Reading: Micah 1:8-16; 2 Kings 18:1-16 The time during which Micah prophesied was a time full of injustice. The people were oppressed by the political elite. Those who devise iniquity (see 2:1). It were not only the poor who were oppressed, but the middle class in Israel and Judah was also degraded, oppressed and reduced… Continue reading Meditation: Micah 1:8-9
Reading: Micah 1:1-7; Hosea 1:1-9 Micah prophesies that God will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards. The city will be destroyed. It will be open land so that there is space to plant vineyards. The city was built on a hill, but now that Samaria will be destroyed, her… Continue reading Meditation: Micah 1:1-7 (2)
Reading: Micah 1:1-7; Hebrews 12:18-25 The prophet Micah lived in the time just before the fall of Samaria in 722 before Christ. Micah came from Moresheth, southwest of Jerusalem. He worked and prophesied especially in Judah. The time of Micah was a time of many prophets. Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Joel all prophesied in those… Continue reading Meditation: Micah 1:1-7
Reading: John 14:7-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 In an earlier meditation, we read from Hebrews 1:3 that Jesus Christ is the express image of the Father (30 October: God’s image – Father-Son). God reveals Himself to us through His Son. We cannot see God, the Father. But God the Son assumed human nature and in Him God revealed… Continue reading Meditation: that God may be all in all – 1 Corinthians 15:28
Reading: Romans 8:18-30 Adam and Eve, created in God’s image, were called to rule over this creation. Ordained as king over this creation, man was called not only to rule over but also to protect this creation from harm, from attacking enemies. Filling the earth and subduing it. Developing it, all to God’s glory. When the… Continue reading Mediation: God’s image: the firstfruits of the Spirit – Romans 8:18-30
Reading: Genesis 1:28; Genesis 9:1-17; Revelation 20:4-6 God created mankind to live in relationship with Him and with each other. God also created mankind to rule over God’s creation. In previous meditations we saw how we reflect God in our relationships. Today we will look at the last aspect of being God’s image: our… Continue reading Meditation: God’s Image: have dominion – Genesis 1:28
Reading: 1 John 4:7-19 Yesterday we saw that we are God’s image, where it comes to the relationship Father- Son/Parents-children. This close unity between parents and children, and as a result of that also between siblings (coming from the same parents), can be taken broader as well, reflecting the unity of God. Out of… Continue reading Meditation: God’s Image: that they may be one – 1 John 4:7-19, John 17:11
Reading: Hebrews 1 Mankind is also the image of God in another way: in the relationship parents-children. The Son of God is begotten of the Father, before all ages. Begotten, not made. As image of God, mankind is begotten of one man, Adam. Adam (Man) is called the son of God (Luke 3:38). Adam… Continue reading Meditation: God’s image: Father – Son – Hebrews 1, Romans 8:16-17
Reading: Genesis 1:27-28; Ephesians 5:22-33 God created us within our families. The family has an enormously important place in God’s work. God works through the families. He called Abraham, and in him ‘all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Not the individuals, but the families. And Abraham and his family… Continue reading Meditation: God’s Image: male and female – Genesis 1:27-28
Reading: 1 John 1 and 3:1-3. God created us in His image. It is God’s will that we live with Him. For that reason, God has given us the gift of communication, so that in our words we can praise and glorify God. He has given us the ability to love, so that we… Continue reading Meditation: God’s Image: answer to God’s love – 1 John 1 and 3:1-3
Reading: Genesis 1:26-2:17 The Bible teaches us that we can know God in two ways. Through His revelation in nature (Romans 1:20), and through His Word, the Bible (Romans 10:14, 17). These revelations are not equal. It is through the Bible that we see God’s work in this creation. If God didn’t open our… Continue reading Meditation: How do we know God – God’s Image – Genesis 1:26-2:17
Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Peter 3:8-13 When God told Adam and Eve that they should not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because on the day they ate of it they would surely die, then that was because God knew that mankind was not able to bear the absolutes… Continue reading Meditation: God created time (2) – 2 Peter 3:8-13
Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:8-12; 2 Peter 3:8-13 God created eternity, and God created time. On the first day, time was created. That was the first day of time. Time will last until the last day when Christ returns. Where eternity is the realm of absolutes and everything is either completely good or completely bad,… Continue reading Meditation: God created time (1) – 1 Corinthians 13:8-12
Reading: Psalm 90; 1 Corinthians 15:44-49 God exists from eternity and to eternity. There is no limit. The eternal God decided within eternity, that it was good to create. God created the heavens and the earth. The earth is created in the realm of time. The heavens are created in the realm of eternity.… Continue reading Meditation: God created eternity – Psalm 90
Reading: Isaiah 55:6-11; Psalm 139 God is subject to none and nothing and He is the source and origin of everything. God is good. God is the norm, He is the measurement of good. He is the Light and in Him, there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). With God is the… Continue reading Meditation: God Is Good – 1 John 1:5
Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-6; Deuteronomy 6:4-19 We believe that there is only one God, Who is the origin of everything that exists. With this, we differ from most religions. Many religions believe in many gods. If we believe in more than one god, then that means that there is something higher than the gods.… Continue reading Meditation: The Only God – 1 Corinthians 8:1-6
Reading: Acts 17:22-34; Romans 1:18-25 God Is (2) The words in verse 28: ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’ are probably from Epimenides of Crete, while ‘For we are also his offspring’ come from Aratus’s poem ‘Phainomena’. Paul argued that God has put it in our hearts to seek Him. The… Continue reading Meditation: Who is God? (2) – Acts 17:22-34
Reading: Acts 17:16-28 God Is (1) Almost as long as mankind exists, there is a discussion going on about ‘Who Is God?’ Or even: ‘Does God Exist?’ Adam and Eve fell in sin because they wanted to be like God. They wanted to be their own god. With that they rejected God. This all… Continue reading Meditation: Who is God? (1) – Acts 17:16-28
Reading: Exodus 40:17; John 1:14; Revelation 21:1-5 When Solomon completes the temple “the cloud filled the house of the LORD”. God continues to dwell with His people, as promised. But later Israel falls into serious sins and refuses to repent. It becomes so serious that the LORD’s glory departs from the temple (Ezekiel 10:18) and… Continue reading Meditation: Exodus 40 (2 of 2)
Reading: Exodus 40:17, 34-38 In Exodus 25:8 God commands Israel to make the tabernacle and promises “that I may dwell among them.” In Exodus 29:46 God adds “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt.” God dwelling among His people is a… Continue reading Meditation: Exodus 40 (1 of 2)
