Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Jan 1 2019 - Genesis 1:1-25 – God the Creator

I am told that a good story has to grab you from the opening sentence. This is surely true of the Bible with its assertion that God "created the heavens and the earth." That is to say that God made absolutely everything, and he did it all simply by the power of his word. Creation displays his sovereign power.

Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens
And the earth by Thy great power
Ah Lord God, Thou hast made the heavens
And the earth by Thine outstretched arm
Nothing is too difficult for Thee…

When the Book of Genesis was written, many peoples considered the Sun and Moon to be gods and thought that the stars played a significant role in determining human fate. Many still are fascinated by astrological charts and follow their horoscopes in the newspaper. But the Sun, Moon and stars are not gods; they were created by the one living God whose glory is displayed in all that he has created; they are his creatures. This God is the one who brings order out of chaos, light out of darkness, life out of barrenness. He is the one who delights in all that he has made and pronounces it good, very good.

But we have to ask, "Why did God create the universe?" The "beginning" spoken of in Genesis 1:1 is the beginning of the universe, but it is not the beginning of God. He was there before anything was created. Why then did he make this world and the billions of other worlds that make up our universe?

It is not easy to answer this question, though the New Testament declares that all things were made through Christ and for him (see John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15). In one sense, God made the universe as a gift for his Son who, along with the Spirit, worked with the Father in this great work of creation. But perhaps we can also say that God made the universe as an act of love. God who is love created a world on which he could lavish his love and kindness. He created the world that it might enjoy his love and that all creation might respond to his love, glorify him and give delight to him.

But God's great work of creation, described in Genesis 1:1-25, is more than a miraculous act in the distant past. Our God does not simply light the blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance; he is the one who continues to sustain all that he has made. At the beginning of creation, God calls light out of darkness and the evening and the morning are the first day. Note that order, "evening and morning… evening and morning…" In Hebrew thought, each day begins with evening, the darkness that marks the night, before giving way to morning, what we call day. Each day is a new act of creation as darkness flees before the light – 'Morning has broken like the first morning...' Each day is a brand new gift from the hands of our Creator. It's not the mechanical rolling of the spheres but the grace, faithfulness and goodness of God that brings us each new morning.

'This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.'

Creator God, whose Spirit hovered over the face of the void at the dawn of creation, by your Spirit bring light into our darkness, order into the chaos of our lives and breathe into us your life. Through your word and Spirit, make this day a good day.

Jan 1 2020 - Luke 1:1-25 – From the beginning

Of all of the Gospel writers, Luke alone tells us about the birth of John the Baptist.

Luke informs us that he had taken great care to investigate every detail of the stories about Jesus. He wanted to set down an orderly account of all that had happened – probably not only for Theophilus but for the sake of the scattered congregations he had visited with Paul. He had sought out eye-witnesses and had listened to their stories. He had read accounts that others had put together. Now he sits down to tell the story "from the beginning" (Luke 1:3). Others might have begun with the ministry of John the Baptist but Luke begins with his birth. This, he implies, is where the story really begins.

It begins here because this is where God begins to act. After four hundred long years of silence and waiting, four hundred years in which there was only the dim echo of God's voice, God is now raising up another prophet, the last of the prophets, who will prepare his people for his appearing. God is on the move.

And when God is on the move, extraordinary things happen. An elderly childless couple are promised a son. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit from birth – driven by the Spirit into desert places; given by the Spirit a prophetic word of both judgment and hope, "Prepare to meet your God." Zechariah cannot believe his ears, even though these things are personally announced to him by the angel Gabriel. And because of his unbelief he is struck dumb. It is as if he now becomes part of that long period of silence before God acts to bring salvation to his people and open their mouths with songs of praise.

This, then, is where Luke begins his story. A story that will focus on Jesus the Christ: the one in whom God has come to save his people; the one whose conception was the work of the Spirit; the one upon whom the Spirit descended at his baptism by John (3:22); the one who preached good news to the poor in the power of the Spirit (4:18). The first volume of Luke's story will conclude with Jesus' death and resurrection, events in which all the Scriptures find their fulfilment (24:25-27). But that is not the end of his story. Volume two begins with the outpouring of the Spirit on his disciples, equipping them to preach good news to the world.

And this story is still not yet finished. God is still on the move. His Spirit is still at work in the world. God will not rest content until all the earth hears his voice and has come to know about the Lord Jesus. He will not rest until he has redeemed for himself a people from every nation, people-group and language. Nor will his Spirit allow us to rest content with a half-finished task. The good news has been proclaimed to us not by an angel sent from heaven but by the incarnate Son of God – the word made flesh. We stand amazed at the revelation of God’s grace, goodness and love, but he will not have us to be struck dumb: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Mighty, restless God, move us today by your Spirit that we may be "servants of the word". May our mouths be opened to declare the wonders of what you have done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be on the move in and through us this day to continue your great work of opening blind eyes and setting captives free.

Peter Misselbrook