Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Brian Doerksen singing … Creation Calls … Poignantly singing of how we all need to be aware and preserve all we see in creation, which God has given us, for His glory and our own well-being.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Genesis 1:28 [NLT] … 28 God blessed them [i.e., Adam and Eve] 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.”
… Our charge is clear from God - to take care of what He has created.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Genesis 1:26-31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God passes along the care of His creation to mankind.
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Reference Passage [NLT] : … Exodus 23:10-11 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
... God gives His children instructions on the care of His creation.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Psalm 19:1, 115:16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
... In song we are declared to declare the glory of Go thru His creation and to care for what He has given us.
Reference Passage [NLT] : … Matthew 25:14-30 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
... If we are to be stewards of all God has given us, we should be caring dearly for His creation.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David Roper, used a fishing illustration to teach on our need, as Christians, to be good stewards of God’s creation. The ODB author wrote: The “big browns” are spawning in the Owyhee River—brown trout beginning their fall nesting ritual. You can see them excavating their nests in the gravelly shallows. [See photo]
Wise fishermen know that fish are spawning and try not to disturb them. They avoid walking on gravel bars where they might trample the eggs, or wading upstream from the nests where they might dislodge debris that can smother them. And they don’t fish for these trout, though it’s tempting to do so as they rest near their nests.
These precautions are part of an ethic that governs responsible fishing. But there is a deeper and a better cause.
And that principle - or “cause” - involves us being good stewards of what God has created for us to manage. In the highlight passage we see that God gave all the good that He had created for Adam and Eve and their progeny (that’s us!) to care for. And we read often in Scripture (see God’s word referenced above), that we are to be stewards of all God gives us. And that’s why you read of conservation-minded fisherman being very careful to care for the spawning grounds of the fish they harvest for food and recreation.
Today we read a lot in the news about ecologically minded people fighting - sometimes violently - to preserve the planet; but unfortunately, though their actions have merit to promote good conservation of nature, their motives are often misguided … and even selfish. We, as Christians, are charged, by our God, to care for any/all that He’s provided for us; and that certainly includes doing all we can to protect and preserve His creation for the well-being of the pinnacle of His creation … and that is mankind.
So, without becoming “tree-huggers” and making nature an idol, let’s just do what God has called us to do, … and that’s to protect this glorious planet for His glory and our well-being.
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … I pray that we all do all we can to protect what You have provided for us to share and steward in Your name and for Your glory. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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