Genesis 1:1
(NIV) 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God... The Bible starts us off with these four words. From the beginning it says that God is. That God created everything! There isn’t any beating around the bush. The Bible tells that there is a God and that He was here in the beginning (actually before there was even a beginning). The Bible says that anyone that says that God doesn’t exist is foolish (Psalms 14:1). The Bible tells us of God’s relation to his creation and to man. He created space and matter. God created you, me, and everything that we see and don’t see. If I call myself a Christian (and I do) then I am saying that I believe the word of God to be true. So if the word of God is true as I believe it to be, then that means that I should recognize the very fact that He alone is responsible for all things should cause me to see that I owe my very existence to Him. When I read this I thought to myself, “Do I live in the recognition that “In the beginning God…?” Do I live my life with the understanding that the One who occupied eternity before space or time were even spoken into existence created this world as a place for us to live. God didn’t need to make it or even us but he wanted to. God wanted to have a relationship with man from the very beginning. God knows you and God knows me. God still longs for us to know Him. The Earth and all of the things in it are presents from the caring, affectionate hands of our Creator.
Genesis 1:2 (NIV)
2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
God takes things from disorder to order and He does so in our lives too, as long as we will let Him. The word says that God hovered over the waters as he prepared to shape and form the Earth. This reminds me of how the Holy Spirit hovers over those who have tasted the “water” and will never “thirst” again today as He molds us and shapes us. The world was dark and shapeless just as my life would be without Jesus. Jesus is the light that covers and protects us from the “darkness” where the predator attacks.
Genesis 1:3-4 (NIV)
3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
John 1 tells us that Jesus was the Light that lights every man that comes into the world. He shines into the darkness and the shadows do not comprehend. Do we realize that the Light is still shining upon us today? God took this formless matter and created beauty that we see around us today. Doesn’t it make sense that if God could shape all of this that He could shape us today? What would our lives be like if we were in complete surrender to Christ and the promptings of the Spirit? God is the light of the world and we are “children of light.” By surrendering our lives to Christ we can allow Him to form us into who we are supposed to be. Ephesians 5:8 tells us, ‘for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.’ We may be in this world but we are not of it! When we are filled with the Light we (through Christ) cause the darkness to flee. ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21).
Genesis 1:31 (NIV)
31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning–the sixth day.
Everything that God made was good. ‘You are good, and what you do is good’ (Psalms 119:68). He placed man into a perfect environment. It was evil that smashed this ultimate setting. We should recognize that good (light) comes from God and the evil (darkness) is the result of turning from him. If you block the light you create darkness. We do this to ourselves more times than not. God’s plans and intentions for us are GOOD! If we believe that God is good and that he truly loves us we should strive to walk in His light in the plans that he has for us. Ephesians 2:10, 'For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.’ Oh God, please help me to see your grace, love, and goodness in everything that you have brought, are bringing, and will bring into my life.
Genesis 2:18 (NIV)
18The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Man was not meant to be alone. God created Eve to be a helper to Adam. A helper is a team member. Man and women are to work together to accomplish things together. We need each other and are not complete without one another. This is just like Christ in the church. We were made new beings from the blood that Jesus shed from his side on the cross just as Eve was made from Adam in the beginning. The Church should be His teammate. We are called to be co-laborers in Christ Jesus. God could do all things by himself but He wants us to be included. We benefit from being a helper in Christ. It is not good for us to be alone. We are to labor with Him for His glory.
Genesis 2:24 (NIV)
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Everything should be put aside for our Creator. We should be willing to leave all things just as a man leaves his parents for his wife. We, the church, are Christ’s bride and we should be joined with Him so that all other things are distant. Please God help me to be the instrument of Your glory that You intended me to be as I surrender to the Spirit so that Christ can live His life in and through me.
Luke 1:13-15 (NIV)
13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth .”
Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, were not your spring chickens. They were well advanced in years and had prayed and prayed for a child. When the angel came to Zechariah to tell him that his wife would have a child (that his prayer was answered) he doubted him. Many times we pray to the Lord, and when some answers are delayed (or never even happen) we lose faith. Sure, we may still pray, but we don't imagine it is even feasible. We seem to forget that with God, all things are possible. We should never give up hope, but instead pray with anticipation. We should also remember that God’s will is perfect and holy beyond anything that we can comprehend. Some of our wants may not be part of His will. That is why we should seek His will daily in our lives and allow that to be our want. It seems to me that John's birth was all the more blissful because it came at a time when they believed it was not possible.
Luke 1:34-35, 38 (NIV)
4"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Wouldn’t it have been exciting for Gabriel to be the one to deliver this news! That the Messiah was going to be born. God chose Mary because she was a servant of God. Mary showed this when she said, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." Mary knew what she would face when the people of that day found out she was pregnant and unfaithful to her fiancé. She would be ridiculed and potentially even killed but still she said, "I am the Lord's servant." We shouldn’t care what people will think of us when it comes to God’s will for our lives. We should not worry how we will come out at the end. It is God’s to determine what part I am to play in His kingdom. I pray that I can be more surrendered to Christ ever day.
Luke 1:46-49 (NIV)
46And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me– holy is his name.
In Mary’s womb, tiny hands were shaping. The same hands that had designed Mary and the entire universe where now forming inside of her. Those hands had set the Earth in orbit and placed the stars in the night’s sky. This was the miracle of all miracles. It was the utmost expression of love ever. It would conclude with the cross and at last the resurrection. In some ways, the baby Jesus growing in Mary's womb is similar to Christ still being fashioned in us. As time goes by, we should show more and more of Christ through our lives. This humble unfamiliar woman from Nazareth gave birth to the Messiah, Jesus. God lifts up the humble. God help me to be more humble and recognize how truly great you are!
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