"In the Beginning . . . . God"

 Genesis 1:1

Some foundational truths of our faith & guidance for the New Year-2014

What the Bible teaches us about creation:

1. There was a Beginning

2. God is Eternal

3. God brings meaning out of Chaos

4. God is the Source of Creation

APPLICATIONS:

1. If God is at the Head of the Universe, He should be at the Head of Our lives. If God did indeed create the world, it means He is our superior. He is owed our devotion and respect. If He is the Designer, then He knows how things work the best and so His instructions are far superior to the opinions of men. This means we should use Him as our reference point. He is the one we should measure our lives by.

Many of us go into the New Year with goals for lots of things weight loss, exercise, finances, overcoming various vices ,business…But . . . what goals do we have for strengthening our spiritual life? How deliberate are we in building our spiritual life? You can work as hard as you want... and be as diligent as you want... but if you "don't sharpen your ax" you will drift away from God. It is surprising how many good and innocent things can impede our spiritual growth. It could be our love for reading, or gardening, the Internet, sports, our jobs and even our family.

In the beginning . . . . .God!  Put God first this year.

Make prayer the first item on the agenda each day. Read your Bible before you do anything else. Put God's priorities like worship, above worldly priorities. Determine that you will give the same quality of time to your spiritual growth as you do to your studies, your hobbies or your job. (Which of them is MORE important than your spiritual life?). Adopt God's priorities for your money. Let God's values impact how you spend your free time.

2. If God is in Control, we should live Boldly and Confidently.

The God who created the world has not abdicated the throne. Man may have defaced God's creation, but man has not dethroned the Lord of the Universe. A wonderful poster reads, "Help me remember Lord, that there is nothing that is going to come my way today that you and I can't handle together."  That's the kind of confidence that we should have in our living.

Think how foolish it is when things do not go as we expect them to go.

We throw up our hands and conclude that God does not care, or that God is powerless to act. This is certainly not the case. If God chooses not to do what we expect it is because He has a higher purpose, a better plan. Can you imagine how different life would be if we lived this way? We would face difficulties as opportunities and not curses. We would see hard times as opportunities to deepen our trust in God... learned to trust even when we do not see. What would happen if every time a car broke down this year our first thought was, "What do you want to teach me, Lord?" Instead of "Why are you doing this to me?" or "Where are you God?" Begin the new year seeking to trust God in whatever circumstances come your way.

3. If God created it, we should live joyfully and worshipfully.

In this next year we need to remember that we have been given a gift from God.  He has given us life and a beautiful world in which to live that life. Sure there is evil in the world . . . but it's not all evil. We can become preoccupied with the distractions of the world or we can notice how wonderful things are. . . and live gratefully.

Think about how spectacular life is,

the beauty of a sunrise and sunset, the majesty of the clouds

the delight of taste buds, the breathtaking nature of a flower

the wonder of the animals, the simple joy of child

the joy that comes from people who become friends

the freshness after a rain, the songs of a bird in the morning

You can grumble your way through 2014 or you can give thanks to the Creator of the Universe. You can see the effects of sin or you can dwell on the evidence of His wisdom, power, and beauty.

As we begin a new year the best counsel we can get or give is this:

"In the beginning . . . . God".

For if we make God the beginning of our year and our lives,

we will find that He is also the end that we have been looking for.

Adapted from: Bruce Goettsche