Episode Details

Prayer

Heavenly Father, At the start of this new day, I life up my eyes to the hills for my help, my help comes from you, O Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. All glory be to your name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You are worthy to be praised, worshipped, and adored. I have made a poor return unto you for all of your goodness to me. I stand in great and continual need of mercy. Please forgive me anew for my sins this day, O Lord. Pardon my iniquity, for it is very great. Wash me, and I will be clean. I look to you, O Lord, and I look to you for the washing of my heart with your word. Cleans and purify my mind, I pray, that I may serve you acceptably this day. Please deliver me from the sins I most cherish, and help me to walk upright before you in love. My need is desperate and great, O Lord. Come to my aid I pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reading

Gen 1:24-31.

“And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

28. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29. And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Meditation

In Genesis 1:27 we read these words: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”. Being created in God’s image defines Everything about who we are. This is not some added bonus in human nature, it is human nature. We are images of God. But there is another mystery to unravel in this equation, because God, as he created us in the image of God, made another fundamental distinction: he made us male and female. It’s not about males made in the image of God and females not being made in the image. It’s about male and female in the image of God. For men, maleness is an inescapable aspect of who we are; for women, being female is an inescapable part of your identity; but how does this all fit in with the image of God? Our meditation is application heavy today, and there are a number of things to consider.

Be ye doers of the word…

Firstly, and most obviously, verse 27 stands as a declaration at the start of humanity showing to us that men and women are equal in dignity and equal in value. Neither sex is second class. Neither sex is superior or lesser – although we are each unique in God’s plans and purposes. This is a fundamental message which we and our society desperately need to hear. Our culture has been and is waging war on the image of God as it is revealed in male and female. We see this cultural poison outbreaking around us in many ways. Masculinity has become “toxic