Week 2 Day 3: God Appears

Colossians 1:15-20 (New International Version)

The Supremacy of Christ

¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

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Genesis 2:4-9 (New International Version)

Adam and Eve

⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
      When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- ⁵ and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth ^[a] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth ^[b] and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ but streams ^[c] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- ⁷ the LORD God formed the man ^[d] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
⁸ Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


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Genesis 19:13 (New International Version)

¹³ because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it."


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Exodus 3:1-6 (New International Version)

Exodus 3

Moses and the Burning Bush

¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
      And Moses said, "Here I am."
⁵ "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." ⁶ Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.


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Exodus 13:21-22 (New International Version)

²¹ By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. ²² Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.


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Psalm 23 (New International Version)

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
       he leads me beside quiet waters,
³ he restores my soul.
       He guides me in paths of righteousness
       for his name's sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
       through the valley of the shadow of death, ^[a]
       I will fear no evil,
       for you are with me;
       your rod and your staff,
       they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies.
       You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
       all the days of my life,
       and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
       forever.


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Psalm 131 (New International Version)

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹ My heart is not proud, O LORD,
       my eyes are not haughty;
       I do not concern myself with great matters
       or things too wonderful for me.
² But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
       like a weaned child with its mother,
       like a weaned child is my soul within me.
³ O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
       both now and forevermore.


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Song of Solomon 2:16-17 (New International Version)

Beloved

¹⁶ My lover is mine and I am his;
       he browses among the lilies.
¹⁷ Until the day breaks
       and the shadows flee,
       turn, my lover,
       and be like a gazelle
       or like a young stag
       on the rugged hills. ^[a]


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Isaiah 6:1-3 (New International Version)

Isaiah 6

Isaiah's Commission

¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:
       "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
       the whole earth is full of his glory."

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Isaiah 49:15-16 (New International Version)

¹⁵ "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
       and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
       Though she may forget,
       I will not forget you!
¹⁶ See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
       your walls are ever before me.


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Jonah 1 (New International Version)

Jonah 1

Jonah Flees From the LORD

¹ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
³ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
      But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."
⁷ Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
⁸ So they asked him, "Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
⁹ He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."
¹⁰ This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)
¹¹ The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"
¹² "Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."
¹³ Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. ¹⁴ Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased." ¹⁵ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. ¹⁶ At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.
¹⁷ But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.


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Matthew 5:48 (New International Version)

⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


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Mark 1:11 (New International Version)

¹¹And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."


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Luke 15:20-24 (New International Version)

²⁰So he got up and went to his father.
      "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
²¹"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.^[a]'
²²"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.


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John 4:13-15 (New International Version)

¹³Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
¹⁵The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."


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1 John 1:5 (New International Version)

Walking in the light

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

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1 John 4:7-12 (New International Version)

God's Love and Ours

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^[a] into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for^[b] our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

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The images of God which I most forcefully respond to are that of God as Love, God as our Light, God as our Water, and God as our Forgiving Father. These images fill me with peace and hope; comfort and strength. I know that if I seek Him in all that I do, He will carry me through. His presence here in my home is like a sweet fragrance.