Genesis is often considered the book of beginnings: the first book in the Pentateuch as the Greeks understood it, the first book in the Torah as the Hebrews understood it, or the first book of the books of Law/Instruction. The general themes captured include Creation of the World, Sin, Judgement, Evolution of Sin, The Effect of Sin, Covenants (Noah & Abraham), Family Dysfunction, Sin, More Sin, Increasing Sin, etc.

In the beginning, everything was empty. God hovered over it and, in the particular order below, made everything. God made:

1. Light (Day) and Darkness (Night).

2. The expanse that separated the waters from the waters (Heaven & Sky).

3. Split the waters under heaven into waters and dry land (Earth & Vegetation).

4. Solar system and great lights (Sun & Moon).

5. Animals in water and air.

6. Animals on land and humans (Man & Woman).

7. Rest

Side note: Do you remember being taught in school that humans evolved from apes or humans branched off from a primate ancestor? Well, aside from the reality that even science disproves these claims, it’s an unbiblical representation of God’s creation and science perverting God’s work. I believe as revealed in Genesis, Adam and Eve were created by God into full-grown adults at once and we all decended from them. I’ve attached a few helpful resources on creation/evolution theories in the footnote 1.

Genesis captures the origin of everything, including sin. From Adam’s fall in chapter 3, we see a curse on all mankind. God then express His attributes of Mercy and Grace in the promise of the seed and in sending Adam and Eve out of the garden, which starts the story of redemption. And all the subsequent chapters from 4 to 50 show God making and keeping unconditional covenants (Adamic, Noahic, and Abrahamic), and the depths of the depraved state of all mankind, capturing the story of redemption and the emergence of that seed (Christ Jesus).

Genesis tells us about the triune God. It tells us that God self-sufficiently existed before anything else (completely independent, uncreated, and relies on nothing outside Himself). God created all things. God has a law that man violated, which caused us to suffer a curse. Man needed constant blood sacrifice to appease their creator God for their sins. And there is a Saviour coming who man desperately needs to pay the penalty for their sins. The stories of Abraham and all his descendants capture the hostility of sin and its immense consequences. God be praised for His many mercies, and for not leaving us to ourselves and for creating a means for us to be reunited with Him.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” —Genesis 3:15

In the chart below, I tried to document some of the attributes of God I see reflected through each chapter of Genesis. While this is an inexhaustive list, it attempts to capture who God is as reflected through the history of redemption, showing how God has never changed, even in our age now, showing the same attributes.

I’ve been reading the Bible for most of my teenage years, when I professed to be a Christian from different parts of both the Old and New Testaments. For all those years, my initial understanding of the scriptures was shaped by what my then-teachers/pastors taught me and not necessarily from personal, detailed studying and seeking. Since being saved by grace in 2019, I have begun reading God’s word on my own, with a better understanding of what it is and why. Having read from different parts of the Bible (mostly the New Testament, with my initial favourites being Ephesians, Romans, the Gospels, and most of the Epistles), I then finished cover-to-cover books like Galatians, Job, Titus, I John, and II John. I have since then progressively delighted in hearing God speak to me through His word while struggling with the help of the HolySpirit to align my new identity with the sin-driven desires of my heart and staying consistent with spiritual habits I had set to follow. As someone who writes a lot, both personally and professionally, in those past years I have written up to a million words of notes as I wrestled through understanding different part of God’s word and attempting to answer some questions a few people asked me, which has formed the basis of my doctrine, theology, and Christian worldview (my wife is probably the only person who has access to all of them). Well, over the years, some of those views have changed, and others have either deepened or morphed.

So, my first goal: I’ll publish some of those notes in this journal over time, and perhaps write new ones as my understanding of God’s word strengthens, as an archive for both myself and others. Hopefully, this will help other fellow Christians who have started their journey in seeking after God. Some of these will be categorised into “Answers To” and “General Thoughts” tags. This will also be an avenue to get some of my understanding challenged and broadened by those whom my good Lord in His providence will bring from all corners of the world to read and leave a comment (as I have been privileged to physically enjoy through my local church).

Secondly, at the start of 2026, I began a fresh journey (I’ve tried to do this many times but never finished) into reading through the entire Bible this year, starting from the Old Testament. My desire for this is to see God’s redemptive work through Christ Jesus progressing from Genesis to Revelation as revealed by God 1 and to note the attributes of God I see being revealed through each chapter, that I may be taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness, being thoroughly equipped for every good work 2. Going through the entire Bible, I anticipate I will come across different familiar verses/stories I have been taught as a child, but never studied myself to get the biblically consistent interpretation. At the end of each book, I’ll publish a few summary notes to capture initial reflections as the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to see, with the goal of having references I can return to as I try other Bible study techniques in the years the Lord will give me ahead. These will be categorised under the “Musings From” tag.

I’m taking this public journaling method to keep myself more accountable, perhaps provide some encouragement to others progressing a similar path, and contribute to the resources that will be recommended to those using the search engine and the “ever-rising generative AI” to find answers to specific faith-based questions. God has called us to look upon Him; to gaze. The true rest we all seek lies in resting in the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross, as St. Augustine puts it well 3. The more we prayerfully behold His beauty, the more we will know Him, become more like Him, and fulfil our purpose here: to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever 4.

A few final notes:

• I’ve in the past two years fed from a devotional titled, The Poor Man’s Morning and Evening Portions, written by Robert Hawker (1753–1827), and as Monergism commented, “the great devotional classic received its unique name because it was originally published in small ‘penny’ portions so as to be affordable to the poor”. The idea was that each portion was written for the poor, who you would consider less educated at the time, hence the language used was as accessible as possible (spoiler: though accessible for their time, it was the older, 19th-century style of English, which might not be accessible for modern standards 🥲). Anyways, my desire is to do my best to do the same here, making every journal entry very layman-friendly for our time.

• One of my weaknesses is that I tend to express a lot in writing and often am not able to be concise. This is something I’m working on because certain scenarios require concise communication, and I hope to put this into practice in this journal.

• My goal is to share short essays that address the questions young Christians have, along with personal musings from reading the entire Bible, all leading to Psalm 27:4 becoming our heart’s desire (to seek, dwell, gaze, inquire).

• The domain name of this blog or digital journal ends with .xyz, which are the last three letters of the English alphabet, capturing the reality that the gazing referred to in Psalms 27:4 continues till the end of this world, ushering in the new one to come.

• If you have any questions resulting from reading any of the journals or something else, please do leave a comment to ask, and I’ll attempt to answer or refer you to other resources from those more knowledgeable than I am.

• Grace and peace to you, dear reader.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple. —Psamls 27:4 (ESV).

Question (April, 2023):
How do we discern churches that teach perspective from those that just share knowledge. The task of discerning presumes I know the difference. As I don’t, what are the markers I should look out for?

Context: An excerpt (reference below) was shared from the book “Thinking. Loving. Doing.: A Call to Glorify God with Heart and Mind” by John Piper, Thabiti Anyabwile, Francis Chan, David Mathis, R.C. Sproul, and Rick Warren.

Answer:

You’re right; discerning presumes you know the difference to some extent, and the first thing you should do for yourself is to understand what the “right doctrines” are as instructed in the Bible and how the Bible instructs us to look out for those things in churches (these correct doctrines are the foundations for teaching the “true knowledge and perspective of God”).

The Bible shows in different parts how God reveals Himself to certain people, but to others, He doesn’t. They see the acts, they see the miracles, but they never “see God”. This shows that there’s the right way to see God (this is the way Christians would), and there’s another way that “others” see God. Mark 8:27-30, II Tim 2:19, Luke 8:9-10, John 14:16-17, John 17:25, Ephesians 4:17-24.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” I Corinthians 1:18-25.

Christians (true, biblically saved Christians according to the standard of the Bible) see God for who He is and continue in a progressive process of sanctification, love for God and the things of God, and growth in the knowledge of God. They learn more about God and live their lives more like God to His glory. Romans 6:1-23, I Thessalonians 5:23-24, II Corinthians 3:16-18, I John 3:2.

The essential doctrines of Christianity are:

1. The doctrine of the person of Christ (God and Man).

2. The doctrine of the offices of Christ:

   1. Priest (removal of the guilt of sin, annulling the formal commandment, and the superiority of a new, perfect, and eternal priesthood) Hebrews 7:11-28.

   2. Prophet (asserts the kingdom of God) John 6:30-40, Hebrews 8:7-13.

   3. King (the King and Lord of the new kingdom), Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 21:25-28, Daniel 2:44-45.

A correct understanding of these doctrines will give a clear perspective of the truth about God and His relationship with humanity. The Bible's systemic and unified message is also evident as one studies and understands the doctrine of Christ. Jesus Christ is everything about Christianity, and the entire Bible revolves around this truth.

In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul outlines what the gospel is and its importance in embracing and sharing it with others. He reminds the Corinthians of the gospel he preached among them: “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” This is the essence of the gospel. Paul also warns us to be wary of the many “false gospels” offered to the unsuspecting: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed”—Galatians 1:8-9. The pure gospel of Jesus Christ—His death on the cross for sinners and His resurrection to everlasting life—is central to the Christian faith.

So how, then, do you know a true Church that teaches the truth? You will know them by their fruits. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:15-20.

• Their fruit is their lifestyle, their priorities, their teaching, and the effect of their ministry on the lives of their followers.

• Test their fruit by comparing it with the fruit of the life of Jesus Christ and His apostles, and the stark difference will be apparent to anyone with spiritual discernment.

What they teach (the highest percentage of their teachings is filled with these):

• They teach vanity (things that do not last) and earthly things. They also give their followers a license for immorality.

• “Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” Philippians 3:18-19.

• “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4.

• “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that are clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:18-19.

What they do not teach (the essential parts you should look out for—these are what sound Churches will teach):

• Unlike Apostle Paul, they do not teach or preach Christ. “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” II Corinthians 4:5.

• If you stay long with them, you will learn more about them (the preacher) and less about Christ. If you don’t see Christ more in a church, something is wrong. “John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:27-30.

• If you stay long under their teaching, you will have many exciting ideas and philosophies from the Bible, but your love and passion for Jesus Christ will not grow; rather, it will deteriorate.

• You will be fired up by all kinds of principles and ideas from the Bible, but you will not grow deeper in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

• Your regard and honor for the pastor will increase, but your regard and honor for the Lord Jesus Christ will decrease.

• Under their ministry, you will see Jesus Christ as a tool to be used as needed, not as the Lord God who deserves the complete surrender of your life and earthly ambitions.

• Under such teaching, you will never desire to say like the Apostle Paul, “But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” Philippians 3:7-8.

In conclusion, as a believer, you’re to test every spirit with the doctrine of Christ as the Holy Spirit guides you. The task of testing also requires you to have the true Spirit in you, so the first test starts with you. Do you think you know and believe this truth in the excerpt below?

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confessed not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1 John 4:1-3.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-23.

Question (April, 2023):
From a Christian perspective and taking away the greed factor, what’s the difference between gambling, forex-trading, crypto-trading, and seed-investing in startups?

Answer:

Without greed, they’re all the same. You’re putting in some cash with the goal of earning profit (ROI). However, there’s a slight difference between gambling/lottery and stock trading/angel investment. One is casting lots (eyi je, eyi o je); even though I understand that some gamblers bet with data, your money isn’t doing any work, and your profit comes from the loss of others. The latter runs in the matrix of financial markets and leverages data to predict and make decisions that will yield an ROI. That is, I give company A $5k and expect to get $50k in 10 years (this profit comes legitimately from the companies value provided to customers in exchange for money), or I put $100 in S&P 500 index fund (giving me a tiny percentage of share ownership in some companies through stocks) and hope to get some undefined amount of profit. The appreciation or depreciation of my stock value depends on many factors. Still, fundamentally, you receive a small stake in the company, making it similar to an angel investment (with the added benefit of ownership). The profit comes from how well the company generally performs in all ramifications (an actual value exchange is taking place here).

For crypto trading, I think that’s slightly different. Suppose it’s legally backed (as some are already). In that case, that’s similar to forex trading, which basically deals with trading of currencies in the financial markets for commerce reasons (it’s an economic job technically); crypto is just a virtual digital version of forex, as the currencies in play are not tied to any country as legal tender (national currency). The above provides some background information on how I’d process each concept in question.

To define things, an investment is “an asset or item acquired “ with the goal of generating income or appreciation. While Appreciation refers to an increase in the value of an asset “over time.” Emphasis on “assets” and “over time.”

In summary, forex-trading, crypto-trading, and seed-investing are investments (you’re dealing with assets that will appreciate over time), while gambling is not an investment since there’s no asset acquisition involved nor value appreciation over time, but only placing stakes on something of value.

Now that the above has been established, and to be clear, gambling is not a sin according to the Bible (I can’t find any record of it being a sin). The Bible only warns against the love of money, greed, idolatry, and lack of hard work —all of which lead to sin. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” —I Timothy 6:10 NKJV.

While there are a few who gamble just for fun, the majority gamble out of love of money. Gambling is addictive, and the Bible warns Christians to flee from every appearance of evil. But again, just like the conversation about alcohol. The Bible doesn’t say drinking alcohol is a sin, but “being drunk” is a sin. As a Christian, why shouldn’t you then drink alcohol if you’re confident you won’t get drunk? I have a personal bias that it’s almost impossible not to get addicted to alcohol if you drink it often (and potentially slip into getting drunk), but data shows that some people can drink often and not get drunk. Also, there are health dangers of drinking alcohol, especially at a consistently high consumption rate. If you ignore that and slowly harm your body, you’re committing a sin by not taking good care of your body— the temple of God.

Now, there’s a negative societal perception of gambling and drinking alcohol (which doesn’t seem to exist for the ones people have termed legit investments, e.g., stock trading, crypto trading, angel investment, etc.). The Bible relentlessly pushes us toward simplicity and economy for the sake of the gospel 1. The more accustomed we become to gambling, the more difficult it is for us to be simple and economical, and the less it looks to outsiders (unbelievers) that we’re free from “the pleasure of money”. In wisdom, we should then avoid such things.

There’s also the part where gambling is wasteful and often a “get rich quick” scheme that takes away honest labour and the work of earning your money (or your money working by exchanging value for money).

“Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But he who gathers gradually by [honest] labor will increase [his riches].” —Proverbs 13:11 AMP.

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” —Proverbs 13:11 ESV

To end, I’ll quote GotQuestions.org and add some verses at the end:

“Gambling is poor stewardship of one’s God-given resources, it attempts to bypass honest work, it promotes greed, covetousness, and it rejoices in the misfortune of others. A Christian should not be involved in gambling or in other forms of materialism.”

“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” —I Corinthians 6:12 NKJV

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.” —I Corinthians 10:23-24 NKJV

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” —I Corinthians 10:31-33 NKJV

““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].” —Matthew 6:24 AMP

“Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed—be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!”” —Hebrews 13:5 AMP