Studying Genesis will answer many questions concerning life. Why are we here? What are our origins? How can we understand the world around us? What are the answers to these questions? When did evil begin? Why does suffering occur? How did civilization start? Why did God pick Abraham to start his nation? How does God work through ordinary people? How does God show us his grace, that is, his "undeserved favor"? The Bible confronts these questions and hundreds of others "head on" starting in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. We learn quickly that the God of the Bible is a God of grace. He gives freely to us with unmerited favor and love. He loves us without conditions and wants the best for us. We see that he has been in the business of generating and making new his creation from the beginning of time. By his creation, I mean everything, every living and nonliving thing. It's in his nature to restore, regenerate, and transform nature and his people for the good. This is in spite of our "bend towards evil" as the Bible says in Genesis 8:21. When there is a break in the relationship, God wants and for the most part, chooses reconciliation Encountering Grace is a book about HOPE. It is a fresh look at God's redeeming grace—very evident throughout the 50 chapters of Genesis. In Genesis, we see amazing stories of God's unfailing love for us, and his desire for us to be redeemed for eternity, so that we can enjoy fellowship with him. We see his desire to give our lives great purpose. We see how he gifts us incredibly with all kinds of blessings. He is the Master orchestrator of time, and he shows us his miracles along the way. It is because of who HE IS that we have a future of hope. This will become so much clearer as you read this book. Look at all of the wonderful subjects discussed in this first book of the Bible. You will see hundreds of discussion topics listed in the "Topical Index" in an easy, alphabetical listing, excellent for individual study or small