In the Beginning...

...God created the heavens and the earth.

Rachel, a friend from the Diving Deeper Lifegroup of yesteryear, is a talented artist who was hired by the Institute for Creation Research (which recently opened in Dallas, TX) to create a series of paintings of the Seven Days of Creation.  She put her heart into it and did an amazing job, so her paintings will be my Photo Friday post for today.  (If the prints become available for purchase, I'll let you know.)  For now, enjoy the paintings and reflecting on God's creative work!

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.”  So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.  And it was so.  God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.  God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good.  Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.  The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth." Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so He rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished. 

This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

~Genesis 1:1 - 2:4

The paintings are incredible; right!?  I love the way the first three move together, and then the fifth painting continues the wave shape!  *Rachel writes a bit about the process of working on this project HERE.  I'm sure spending all that time reflecting on God's work would be good for your soul, and the paintings that came out of it bring Him glory!  ❤

I read a verse that really caught my attention yesterday, and I had been thinking about these paintings the night before, so I know that was part of why it gave me chills when I read it.  "Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as My glory fills the whole earth..." (-Numbers 14:21) God is talking here, and He uses those phrases to emphasize the seriousness of what He is about to say (that those who have seen His glory and His miracles and still refuse to obey Him will be punished).  The idea of God's glory filling my spirit, but also filling the earth and surrounding us all inspires awe and reverence for me, and it's something I should think about more often!

That's all for today.  Happy Friday, and I hope you have a lovely weekend!! ❤