Genesis: Chapter 1

I've decided that as I try to read and understand and study the bible, I will post here my summary of what I think it means and how I interpret it. And although my Pastor suggests not starting in Genesis, I thought I'd go ahead and give it a whirl. I think the best way to do this (at the moment) is chapter by chapter, so thank you for joining me in this journey.

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Genesis: Chapter 1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters."

In the beginning, God created the universe, even the very planet we live on. The Earth was just a meteor without any shape and no life no land, only water, and it was always dark. (Because of this, it stands to reason that perhaps we really ARE the only planet with life on it? And does this mean the Earth existed before the Sun? Seeing as how science believes the Earth and the sun were both created about 4.5 billion years ago, then yes, it would stand to reason that the Earth could have been formed before the sun.)

"Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then 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 the sun formed, and there was light. And the Earth rotated around the sun, making night and day. God saw the benefits of what night and day did to earth (tides, temperature, weather), and he saw the potential and it was a good thing.

"Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day."

As the sun heated up the Earth, it became a planet of humidity, and he created oxygen to be a space that formed a layer between the evaporating waters and clouds above, and the deep waters below. Night came and went, ending the second day.

"Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good."

On the third day, as more evaporation occurred, the surface of the ground began to peak, becoming the land, and the waters were known as the seas and ocean. God saw the potential in this and thought it was good.

"Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day."

Then God said to let grass, plants, and trees, and anything that makes seeds and fruits that bear seeds to keep producing plants of their own kind with seeds. All sorts of vegetation covered the ground. Then night and day came, the third day passed.

"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."

Then he made planets visible to the sky, so we had stars, sun and moon. We would be able to use the stars be to determine seasons, days, years, and locations. (But wait... If light existed BEFORE the sun was put in the sky, then where did the light come from? The answer is that the light came from God because He IS the light.) He saw that it was good. Day and night passed, and the fourth day was completed.

"Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same 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."

Then God created creatures for the water, and birds for the sky. Whatever this creature was, it would give birth to the same creature of it's kind. He blessed them and told them to multiply. Evening passed and morning came. That was the 5th day.

"Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 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 created land animals, and also had them make babies of the same kind. (A monkey could only mate with a monkey, a chicken only with another chicken. Etc.) God saw that it was good.

"Then God said, “Let us make human beings." So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 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."

Then God made human beings that looked similar to him. He made them male and female. (But wait... If this says he already made a female, how does Eve come from Adam's rib, as they don't come in until Chapter 2? Does this mean there were more people in Eden other than just Adam and Eve??? The answer here is no... There was no one before them, as Chapter 2 just goes back and tells more in-depth history to the creation story.) He told the humans to bear children and grow in numbers. He told them to master the animals and the land, and to eat the plants that grow fruit and the plants that make seeds. Leafy plants were for the animals. Basically, he told humans to take care of his creations, and be vegetarians (even though this would later change). He saw that it was good, evening passed, morning came, and that was the sixth day.

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End of Genesis: Chapter 1

God Will Take You Out

Tonight at evening service, we went over Genesis, Chapter 12. It states, as follows:

"The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”"

You notice here that God said HE will curse the people who treat Abraham. He didn't tell Abraham to go out and curse people. When you get mad at people, you can't just go around cursing them, as much as you want to. Technically, you can, but that's not the right thing to do. God wants you to be a blessing to others. If you have some beef with somebody so much that you feel like they need to be cursed, then you need to figure out what's going on in YOUR heart.

"So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the LORD, who had appeared to him. After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the LORD, and he worshiped the LORD."

If you've noticed, Abraham did not just build one alter where he went. He would build one in every place he resided. How many times have you met God at the alter in your life? You meet him when you give your life to God. If you're lucky, you meet him at the alter to bless your union for your wedding. Me, personally? I feel like I've internally given my life to God at this point, but I've still not done it externally. I haven't really went to the alter to ask for forgiveness for my sins, or to physically speak my dedication to God. I hope to soon though. When we get the chance, my brother, and Khloe and Devin and I all want to get baptized together. I didn't want to get baptized right away. I wanted to make sure I felt like I truly belonged somewhere before I took that step. And now I do, so I feel like I'm finally ready to make it official, so to speak, by this ceremony which represents my rebirth as a Christian.

"Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner."

Here, Egypt represents the world. Basically, when Abraham enters Egypt, this represents him bringing God to the world.

"As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.” And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone noticed Sarai’s beauty. When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. But the LORD sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions.

You would think that for a man representing God, Abraham would have been an honest man, but the first thing he does is lie to them, and had his wife life because she is so beautiful, so he has her tell them she is his sister so that they wouldn't want to kill him and take her. Sometimes... SOMETIMES lies are necessary. After all, the 10 commandments does not mention lying amongst them.

But now the pharaoh had knowledge of Abraham's God, and had fear of his God because he got plagued. Otherwise the pharaoh might have just killed him anyway, but because he now feared the wrath of Abraham's God, whom had already sent terrible plagues amongst the pharaoh and his household, he just told him to take his things, his wife, and go.

Abraham was saved - not because he was a good man... You don't have to be a good man to be saved. You just have to be a man who has faith in God and trusts God. Believing IN God and believing God are separate. Believing in him doesn't mean you're going to trust him and do as he wants you to do. Believing him means you will do whatever he asks of you. You trust him and have faith in him.

Now let's go back to the beginning of the chapter, where God told Abraham to “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” When you get saved, God wants to separate you spiritually (and sometimes actually physically) from the world you knew. You need a new scene. Sometimes you gotta just get away from your past life and start fresh. Abraham's parents were pagans and he had to get away from them, that place, etc.

Like 2 Corinthains 6:17 says, "Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you."

God needs to put you in another place to get you out from a bad place, but the Devil tries to get you back. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of the situation with my brother. When he stayed with us the first time, things were pretty good for him. He got away from the bad people and the bad situations, but Satan pulled him right back away from us. He was just itching to get back to the bad things he originally tried to escape. Then he hit the bottom again, hiding out place to place, stealing and lying to get by... eventually he went back to rehab, and has come back, but this time he has joined our church, and seems to be doing really well! Hopefully this time he stays faithful to God, and between the both of us, maybe we can keep him on track this time. I, myself, just have to trust that this is what God wants me to do as well, to guide him, help him grow, help him stay right, and keep him away from the bad people who influenced him before. Who knows? Maybe he can find a good church girl along the way, instead of picking up trash from the street.

As 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" Or as another version says, "Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?"

You can't date unsafe people because you'll end up marrying one of them. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes light overcomes darkness and both of the people work well together and support one another and are able to lift each other out of the dark... But more likely than not, if you love and support a sinner, it will drag the believer away from God.

It's easy to avoid it though. Just avoid people like that. Fellowship with people at your church. Find like minded people who just want to live a good life and be good to others. People with good morals and values. Listen... Darkness don't overcome light. Only you can allow the darkness to take it out. You remember that song "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"? When it says not to put your light under a bushel or let Satan put it out? You're the one putting your light away and hiding it. So when you find yourself in the dark - only you can get yourself out. Thankfully God will guide you if you allow him, but it's your free will to make that decision.

When you get saved, there becomes something in you that doesn't feel right going back to that old life. If you can go back to that place, back to those people, those habits and situations... and you're fine with it??? If it doesn't bother you, were you even actually saved? Something to think about as we end this entry.

Deer Chili!

FINALLY got to make some deer chili!!! (My favorite 🥰) It's been at least 5 years since I've been able to make it. (You can't imagine how happy deer chili makes me! lol) So there's this sweet guy at church named Ben. We got on the subject of deer on the roads one night when he came to pick up me and my brother for church, as he was doing the driving for transportation that night. I was talking about how much I love using deer meat for cooking, especially chili, and he said he loves hunting deer, just not eating them. So he said he had some to share some time if I wanted it. So I said sure!

Then one Wednesday evening, he showed up at church with a few frozen bags of it. That weekend (this weekend that just passed), I used my food processor to grind it up, and then I pressure cooked a few jars of it to share. I gave one to our Pastor Randy and his wife Debbie, and of course one to Ben, even though he said he doesn't really care for the meat, and that chili gives him heartburn. I told him "I bet you'll like my chili, though!" lol When he came in the door, I said "Alright, listen. You can either eat it or don't... If you don't want it, just give it to someone you work with, and you'll make their day because it's amazing." He said he will give it a try.

So thanks again to Ben! The kids love my chili as it is normally anyway, but even they agree that nothing beats using deer meat instead of beef! It really is delicious 😁

Update: So then today, I used some of the leftover chili and put it on top of some homemade hashbrowns for brunch. It was sooooo yummy! 🤤  I have just enough left to do it one more time lol And I only used 2 out of the 3 bags for meat, so I can make deer chili once more, probably in another month.

Never-Before Seen Content!

 On top of all the new blogs I plan on publishing soon (I hope), I also plan on bringing back some old stuff that you guys have never seen before! Pretty much a big chunk of my life, I have documented everything, from when I was a teenager until now, whether it be notes, photographs, blogs, vlogs, journals... I've always had a habit of documenting life and writing things down. I've added some old stuff on here before (sorry to my Mom for the times she didn't realize they were old entries that I was posting here even though I put "posted on a particular date" on the older ones) and I'm going to do that again.

Some of them are from old journals I had written down, or messages or tweets that I had sent on that particular date. Others are old blogs from places like deadjournal, or DeviantArt. Others may be from notes I sent myself or calendar events. And then there's blogs on here that are still marked as "drafts" that I want to finish and finally bring to the light. Either way, this is just a head's up to let you guys know that some old stuff will be mixed in with the new, so I hope you enjoy everything I have to offer.

Thanks for hanging out!

xoxox

Church Blogs?

 If anyone knows me, they will know how I've spent most of my life being a non-believer of the "common Christian concept of God". I never agreed with it in the past, and though I supported religion for inspiring others to be good and do good things, there was something that just didn't sit right with me... until November of 2023. That's when I was going through some changes, I was making bad choices, and I decided it was time to seek the guidance of God and follow my instincts. (One day I'll get into the story all about that as well. Never could trust my instincts until a few years back.)

I've been learning a lot and I've been very inspired by the church we like to go to. And because of that, I've decided to wake this old blog back up and start posting about what we learned in our Sunday School class, and discuss it on here; what it means to me and what I get out of it. That includes the evening services and recovery services as well. Any time I get to go to church and I have something I'm learning about, I want to discuss it here and share it with you all. I just got a Chromebook recently from the school auction, so I'm hoping to dedicate it to this purpose so that any time I feel inspired, I can crack it open and share my thoughts.

On another note, I hope everyone has been well! It's spring which means I've been gathering edible weeds and planting fruit trees. It's also income tax season which means I've recently gotten a lot of upgrades for our homestead. Hopefully I can post about them later as well. So much to talk about, and I've been so inspired! Hope ya'll will here from me again soon.

xoxoxox

Starting Out With the Bible (The Milk, The Mana, and The Meat)

For Sunday School basics today, we discussed 2nd Timothy 3:16-17. These verses say that "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong, and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work." So we talked about reading the bible. We talked about the different type of Bibles people have, different interpretations, different versions, different believes in the old and new testaments.

(Mine is a "New Living Translation" bible that my Aunt and Uncle got for me as an early birthday present. It connects to an app called "Filament" that if you scan the page number, it comes up with music, informational videos, animations, and documents to read that are all about that page.)

Then the Pastor said he would suggest that if someone is going to start reading the bible, he wouldn't recommend starting at Genesis, in the beginning. Maybe start with something a little easier, such as John 1, then Saint John. then the New Testament. Then once you've spent some time in the NT (don't spend too much time in the book of Revelations because that's more of a meatier chapter), then he'd suggest reading 1 Peter. Doing it this way, you slowly work your way up from the milk of the Bible to the meat of it. You start to understand it a little easier.

What did he mean by the milk and the meat? Well the "milk" of the bible is for newborn Christians. It's the stuff that helps us start to understand Christianity and how God wants us to live. It's best to start with the milk of the bible because some of the things you learn from the bible become your sword, shield, and holy armor. You wouldn't want to give a sword to a baby to play with, would you? Just as you wouldn't want to give a spiritual sword to a warrior of God to start out with, without them knowing how to wield it properly.

Then there's the "mana", which is the potatoes of the bible. It feeds you. It's good for you. It "fattens you up", you might say, with the storytelling about different people of the Bible (Noah, Moses, David, Mary, Abraham, Joseph, etc) and the important things they did.

That brings us to the "meat" of the Bible. It's the stuff that is hard to chew. It's the tough parts, like the book of Revelations. Sometimes it helps to take a second read, or to take a moment to understand what each of the verses are trying to say.

Then to understand this a little better, we read Hebrews 5:11-14, which says: "A call to Spiritual Growth: There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong."

Basically this is saying - if you've been in church for a long while, you should already be well into the meat. You should have that meat digested, and you should be now cooking up a spiritual meal for others. You should know the Bible, and the way God wants you to live, so well now that you're helping guide others on the path. But because not everyone is the same and everybody takes their spiritual journey at their own pace, you can be in church for a good long while and still just be a baby Christian if you haven't taken the time to learn the Bible. Not just read it, but learn it and understand it.