Christ Church Daily Devotion Nov 27 2023

In today's Daily Devotion, we read from Genesis about the creation of the earth and man. The second creation story highlights God's love and care for us, as He creates what we need before creating us. The writer beautifully describes God breathing life into man, emphasizing the preciousness of the gift of life. Whether things are going well or not, we should always be thankful for this gift and remember that God is with us. We are encouraged to reflect on our breath as a symbol of God giving us life and to pray for faith that sustains an abundant life in Christ. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for November 27, 2023. Today we will be reading from Genesis chapter 2, verses 4 through 7. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth, and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth. And there was no one to work the ground. But streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And the man became a living being. This second creation story is prose, where the first story in Genesis 1 is poetry. The first one emphasizes pattern and repetition, while this one emphasizes the earth, even telling us that man was created from the dust of the earth. As different as these stories are, there is one huge similarity. Each of them shows God creating what human beings needed for life before creating us. This shows God's love and care for us. Don't you love the way the writer says God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life? And the man became a living being. This is a beautiful image of God taking this lifeless human form, holding it in his arms, and gently breathing breath and life into the human. The gift of life is the most precious of our gifts. When things are going great for us, we would do well to remember that this wonderful life is a gift from God, and we should rejoice and be thankful for this gift. When things are not going so well, and we begin to wonder if life is worth the pain, it is good to recall that life is given to us by God, who loves us and is always with us. Most of our lives are spent at different points along the wide spectrum, and we are meant in all times to make the most of this gift of life. Here is today's personal worship option. Pause to think about your breath being breathed first into your lungs by God, symbolizing that God has given you the gift of life. Give thanks to God for this awesome gift, and pray for the sustaining faith that makes it the abundant life in Christ.