Creeping things...

At the beginning of this year, I was challenged by John Piper in one of the leader sessions at Passion.  He said that he believers leaders in the church should approach teaching others scripture by following these four steps:

1. Memorize         2. Analyze           3. Believe            4. Teach

This was both encouraging and very convicting to me.  Encouraging because it gives way to the fact that I've felt in my Spirit that most of us go around teaching things that we don't believe ourselves.  If we started at step one, rather than step four--there would be a lot fewer confused teachers around.  However, it was also convicting because--to be completely honest--I don't know that I've really been intentional about memorizing scripture since I was in high school.  Perhaps a verse here or passage there accidentally because I would read it so much, or because I had to teach it to little ones during VBS.  Yet, my "life's work" right now is to teach...

So, a best friend of mine recently introduced me to a book called The History of Redemption
(http://www.historyofredemption.org).

This book combines incredible visual imagery with a weaving of just scripture to give an abbreviated--but no less powerful--overview of the story of humanity and God's grace.  What's also really wonderful about it in conjunction with my above conviction is that it has "memorization plans' in the back!  So, I've started on step one, and tried to work my way down to step three for each page.  To read and let it sink in deep.  To let the Spirit breathe light and life into me through meditation.  

As I started "in the beginning" I began to meditate on these words.  Hopefully, this is a conjecture that maybe you can resonate with. 

God casts a vision as humanity is created: 
"let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (just typed that from memory--BOOM..Genesis 1:26).  

Isn't it interesting here that "every creeping thing that creeps on the earth..." is the last piece mentioned of humanity's dominion?  

Have you ever thought about how much power you have over creeping things? Creepy things? Things that scurry, prowl, surprise and seem dangerous--but really aren't?  That nothing could truly creep up on you?

I wonder if Eve felt like the Serpent "crept up on her" when he tried to get her to shop a bondage-bearing kind of produce.  

It is like it was foreshadowing for Jesus and Satan: "and he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."  The Serpent may not have crept along on the earth before Eve was deceived, but the serpent now creeps on the earth--prowling around like a roaring lion looking to devour.  Yet, we see--woven into the order of design--there could appear death and dominion of evil but it would never be able to prevail.  Even back at the beginning we were given the title of "Victor."  

What if I faced every frustration, every evil, every situation with that title?  Not a victory that I've earned, but a victory I've been given.  Not a victory I've somehow fought for, but a victory that's been woven into the very fabric of my DNA.  Not a victory that I could somehow make manifest, but one that is made manifest in me.

What power we ignore when we ignore the beginning.