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\u201cAnd the Lord God cast a deep slumber on the human, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs and closed over the flesh where it had been, and the Lord God built the rib He had taken from the human into a woman and He brought her to the human.\u201d \u00a0(Genesis 2:21-23 Alter)<\/b><\/p>\n
Girlfriends, our journey today is going to take us to the beginning of creation, when God created the world that we see and marvel at.\u00a0 The world before sin and destruction altered it.<\/p>\n
Before it all came to be there was darkness, everything was formless and empty. In the midst of this darkness, a voice speaks and then there was LIGHT<\/strong>.\u00a0 What a difference light makes in a room.\u00a0 When it\u2019s dark it seems as if the room you are in is small and empty but when you switch on a bulb or light a candle, you see everything as it supposed to be.<\/p>\n When Light came into the world it set in motion the creation of everything that we see, water, dry land, plants, trees of all kinds, the sun, moon and stars, animals, birds and fish of all kinds, big and small, long and short, beautiful and not so beautiful, creepy and even scary ones.\u00a0 All of them were created and placed in their habitats.<\/p>\n Can you just picture how it looked like in the Garden of Eden, the grass was so green, the trees heavy with all kinds of fruits, the flowers were so beautiful, talk of the roses of all colors, lilies, daisies, name them they were all there beautifying the garden.\u00a0 The lake was so full of fish that you love. \u00a0The animals were all in one place like a picture perfect zoo or national park. Picture the lion living together with the lamb and the zebra without thinking of them as food.<\/p>\n I could go on and on about this beautiful Garden which has a river with 4 river heads running through it.\u00a0 I can picture how it was like seating down at the beginning or ending of a perfect day, watching the sunrise or the sunset.<\/p>\n All this beauty was created as a place where God\u2019s own image would dwell.\u00a0 This would be the home of Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n \u201cThe LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.\u201d \u00a0(Genesis 2:7)<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIt is nearing the end of the sixth day, the end of the Creator’s great labor, as Adam steps forth, the image of God, the triumph of his work. He alone is pronounced the son of God. Nothing in creation even comes close. \u00a0Picture Michelangelo’s David. \u00a0He is … magnificent. \u00a0Truly, the masterpiece seems complete. And yet, the Master says that something is not good, not right. Something is missing … and that something is Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n The creation of Adam was different to the way God made the world.\u00a0 He said the Word and it came into being but with Adam, He formed him from the dust of ground and then breathed life into him.\u00a0 How awesome this is to know that we were created differently than everything else and that we bear the image of God.<\/p>\n Now Adam is in the Garden, he has seen everything, marveled at the beauty of it all, played with the animals, probably swam in the lake, ate a fruit or two.\u00a0 He has met his creator and everything is just wonderful.<\/p>\n Wait! Did you hear that something is missing?\u00a0 Yes you heard right! God says \u201cIt is not good for that man should be alone.\u00a0 I will make him a helper comparable to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Every living creature was made together with a partner and when Adam was given the task of naming them, there was \u201cnot found a helper comparable to him.\u201d\u00a0 Wow, for the first time Adam realized that he was alone.<\/p>\n Looking at this situation some people have concluded that Eve came as an afterthought but I don\u2019t think that is true.\u00a0 Eve\u2019s creation was not an afterthought but a well thought out plan and God wanted Adam to appreciate the Woman who was brought to him.\u00a0 Where am I getting all this?\u00a0 Well from what the Lord did, He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and took a rib from him to create Eve.\u00a0 Imagine the surprise and wonder of Adam when He woke up and saw Eve for the very first time.<\/p>\n I am trying to create a picture but I know I won\u2019t do justice to her.\u00a0 She is so perfect.\u00a0 This first WOMAN<\/strong>! so beautiful, with flawless skin, long hair, the eyes, when she first set them on Adam. Talk about her body, her arms and legs\u2026.. A beauty to behold!<\/p>\n Now Eve is brought to Adam, he hears Eve speak for the first time.\u00a0 I am sure Adam stammered in reply. \u00a0Was this a dream, no Adam, you are awake and this is your Woman.\u00a0 No wonder he made this statement.\u00a0 \u201cThis is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \n \u201cGiven the way creation unfolds, how it builds to ever higher and higher works of art, can there be any doubt that Eve is the crown of creation? Not an afterthought. Not a nice addition like an ornament on a tree. She is God’s final touch, His piece de resistance. She fills a place in the world nothing and no one else can fill. Step to a window, Ladies, if you can. Better still, find some place with a view. Look out across the earth and say to yourselves, “The whole, vast world is incomplete without me. Creation reached its zenith in me<\/strong><\/em>.”<\/p>\n Dear girlfriend, you are Eve, the crown of creation.\u00a0 It\u2019s no wonder you feel the way you do, the way you long to be the beauty or the princess in your story.\u00a0 I pray that you will allow the Lord to restore what has been lost so that you can take your rightful place.<\/p>\n Be Blessed,<\/strong><\/p>\n Jackie<\/strong><\/p>\n LET\u2019S PRAY<\/b><\/p>\n Father, I am in awe of You because of the way You created me.\u00a0 I am thankful that I wasn\u2019t created as an afterthought, but as a crown of creation.\u00a0 Help me to embrace this truth and live my life with this in mind. In Jesus Name. Amen.<\/p>\n YOUR ASSIGNMENT<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>Before reading this Chapter, did you think that because God created woman second to man that women are second to men in the heart of God?<\/p>\n What does your heart do with being called the \u201ccrown of creation\u201d?<\/p>\n
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