Genesis 1:1-31
In the Beginning God Creates the Heavens and Earth
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, 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.
Romans 1:18-32
God's Wrath Against Sin
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 19:23-26
With God All Things Are Possible
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
As we read the Bible, we learn much about God...For those who believe in God, they easily see God in the Bible...Non-believers do not see a God in the Bible...And yet, the Bible is a good starting point for seeing and believing in God, because the Bible is about Him and His Son...Some non-believers do not believe that creation is the work of God...But regardless of what one believes creation is a miracle and many things happened the first day and first week of creation...
As we view creation and look at God's power we can see the things around us that He has made...I try to see creation that is here and does exists and was something that God did...But for me to say that when God created the earth in the beginning, I think He did a miracle, and so some, if not many unnatural things happened on the days and week of creation...After all, God spoke the universe into existence...Never again would another universe begin...So there were many unnatural things happening in the beginning, in my opinion, but as God crated the heavens and earth -He put the world and the universe in a very organized and finely tuned way, so man and other living things could sustain themselves...So from a most unnatural start to creation, we get to a more natural way of seeing God's Work...And this allows us to see and study His creation...
So there are many ways and many natural laws that help us see God...He has given us different things, some visible and some not so visible...Many of His laws are invisible and cannot be seen as St. Paul tells us...St. Paul saw a Universe with God who created it, and He created us...and with a Living God in it and involved in it...So when we look around and see nature we how nature sustains itself, we can see God in nature, as St. Paul did...Since the beginning of creation, nature has been with us and nature has remained with us...
St. Paul tells us that the knowledge of God is infinite...So as we look and seek God, we should know that He can do all things...Nothing is impossible for God...A miracle is not impossible for God...And creation itself is a miracle...He has given us many answers in Light and the Light of this World...We have read where the Light left the earth around two thousand years ago, but the Light has been with God since the beginning...And in the Light and the Father of Light, there is Great Mystery and Complete Understanding...And in this Great Mystery coupled with creation we see many things we cannot understand, yet we see many things we do understand, and are gaining knowledge each day...And as we increase our knowledge we get closer to the Truth and to the One to whom all things are made, and closer to the Source of our creation...
These laws of Gods are universal laws and unchanging...We see that God gives us Universal Laws in mathematics...And we see God in mathematics...And we see God has given us Universal Laws in physics...So we also see God in the laws of physics...
God also created man...We have fallen short of God's Glory and we sin...And creating man we were disobedient and have learned that the wages of sin is death...So we die...And it seems that death is a part or have become a part of the Natural Laws of Nature...No one can get around death, even though some will live longer than others...I wonder if death was a part of the Original Plan of God, but regardless, He knew we would sin under our own free will...God knows All Things...He has Complete Understanding...
And God is LOVE...So as we love, we see God in the love around the world...And we can think about love and forgiveness (because forgiveness is a big part of love) we see how the world would much be changed if everyone loved everyone else...God Divinely LOVES and Divinely Forgives...So in the Natural Laws of Love and Forgiveness, we see that if everyone loves everybody, and loves their neighbors, as well as their enemies, the world would be a better place...If everyone forgives each and everyone who has harmed them -each and every time, the world would be better...Love never fails, yet we find it difficult to love and forgive everyone, especially our enemies...How can we sincerely pray for our enemies?...And yet we are ask to do this, forgive our enemies and it seems almost like something that is impossible to do...But with God all things are possible...
It seems naturally that a LOVING God would want the everyone in the world to love everybody...God wants us in harmony with all things and all beings...This seems like a Natural Law from a LOVING Creator...But this would be a miracle for us, that is to love one another and to love everybody...A miracle different than those of creation, but nonetheless a miracle...And if one doesn't believe in miracles, it will and cannot happen...