I’ve always had a secret love for the book of Genesis. It’s the very foundation of the Bible. My prayer for you today is that you will read through this glorious book and that the Holy Spirit will illuminate the eyes of your understanding as you do. I pray that the Father will activate it in your life. For the Word is active and alive and endeavors to speak to each of us personally.

“For (what) we have (is) the living Word of God, which is full of energy!”

Hebrews 4:12 TPT

When we read that it’s full of energy, the Aramaic can be translated “all effective.” There is a hint here of the spinning sword of fire held by the angels guarding the way to the Tree of Life. To come eat its fruit, you must pass through the mighty sword of fire. The context implies we pass through this “fire-sword” (the Word of God) on our way into the holy of holies. When the veil was split in two, the cherubim embroidered on the veil parted, as it were, to allow every worshiper to enter into the unveiled presence of God. See Genesis 3:24; Matthew 27:51. (Footnote “a” for Hebrews 4:12 TPT)

My advice, for what it’s worth, is that when you read the Word, you approach it with a sense of anticipation of finding hidden treasure. The veil has been parted for us to come right into the holy of holies. So why rush your way through it? Take some time in his presence as you read and allow him to minister to you. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. We all need a fresh touch of heaven on our hearts every day!

“If you wait at wisdom’s doorway, longing to hear a word for every day, joy will break forth within you as you listen for what I’ll say. For the fountain of life pours into you every time that you find me, and this is the secret of growing in the delight and the favor of the Lord.”

Proverbs 8:34–35 TPT

May the Lord blow on you with fresh revelation. Just as it was in creation, so it is with us now. As the Father released his Word of power, the universe began to expand at the speed of light; and it’s been expanding ever since. Our universe expands as we receive his light. And nothing can stop this light, for God’s kingdom operates according to the principle of an endless increase (Isaiah 9:6–7), not by a power that diminishes over time, but by a power that continues to increase as time passes (The Image Maker). And so, the Spirit of revelation (his light) continues to expand and increase within us the more we read his Word! For me, while reading or after reading a portion of Scripture, I often have related dreams and visions. Let me share with you a few of them that came from editing and meditating on the first few chapters of Genesis in the TPT:

“God’s Spirit swept over the face of the waters. And then God announced: “Let there be light,” and light burst forth!”

Genesis 1:3 TPT

When I was editing this portion of Scripture, I watched as the Spirit of God vibrated and overshadowed the waters at creation. Then I saw the Father move forward through time, and he began creating again. But this time, he was creating through his sons and daughters upon the earth. He was releasing the Spirit of creativity. A renaissance of ideas began to pour out through the Holy Spirit in his people. And the earth came alive with new gifts: new authors, new songwriters, new church plants, new ministries, new businesses. Entrepreneurs were born. New ideas were being poured out upon the earth. It was as though God was releasing a new Renaissance upon the earth! This is the time that we’re living in right now!

Even in Pain You Will Birth New Creations

And even in times of pain and disappointment, creativity will be birthed and released. God said to the woman, I will cause your labor pains in childbirth to be intense with pain and you will give birth to children. “The word pain here is the Hebrew word ‘etsev,’ a homophone, that can also mean creativity. God will (even) use our painful situations to birth and express his beautiful creativity through us. How many works of art, compositions of music, and powerful acts of kindness have been born through the ‘labor pains’ of our sometimes troubled past. Pain can become the incubator of creativity and beauty” (Footnote for Genesis 3:16 TPT).

And next I began to see people who had been holding onto visions for years. But they hadn’t been able to implement them because they were missing a piece of the puzzle. I saw them begin to worship, and then keys began to fall out of heaven and into their hearts. They were the keys that would unlock their dreams and destinies. Some of the keys were character issues that needed to be settled, others were keys that would open their hearts to issues of unforgiveness, for some it was timing keys, for some it was ownership issues, and for others it was relational issues. It was keys to all kinds of issues that they needed to deal with. And the Father came and tweaked their hearts, and it all came together at last!

And then I began to see some men and women who were barely able to hold up their heads to pray and worship. But they were trying their best to hold on to God. Then I saw the Father begin to blow. And as he blew, life came back into them. And so, I prophesy that the Father is coming to blow the breath of life back into you as you fellowship, worship, and get back into the Word. This has been a big problem for some. You can’t substitute worship and prayer for time in the Word. The Spirit and the Word are married and can never be divorced. As you spend time in the Word, the Holy Spirit will blow a fresh breeze into your soul, and your dry bones will come alive again!

“Then Yahweh-God scooped a lump of soil in his hands, sculpted a man, and blew into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man came alive—a living soul.”

Genesis 2:7 TPT

We have been destined to move and breath and have our being in him. It’s time to worship him in Spirit and in truth (the Word) and come alive!

“For God is a Spirit, and he longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.”

John 4:24 TPT

Time for a Real Rest

“By the seventh day, God had completed creating his masterpiece, so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. So, God blessed the seventh day and made it sacred, because on it, he paused to rest from all his work of creation.”

Genesis 2:2–3 TPT

As I was editing this portion of Scripture, I began hearing in my ear, Pastors, teachers and people everywhere are talking about and needing rest (especially the older generation). It’s a shame that we wait until we’re tired and worn out before we realize we need it! The Lord didn’t wait until the earth was old and tired before he established rest. He established it from the very beginning.

“So, God blessed the seventh day and made it sacred, because on it he paused to rest from all his work of creation.”

Genesis 2:3 TPT

Here’s a footnote from Genesis that explains God’s concept of rest: God was not weary; he was simply rejoicing in his masterpiece. God’s work in us, for us, and through us, continues through time. God’s last day is man’s first day. As soon as man was created, he rested with God. In this way, he became one with God, dwelling with him and resting in his accomplishments. There is no mention of evening and morning completing the seventh day, for God’s Sabbath rest endures forever, and there is no night there. Our true Sabbath rest is found in the finished work of Christ (Matthew 11:28–30). See also Colossians 2:16–17; Hebrews 3:17–4:9; Revelation 21:25.

So we see that rest is not just the absence of activity, but it’s an act of trusting in the finished work of Christ as we go about our daily lives and activities. Here’s what the Father said about the children of Israel when they failed to rest in God:

“They grieved God for forty years by sinning in their unbelief, until they dropped dead in the desert. So God swore an oath that they would never enter into his calming place of rest all because they disobeyed him. It is clear that they could not enter into their inheritance because they wrapped their hearts in unbelief.”

Hebrews 3:17–19 TPT

As we begin to learn how to rest in the midst of our daily activities, I hear the Lord saying, We’ll see many with depression, eating disorders, rashes, high blood pressure, and other illnesses healed. True Sozo was released at the cross. And it poured out salvation for all mankind, released healing and deliverance, and brought peace and rest for our souls.

A holy rest comes to those who trust in Jesus and cease from their own works (Romans 4:5 TPT). In this realm of the Father’s rest, man is able to work effectively and creatively. If we are outside of that place of rest, we disrupt our creativity, and our work turns into sweat. But in the rest of God, there is never sweat or burdensome toil (The Image Maker).

May you enter into his endless rest and peace. And may the Lord bless you as you diligently seek him and find him in the glorious book of Genesis!

Genesis showcases God’s redemptive heart toward the world—a theme that can be traced throughout the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures. Read God’s autobiography and the foundation upon which all revelation rests in The Passion Translation book of Genesis. Join Brian and Candice Simmons as they tell the fascinating story of human creation in The Image Maker, the first of three volumes that studies the book of Genesis.