Did God Really Create Everything in 7 Days?

There are those that seem to question that God could create all of what is in seven literal earth days. Why this is so unbelievable in light of God’s clear and remarkable power is beyond me. God said in his very Holy Word that he created everything in six days and rested on the seventh. There is no valid argument containing any tiny morsel of intelligence in it that can even merely postulate otherwise. It is entirely within God’s power and will that he can, and did, create all of the universe within the same span of time that we have existed from last Monday to this Sunday. Foolishness spills from the mouths of doubters who, for some reason unbeknownst to me, find it necessary to disbelieve the truth of the spoken word of God himself that clearly and unequivocally states in the most determinate of verbiage that God did create the entirety of creation in six mornings and six evenings. Henry Morris supports the truth that I have just expressed: “Adam surely would have noted the emphasis on the divine Word in God’s account of creation week. At least sixteen times he would have read of God speaking. God spoke to create, he spoke to identify, and he spoke to bless. Adam would have recognized also that the account was presented as an actual chronological history of the events of that wonderful week, with no hint whatever that God did not mean exactly what he said. Each verse in the account began with the conjunction of sequence -- “and” (Hebrew waw). There was no suggestion of allegory, or overlap, or gap, or of anything except straightforward history. The conjunction “and,” indicating chronological sequence, actually was used some sixty times in the creation narrative. The account was given in terms of the events of seven sequential days -- six days of work, one day of rest. Adam surely knew what a “day” was, but if there might be any question, God defined the word for him. ‘God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day’ (Gen. 1:5). The same terminology was used for each of the five days following, so there should be no uncertainty whatever that God intended the account to say that the creation of all things had taken place in six literal days. It would certainly have been so understood by Adam and his descendants in those early generations who first read the divine account. The fact that each day was bounded by an evening and morning, and each modified by an ordinal number, further stressed that these days were literal days. These usages would be carefully maintained by God in all the rest of Scripture”. As you can discern, the clear conviction that nestles itself into the words of both Morris and myself is that God created everything in six literal days and that stating otherwise is nothing short of ignorant fallacy. I would surmise that the basis of questioning this very explicit truth would be that mankind is trying to strip away from God some of his divine and all-encompassing power. This feeble attempt at weakening God’s image is a reflection of the very first sin wherein Adam and Eve desired to be more like God. It is natural human tendency that we desire to lower Him and thus elevate ourselves. This is a dangerous temptation and a poor basis of theological decision that leads to attempts to conform God to the “science” that we so ascribe to. God must work according to our understanding, or he does not make sense and therefore cannot be. Rather, his incomprehensibility proves his elevation beyond our understanding and should lead to its proper and designed conclusion -- the worship, wonder, and awe of the one who fearfully and wonderfully made each of us. It is my conclusion, therefore, that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing in six literal days.

For Real, Though

I am coming to grips with the realization that Christians aren’t supposed to be happy, 
well-adjusted robots who don’t have any problems, don't deal with sadness and depression, and don't have trouble with feeling like they're not good enough. 

God created me - every part of me. He created me to be who he wanted me to be. I am made in his image, with his purpose, and in his timing. 

I have trouble with self-esteem; God shows me how much he can do with me. 
I have trouble with depression; God gives me strength to survive. 
I feel lonely; God slowly works on making me love myself. 

I’m flawed and broken and empty, but so what?! Was Jesus always happy-go-lucky? Not in the garden; and that’s not the only example. 

The problem is that I want to talk about it, but people don’t like to know your problems. They like to think that everyone’s peachy and compare their flawed self-assessments to this ideal facade that they’ve believed about everyone else. 

Why don’t we talk about who we are? I don’t because I don’t feel like anyone wants to hear it. However, I am trying. 

I was privileged this week to have a nice conversation with my roommate about real life and real feelings. I was open and honest and so was he. We were real; we connected. We weren’t just two broken people wandering the world alone trying to be perfect reflections of God, we were family. We cared about each other. That’s what I want; that’s what I’m going for.

Imago Dei

"Imago Dei" means that we were made in the image of God. Since God creates us in his image, we can see His nature reflected in us. This image is a flawed one, however. Because of the distortion of sin, we are but a poor reflection of God’s wonderful creation. By evangelizing, we are spreading the hope of redemption and new creation to those foggy mirrors. God is restoring our lives and slowly cleaning up the muck to reveal the image of perfection at the core of who we were made to be. This should drive us to go out into our communities and even further into the dark corners of the world in order to shine the light of God’s Truth, which is Jesus Christ, and to share the hope that comes with knowing that we were not only made in the image of God, but we also have a grand purpose; the glorification of Jesus Christ, and through Him, the glorification of the Father.

Hospitality

Hospitality at its core is following Jesus simplest explanation of Christianity: "Love God with everything and love people as God loves you." (my paraphrase of the two greatest commandments found in Mark 12:30-31) Again he says, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40) This isn't just feeding the poor, though it is that also. Hospitality is showing people God's love. I know how I feel when no one seems to be answering my texts, phone calls, e-mails, whatever; and I feel like there is no place for me. When people are too busy to spend time with you and no one will attend to your needs, whether they be physical or emotional. Life can be an empty place if we let it become that. But God has called us to something better: to live out the Kingdom of God in Heaven here on Earth. Who will you meet that God doesn't love and doesn't want to have a relationship with? No one!
I am reminded of a song by Brandon Heath entitled "Give Me Your Eyes." (click on the song title for a link to the video on YouTube.) Here is the chorus:

"Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see"

Hospitality is about giving of yourself to love people as God loves them, and as God loved you. We live in a hurting world, but God gives hope and salvation. It is our duty and privilege to tell them about it and to live it out to them.

Reflection Questions

Q: How comfortable are you with being the host or hostess?
A: Not very. I don't really feel like I have a lot to give when it comes to hosting people. I don't have a home to host people in or anything like that. But when I do, I've tried to be hospitable with what I have.

Q: How might Jesus want to use your heart and home as a shelter for others?
A: Well, I feel that God has used me to be friend to the friendless. When people need someone, I am there for them. I know what it feels like to reach out and have no one answer you. I think that God wants to use me to be the one that does answer. I may need to work on being a little more sensitive, though.

Discipling

Discipling means making disciples of those around us. This means spurring them on to greater works and a deeper relationship with God (Hebrews 10:24). Discipling can be done through two main avenues. Firstly, a Paul-Timothy relationship wherein a mentor disciples a mentee. These are beneficial for personal growth and accountability. The second way is to have a small group of individuals who all disciple each other. As iron sharpens iron, they encourage and empower each other to a fuller understanding of a Christ-filled life (Proverbs 27:17). Either way is awesome and we must understand that as a Christian, it is the responsibility of each one of us to both learn from each other and to build each other up (Matthew 28:19-20). This is how Jesus lived as he grew in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52).

Reflection Questions

Q: Discipline and disciple come from the same root. What sort of reaction do you have to the word discipline?
A: Well, this:

5And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:5-11

When I endure hardships, I remember James 1:2-4 where it says to consider it "pure joy" when bad things happen because they produce perseverance and spiritual maturity. I want to grow as a Christian and as a person as Jesus did; and that means that I'll have to face trials. Life isn't easy, but as Luke 1:37 and Philippians 4:13 tell us: with God, I can do this.

Q: How are you intentionally partnering with God to become who he intended you to be?
A: This was a stinging question. I read it several times and almost didn't choose to answer it and instead answer an easier one; but it's an important question. What am I doing to become who God wants me to be? I do go pray in the chapel sometimes, I go to church, listen to Christian music, etc.; but I'll have to admit that I'm not doing so great at this one. I could give a million excuses for this, but at the end of the day, if God isn't my number one priority then what is? I try to read my Bible, but I find it hard to find time alone to myself, and when I do I don't really want to read. I shouldn't get too down on myself, because I know that God is working on me. Everything I do seems to bring me closer to him and I think that my love for him is evident to those around me, but how much personal time do I intentionally carve out to spend time alone with God? The answer, if I could be transparent for a moment, is that it is not enough. Every night, I go to bed thinking that I should have done more. I do know that I am where God wants me to be, but if you're reading this, I ask that you'd pray for me that I could find/make the time to read my Bible, pray, and otherwise spend time with God. This is something that I've been convicted of as of late, and I pray every night that God will have his way in my life. So, I'm going to work on this, but the answer to the question at this moment is: not enough.

Community

Community is the practice of being with fellow believers and seeing the value of people outside of yourself. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul discusses how we are the body of Christ, and each member is a part of it. What would the body be without eyes? What would it be if it were all eyes and nothing else? The body of Christ is intended to be more than just a lone ranger; it is to be a collection of individuals corporately surrendering to the will of one: Christ.

Reflection Questions

Q: What kind of connection does Christ want you to have with Christian brothers and sisters?
A: I am a servant of God, and how can I show my love to him but by obedience and service to others? I seek to serve those around me as friends and brothers in Christ. We are a family, and I will do what it takes to encourage and empower those around me to live as Christ lived and to live out his desire for their lives. I pray for those God lays on my heart. I also pray that God will use me to fulfill these purposes so that my talk will not be empty, but that it will be proven by my walk. Each one of us is to set an example for those around us. Our connection is love for God and love for people.

Q: How does the life you are leading reflect the value Christ places on belonging to the family of God?
A: I regularly seek to be part of ministries bigger than myself, to be involved in corporate worship and small group study, and to personally minister to those God has placed around me. I try to be as Paul was in 1 Corinthians 9, especially in verse 22 when he says, "I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some."

Chastity

Jesus was the perfect example of purity in sexuality. He was not someone who did not have feelings, emotions, desires, hormones, and temptations. He was a man -- real flesh and blood. He did not sin, and he practiced self-control in all areas of his life, including his sexuality. He remained pure in an oversexualized culture where he came in contact with the sexually immoral, prostitutes, adulterers, etc. He loved them with a pure godly love and not with an impure carnal physical response falsely labeled "love."

We are the body of Christ, and our bodies are temples of the Holy One. How can we excuse disgracing this body, his temple? Chastity is not the absence of a drive, but the choice to control it and live according to God's law of love. There is no shame or fear of embarrassment in perfect love. Sexual impurity is a perversion of God's desire for our lives and for us to have healthy human relationships with one another. It is taking a natural desire and abusing it in the same way that overeating abuses the desire to eat. It is never too late to become pure. God has the power and the desire to restore us to what he has made and called us to be: pure.

Reflection Questions

Q: What impact do movies, magazines and easy access to pornography have on you?
A: All of the media in our current culture seeks to tempt us into giving into our carnal sexual desires. Movies and television form their plots around "romance" and exploring human sexuality. They glorify promiscuity and experimentation. Movies like "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" mock purity and seek to 'rectify' the 'problem' of seeking healthy non-sexual relationships and waiting until marriage. Magazines depict 'beauty' as directly proportionate to the amount of skin you're showing. Pornography sits on racks in convenience stores and gas stations and floods the internet with an overwhelming concentration of filth. It is so hard to keep pure when exposed to these things. That is why I must remember how God commanded his people: He commanded them to be different -- not for the sake of difference, but to purify themselves from worldly institutions of haughty eyes and impure thoughts. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. (John 15:19, 17:14; 1 John 2:15; James 4:4)

The way that I handle this is to avoid watching things that force me into that mindset of sexual depravity and perversion. I do not use the internet in ways that lend itself to delving into impurity. Anything that hinders is cut off. (Hebrews 12:1; Matthew 5:30) I can't control every message that comes into contact with me, but I will eliminate what I can control.

Q: How has your faith helped or not helped you face issues of your own sexuality?
A: My faith allows me to have a meaningful relationship with God and to find my self-worth and my value in who I am in Christ. I am not subject to the world's depiction of success and worth. I am a son of God, what could be more important than that?

I trust God with my relationships. If I am focusing on "fulfilling my needs" and not being alone, then I am looking for the wrong reasons. I am who I am because Christ lives in me. I will not give myself away to the whims of the worldly self, because it has been put to death. Christ lives in me, and he is the focus of my life. If any relationship gets in the way of this or seeks to hinder it, then that relationship is not worth having.

God's law of love is stated in the two greatest commandments by Jesus: Love God with everything and Love People. We are to share God's love with the people around us. This most definitely does not mean using them for pleasure or destroying their purity. Chastity is being who God made me to be despite the pressures that surround me.