Our only starting-point: the eternal God

Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

This is our only starting-point. We begin with the eternal God. Before there was creation, there is God. There is nothing beyond God. He is the Beginning.

Genesis 1:2 - "darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of face of the waters."

Before the Spirit of God has done his powerful work in our hearts, we remain in darkness. We can do nothing about this. The light does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord.

Genesis 1:3 - "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

This is the mighty work of God. Through His amazing grace, He brings us out of His darkness and into His light.

Genesis 1:4 - "the light was good"

What a wonderful blessing it is when the light of the Lord shines in our hearts.

Genesis 1:5 - "Day and Night"

It's like the difference between Day and Night. What a great change there is in us when the Lord brings us out of our darkness and into His light.

Genesis 1:6 - "a firmament"

Firm - We have a firm foundation upon which to build our faith. There is solid ground upon which we can take our stand. The sold ground is Jesus Christ. He is the firm Foundation.

Genesis 1:7 - "the waters"

In the days of Noah, there was a great flood. All around us there is danger. The flood threatens to overwhelm us. How are we to be saved from drowning? There is one way of salvation. Jesus Christ is our Saviour.

Genesis 1:8 - "Heaven"

What a wonderful word this is! What a wonderful Saviour Jesus is. He is the way to heaven (John 14:6).

Genesis 1:9 - "gathered together unto one place"

What a release of the living waters of God's Spirit there is when the Lord's people are gathered together with a real desire to give praise and glory to Him.

Genesis 1:10 - "the gathering together of the waters"

When we are gathered together in the Lord's House, we must pray that the Spirit of God will be at work among us, bringing to us a mighty river of blessing.

Genesis 1:11 - "the fruit tree yielding fruit"

We bear fruit as we build our lives on the Word of the Lord (Psalm 1). There is the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives (Galatians -23). There is the fruit of God at work in the lives upon whom we are able to exert a life-changing influence for God (Psalm 126:5-6).

Genesis 1:12 - "God saw that it was good."

What a good thing it is for the people of God to bear fruit in their lives and in winning others for the Saviour.

Genesis 1:13 - "the third day"

We read these words, and our thoughts move forward to the mighty miracle of Jesus' resurrection from the dead - "on the third day God raised Him from the dead."

Genesis 1:14 - "lights"

We think of the sun and the moon. There is a greater Son - our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the sun and the moon are no more, there will be Jesus, the King of creation, the Lord of glory. His reign shall never come to an end. It will be the reign of His everlasting love. When the light of the sun and moon are no longer shining, the light of Christ's love will be shining brightly (Revelation 22:5) - shining "not for the years of time alone, but for eternity."

Genesis 1:15 - "light upon the earth"

As we read these words, we rejoice in this - Jesus is the Light of the world" (John 8:12).

Genesis 1:16 - "the stars"

As we read about the stars, our thoughts turn to the star which led the wise men to Bethlehem. As we think of that star, we are led to Christ. May we join with the wise men in saying, "We have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2).

Genesis 1:17 - "light upon the earth"

Where does light come from? Do we look inside our own minds? No! We look to Him who "came down from heaven to earth - Jesus Christ our Saviour."

Genesis 1:18 - "rule over the day and the night"

Beyond the "rule" of "the two great lights", there is the "rule" of the Lord. He is the King of creation. He is the King of salvation. He is "the King of kings" (Revelation 19:16).

Genesis 1:19 - "the evening and the morning"

The morning is bright with new beginnings. In the evening, we feel weary. In all life's changing circumstances, let us look to the Lord. When we feel strong, let us say, "My strength comes from the Lord." When we feel weak, let us pray, "Lord, I am weak. You are strong. I bring my weakness to You. Give me your strength."

Genesis 1:20 - "Let the waters bring forth abundantly."

What abundance of blessing there is when the living waters of the Holy Spirit are flowing freely among the Lord's people (John 7:37-39; Ezekiel 47:5,9).

Genesis 1:21 - "great whales"

Remember "the great fish" that swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:17). This was God's way of showing us that "salvation comes from the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). From the story of Jonah's mighty deliverance, we look on to the mighty miracle of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. He died, but He did not remain dead. He rose from the dead.

Genesis 1:22 - "God blessed them"

What a great thing it is to be blessed by the Lord. Without His blessing, we have nothing. We must never forget these challenging words of Jesus; "Without Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). What a great challenge they are to our human pride. When we think we can manage on our own, Jesus reminds us, "You are nothing, you have nothing and you can do nothing without My blessing." With His blessing, everything changes. This is the great change which God has brought into our life - "In Christ, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3).

Genesis 1:23 - "the evening and the morning"

The repeated pattern of nature - evening, morning, evening, morning ... - speaks to us of God's great faithfulness. Without the sustaining power of God of perfect faithfulness and constant love, our world would return to chaos - "without form and void" (1:2). Whatever changes may take place in our world, let us never forget this: God's mercies are renewed every morning. He is the God of great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23).

Genesis 1:24 - The "beast"

Whenever we read, in God's Word, about "the beast", we are reminded that we face constant and determined from Satan, the enemy of our souls. Whenever we feel that Satan is getting the upper hand, let us remind him that Jesus is Lord.

Genesis 1:25 - "every thing that creeps upon the earth"

Creep - Isn't that such a sinister word? Satan creeps around, doing no good. There is One who does nothing but good - our Lord Jesus Christ. He will never be defeated by Satan. Let us rejoice in this: Jesus gives His victory to us.

Genesis 1:26 - "in God's image"

This doesn't sound like a true description of the way we really are! We are sinners. We have lost our way. It's a reminder of what God created us to be. It's His high calling for us. He calls us to be like Him. He calls us to bring glory to Him.

Genesis 1:27 - "male and female"

We belong together. We're not to compete with each other. We are to help each other to love the Lord more and more as we journey through life together.

Genesis 1:28 - "dominion"

We are given dominion. God has dominion. Let us never forget this. We must not think too highly of ourselves. We can never think too highly of the Lord.

Genesis 1:29 - "meat"

We need the strong meat of God's Word if we are to grow strong in the Lord. Let us feed on the Word of God. Let us pray that our hunger will increase. The more we hunger for the Lord, the more fully He will satisfy us.

Genesis 1:30 - "I have given"

The gift of God - Life is God's gift. He is our Creator. Salvation is God's gift. Jesus is our Saviour. The Holy Spirit is God's gift. He has come to live in us. He will take us to live with God - to give glory to God forevermore.

Genesis 1:31 - "everything was very good"

When we look at the world as we know it, it's hard to take this in! We must take our stand upon God's Word. There was a time when "everything was good." There was a time before our sin spoiled everything. There will, again, be a time when everything will be a good. There will be a time when sin will be no more. It will be a time of giving glory to God forevermore.