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The Creation - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. In the beginning, God created the heaven
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  Speaker 1: and the earth. Genesis 1.1. Dear God, as I meditate
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  Speaker 1: on today's Bible story, inspired by Genesis 1.2-4, my soul
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  Speaker 1: will be revived and excited at the fact that the
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  Speaker 1: grand artist has created me in his image. Through chaos
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  Speaker 1: and nothingness, Lord, you brought forth light and beauty. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: my mind will be at rest, knowing that even in
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  Speaker 1: the midst of a chaotic day, you will create moments
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  Speaker 1: of beauty for me to bask in. As I meditate
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  Speaker 1: on the book of Genesis, I will be reminded that
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  Speaker 1: this name means the beginning. And through this truth, I
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  Speaker 1: can stand in expectation, knowing that my best and most
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  Speaker 1: creative days are just about to begin. I declare that
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  Speaker 1: you are the God of Ex Nilo, the God who
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  Speaker 1: creates something out of nothing. And I declare that whatever
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  Speaker 1: you make, you've stamped it as good. And because I
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  Speaker 1: am your creation, your stamp of approval is all over
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  Speaker 1: my life. I am art in motion. I'm a creative being.
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  Speaker 1: And the master artist has sculpted me. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To
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  Speaker 1: hear the Bible come to life, stay tuned for The
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  Speaker 1: Bible in a Year, brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Creation In this Bible story, we discover the beginning
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  Speaker 2: of the universe. God's poetry spoken over the void and
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  Speaker 2: chaos turning into order. God speaks the world into existence,
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  Speaker 2: and with his voice, all life.
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  Speaker 1: And meaning came.
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  Speaker 2: All is good. Inspired by the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Today, we're going all the
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  Speaker 3: way back to where it started. We're taking a look
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  Speaker 3: at Genesis 1. In the beginning. So begins the greatest
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  Speaker 3: story ever told. We start out our journey on the
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  Speaker 3: Bible here at the beginning. It's total darkness, a great void.
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  Speaker 3: Then something happens. God speaks. This is the story of creation.
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  Speaker 3: God making something out of nothing. And not just something. Everything.
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  Speaker 3: It's what theologians call creation ex nihilo, or creation out
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  Speaker 3: of nothing. Here God's word of power is fully on display,
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  Speaker 3: His voice commanding our whole universe to spring forth. As
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  Speaker 3: you listen, picture the awesomeness of each event. When God speaks,
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  Speaker 3: light and darkness are separated. Stars, planets, entire galaxies burst
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  Speaker 3: onto the scene. Imagine the mountains springing up from the waters,
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  Speaker 3: the animals and trees and fish covering the earth and
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  Speaker 3: the rivers and the oceans. It's a spectacle of creativity.
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  Speaker 3: And it all happened through the power of God's Word.
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  Speaker 3: But God didn't create willy-nilly like a mad scientist. He
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  Speaker 3: created with brilliant design, intent, and love. As you listen today,
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  Speaker 3: take notice of a powerful truth God repeats over and
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  Speaker 3: over with each act of creation. The passage reads, And
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  Speaker 3: God said that it was good. God doesn't make junk.
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  Speaker 3: He makes everything perfect. Not a single thing out of
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  Speaker 3: place or not according to his plan. God not only
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  Speaker 3: speaks things into existence, he speaks order into the chaos.
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  Speaker 3: This story reminds us that God isn't a God of
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  Speaker 3: confusion or disorder. And through it all, God was thinking
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  Speaker 3: of you, people like you and me, and our ultimate
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  Speaker 3: place in his created order. He created us in his
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  Speaker 3: own image with a unique purpose unlike anything else in creation. Humans,
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  Speaker 3: as you will see, stand apart from the rest of creation.
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  Speaker 3: And it's not until God has placed his imprint through
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  Speaker 3: mankind on this world that he will say, it is
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  Speaker 3: very good. This is where it all begins. So let's
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  Speaker 3: get started.
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  Speaker 2: In the very beginning, out of nothingness, God formed and
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  Speaker 2: created the expanse of space and the details of earth.
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  Speaker 2: The earth was empty. Chaotic and without life, God's spirit
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  Speaker 2: hovered over the empty and chaotic void. Then, at an instant,
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  Speaker 2: God spoke. Let there be light. He called out, and
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  Speaker 2: there was light, just as he commanded. For from God's
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  Speaker 2: lips springs forth reality. The earth was now filled with light,
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  Speaker 2: and with it, the potential for life. the light was good,
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  Speaker 2: and God separated the light from the darkness. So God
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  Speaker 2: named the light Day, and the darkness Night. There was
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  Speaker 2: evening and morning the first day, and this was good.
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  Speaker 2: The waters, roaring and in disorder, were spoken to next.
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  Speaker 2: With the power of His words, God spoke order to
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  Speaker 2: the elements. The waters were separated from the atmosphere, and
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  Speaker 2: the skies were apart from the earth. There was evening
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  Speaker 2: and morning, the second day, and this was also good.
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  Speaker 2: Then God said, Let the waters gather, and the dry
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  Speaker 2: land appear before them. And just as he said, there
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  Speaker 2: it was. The waters traveled, gathered, and scattered. The land rumbled, shifted,
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  Speaker 2: and emerged from among them. a beautiful dance to the
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  Speaker 2: words of their Creator. He called the gathered waters seas
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  Speaker 2: and the dry land earth. God looked at all of creation,
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  Speaker 2: though beautifully incomplete, and saw that it was good. As
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  Speaker 2: an artist adds color to a blank canvas, God adorned
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  Speaker 2: the earth with beauty. He made trees, flowers, fruit, vegetation,
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  Speaker 2: and grass— This was the third day, and God saw
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  Speaker 2: that this was also good. God was also at work
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  Speaker 2: in the rest of the universe, creating stars, suns, galaxies,
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  Speaker 2: and all the other mysteries of space. Let them be
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  Speaker 2: seen in the night and used to measure signs, seasons, days,
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  Speaker 2: and years. Already God was thinking of humanity. THERE WAS
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  Speaker 2: EVENING AND MORNING, THE FOURTH DAY, AND GOD SAW THAT
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  Speaker 2: THIS WAS GOOD. AFTER THE REVEALING OF LIGHT ITSELF AND
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  Speaker 2: THE ADORNING OF PLANT LIFE AND ALL OF ITS BEAUTY,
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  Speaker 2: GOD CREATED LIVING CREATURES. FIRST WAS THE DWELLERS OF THE
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  Speaker 2: SEA AND THE EXPLORERS OF THE AIR. ALL LIVING CREATURES
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  Speaker 2: IN THE SEA AND BIRDS OF THE AIR WERE CREATED
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  Speaker 2: TO ROAM THE DEPTHS AND HEIGHTS OF THE PLANET. All
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  Speaker 2: these things God spoke with the word of power. This
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  Speaker 2: was the fifth day, and God saw that this was good.
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  Speaker 2: Then God spoke again, Let the earth bring forth living
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  Speaker 2: creatures of all kinds. Once again, out of nothingness and chaos,
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  Speaker 2: life sprung forth. Beasts of all kinds began crawling, roaming,
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  Speaker 2: and grazing the earth. Then God said, Let us make
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  Speaker 2: man in our own image, in our likeness, and they
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  Speaker 2: will care over the world. So God, with His own
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  Speaker 2: breath of life and word of power, created mankind. He
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  Speaker 2: then charged them with caring over the earth and all
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  Speaker 2: that is living in it. His desire was to give
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  Speaker 2: them purpose and enjoy the world He had created in
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  Speaker 2: relationship with Him. For mankind was the only created thing
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  Speaker 2: stamped with the image of its creator. And on that
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  Speaker 2: sixth day, the once void earth was filled with life. This,
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  Speaker 2: God knew, was very good. God had taken the chaotic
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  Speaker 2: void and inserted purpose. The heavens and the earth were filled,
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  Speaker 2: and his piece of art was complete. So on the
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  Speaker 2: seventh day, God paused. to enjoy what he had done.
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  Speaker 2: So he blessed the seventh day and made it holy.
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  Speaker 3: Genesis is the beginning of our story. But before anything existed,
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  Speaker 3: God was there. God didn't appear at the time of creation.
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  Speaker 3: We see that when there was nothing else, God was there. Father, Son,
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  Speaker 3: and Holy Spirit were present at the dawn of time.
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  Speaker 3: He is our eternal, past, present, and future, God. And
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  Speaker 3: He chose to create this world, including you and me,
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  Speaker 3: for His glory. Now that's amazing. No matter how many
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  Speaker 3: times I read it, the creation account never gets old.
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  Speaker 3: I never cease to be struck with the awe and
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  Speaker 3: wonder at just how great our God really is. We
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  Speaker 3: cannot even fathom this kind of power, mere words birthing
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  Speaker 3: our planet and the infinite mysteries of space. I just
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  Speaker 3: love how this story speaks to the order that God
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  Speaker 3: brings to things. Where there was chaos and confusion, he
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  Speaker 3: brought things into order, into a perfect functioning according to
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  Speaker 3: his purposes. That same power is alive today. God silences
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  Speaker 3: the chaos and takes away the darkness. He creates order.
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  Speaker 3: Listen to Genesis 1, 3, and 4 again. And God said,
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  Speaker 3: let there be light, and there was light. God saw
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  Speaker 3: that the light was good and he separated the light
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  Speaker 3: from the darkness. I absolutely love those words. God separated
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  Speaker 3: the light from the darkness. It was like a foreshadowing
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  Speaker 3: of what he would do one day through Jesus, the
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  Speaker 3: very light of the world and the one scripture describes
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  Speaker 3: as the word made flesh. You may even want to
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  Speaker 3: write down those verses and hold them in your heart
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  Speaker 3: to remind you of what God has done and can do,
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  Speaker 3: will do in your life. God speaks light into your
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  Speaker 3: life through the power of His Word, His Son, Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: And through Him, He also restores the purpose for which
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  Speaker 3: you were made, created, the purpose that all mankind was
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  Speaker 3: created for, which we hear in today's reading. We are
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  Speaker 3: to be caretakers of this world He created and to
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  Speaker 3: enjoy all that He has made. Don't miss that. You
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  Speaker 3: and I are made to reflect God's image, to care
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  Speaker 3: for the world that He has made, to enjoy His presence,
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  Speaker 3: and to enjoy what He has created. How well are
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  Speaker 3: you living out that purpose? But the creation story isn't
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  Speaker 3: just about what once was. It reminds us of where
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  Speaker 3: we who follow Christ are headed, a return to a
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  Speaker 3: world where everything is good, and we are free to
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  Speaker 3: live out our purpose and to enjoy God and His
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  Speaker 3: creation now and forever. Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: giving us this wonderful story of your creation and how
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  Speaker 3: it shows us your incredible power and care for every
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  Speaker 3: detail of this world that you have made. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for creating us in your image and for filling us
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  Speaker 3: with your purpose. Help us to live with that purpose
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  Speaker 3: front and center in our minds and to reflect your
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  Speaker 3: glory to those around us today. In Christ's name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: app and make prayer a priority in your life. If
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  Speaker 3: you enjoyed this podcast, share it with someone you love.
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  Speaker 3: By sharing this podcast, you can make a difference in
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  Speaker 3: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how
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  Speaker 3: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be
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  Speaker 3: sure to visit jackgraham.org. God bless you.