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The Earth Is the Lord’s

AdventClimate Justice and Creation Care Week 3 · Day 1

Scripture References

Read First

Old Testament

Psalm 24:1-10

¹ The earth is the LORD’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it.
² For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.
³ Who may ascend to the LORD’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place?

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⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.
⁵ He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶ This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face—even Jacob. Selah.
⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.
⁸ Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in.
¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The LORD of Armies is the King of glory! Selah.

New Testament

Romans 1:18-25

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
¹⁹ because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.
²⁰ For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse.

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²¹ Because knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, and didn’t give thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
²³ and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things.
²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonoured amongst themselves;
²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Thought for the Day

Psalm 24 begins with a simple claim that changes everything: the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. Not ours to exhaust, not ours to idolise. A gift we did not earn, and a home we do not own. Even the ground beneath our feet is borrowed.

Paul, in Romans, describes what happens when we refuse that truth. We exchange the glory of the Creator for created things. The problem is not only immoral actions; it is disordered worship. When creation becomes god, we become anxious and grasping. When we forget the Creator, we lose the measure of what is good.

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Creation care is not a fashionable hobby, nor a replacement religion. It is part of repentance: remembering that we are creatures, not masters; stewards, not owners. It is also part of love: those who suffer first are often those with least power to protect themselves.

So pray today with humility. Ask God to cleanse our imaginations, so that we cherish the world without clutching it. Ask for leaders who can tell the truth without theatrics, and for communities willing to change without contempt. And ask for worship that steadies us: hands open, hearts grateful, lives shaped by the Lord to whom the earth belongs.

Prayer Points

Respond

Creator God, forgive us for treating your world as disposable or as a god; reorder our worship.
Give wisdom to leaders and institutions making environmental decisions; grant courage for truth and restraint.
Protect vulnerable communities bearing the heaviest costs of climate disruption; provide relief and justice.

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Form your Church as a grateful steward: practical, prayerful, and free from panic or cynicism.
Teach me to live with open hands, receiving creation as gift and caring for it as trust.

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