have seen God’s blessings in our lives. That will inspire them to prioritize building God’s Kingdom in their generation.

Beloved, let us prioritize building God’s Kingdom. Let us be busy about building His Kingdom by taking care of the needy amongst us. Let us be busy in preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Let us keep ourselves busy with the tasks entrusted us.