COP30 - 10 November 2025
God's voice creates
COP30 - 10 November 2025
God's voice creates
Embedded Files
God's voice creates
Out of nowhere, time, space, and all the living whirl forth as God speaks the universe into existence. With the utterance of His voice, creation takes form, chaos yields to order, light eclipses darkness, and emptiness fills with life.
(The VOICE Bible)
Reading
Reading
Genesis 1: 1-13 (VOICE)
Genesis 1: 1-13 (VOICE)
1 In the beginning, God created everything: the heavens above and the earth below. Here’s what happened: 2 At first the earth lacked shape and was totally empty, and a dark fog draped over the deep while God’s spirit-wind hovered over the surface of the empty waters. Then there was the voice of God.
God: 3 Let there be light.
And light flashed into being. 4 God saw that the light was beautiful and good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” Evening gave way to morning. That was day one.
God: 6 Let there be a vast expanse in the middle of the waters. Let the waters above part from the waters below.
7 So God parted the waters and formed this expanse, separating the waters above from the waters below. It happened just as God said. 8 And God called the vast expanse “sky.” Evening gave way to morning. That was day two.
God: 9 Let the waters below the heavens be collected into one place and congregate into one vast sea, so that dry land may appear.
It happened just as God said. 10 God called the dry land “earth” and the waters congregated below “seas.” And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good.
God: 11 Earth, sprout green vegetation! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants and all sorts of fruit-bearing trees.
It happened just as God said. 12 The earth produced vegetation—seed-bearing plants of all varieties and fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good. 13 Evening gave way to morning. That was day three.
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Reflection
Reflection
It's easy to rush through the creation story. We've read it many times, we know what happens: light, and its organisation into day and night, the separation of the earth and sky, the separation of sea and dry land, the creation of vegetation, followed by the sun, moon and stars, and then creatures of the water and air, followed by land-based animals. And finally, human beings, special because they’re made in God’s image, and given life through God’s breath. Bish, bash, bosh, from nothing to the existence of human beings and a vast infrastructure to support them, all in seven days (or narrated in seven days - you choose).
Whatever your knowledge, understanding and acceptance of natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow (just some of the expressions that show up in an internet search of "the science of evolution"), pause here and return to the nothingness of a shapeless, totally empty earth, draped in a dark fog. It's difficult to imagine what that would be like, but try. Try to imagine something that is devoid of absolutely anything that you know. There are no handles to help you get your bearings, and even if there were, you'd be unable to see them because there is no light.
And now turn your mind to some part of creation that habitually reminds you of our Creator God. A garden bursting with the vibrant colours of summer flowers? The sun warming your face as you sit in a quiet spot away from life’s busyness? The panoramic view from the top of a mountain that you've spent the last three hours slogging up? The gentle burbling of a river, its surface speckled by the sun creeping through tree branches? Young children laughing as they play some intricate imaginary role play game together?
Finally, read the first part of today’s reading again and understand what took us from the shapeless empty earth to your best version of earth: God's voice. God spoke creation into existence.
The Biblical creation narrative often gets mired in discussions and arguments about creation versus evolution, seven days versus 4.6 billion years, and even God versus science. We see why these are important things to grapple with, but none of them can squeeze out the voice of our creator God. There was nothing and then God spoke.
Response
Response
If you can’t do this now, set an alarm for later today, for a time when you know you'll have space and a few moments to think and pray. When the alarm sounds, spend a few minutes watching, listening, inhaling, touching, tasting (your choice) God's creation, and wonder at the mystery of his voice bringing it all into being.
Today at COP30
Today at COP30
Today is the first day of two considering the themes of adaptation, cities, infrastructure, water, waste, local governments, bio-economy, circular economy and tourism. We consider water today.
Readiness and resilience are about ensuring that a local society, environment or ecosystem is prepared for, and can withstand change and shocks. When God started creation there was clearly a lot of water about. But now many societies face repeated droughts. An example of a readiness and resilience initiative is Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (2013). Vulnerable households receive cash and food but are also required to participate in projects such as land rehabilitation. The land rehabilitation reduces soil loss and increases the availability of water. You can read more here.
COP30 Website
UN Climate Change COP30 Website
Prayer
Prayer
Creator God, who formed me from the earth, breathe on me and in me again. Bring dust to life, fan ashes into embers, fill my body with your Spirit, I pray. Animate my senses to believe, ignite my imagination to perceive fresh possibilities in the coming day.
I ask that you will inspire me with compassion and a sense of personal responsibility to care for creation and my fellow humans around the world recognising that we each have our own important part to play, no matter how small it may feel.
Amen
From Lectio 365 (22 Oct 2025) and tearfund
Lynne uses a reusable water bottle
Lynne uses a reusable water bottle
When travelling it can be tempting to reach for a throwaway plastic bottle of mineral water for convenience, but it’s easy (and free) to carry a refillable water bottle. Airports usually have free water dispensers where you can fill up, and most cafes and restaurants will fill your bottle for you when asked.
Last year I bought a water bottle with a built in filter for a walking holiday. I wasn’t sure there would always be a source of drinking water available and this gave me peace of mind. The manufacturer claims that the filter removes 99.999% of contaminants so you can safely fill up from questionable tap water, mountain streams, lakes etc., without having to buy bottled water. It also came in handy on a long hot walk in Scotland where I was able to fill up from a loch, something I wouldn’t do with a normal water bottle!
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