By Faith We Understand

Open Your Bible

Hebrews 11:3, Genesis 1:1-31, John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-23, 2 Corinthians 4:6

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:3, Genesis 1:1-31, John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:15-23, 2 Corinthians 4:6

After you finish reading today’s scriptures, come back and use the blurb and question here to dig deeper into the themes of faith, hope, obedience, and suffering. Join your fellow Bible readers in the comments to reflect and chat about what you’re learning!


To believe that what Scripture says is true—from the creation account to the hope of eternity with God—requires faith. The proof of our faith is found in Jesus Himself; He is the fullness of God who came to earth and gave us peace through His blood. 

What aspects of God’s character stood out to you, challenged you, or encouraged you from today’s reading?

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123 thoughts on "By Faith We Understand"

  1. Lauren Hayner says:

    “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This verse encouraged me because it is a reminder that no matter how discouraged this world can make us feel at times, darkness cannot overcome the light of Christ. Holding on to this truth is an act of faith.

  2. Rebekah Wilson says:

    I love knowing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were with God from the very beginning. The Trinity is something I believe in, but don’t fully understand. However, I’ve always loved that about God. He is so great that my finite mind can’t comprehend his greatness.

  3. Natasha R says:

    He created all that exists with just His Word! And then that Word became flesh, walked this earth, breathed, ate, slept and spent time with his friends just like we do. He then died for us, rose from the dead, hung around for a while, then ascended to heaven whilst leaving His Spirit to be with us until He returns. My goodness, what an amazingly powerful, loving, creative God we have.

  4. Kimberly Z says:

    Love everybody’s comments today! @Jennifer Anapol – I agree God is so creative in his love and abundance for us. What a great reminder.

  5. Sophie M says:

    How often do you look up and around you in nature and think “ Wow, God. You really out did yourself “… My daughter and I have taken on the 1000 hours outside challenge where within a year we try to be together outside, 1000 hours within a year. We have almost made it.. everyday we spend a few hours outside and I am brought back to a child like wonder and think “ how great is our God “. Leaves changing, a beautiful sunset, birds and creatures all around. And to think when God was creating our beautiful world he was also creating YOU, dear She’s! We live in a world of uncertainty and there are a lot of bad things that occur.. some scary situations and I am not trying to negate from those things. But when I look for it… I can see what God has created and that is just glorious!

  6. Jennifer Anapol says:

    I love how creative God is! I love how he made everything and everyone and sees all of his creation as good. Even though the world around us and we ourselves are flawed, he is brining us and the world back into what and who we were made to be. ❤️

  7. Margaret W. says:

    I have been trying to get to this community all day long, and I still haven’t managed to finish the readings, but I have an urgent prayer request: I have had so much pain and so much trauma trying to get my basic medical needs met in the past few days that I am about to completely crumble. This afternoon it got worse in a completely unexpected way; I called my son’s audiologist to ask a couple of questions about the differences in 2 models of hearing aids she recommended for him so I could choose one. I had already reminded her that I was heavily medicated because I was recovering from surgery, so I might struggle to process information, but asked her to bear with me. I was trying to clarify that we were speaking of the same model when she angrily accused me of SCREAMING at her. I literally had not even raised my voice. There was no unusual background noise that I could hear. I felt like the whole world was going crazy, even more so than the regular crazy of the world! I finally had to end the conversation before I actually did scream, but I let her know I didn’t understand what she was talking about, and I didn’t appreciate the way she treated me. I guess I will order the hearing aids tomorrow, but I have no idea how to get the information I want if a person whose livelihood is aural communication cannot understand my questions. And I wonder if the trauma will ever stop coming.

    1. Kelly (NEO) says:

      I’m so sorry for all this frustration you are going through. Praying you can rest and try again tomorrow.

    2. Indiana Elaine says:

      Praying for you now!!

  8. Leslie Littleton says:

    What always stands out to me is God has always had a plan to be in communion with us. Jesus was always the plan ❤️

  9. Indiana Elaine says:

    What stood out for me is the power of His spoken word. Yesterday on 40 days of prayer for our nation was a prayer for the sanctity of life. Marshall Segal wrote: “The cause for life began at creation when God made man and woman in His image and gave us dominion over every other created thing. And God punctuated the cause for life when he chose to enter the womb Himself for our sake. Can you imagine an ultrasound of the living God at two weeks, or twenty weeks, or full term?”
    What a powerful visual of imagining Jesus in the womb! He was the Living God before time…and now, a fetus in the womb of a young virgin, then gave up His human life on a cross so we might have eternal life. Cause for thought for sure. By the way, there was a beautiful full hunter’s supermoon last night!! The heavens declare His glory!!

  10. Kris says:

    Do any of you get frustrated with trying to figure out who to study the most, who to know the best, who to pray to – God, Jesus or Holy Spirit?? Am I the only one?? I get on these binges where I feel like I need to study Jesus more, then I switch to God… and then I feel like I don’t know Holy Spirit very well… and it’s just too much…but I love Colossians 1:15 and 19, where it says that Jesus is the image of God, and God is pleased with that. I don’t really think any of them get offended if I being my prayer with one name or the other, because they are One, and yet separate, which is just too much for my mind to handle.

    1. Donna Wolcott says:

      Kris, I understand. I start my daily prayer with thanks to the father (listing specifics), then I thank Jesus for his sacrifice and grace+, then the Holy Spirit. I ask the HS for ears to hear, eyes to see and an open heart to know from whom I hear and guidance for my day. Maybe this will be helpful for you.❤️

    2. Lanie H says:

      Yes! I started praying to all three at some point bc I felt like I was neglecting Jesus. Sounds silly to say out loud lol. But I like to start my prayers with thanking the father for sending the son, and thank Jesus for giving us access to the holy Spirit, and thank the spirit for teaching me and guiding me. But I do feel like I tend to talk to God the father the most. Even though I visualize Jesus talking back or walking with me.

  11. Cynthia from Alabama says:

    Jesus, God’s Word wrapped in flesh!

  12. Jazmin Arellano says:

    His thoughtfulness. Everything he had created had a purpose to serve us. This goes to show how big his love is for us.❤️

  13. Claire Mote says:

    God said it. It was so. And it was good.
    Remembering God’s promises to us will be so and they will be so very good!!

  14. Erin Summers says:

    What stood out to me? God’s ability to create the universe out of nothing demonstrates his power and authority. And he created everything, including me. I am pleased with how he made me. I am valuable to him.

  15. Nicole Powell says:

    That he is absolutely amazing and just in awe of how he created heaven and earth

  16. Heather Martinez says:

    The power of God and His word is apparent. He spoke everything into existence. This is just an awwww moment for me. How powerful and life giving is His word(s)?

  17. Miranda Fazio says:

    I was encouraged by the fact that God took pleasure in dwelling through Jesus to bring reconciliation to us all. I know Jesus is God, but seeing God as taking pleasure in us specifically really shows His fatherly aspects.

    1. Cee Gee says:

      That caught my eye this morning, too! I can’t remember really’seeing’ it before when reading those verses. Thanks for mentioning it! ❤

  18. Colette says:

    It is amazing to me that God Almighty was not only willing but happy to live His life in Christ’s body. To humble Himself from a heavenly body to limited perishing flesh and blood is amazing love!

    1. Cee Gee says:

      Same reply here as I just posted on Miranda’s comment above. ❤

  19. LindaK says:

    The aspect of God’s character that stood out most to me in today’s reading was God’s gift of reconciliation. He knew that after all the work of creation that mankind would sin. He lovingly made provision for our sin. He did not leave us in our mess. Thank you God!

    1. Margaret W. says:

      He knew what we would need if he gave us free will—and yet he still chose to give us free will!

  20. Adrianne says:

    What aspects of God’s character stood out to you, challenged you, or encouraged you from today’s reading?
    What stood out to me is how vast our Lord’s power is. He created everything and is in everything. I always feel challenged by how we are here. How I am here in 2024 when we all stared from was dust. I am encouraged that from nothing and darkness our Lord, our Savior, and His Spirit are here to guide us into the light He created with His love.

  21. Gwineth52 says:

    Hello Shes
    What stood out to me in the Creation story
    was the immense faith God placed
    in US!
    His created, image, reflection.
    Entrusting us with EVERYTHING.
    The tender weight of responsibility.
    Like a little child given her first big task.
    Borne of His boundless belief
    in Us!

    1. Cee Gee says:

      Good food for thought! ❤

  22. Adrienne says:

    I understand that He loves us so much, that He created this world for us and also had a plan to save us when things got messed up. (I often have a hard time seeing how Adam & Eve could mess stuff up when they had everything!)

  23. Annie says:

    God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were all there from the foundation of the world. (Genesis 1:2, Genesis 1:26) God holds all in His hands. He is the Creator and Father of all.

  24. Lara M says:

    For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made HIS LIGHT shine in OUR HEARTS to give US the light of the KNOWLEDGE of the GLORY OF GOD in the FACE OF CHRIST. !!! Wow. This is a gift. Do we realize what a spiritual blessing this is?? How humbling, and what an honor.

  25. GramsieSue says:

    So many great comments this morning!

    This study is already helping me through our current struggles! What a reminder: “Live by Faith”.
    Thank you SRT!
    ❤️

  26. Cee Gee says:

    Omnipresence, Omnipotence, Omniscience. Those are the 3 aspects of God that jump out at me.
    His Spirit hovered over the expanse – PRESENT EVERYWHERE.
    He SPOKE things into being – POWER
    He considered the needs of the created beings – the plants fish of the see, birds if the air, and man, and He PROVIDED sustenance for them. He KNEW before creating them that they would need provision. – Omniscience/KNOWING.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I am reminded of the song, Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise:
    1 Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
    in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
    most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
    almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
    2 Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
    nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
    thy justice like mountains high soaring above
    thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
    3 To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
    in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
    we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
    and wither and perish but naught changeth thee.
    4 Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
    thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
    all praise we would render, O help us to see
    ’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    What a beautiful reading this morning! I will be humming that tune in my head as I go now and read your comments!
    Love, hugs, and prayers and as the saying goes-
    See the Light, be the light today, Shes! ❤

    1. Adrienne says:

      There are worse things… The tune in my head now too. ❤️

    2. Gwineth52 says:

      Yes, Cee Gee!
      Like the song goes…”This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”!

  27. Rhonda J. says:

    Strangely I have nothing to say..LOL. But I loved reading through your thoughts here! It’s always good to remember–In the beginning. God, the word (Jesus!), and the Spirit was, is, and will always be. Bring the BIG picture into our small time here in the now, and know the future is eternity. Wowzer. I want to live my short, quick time IN FAITH that God is in it all, Jesus died for us to reconnect us in a personal way to our heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit is our helper in that daily walk! It is simple yet complex. That’s what I love about scripture, and why we have to be in the word, in prayer, in relationship to keep learning and growing. It is good to be here daily.

    1. Cee Gee says:

      Amen, Rhonda! I was in AWE as I read, too. ❤ PEACE is what I felt.

  28. Wendy B says:

    He is the creator of all. Everything we need. The light in the darkness. Nothing is or has been without Him. He thought of everything.

    One of the clearest ways I experience His greatness is in nature and the beauty of creation. A sunrise,a sunset,the vast mountains, the northern lights, crashing waves, the colors of Fall, a pretty flower. The quiet calm of nature overflows with God’s presence and it often leaves me in such awestruck wonder. No one, no thing but an indescribable God could have planned or created such wonder.

    These passages all point to the fullness and greatness of our God. My limited ability to fully understand the magnitude of who He is, does not diminish that greatness but leaves me in posture of reverent fear and holy praise; a desire to know Him more and a faithful trust in Him for all things.

    Thank you Lord, that you are before and in Him all things hold together. Col 1:17

    1. Cee Gee says:

      Amen! ❤

    2. Lynn F says:

      Thanks for sharing this Wendy B. My thoughts and similar to yours. The beauty of God’s creation speaks to me of His power and love for us. The intricate details of creation, the beauty of creation as I look out my windows this morning. What an awesome God we have.

    3. Donna Wolcott says:

      Amen, Wendy! I took a study course on praying and different ways to do that. Mine was in the way of St. Francis of Asissi, he spent his prayer time in nature. It can bring such peace. God’s creation is a beautiful gift.

  29. Cheryl Blow says:

    So many great comments! God is so good! From the beginning He has provided for man’s needs. He has been working since Adam sinned to reconcile us to Him! By faith we understand His great love for us! Nothing can extinguish His light in this world. We just have to keep praying, trusting, reading God’s word, and walking by faith. Because we know God is faithful and good! Whether we feel like it or not!

  30. Nikki Smith says:

    God’s desire to be reconciled to His creation—what a blessing that we are all desired and pursued by God, so much so that he sent His son to save/reconcile us! Even when we were still sinners. Amazing (and sometimes hard to even comprehend!)

  31. Maria Baer says:

    Depending on the day, my mind approaches the Creation verses either with “quickly browse through them with familiarity” or “Let’s stop and fully comprehend the immensity of what I am reading.” Just bring transparent. But above all, these verses always remind me of how I tend to encase God within the limits of what my human mind can comprehend. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and immutable. He is all powerful, all knowing, always present everywhere, always the same, and never changing. And I am always most self-aware of this during prayers, when I will make statements like “God, I know it’s a big ask…” and then I feel a stirring as if saying “Nothing is too big for God.” I am just so thankful that his other characteristics are as big as his character— his love, mercy, faithfulnesss, compassion. Because otherwise we would be doomed by the nature of the human condition. We thank you God for your mercy for us.

    1. Cee Gee says:

      Amen, Maria! You expressed exactly where my thoughts were this morning. Oh, the creation account – again-, but God grabbed a hold on my heart as if He was saying, “See Me!” Wow! I mentioned some of the same attributes and at the same time was thinking – MERCIFUL. How cool we shared such similar thoughts without even knowing each other! Praying for you, sister! How are the kids dealing?
      Love you! ❤❤

  32. Mari V says:

    Good morning sweeties! Happy Thursday! I woke up thinking it was Friday, but soon realized it wasn’t. Oh well….one-more-day! Just last night when my son got home from his home group bible study, we were having a very similar conversation as they had, had in his bible study. Sometimes what we read in the bible, we need to just “believe-in-faith” that our Father God knows all even when we don’t understand. He has our back! AND even when we don’t understand, we need to TRUST, He knows best. AND of course He does, He already knows outcome of what’s to happen in our lives. WE as His children need to trust and believe He has it all under control. Just made me think of the children’s song (even for us adults as “His” children): “He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands”

    PS. Thank you for praying about my head ache. It finally subsided around 10 am yesterday. I was already thinking I was going to have to go home as it was that bad with nausea and all. I did have to get up again in the middle of the night to take ibuprofen, but soon fell asleep.

  33. Sarah Ritchie says:

    I love Genesis 1 and picturing the Spirit hovering over the dark watery depths. Creating something out of nothing is what God did and what we as humans are drawn to do as well. May the work of my hands be pleasing to his sight is a prayer I often offer up to him. Happy Thursday She’s!

    1. Gwineth52 says:

      Oh, Sarah.
      “May the work of my hands be pleasing to His sight is a prayer I often offer up to Him”.
      Thank you for this lovely thought to take into the day.

  34. Blessed Mama of 6 says:

    Oops, sorry for the double post!

  35. Blessed Mama of 6 says:

    I’m going to say the obvious one from today’s reading, but God as our creator has been hitting me a lot recently with watching the Northern Lights. I’ve seen them several times here in central Wisconsin within the past 18 months, and they never get old. It’s so mind boggling to me that God would create something like that, or stars and galaxies we can’t even see with our eyes, or sea creatures in the deepest parts of the ocean that we can’t easily see. All of it for our enjoyment and His.

    1. Gwineth52 says:

      Yes, how blessed you are, Blessed Mama of 6, to bear witness to the beauty of His skies!

  36. Blessed Mama of 6 says:

    I’m going to say the obvious one from today’s reading, but God as our creator has been hitting me a lot recently with watching the Northern Lights . I’ve seen them several times here in central Wisconsin within the past 18 months, and they never get old. It’s so mind boggling to me that God would create something like that, or stars and galaxies we can’t even see with our eyes, or sea creatures in the deepest parts of the ocean that we can’t easily see. All of it for our enjoyment and His.

    1. Cee Gee says:

      I have seen so many beautiful pictures by2 photographers I follow on FB. My husband is from near Eau Claire!

  37. Dannielle Perry says:

    I am challenged by how God always was. I believe that He is and always will be but my mind struggles to quantify that He was from the beginning.

    1. Maria Baer says:

      Dannielle, I’m the same way. I like to conceptualize things in my head, and trying to create of what God being before he create earth and the heaven, is always hard for me to visualize.

  38. Erica Chiarelli says:

    My mind tries to picture the wonder and beauty of Creation. I want to see the majesty of each day when God made the stars and animals, the sun and moon, the sky itself and the waters…I hope someday we can see it when we get to heaven, that we are able to see the Bible somehow, visually. I am a visual person and I try to picture the people, the circumstances,etc. But the face of Jesus is what I can’t wait to see most.
    But He is the face of our salvation, He paid it all and we can be here studying Scripture because He became the Living Word! Hallelujah!

    1. Margaret W. says:

      I sometimes imagine this when I watch Dr. Who episodes from 2005-13 (when they took them off Netflix). It seems like the show often speaks of creation’s wonders, even though it is by no means endorsing a biblical view of creation. It’s almost like the show’s writers cannot even fathom something as amazing as space without a creator. I’ve always loved that! ☄️

  39. Darby Byrd says:

    I’m so encouraged by what God is doing in all of your lives❤️

  40. Kerry Rowley says:

    We toured The Creation Museum last week. It was fabulous and just makes these passage come alive for me. If you haven’t gone it is so worth the trip. The Ark Encounter is nearby and it is equally wonderful.

    1. Rhonda J. says:

      I want to go there! Heard it’s amazing!!

    2. Blessed Mama of 6 says:

      ❤️ I went once when they were working on making the ark encounter. We were able to see parts of it, but I would love to go back to see the finished work.

    3. Adrienne says:

      I want to go too! Someday…

  41. Karen Swanson says:

    Something that hit me today for the first time. I thought I would share in case it resonates with you. The Trinity was from the beginning, which I think is proof that from the beginning (even before anything was created) God values and desires relationship. There were three of them living in relationship and unity with each other. Perhaps God so values relationship that He created the world and the creatures and humans so WE could experience relationship too?

    1. Allison Bentley says:

      I never looked at it this way! Thanks for pointing out!!

  42. Kimberly Reed says:

    I loved reading these scriptures today; especially Genesis. How long it’s been since I’ve considered “the beginning”! God is Sovereign over ALL!

  43. G says:

    I love the reassurance in John 1 that Christ has always been here. 2 Corinthians 4:6 speaks out to me this morning as a coworker is going through a struggle right now. She is at the hospital with her 18 y/o daughter who had at least 7 seizures in less than 12 hours as a result of medication she was on. Due to a misinterpretation of what her daughter heard in a sermon, she feels she cannot enter the kingdom. My coworker has taken her to their own pastor to get a better explanation of what she heard and a few other Bible teachers, but she her mind is set. I’m (A) praying for God to place someone in her path at college to direct her to Him and (B) doing my best to be a light to my coworker.

    1. Kelly (NEO) says:

      May the Truth of God be revealed and her heart be open

  44. Tanya says:

    Mark 10:18 “Why do you call me good?”Jesus asked him.No one is good except God alone.”
    Everything in the creation narrative is good because that is the character of God. That is jus who He is! He is good,order,and life. When He creates or speaks it is good. I believe when recognize the good we are recognizing God. He is the supreme and superlative of good. When we order our thoughts, actions, and ways to do good we are imitating God.

    1. Gwineth52 says:

      Oh, Tonya.
      “I believe when recognize the good we are recognizing God. He is the supreme and superlative of good.”
      My goodness, girl, you put that in a good way!

      1. Gwineth52 says:

        Oops! Good of you Tanya not to notice my mistake in spelling your good name!

        1. Tanya says:

          No worries, Gwineth52. Thank you commenting on my comment.

  45. Danielle B says:

    As I was reading the passage in Genesis, one thought was I will fear (holy reverence) God who from a word of His mouth created the entire world and all the creatures, including us. How awesome is our God?

  46. Michaela Hawkins says:

    1)He is the almighty creator 2)He is light and life 3)He is the word 4)All things were not only created through him, but for him (that includes us!) 5)He is before all things and by Him all things hold together 6)He is hope 7)the Lord of all creation has given us the ability to have the light of knowledge (of God & Jesus) in our hearts. We are made to have His light and to be the light of the world

  47. Vickie B says:

    John 1:5 stood out especially to me today. No matter how dark our world is or gets, it will NEVER overcome the light of Jesus. That, my sisters, is amazing hope! I treasure you all in my heart.

    1. Nancy says:

      Yes and Amen!!

    2. Jazz Nean says:

      Amen!

  48. Erin R says:

    I was encouraged because God is supreme! He holds all things together and knows every detail. This reminder challenges me to trust him more. His way is always better.

  49. Lanie H says:

    Let me tell you how kind God is. I have been in the WORST mood this week. Driving to work praying for God to turn it around, to make me want to be there and be kind and patient. I’m not kidding when I say I prayed that prayer constantly yesterday bc I just couldn’t get it together. It felt like EVERYTHING was going wrong. At one point I said the Devil is working hard on me today. At 10 o’clock, my pt gifted me a pack of diapers. Her kindness, flew right past me. My computer wasn’t working and I was way too caught up in that to notice the God wink. But I kept praying, at 330 my last pt gave me a bottle drying rack and a card, and said it’s just a little something but it just happened to be the ONE little something I didnt have! It was at that point I realized I haven’t received a gift or a thank you card from a patient in a year, maybe 2 or 3 in 3 years and on this day I received two! I get in my car and open the card and inside is a gift card to Zaxby’s, that we had talked about that being the only place I ever “ate out” the other day. And I thought, She was so intentional about providing something specific for me, and I just burst into tears. Neither one of these ladies has much, but God, brings them together on the same day, the day I’m about to fall apart, to bless me. As I went to bed last night I was thinking about what I would tell my daughter when she was scared to go to bed, and immediately thought of John 1, he is the light in the darkness, and darkness did not overcome. When I woke up and it was the reading this morning I thought yes Lord. You are the light.

    1. Carol J Mylin says:

      ♥️ This warms my heart, Lanie… Thanks for sharing… Lifting you to Jesus today… The LIGHT of the world!! ♥️

    2. GramsieSue says:

      I love how God works through people in our lives!
      Praying Jesus’ light fills you today. ❤️

    3. Cee Gee says:

      Oh, LANIE! Thanks so much for sharing this powerful witness with us! I was so blessed reading your words. I am teary right now and that doesn’t happen often! I would truly love to meet you! ❤❤

      1. Lanie H says:

        Cee gee! I promise I will Get connected with you on the Facebook group soon! I’m entering month 9 of pregnancy and my mush brain keeps forgetting! I want to meet you too!

    4. AZ Walker says:

      Thank you for sharing Lanie. God is always with us in the midst. Your affirmations made my cry too with CeeGee!

  50. Jody Striker says:

    I love how detailed and precise God is, both in creation and in our lives. He thinks of everything and He provides for everything. I also love meditating on Jesus having preeminence in all things. Truly, He is worthy of first place in our lives and in our world, forever. ❤️

  51. Ariadne T says:

    God’s ability to make everything on purpose and with purpose struck a chord with me this morning.

    1. Adrienne says:

      In high school, my Spanish teacher called me Ariadne. ❤️

  52. Searching says:

    TINA’s comment, that God was ahead of the game, sums up what impacted me this morning. Almighty God, my God, my Abba, wow. I thought my earthly Daddy was bigger than life and could do anything but, yeah, whatever he did or could do was in fact nothing really. My tiny human mind can’t comprehend God having the overall vision of His plan for mankind before He spoke our world into existence. Overwhelming to me that He even bothered to create this motley group of humans, as ungrateful and unthankful as even the most fervent believers are many times. Oh, how He loves us ❣️

    Thank you, sisters, for all the shares yesterday. Too many for me to fully appreciate at once so I know what I’ll be doing on Grace Day :)

    HEATHER O’MALLEY – praying for your family, especially Hudson, that he would understand sooner than later that his choices are hurting rather than helping, that what he may see as freedom to choose is are choices that bind, enslave and harm him. May he find his freedom in Christ’s gift of salvation.

    1. Maria Baer says:

      Beautifully put, SEARCHING. I’m also very thankful he loves this motley group of humans (I love this description), regardless of how ungrateful we are sometimes.

    2. Cee Gee says:

      Amen, SEARCHING! ❤

    3. Tina says:

      Oh how He indeed loves us, my dear Searching! It truly is incomprehensible..
      BUT ONLY GOD..
      Much, much love sweet sister.❤️

  53. Aimee D-R says:

    Amen. But God.

  54. Alli Barlik says:

    I love Colossians 1–it is such a beautiful picture of God and Jesus. I can never read it enough.

  55. Nicole Florence says:

    From creation , God had a purpose for the Light and to set it apart from darkness -as Man sinned and became unfaithful and ungrateful this delineation of light and dark blurred and our inner lights dimmed or extinguished altogether.Jesus came to restore Gods purpose thru His teachings , sacrifice , and connecting us to God thru the Spirit – reigniting our inner light .. that can no longer be extinguished thru faith and the Word .. and as we walk with Him it will shine and bring others to it as the Lamp upon the lamp stand !

    1. Jazz Nean says:

      ❤️❤️

  56. Kelly (NEO) says:

    Maker of the good and beautiful.
    .
    God was perfectly fine, holy and content in Himself. He had no “need” for creating anything. Yet out of nothing, He created everything and provided for all creation, as others have already beautifully noted. Not just living things but He created light before the sun and stars so they too had provision. All with such beauty for discovering by us.
    .
    Thankful for all the great testimonies over the past 2 days.
    .
    FOSTER MAMA – yes, for me, hands down. The song brings me to tears every time I hear it. And when it is sung in church with those around me proclaiming:
    “The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
    He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave
    From every people and tribe
    Every nation and tongue
    He has made us a kingdom and priests to God
    To reign with the Son”
    I just get a sense of heaven. Hope you enjoyed it.

    1. Tina says:

      Maker of the goid and beautiful! I love this to the point of my eyes welling up. Thank you Kelly❤️

  57. Chloe Knieriem says:

    God is the ultimate provider. There is no reason to rely on worldly things when he gives us all we need!

    1. Rosemarie Peyton says:

      Amen! God is the ultimate satisfies of our soul! Just like Luke 9:25 says, “what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” We can rely on worldly things but in the end they don’t satisfy us. There will always be something more missing

  58. Sally B. says:

    How about Glory…the One who created all that there is came to earth in bodily form to show us the invisible God, to shed His blood on the cross for us, and offer us reconciliation to the Father. Jesus Christ – in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. I love the creation account paired with John 1. Praising our Holy, Forgiving God with you all this morning!
    Hallelujah and Happy Thursday Ladies!

    1. Tina says:

      Hallelujah indeed!❤️

  59. Tricia C says:

    I see that Jesus is the light. He overcomes darkness. The NLT says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”(John 1:5)
    God gave Jesus, The Light, to everyone.
    Amen

    1. leap says:

      This is one of my favorite verses and it spoke to me again!

  60. Julia C says:

    The song “Only a Holy God” by City Alight came to mind:

    Who else could rescue me from my failing?
    Who else would offer His only Son?
    Who else invites me to call Him Father?
    Only a Holy God
    Only My Holy God

    “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)

    “It is an item of faith that we are children of God; there is plenty of experience in us against it. The faith that surmounts this evidence and that is able to warm itself at the fire of God’s love, instead of having to steal love and self-acceptance from others, is actually the root of holiness… We are not saved by the love we exercise but by the love we trust.” (Richard Lovelace)

    “God didn’t lower the standard of holiness. He found a way to make us holy that isn’t dependent on our performance. Grace wins”. (Tyler Staton)

    What a blessing it is to call You “Our Father”, to know and believe that we are Your children and sisters of Christ, who presents us “holy, faultless and blameless” before You. Help us to “remain grounded and steadfast in the faith” and to put our hope in the gospel. AMEN.

    1. Tina says:

      Who else indeed!
      .
      BUT GOD…
      We are not saved by the love we exercise but by the love we trust.” (Richard Lovelace).. I love this quote!
      Hugs, Julia..❤️

    2. Sally B. says:

      Amen!

    3. Wendy B says:

      Yes and Amen.
      The words of “Only a Holy God” are permeated with Truth❤️

  61. Tina says:

    My colleague often says when he has thought of things beforehand, he is ahead of the game!
    My thinking and understanding from these readings is that God was ahead of the game! He had made provision for every eventuality in the provision of His Son, Jesus.
    From day one, God had a plan and a purpose for us, He had a plan in the good times and in the bad times. He had a plan for when times were lean and when times were aplenty. He even had a plan for when we messed up, broke down and just didn’t know how to get up or rise up again..
    God, had gone ahead of the game of life here on earth.. and provided in every way..
    That provision is called Jesus!
    He was there at the beginning and, praise God He will be there at the end..
    The Alpha and Omega..
    .
    BUT GOD..
    .
    AMEN.
    .
    Happy Thursday my people, praying blessing over you all, covered so lovingly in hugs.❤️

    1. Julia C says:

      Amen, Tina. ❤️
      You were up late last night! Praying Jesus carries you through this day.

    2. Sally B. says:

      Amen!

    3. Tami says:

      Amen Tina. This is a great summary of what we read. Thank you!

    4. Searching says:

      I love this recap, this summation! ❤️

    5. Kelly L says:

      Amen..Thank you Tina.

      I’m here every morning with you all just not posting.

    6. Carol J Mylin says:

      Thanks, Dear Tina…Love this… Thanks for sharing you thoughts… I appreciate your insights! God’s plan=JESUS… The LIGHT IN THIS DARK WORLD!!! ♥️

    7. Melissa says:

      Love this!

    8. Heather O'Malley says:

      ❤️

    9. GramsieSue says:

      That provision is called Jesus!
      Yes and Amen!
      ❤️

  62. A Walton says:

    I see from the reading that God is the provider. He thought of everything we need, even providing for our salvation. He also desires a relationship with us and desires us to have strong faith in him.

    1. Julia C says:

      Amen ❤️

    2. Cee Gee says:

      Exactly! ❤