God's Mighty Acts in Creation - Softcover

Meade, Starr

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1433513986 ISBN 13: 9781433513985

Publisher: Crossway, 2010

Synopsis

Nature reveals majestic truths about God―truths that help us know him better. God’s Mighty Acts in Creation helps children recognize those wonders, and what they tell us about their Creator.

As Starr Meade, author of Mighty Acts of God, guides young readers through the six days of creation, she points to how creation displays the wisdom and power of God. She also helps readers explore and apply other references to nature in the Bible by answering questions such as: What did Jesus mean when he claimed to be the true vine? How is all flesh like grass, and how should that affect the way we live? What was God revealing about himself when he made the sun stand still for Joshua? Each reading includes a key verse, stimulating questions, and engaging activities, all geared toward elementary-aged children.

Whether parents use this book for family devotions or children read it for themselves, all will learn how God’s glory, wisdom, sovereignty, and power are revealed in all of creation. This is a companion volume to God’s Mighty Acts in Salvation.

About this title

About the Author

Starr Meade served as the director of children’s ministries for ten years at her local church and taught Latin and Bible for eight years at a Christian school. She is a graduate of Arizona College of the Bible and has authored a number of books. Starr has been a mother, a missionary, a school teacher, a director of children’s ministries, and an author. The calling she feels most honored to have been given is that of support to her husband through ten years of Alzheimer’s disease. That ministry ended with his death in 2023, a few months short of their 50th wedding anniversary.

author, Training Hearts, Teaching Minds; The Most Important Thing You’ll Ever Study; and Give Them Truth

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

God's Mighty Acts in Creation

By Starr Meade

Good News Publishers

Copyright © 2010 Educational Publishing Concepts, Inc.
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4335-1398-5

Contents

Creator and Creation: An Introduction, 
1. What We Can See in Nature: Romans 1 and General Revelation, 
2. Take Off Your Shoes! God Reveals Himself through His Creation, 
Day 1: Light and Water, 
3. No Darkness at All: The Holiness of God, 
4. Light for Life: Jesus Is the Light of the World, 
5. Light up the Night! The Holy Spirit's Illumination of a Sinner's Heart, 
6. God Owns the Light: The Ninth Plague, 
7. Measuring the Ocean and Commanding the Waves: The Greatness of God, 
8. God Owns the Water: An Axe Head Floats, 
9. Coming Clean: A Fountain for Cleansing, 
10. Can't Live without It! Jesus and the Woman at the Well, 
11. Water in the Desert: God's Surprising Grace, 
12. Acquiring a Taste: Living Water? Or Broken Storage Tanks?, 
Day 3: Land and Plants, 
13. Measuring the Land: How Great Is Our God!, 
14. Who Will Live Where? Geography, Nations, and the Sovereignty of God, 
15. Mountains and a Rock: God as Eternal and Unchanging, 
16. Surrounded by Mountains: God as Our Sure Protector, 
17. God Owns the Land: Korah's Rebellion, 
18. Look at All the Food! God's Goodness in the Foods We Eat, 
19. All Dressed Up: God's Provision Seen in the Flowers, 
20. God Owns the Plants: Aaron's Rod Blossoms, 
21. Like the Grass: Short Lives and Lasting Realities, 
22. Look at All the Fruit! Jesus Is the True Vine, 
Day 4: Sun, Moon, and Stars, 
23. To Infinity and Beyond! Outer Space and a God with No Limits, 
24. He Guides the Stars by Name: The Omniscience and Omnipotence of God, 
25. Nothing Hidden from Its Heat: The Sun and the Omnipresence of God, 
26. God Owns the Sun, Moon, and Stars: Joshua's Victory over Canaanite Kings, 
27. Sunrise from on High and Bright Morning Star: Our Lord and Savior, 
Day 5: Birds and Fish, 
28. In Wisdom Have You Made Them All: Birds and God's Wisdom, 
29. Wonderful Are Your Works! God's Wisdom Seen in the Fish, 
30. God Owns the Birds: Ravens Feed Elijah, 
31. God Owns the Fish: A Great Catch for Breakfast, 
32. Not a Sparrow Falls: The Providence of God, 
33. Under His Wings: A Reliable Refuge, 
Day 6: Animals and People, 
34. Look at All the Animals! God's Wisdom on Display, 
35. Who Cares for Wild Beasts? God's Provision for His Creatures, 
36. God Owns the Animals: Daniel and the Lions, 
37. Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! Victorious Lord, 
38. Behold, the Lamb of God! Merciful Savior, 
39. In the Image of God: God's Grace in Man's Creation, 
40. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: God's Wisdom Seen in Our Bodies, 
41. Body and Soul: The Creation of Adam and the Coming of Christ, 
42. Reason for Being: Created for God's Glory, 
43. Obeying the Creator: Adam's Failure and Christ's Success, 
44. Saved, Body and Soul: God's Promise of a Resurrection, 
45. Lord of Creation: A New Heavens and Earth, 

CHAPTER 1

What We Can See in Nature

Romans 1 and General Revelation

"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."

Romans 1:20

Are you a nature lover? You may not think of yourself as a nature lover, but I'm sure you are. The word the Bible uses for nature is "creation." You yourself are a creature, a part of creation. You're probably glad that God created you! There are surely other parts of creation you love and enjoy: people, for instance, and horses and dogs and dolphins. If you appreciate any of those, you're appreciating God's creation. And who doesn't like food? All food comes to us, if we trace it back far enough, from God's creation.

Almost everyone is a nature lover to some degree. But the Bible tells us there are wrong ways and a right way to love nature. The Bible tells us that the crowning point of God's creation was people. God made people able to appreciate all the rest of his creation so that people would praise and worship God for it. God knew this was what would make people happier than anything else — seeing how wonderful he is and praising him for it. God intended creation to reveal to people his greatness.

But the first people sinned. They obeyed Satan (a creature) in the form of a serpent (another creature), instead of obeying the Creator. From then on, every member of the human race has been born sinful. Every member of the human race chooses to trade the worship of the Creator for the worship of creation.

Some people worship creation by praying to created things, like stars and rocks. Some people worship creation by living to enjoy created things instead of living to enjoy God. Some people make themselves (creatures) the center of their own universe, so that they are their own idols. There are many different ways we do it, but all people, left to themselves, find some way to worship what God made instead of worshiping God.

Of course, it should be different with God's people. Their hearts have been changed. God has turned them from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). God has opened the eyes of his people to the truth they could never see before. So God's people should look at creation with new eyes and love it with pure hearts. God's people love God's creation because they see the revelation of God himself in it.

Creation, or "general revelation," cannot take the place of God's written Word, or "special revelation." God's written Word, the Bible, gives many precise details about who God is, how he saves his people, and what he wants of them. Still, when a believer sees the wonderful things God has created, he enjoys it more than an unbeliever can, because he sees something of God in it. I know the Person who made this, he thinks when he watches a beautiful sunset. And that Person is truly amazing!

As for me and my house ...

• Did you know that many famous scientists in history were Christians who studied science because it enabled them to see how wonderfully God works in his creation?

• How many different things can you think of that people live for instead of God? How is each of those a "created thing"?

• Even Christians are tempted to serve idols rather than God. What particular created things are the most tempting to you?

CHAPTER 2

Take Off Your Shoes!

God Reveals Himself through His Creation

"Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

Isaiah 6:3

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (from "Aurora Leigh")

Earth's crammed with heaven." Earth is full of things that constantly remind us of God. The Bible uses many illustrations from creation. God is a rock. Jesus is a vine. The Holy Spirit is like the wind. It isn't that God looks around at what he has made, thinking, Hmm. What could I use to illustrate my holiness? I know! I'll use light! Rather, God created the light as something he would use to help us understand his perfect, sinless nature. God built into the universe many such things to help us know him better.

"And every common bush [is] afire with God." Of course, you know when a bush actually was on fire with God. It was when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. The author of the poem above is saying that every created thing is like that burning bush in a way, because God uses even common, ordinary things to announce to us something of his greatness and glory.

But, according to our poet, that's only true for some people. "Only he who sees takes off his shoes." When Moses heard God speak from the burning bush, God told him, "Take off your shoes. You're standing on holy ground." The poet is telling us, that in one sense, all creation is holy ground. All creation should cause us to stop and take notice of God, because everything in it reveals something of God to us. Some people see what created things show us about God, and they "take off their shoes." They worship God and give him glory for what they see of him in what he has made.

The poet calls this kind of person someone "who sees." "The rest" of people, she says, have a different response to nature. When they see a bush, they don't think of God at all, so they don't worship. "The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries." All that these people see in creation is what it's in it for them. They may enjoy looking at the moon because they find it beautiful. They may enjoy swimming in the lake because it's fun. They may enjoy eating the food that comes from plants, or they may have a business and use creation to make money. They enjoy God's creation for all these reasons, but they never let it lead them to worship. They don't "see" God and his attributes in what he has made.

Even Christians take creation for granted and fail to notice God's revelation in it. In this book, we will practice "seeing." We'll consider each thing God made during the creation week, looking to see how it shows us something of who God is. But because creation is only "general revelation" and limited, we will also look at God's "special revelation," his Word, to see how God himself said these created things teach us of him. Our goal will be to develop the habit of looking at creation and "seeing" reminders of God, so that we'll take off our shoes and worship God for who he is and what he has done.

As for me and my house ...

• Brainstorm as many created things as you can think of in thirty seconds. When the time is up, ask yourself what each of these created things shows us to be true about God. Do you know a place in Scripture where any of these things are used to illustrate something?

CHAPTER 3

No Darkness at All

The Holiness of God

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

1 John 1:5

Because God made people in his own image, people can create all kinds of things. They compose music, build huge skyscrapers, bake exquisite chocolate cookies, and carve wood into beautiful shapes. Of course, if they're going to make things well, they must first learn how and then practice. And they must have materials to use. God, the Creator of the universe, made all that is from nothing, and he made it simply by speaking.

The first words we see God speaking are, "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3). As soon as God said this, the Bible tells us, there was light. God separated the light from the darkness, and God considered the light that he had made to be good.

When someone has a wicked plan in mind — he wants to steal a wallet or break into a house — he seldom does it in broad daylight because, if people see him, they will stop him. If he has a "dark" deed to do, he waits for darkness in which to do it. He hides in a shadow in a poorly lit street and watches for an unsuspecting passerby. Or he finds a window on the dark side of a house to break for his robbery. For this reason, we associate darkness with evil.

Imagine you're opening a door into a dark room you've never seen before, and you can't find the light switch. You enter carefully because, just maybe, someone's hiding in there. Now imagine that you're opening another door, and you find a bright room with every light on. You march right in, without a second thought.

The Bible tells us that God is light. There is not the slightest speck of darkness anywhere in him. In our key verse, God is using light to help us understand his perfect moral purity. He is only good and holy, never bad or evil. In fact, the Bible tells us that God is "of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong" (Hab. 1:13). This is why God demands over and over in the Old and New Testaments that his people be holy — because he is holy. We cannot "have fellowship with him" and "walk in darkness" (1 John 1:6).

Then what shall we do, because none of us is holy? All of us sin. All of us think, say, and do what is evil even when we try very hard not to. God sent his Son for this very reason. When we confess that we are sinners and trust in Christ as the One who took our sin's punishment on the cross, God cleanses us of our sin. Then we can walk in the light with our holy, sinless God (1 John 1:7–9).

As for me and my house ...

• Read some of the stories where we see people coming face-to-face with the light of God's holiness and realizing they live in darkness: Isaiah (Isa. 6:1–7); Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:26–2:7, 3:12–15); Peter (Luke 5:1–11); John (Rev. 1:12–18); rebellious sinners (Rev. 6:12–17).

• John wrote a letter to Christians so they could enjoy fellowship with God. Read the first chapter of 1 John and explain it in your own words.

CHAPTER 4

Light for Life

Jesus Is the Light of the World

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. ...'"

John 8:12

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men."

John 1:4

Have you ever conducted a science project where you demonstrated under what conditions plants grow best? Some plants you may have fed and watered regularly; other plants you neglected. For some plants, you may have played Mozart's music; for others, heavy metal. Another thing you might have tried was growing some plants where there was plenty of light and others in a dark closet.

If you tried this last experiment, you discovered that plants cannot grow without light. The plants you tried to maintain in darkness probably turned yellow, and eventually brown or black. If you continued the experiment long enough, the plants finally died.

Light is one of those things we take for granted, but it is a basic ingredient for life. Plants must have light or they will die, and all other forms of life depend on plants. So if there were no light, there would be no life.

Jesus knew there can be no life without light when he claimed to be the Light of the World. He knew that, without him, no one can live. Adam chose to eat a piece of fruit in disobedience to God, and, in that day, Adam died as God had said he would. Adam's body did not drop dead on the spot, although it began to age and deteriorate, but he became spiritually dead. The part of him made to know, love, and enjoy God died. Adam passed on that spiritual death to all of us.

Apart from Christ, we all live in a dark kingdom of dead people. We are like the plants in the closet. We do not have what we need for life, and there is no way we can get it. The Lord Jesus Christ burst into our dark world as a blaze of glorious, life-giving light. He had what we needed to begin to live.

Because Jesus is God the Son, when he was born as a human, he was born sinless. He had no darkness and no death in him. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God, earning every spiritual blessing there is. All that obedience to God is counted as ours, when our faith is in Jesus to save us. Jesus died an undeserved death on a cross, taking on himself the wrath of God that his people deserved. Those who are united to Christ are no longer in darkness and death. They have been placed in the light and in life.

When Paul wrote to fellow believers in Colossae, he told them God had qualified them to share "in the inheritance of the saints in light." He said God "has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Col. 1:12–13). It is as though God has lifted us, like dead plants, from the dark closet and put us on the windowsill, in the bright light of Christ, where we have what we need to live and grow.

As for me and my house ...

• If you've never tried the plant experiment, try it to see how necessary light is for life.

• Notice the plants in your home. Which way does the new growth on them face? Plants "understand" they must have light to live, and they grow toward it.

• If you have any new plants or flowers coming up in your yard, consider how dark it was underground and see how the plants push their way through all that dirt to get out into the light.

CHAPTER 5

Light up the Night!

The Holy Spirit's Illumination of a Sinner's Heart

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6

You and I are in a hallway with no windows. The only light is from the electric light overhead. We come to the doorway of a room you have never seen. I turn off the hall light, then I open the door. All is pitch black. "There's a fifty-dollar bill on the table in there," I say, "and it's yours. But hurry, we don't have much time." Of course, you're eager to have the fifty-dollar bill. But you don't hurry too fast, because you have no idea what's in the room. You proceed cautiously, feeling your way. You find that the room is large and full of furniture. Not only that, but there are many things on the floor you could step on or trip over. You spend several minutes trying to find the table with the money on it, but you get nowhere. At last, you feel a light switch on the wall. You flick it, and instantly everything is crystal clear to you. There's the table, over behind a couch. You swiftly step over or around the things in your way, snatch the bill, and are ready to go.

Have you ever wondered how non-Christians can hear the gospel presented very clearly and pay no attention? They have just heard their sinful hearts described, they have heard what God will do to judge sin, and they have heard how he has graciously provided a Savior — and all they want to do is go get lunch!

Unbelievers can't see all those clear truths because their hearts are darkened by sin (Rom. 1:21). Not only that, but Satan has "blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel ..." (2 Cor. 4:4). The furniture and all the things on the floor are there, but they can't see them, so they can't navigate around them. Hearts are sinful; God judges sin; there is a Savior. But unbelievers can't see these things, so they don't act accordingly.

The Bible tells us that God illumines the darkness of a sinner's heart when he calls that person to repent and trust in Christ. It is as though God flicks a switch and the darkness of a person's heart is flooded with light. Suddenly, the person sees what was there all along. He understands what was always true but what never made sense to him before.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from God's Mighty Acts in Creation by Starr Meade. Copyright © 2010 Educational Publishing Concepts, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1433513986
• ISBN 13: 9781433513985
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112