“In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Over the last couple of years, I have published a new devotional each week. I hope to do the same this year while working through the Bible in 52 stories.
I love New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. It’s a time to reflect on what you have done the past year, and it’s a time to plan for new beginnings in the future.
The New Year is a chance to start fresh. It is also your chance to put God first in everything you do all year. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
When we put God first in everything we do, we will receive everything we need and more, and we won’t have to worry about what is coming because we will know that God will give us everything we need.
Everything begins and ends with God, and I hope to begin each week this year by putting God first.
God was there in the beginning, and He is still with us every step of the way.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)
Over the first 6 days of this world, God created heavens and earth, He separated the water from the air, He created the lands and the plants, He created the stars and the sun, He created the fish and the birds, and then He created all of the land animals and man.
The creation story, the beginning of earth and life, begins with God. The purpose of Genesis 1 is to teach us about the glory and power of God, and how we as a part of creation are to relate to him.
God created life on purpose and with intention, and when He was finished, He said that it was good.
Life and the world are good and beautiful because God created them and said it was, but we know that everything we see and experience on earth isn’t always good and beautiful. This world has real evil and hate, but that does not come from God. God made you and I and everything else to be good and Holy.
It is easy to see the bad and ugly in this world, but we have to be intentionally look for and find the good.
This year, remember that God intentionally and on purpose made this world and everything in it to be good. Find the good in everyday life. Find the good in others.
Find the good in yourself.
THIS WEEK
1 - Read Genesis, chapter 1. What is your biggest takeaway from this chapter and the creation of the world?
2 - God created the earth and everything in it with intention and purpose, and all things work together for the good of those who believe (Romans 8:28). What if you believed that everything in your life was going to work out for good if you put God first? Would you have to stress and worry about everyday things? Would you have fear and anxiety?
When you are stressed, worried, or anxious, tell yourself that everything will work out for good, then pray. Then, do something good for someone else.
For a Google doc version of this devotional, click here: Week 1 2023 - New Beginnings
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