The First Day

August 22, 2022 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Today marks the beginning of our Genesis reading plan. Readings are Mondays-Friday, all the way up to Thanksgiving. As we begin, the readings are fairly brief; they will get longer as we move further into Genesis. I’ve written brief commentary to go with each day’s reading in an attempt to help you understand and appreciate what you read. If my commentary is helpful to that end, great. If it isn’t, skip it and just focus on the words of the scripture instead!

Let’s go.

Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

There is one God, and he made everything.

There is nothing that God did not make. In ancient times people worshipped sun, moon, stars; in modern times we worship sex, money, success. This is foolish, because everything we can see has been created and is therefore not worthy of worship; only God should be worshiped. If you worship something created rather than the Creator, it will not go well with you. To worship something is to make it your source of strength and hope; that which you most admire—that’s what you worship. What or whom do you need to put in its appropriate place in your life?

And what this God does is bring order out of chaos.

When God begins to create, note that the Bible starts to describe God working, not with literal nothing—absolute non-being, which is im- possible for humans to understand, both then and now—but with the basic building blocks of reality—a wild waste, a deep churning chaos, a swirling ocean of the blackest night. Even in the Bible, the true beginning of everything is shrouded in mystery. So here, it’s not that there is nothing but rather that what’s there is unformed. It’s like saying you are in the middle of nowhere—the something that’s there has not yet been turned into anything useful, so we call it nothing. God takes the wild waste of chaos and begins to make it into something. God’s activity is always to bring order out of chaos—think of the healings of Jesus, who brings order and stability into crazed, wild minds. God takes messes and brings meaning out of them.

What mess do you need to ask God to make into something meaningful?

P.S. Know anyone who would benefit from receiving these daily scriptures over email each morning? Subscribe here. Each day’s reading gets posted on my website at 3:30 AM CDT and is emailed to everyone on my Daily Bible list at 4:00 AM CDT.

In the Beginning

April 18, 2022 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Our Gospel of John reading plan begins today, and as is our custom, it will run Monday-Friday for the next seven weeks and will finish on Friday, June 7.

Let’s go!

P.S. Daily online Bible study will continue as well, and for you early risers, I’ll see you at 7:00 AM this morning. Join me via Facebook Live or at www.mungerplace.live.

John 1:1-28

The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John begins his Gospel at the beginning. Not with the birth of Jesus to Mary in Bethlehem, but with the Beginning of Creation itself. He is deliberately echoing Genesis 1—“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”—and the question is, Why? What’s he trying to tell us? Why would you begin a Gospel in this way?

John wants us to understand that the Word, i.e., the Second Person of the Trinity, is both God and distinct from God, and was in existence before he was born of the Virgin Mary and given the name Jesus. He wants us to understand from the very beginning of his Gospel just who this Jesus is: namely that the carpenter’s son from Nazareth who heals the sick, feeds the hungry, and eats with sinners is God in the flesh.

Although he doesn’t use the term, John is describing God as Trinity.

Go back and read Genesis 1:1-3:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:1-3

What do you notice? There is God, there is the Spirit, and there is the fact that God creates by his Word!

The rest of the Gospel is going to show us what happens when the Word puts on flesh and dwells among us.

AMAZING.

P.S. The “John” mentioned in the prologue here is John the Baptist. He was a SENSATION in first-century Judea, and so John the Author wants us to be totally clear: John the Baptist wasn’t the point; Jesus is the point!

The Beginning (Advent Reading Starts Today)

November 29, 2021 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

2021 Advent Reading Plan

Advent is the 4 week season of preparation that precedes Christmas. Christmas is an event of joy and feasting, but if we don’t learn the reason for the celebration it can become superficial and materialistic.

This year we need the joy of Christmas more than ever—let’s take the time to prepare so that our celebrations are as rich and joyful as the grace of God can make them.

Reading Plan Details

Readings are Monday-Friday, beginning today and ending Friday, 12/24.

Munger is a Bible-reading church. We believe that the Bible tells a unified story that leads to Jesus; many of the readings in this plan come from the Old Testament to help us understand the story of which Jesus is the fulfillment.

Each day, I’ll provide a brief commentary about that day’s reading, and include a reflection or question or prayer focus or thought to help connect the reading to our everyday lives.

Of course, feel free to do your readings at any time, but I strongly encourage you to develop the habit of the First 15: spending the first 15 minutes of each day in silence, prayer, and scripture.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

I like to pray early in the morning this time of year, just sitting in my chair under the light of the Christmas tree. Where’s your spot?

The Beginning

My goal is throughout this Advent reading plan is to trace the whole story of salvation starting from The Beginning, because the entire Bible tells a unified story that leads to Jesus, and we rarely take time to see it. Christmas is great, and preparing for it makes it even better. Let’s do this.

Genesis 1:1-2

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The Lord, like a master artist, brings beauty and purpose out of nothingness.

Prayer for the Day:

A great prayer to pray during Advent 2021:

“Lord, can you make something beautiful out of all of this?”

In the Beginning

October 28, 2019 by Andrew Forrest in Gospels 2019

Although he doesn’t use the term, John is describing God as Trinity.

Go back and read Genesis 1:1-3:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:1-3

What do you notice? There is God, there is the Spirit, and there is the fact that God creates by his Word!

The rest of the Gospel is going to show us what happens when the Word puts on flesh and dwells among us.

AMAZING.

Update at 2:30 PM: I had some technical difficulties this AM (of course!), so that’s why those of you on my Gospels 2019 mailing list are receiving this post in the afternoon. Tomorrow morning, everything should be back to normal.

Today’s Scripture

John 1:1-18