June 1, 2022

When we open our Bibles to page one and begin to read the first few words, we find a startling picture. The green, lush Earth in which we live and are most familiar was empty and covered in water. It had no shape, no purpose, no plan. Darkness consumed every square inch of the surface, drowning all possibility of hope, goodness, and life. It seems that it was the end before the beginning even began. But then the writer gives us the one sentence that changes everything, “the Spirit of God was hovering.” Instantly, death is swallowed up in victory before a word is even spoken. When the Spirit of God is present, life, in its fullness, is bulging at the seams awaiting its invitation to burst onto a limitless canvas. While the darkness and chaos were wreaking their havoc, they could only penetrate the surface but never reach the foundation. 2 Timothy 2:19 reminds us that “God’s firm foundation stands,” and again in 1 Corinthians 3:11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

From the creation story onward, we see that God loves cycles and patterns. From simple experiences like sunrise and sunset to the more complex cycles of the four seasons, we find the saying generally true, “what goes around, comes around.” This idea seems to be carried through even in historical and socioeconomic patterns encountered by each generation. I’ve heard people balk at bringing children into such an unstable and evil world and witnessed many concerned that an apocalypse is nearly at hand, all because they recognize the chaos and evil that cycles around us. However, the truth to which we must cling is that God’s Spirit is hovering over the Earth, and this darkness and turmoil are only surface deep. The foundation has been laid and is impenetrable, Jesus Christ, the Righteous!

Fortunately for us, this is a truth that our enemy and his cohorts never seem to learn. The Gospel writer, Luke, paints a vivid portrait of Jesus, tortured, mocked, and nailed to a wooden cross, drawing His last breath and dying. As the Light of the World seemed to be extinguished by hell and its devices, the sky again turned black, and darkness consumed the Earth. The same chaos and evil that God conquered in Genesis seized its opportunity to overtake the world again, and it seemed as though it had won. But, oh friend, God’s Spirit was hovering. Though they laid Jesus’ lifeless body in a tomb, the Spirit of resurrection life did the miraculous, the impossible, the unthinkable. Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death, hell, and the grave, and the powers of darkness were rendered ineffective! For death was only on the surface, and the foundation which was laid could not be penetrated. 

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” How marvelous to know that the same Spirit that hovered over the waters in Genesis 1 and that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you and me! While we may look at the darkness within the world or even the chaos within our hearts, we must remember that we are not without hope. I feel the Spirit of God hovering today, and I’m filled with anticipation! Resurrection life is on the way, and God is moving in His church and His people!

Join us Sundays at 3 pm online or in person at Regeneration Nashville and come anticipating what God will do! Until then, may God bless you, keep you, and make His face shine upon you. Be Regenerated! 

Your friend in Christ, 
Pastor Jasmine