Genesis 1:1-31
In the Beginning God Saw the Goodness in Things
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. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he 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.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
John 16:16-33
In This World We Will Have Trouble
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”
17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:18-30
God Works in the Lives of People that Love Him
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all.Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Matthew 4:12-17
God and His Kingdom are Near
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee.13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Mark 10:18
Only God is Good
18 Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.
Job 38:1-41
The LORD Speaks
1 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom
or gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
Job 39:1-30
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland as its home,
the salt flats as its habitat.
7 It laughs at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout.
8 It ranges the hills for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will it stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?
Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?
Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
though they cannot compare
with the wings and feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,
striking terror with its proud snorting?
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
and charges into the fray.
22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;
its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”
Job 40:1-24
1 The Lord said to Job:
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more.”
6 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:
7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
8 “Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12 look at all who are proud and humble them,
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.
15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.
16 What strength it has in its loins,
what power in the muscles of its belly!
17 Its tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like rods of iron.
19 It ranks first among the works of God,
yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
20 The hills bring it their produce,
and all the wild animals play nearby.
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
22 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream surround it.
23 A raging river does not alarm it;
it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
24 Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
or trap it and pierce its nose?
Many atheists give their reason for not believing in God is because of all the pain and suffering and evil that are in the world...They see this part of the world as broken and definitely troubled...There is trouble in this world and Jesus even said, "In this world you will have trouble...But take heart! I have overcome the world."...So if we believe in Jesus, we know that we will have to deal with troubles in our lives...Pain and suffering are a part of the world...It seems that Jesus is telling us that we cannot avoid troubles, or some pain and suffering in our lives...Jesus also was always talking about God...And He tells us that God's Kingdom is near...If God's Kingdom is near, then God is near us...And in getting back to pain and suffering, Jesus had His pains and sufferings on the cross...And He is Divine...But even He failed to avoid troubles and sufferings in His Great Life...
Pain and suffering, as well as evil, takes places at all ages...Pain and suffering comes in many forms and in many ways...Pain and suffering happen everywhere...One age group that this happens, is of the very young...A little child can have every positive thing around him for his early years, but if he or she is faced with one and only one trauma, this single trauma can last an entire lifetime in their lives...One single negative event can traumatize a child for his or her entire life...Just this one troubled incidence in the life of a child can trouble them and be with them their entire life...Yet, believers of God also believe that if they love God, that God will work for the good in their lives, according to His purpose...So God will help us, if we love God...Or as St. Paul wrote, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."...
And as we look at things like some or many pains and sufferings, in many cases, these sufferings do not seem to be fair, or at least in my opinion...But when I say this, I am making a moral judgment about this world...I am saying Something has given me the idea that things ought to be fair and just in this world...If the world is just here randomly, why would I hold on to wanting things to be fair and just...Where in all the randomness, did this thought about fairness come from?...How did we find out about these things of fair and just treatment?...If the world is truly created out of nothing and I am only here out of this pure randomness, why do I feel that one tragedy in someone's life, is not fair and a just way to treat someone so young, or one of any age for that matter?...For me, suffering has given way and given reason for me that people ought to be treated fairly and justly...And I will take the leap and say, it makes me think about a Moral God...This belief I believe came, in the beginning, out of His creation of good things...In the first chapter of Genesis, it is repeated after many of His creations that "And God saw that it was good."...God created goodness...He wants things to be good....He wants goodness...Jesus tells us that only God is good...I believe this goodness, this fair and just thinking must be the result of being created in His Image...I believe it does not come out of nothingness and randomness...
When we look at some of the sufferings and pains around and in our own lives, we see that some are man made and that we are apart of them...Man causes some of his own sufferings and his family's sufferings...Pains and sufferings are world wide...And I would think that almost all people globally would say that some kind of pain and suffering exists in the entire world...And in of the pain and suffering, one might ask "Where is God?"...Jesus tells us that He is near...I find a glimpse of the answer to the question in the Book of Job...Job is the classic story in the Bible on pain and suffering...And Job, who has suffered with the loss of his family, and then put to the test of terrible health, peppers God with question after question -and no God is found or near...But after a long period, finally God comes to Job out of storm...And does God give Job answers or an answer to his suffering and pain?...God does not...God gives Job no answers at all to his many questions -as and while he suffered with all his pain...Instead God pours out question after question to Job...But God was there...And God was near...God did not answer on of Job's questions...But He was and is the Answerer to Job's pain and sufferings...Regardless of not answering Job's many questions...Job with the Great Answerer near to him, is better and gets better...Job's friends tried to help him...But God and the One speaking to Job was the only One who could end his suffering...The answer to Job's questions and Job's will does not get done...God's will is and gets done...The Answerer has answered Job not with words about his pain but by His Presence, and by that fact, we know that God has been nearby and listening to Job and his friends all along...And God's Presence is what healed Job...
And though pain and suffering may be different from evil, by saying that there is evil in the world we also are saying there is good in the world...So the atheist wants to know why there is evil in the world...But by saying there is evil in the world, he has now brought in goodness in the world...There cannot be evil without goodness...So with both good and evil in the world, we can better see that there is an evil one in the world whom some call satan, and that there is good and goodness, whom we know as God...Because, if there is goodness in this world then we have to believe in ethics and morals...Otherwise evil would run rampant throughout the world with no goodness showing through...And we might become presumptuous and say that there is a Moral Lawgiver in the universe who is God, that is showing us this goodness...Because once one assumes that goodness is in the world, for me this goodness and with anyone's objective moral thinking -it (this objective moral thinking) needs a Moral Source...And for me that Source is God...This Objective Moral Thinking helps guide us to the Truth...For the atheist they might argue that evil and goodness have "just" evolved...But why hasn't evil taken over the world and everybody turned evil over the time of the evolution of man and woman...How can the atheist assume as a fact and put forward the argument that both evil and goodness have both been involved in the evolutionary process?...Could not just one evolve, why both good and evil both evolving?...The atheist might say that I am only assuming a Source of where goodness comes from...I might answer the atheist and say that they also have assumed a source of evil, and that is in their evolutionary beliefs...And by assuming that there is Goodness in this world, I must assume that there is value in man, and it maybe in his soul, or his spiritual nature, or being that we are created in the Image of our Creator...So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God, He created them; male and female God created them...So there is a meaning to life when we assume that there is both good and evil in the world...Meaning in the sense that of all the creatures God created, man is the one who struggles with the question of meaning of life, but also of good morals and bad morals...For instance, have you ever seen a squirrel or another animal with bad morals?...The same could be said for the other creatures and even plants...Living though they are plants do not have morals...But no doubt you can spot a man or woman who is not living according to Godly Principles...And I believe it is because we are made in the Image of God...
By God being eternal Morals are important...If you have the choice of going to heaven or hell for an eternity, everyone chooses heaven...If there is a Moral Judge who is eternal and makes that happen, then we see not only the Source, but we see the vast and great importance of eternity and eternal life...