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Speaker 1: In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth

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Speaker 1: Genesis one one. Dear God, as I meditate on today's

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Speaker 1: Bible story inspired by Genesis one two to four, my

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Speaker 1: soul will be revived and excited at the fact that

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Speaker 1: the Grand Artist has created me in his image. Through

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Speaker 1: chaos and nothingness, Lord, you brought forth light and beauty. Therefore,

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Speaker 1: my mind will be at rest knowing that even in

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Speaker 1: the midst of a chaotic day, you will create moments

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Speaker 1: of beauty for me to bask in. As I meditate

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Speaker 1: on the book of Genesis, I will be reminded that

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Speaker 1: this name means the beginning. Then, through this truth, I

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Speaker 1: can stand in expectation, knowing that my best and most

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Speaker 1: creative days are just about to begin. I declare that you,

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Speaker 1: or the God of ex Niolo, the god who creates

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Speaker 1: something out of nothing, And I declare that whatever you make,

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Speaker 1: you've stamped it as good. Then, because I am your creation,

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Speaker 1: your stamp of approval is all over my life. I

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Speaker 1: am art in motion. I'm a creative being, and the

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Speaker 1: Master Artist has sculpted me in Jesus name. Amen, Thanks

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Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear

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Speaker 1: the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year, brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year dot com. The Creation. In this Bible story, we

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Speaker 1: discover the beginning of the universe. God's poetry spoken over

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Speaker 1: the void and chaos turning into order. God speaks the

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Speaker 1: world into existence, and with his voice all life and

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Speaker 1: meaning came. All is good. Inspired by the Book of Genesis. Hello,

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Speaker 1: I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. Today, we're going all the way

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Speaker 1: back to where it started. We're taking a look at

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Speaker 1: Genesis one in the beginning. So begins the greatest story

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Speaker 1: ever told. We start out our journey on the Bible

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Speaker 1: here at the beginning, it's total darkness, a great void.

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Speaker 1: Then something happens. God speaks. This is the story of creation,

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Speaker 1: God making something out of nothing and not just something everything.

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Speaker 1: It's what theologians call creation ex niolo, or creation out

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Speaker 1: of nothing. Here God's word of power is fully on display,

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Speaker 1: his voice commanding our whole universe to spring forth. As

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Speaker 1: you listen, picture the awesomeness of each event. When God speaks,

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Speaker 1: Light and darkness are separated, stars, planets, entire galaxies burst

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Speaker 1: onto the scene. Imagine the mountains springing up from the waters,

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Speaker 1: the animals and trees and fish covering the earth, and

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Speaker 1: the rivers and the oceans. It's a spectacle of creativity.

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Speaker 1: And it all happened through the power of God's word.

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Speaker 1: But God didn't create willy nilly like a mad scientist.

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Speaker 1: He created with brilliant design, intent and love. As you

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Speaker 1: listen today, take notice of a powerful truth God repeats

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Speaker 1: over and over with each act of creation. The passage reads,

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Speaker 1: and God said that it was good. God doesn't make junk.

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Speaker 1: He makes everything perfect, not a single thing out of

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Speaker 1: place or not according to his plan. God not only

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Speaker 1: speaks things into it existence, he speaks order into the chaos.

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Speaker 1: This story reminds us that God isn't a god of

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Speaker 1: confusion or disorder. And through it all God was thinking

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Speaker 1: of you, people like you and me, and our ultimate

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Speaker 1: place in his created order. He created us in his

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Speaker 1: own image with a unique purpose, unlike anything else in creation. Humans,

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Speaker 1: as you will see, stand apart from the rest of creation.

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Speaker 1: And it's not until God has placed his imprint through

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Speaker 1: mankind on this world that he will say it is

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Speaker 1: very good. This is where it all begins. So let's

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Speaker 1: get started. In the very beginning. Out of nothingness, God

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Speaker 1: formed and created the expanse of space and the details

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Speaker 1: of Earth. The earth was empty, chaotic, and without life.

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Speaker 1: God's spirit hovered over the empty and chaotic void. Then

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Speaker 1: at an instant, God spoke, Let there be light, He

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Speaker 1: called out, and there was light, just as he commanded

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Speaker 1: for from God's lips springs forth reality. The earth was

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Speaker 1: now filled with light and with it the potential for life.

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Speaker 1: The light was good, and God separated the light from

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Speaker 1: the darkness. So God named the light day and the

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Speaker 1: darkness night. There was evening and morning the first day,

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Speaker 1: and this was good. The waters, roaring and in disorder,

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Speaker 1: were spoken to. Next, with the power of his words,

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Speaker 1: God spoke order to the elements. The waters were separated

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Speaker 1: from the atmosphere, and the skies were apart from the earth.

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Speaker 1: There was evening and morning the second day, and this

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Speaker 1: was also good. Then God said, let the waters gather

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Speaker 1: and the dry land appear before them. And just as

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Speaker 1: he said, there it was. The waters traveled, gathered and scattered,

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Speaker 1: The land rumbled, shifted, and emerged from among them a

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Speaker 1: beautiful dance to the words of their creator. He called

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Speaker 1: the gathered waters, seas and the dry land earth. God

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Speaker 1: looked at all of creation, though beautifully incomplete, and saw

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Speaker 1: that it was good. As an artist adds color to

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Speaker 1: a blank canvas, God adorned the earth with beauty. He

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Speaker 1: made trees, flowers, fruit, vegetation, and grass. This was the

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Speaker 1: third day, and God saw that this was also good.

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Speaker 1: God was also at work and the rest of the universe,

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Speaker 1: creating stars, suns, galaxies, and all the other mysteries of space.

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Speaker 1: Let them be seen in the night and used to

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Speaker 1: measure signs, seasons, days, and years. Already God was thinking

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Speaker 1: of humanity. There was evening and morning the fourth day,

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Speaker 1: and God saw that this was good. After the revealing

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Speaker 1: of light itself and the adorning of plant life and

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Speaker 1: all of its beauty, God created living creatures. First was

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Speaker 1: the dwellers of the sea and the explorers of the air.

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Speaker 1: All living creatures in the sea and birds of the

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Speaker 1: air were created to roam the depths and heights of

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Speaker 1: the planet. All these things God spoke with the word

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Speaker 1: of power. This was the fifth day, and God saw

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Speaker 1: that this was good. Then God spoke again. Let the

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Speaker 1: earth bring forth living creatures of all kinds. Once again,

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Speaker 1: out of nothingness and chaos, life sprung forth. Beasts of

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Speaker 1: all kinds began crawling, roaming, and grazing the earth. Then

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Speaker 1: God said, let us make man in our own image,

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Speaker 1: in our likeness, and they will care over the world.

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Speaker 1: So God, with his own breath of life and word

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Speaker 1: of power, created mankind. He then charged them with caring

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Speaker 1: over the earth and all that is living in it.

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Speaker 1: His desire was to give them purpose and enjoy the

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Speaker 1: world he had created in relationship with him, For mankind

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Speaker 1: was the only created thing stamped with the image of

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Speaker 1: its creator. And on that sixth day, the once void

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Speaker 1: earth was filled with life. This God knew was very good.

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Speaker 1: God had taken the chaotic void and inserted purpose. The

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Speaker 1: heavens and the earth were filled, and his peace of

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Speaker 1: art was complete. So on the seventh day God paused

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Speaker 1: to enjoy what he had done. So he blessed the

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Speaker 1: seventh day and made it holy. Genesis is the beginning

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Speaker 1: of our story. But before anything existed, God was there.

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Speaker 1: God didn't appear at the time of creation. We see

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Speaker 1: that when there was nothing else, God was there. Father's

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Speaker 1: Son and Holy Spirit were present at the dawn of time.

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Speaker 1: He is our eternal, past, present, and future God, and

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Speaker 1: he chose to create this world, including you and me,

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Speaker 1: for his glory. Now that's amazing. No matter how many

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Speaker 1: times I read it, the Creation account never gets old.

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Speaker 1: I never cease to be struck with the awe and

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Speaker 1: wonder at just how great our God really is. We

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Speaker 1: cannot even fathom this kind of power, mere words birthing

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Speaker 1: our planet and the infinite mysteries of space. I just

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Speaker 1: love how this story speaks to the order that God

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Speaker 1: brings to things. Where there was chaos and confusion. He

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Speaker 1: brought things into order into a perfect functioning according to

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Speaker 1: his purposes. That same power is alive today. God silences

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Speaker 1: the chaos and takes away the darkness. He creates order.

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Speaker 1: Listen to Genesis one, three and four again. And God said,

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Speaker 1: let there be light, And there was light. God saw

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Speaker 1: that the light was good, and he separated the light

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Speaker 1: from the darkness. I absolutely love those words. God separated

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Speaker 1: the light from the darkness. It was like a foreshadowing

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Speaker 1: of what he would do one day through Jesus. The

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Speaker 1: very light of the world, and the one ripture describes

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Speaker 1: as the Word made flesh, You may even want to

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Speaker 1: write down those verses and hold them in your heart

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Speaker 1: to remind you of what God has done and can

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Speaker 1: do will do in your life. God speaks light into

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Speaker 1: your life through the power of his word, his son Jesus,

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Speaker 1: and through him, he also restores the purpose for which

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Speaker 1: you were made created, the purpose that all mankind was

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Speaker 1: created for which we hear in today's reading. We are

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Speaker 1: to be caretakers of this world he created and to

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Speaker 1: enjoy all that he has made. Don't miss that you

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Speaker 1: and I are made to reflect God's image, to care

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Speaker 1: for the world that he has made, to enjoy his presence,

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Speaker 1: and to enjoy what he has created. How well are

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Speaker 1: you living out that purpose? But the Creation's story isn't

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Speaker 1: just about what once was. It reminds us of where

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Speaker 1: we who follow Christ are headed, a return to a

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Speaker 1: world where everything is good and we are free to

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Speaker 1: live about our purpose and to enjoy God and his

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Speaker 1: creation now and forever. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for

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Speaker 1: giving us this wonderful story of your creation and how

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Speaker 1: it shows us your incredible power and care for every

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Speaker 1: detail of this world that you have made. Thank You

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Speaker 1: for creating us in your image and for filling us

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Speaker 1: with your purpose. Help us to live with that purpose

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Speaker 1: front and center in our minds, and to reflect your

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Speaker 1: glory to those around us today. In Christ's name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Prey

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Speaker 1: dot com app, then make prayer a priority in your life.

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Speaker 1: If you enjoy this podcast, share it with someone you love.

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Speaker 1: By sharing this podcast, you can make a difference in

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Speaker 1: someone's life. And if you want more resources on how

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Speaker 1: to tap into God's power for successful Christian living, be

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Speaker 1: sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless you.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Medicier, an innovative health care

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