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Real Talk – Confidence

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This is a departure from the usual Chapter by Chapter Bible study series, but I think it’s important to discuss. A lot of people struggle with speaking up about their faith or owning their decissions, especially when it comes to their identities in Christ. I too have struggled with this from time to time. The thought of what if someone doesn’t like me, or they will think I’m weird or people will talk about me come popping in my head from time to time, but here are some conclusions I’ve come to in my walk with God.

If my life ministers to someone else, if I can help them by sharing what I know, then who cares what other people think?

Will people make fun of me? Yup! But they were doing that behind my back anyways. Who cares?

The people that like me will still like me. The ones that don’t can go bother someone else. I care not about haters, I care about doing what I am purposed to do.

GOD LOVES YOU!

Your brothers and sisters in Christ love you. You family (by blood or by choice) love you. Your friends love you. The people that really love you are never going to stop loving you, just like you wouldn’t stop loving them. They know who you are already, so walk in that identity.

Be confident.

Be confident that you are loved.

Be confident in who you are.

Be confident in what you will do.

Will mistakes be made? Sure will! But that’s how you learn, how you grow, and how you improve yourself. Everyone makes mistakes – it’s okay! The only ones that will attack you are the ones that feel threatened, jealous, or just love misery. Stay strong.

“The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that you may have life and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10 NIV

“Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let your joy overflow! And let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near. Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell Him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 4:4-7 TPT

Be encouraged to walk out your purpose with God today. You are not alone. Opposition will come, but that’s when you pray and stand your ground. You were created to be victorious. You were created in God’s image, and that is beautiful. So don’t hide your beauty and don’t hide your talents or your purpose. You got this and God’s got you!

In the Beginning…

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Genesis chapter one opens in nothingness. Well, not exactly nothing – God existed and the first verse of Genesis lets us know that God is a creator because it says that God created the Heavens and the Earth. When God first created the Earth though, it was void, meaning it had nothing on it. It was essentially a shapeless void, but in its shapelessness the Spirit of God hovered over the Earth which makes me believe that there was peace on Earth. For there to be World peace, there had to be nothing in the World to mess it up. All of this existed before time began.

In fact, it is not until verse five that the idea of time even becomes a concept with the first day. It is also interesting that the first day begins with evening and then morning, which makes sense in our current time keeping practice of midnight being the start of the new day. Before time existed though, the Heavens, Earth, darkness, waters, and light were created. Those things are timeless, precious and seemingly have no end in our time since they had no beginning in our time.

The first day, God created Day and Night. On the second day, God created the seas and the sky. Day three showed us the creation of land on Earth, plants, fruit trees, and vegetation. All of this was a setup for life to inhabit the Earth, God was making a way for what was to come. And God saw that all of what was created was good.

On the fourth day, we see the creation of seasons and years (more time keeping), the sun and moon are put in place, noting that the sun is the greater light to rule the day and the moon is the lesser light to rule the night, and ending with the stars.

Day five shows us the creation of sea creatures and birds. God also created reproduction on this day as it is the first time we see the directive for a creature/created being to be fruitful and multiple. That also lets us know that the created can also create amongst themselves.

On day six, we see the creation of animals, but more relevant to us, we see the creation of humanity. God creates us in his own image, as noted in verse 27. So far we have seen that God is powerful, a creator, and has the ability to produce good things. If humans are created in the image of God, then they have similar attributes. Additionally, God gives humans a blessing both allowing them to reproduce (be fruitful and multiply) and giving them dominion over all the creatures on Earth (except other humans, I don’t see that written in the text). Verses 29 and 30 also seem to set the scene for all living creatures to be vegetarians, Seeing as how God gave them all of the plants to eat from. I imagine also that if God gave them food and they had their first meal, the Earth experienced the first farts, pees and poops on this sixth day. In all of that, God looked over all that was created and saw it all as good.

For six days at least, everything on Earth was good. God looked after everything to make sure of that. He let the midnight oil burn for six days to set everything up for humanity. Can you imagine if the first humans were created before food? Or before land existed? How different things might have turned out! But it seems that the Creator set things up in a very particular order, for things to happen in a very particular way, to allow for humans to not only survive, but thrive.

It’s important as people to know our origin story. Not just the primal where did humans come from story, but our own personal ones so that we can know that if even one thing happened out of order in our parents’ meeting, if our grandparents had decided to not have children, if somewhere down the line our great-great-great-grand-somebody hadn’t decided to move out of the city they were born in to look for better opportunities, if Neo in The Matrix had taken the blue pill instead of the red one, if a butterfly had flapped it’s wings at the wrong moment, if even one small detail had been different, we might not be here right now reading this blog. And that being said, if you weren’t here right now, someone else’s future might not exist either.

If there’s one thing to take away from chapter one of Genesis, it’s that God is a creator who created everything for a purpose with humanity in mind and that includes you.