The book of Genesis reveals to us that God is the supreme initiator of all activity from the creation of the universe, to the creation of the history of a man and his family as the bearers of divine revelation. After getting past the early chapters which set the stage for the history of our salvation: human creation and fall, Genesis introduces us to Abraham and his family.

We can play these silly games as a society, with each other and sadly, even in our churches, but we cannot play them with God. The all-knowing, all-seeing, all powerful Creator of the universe is not fooled nor amused at the excuses we make for our failures and neglect. Society would have us believe it's not our fault that we are undisciplined, addicted, lazy, overweight, fearful, or ignorant. It makes us feel better when we can point to the "experts" who validate that is not "our fault."

In 1526 William Tyndale printed the first English New Testament directly from the Greek. He had to do it in Germany because the English church hierarchy had prohibited the translation. Tyndale managed to smuggle Bibles into England and they spread throughout the country. When news of their arrival leaked out the church authorities gathered up as many as they could find and burned them in a bonfire in the courtyard of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Growing up in New Zealand, we were taught earthquake drill in our school. Seeing the sea roil offshore from my home town and experiencing shock waves is a sobering experience. We were aware that the whole country was created by volcanic activity. New Zealand would not exist if volcanoes had not risen above the Pacific, and then became extinct, or dormant. What had been created in that way can also be destroyed by the same action. “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.