Thurs.’s Devo - In The Beginning

Read: Genesis 1:1-2:25; Matthew 1:1-2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 1:1-6 When God first created the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form and empty. Darkness and water covered the surface. God’s Spirit shook over the waters and God commanded light to shine. In everything God created he was teaching us principles. The number one principle is that he is Lord and Creator of everything. The next thing he did was to separate light from darkness and give them both names. So our next principle is that there is good and there is evil. Isaiah 45:7 says “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7) *** The third principle is that God makes a separation between good and evil. On the second day, God created sky to do this. He let the waters under the sky flow together and form dry land. Seed-bearing plants and trees grew in the soil. The fruit conformed to the seed inside them. Man was to live on the land and eat the fruit of the trees. God was explaining that whatever seed that was inside the fruit, was what the fruit would become. God sent us his seed, the Word and if we have it in us, we will grow to look like the seed planted in us. *** On the fourth day, God spoke lights into the sky to separate the day from the night. They were to shine down on earth and bring it light. The larger light was to rule the day. The lesser light was to rule the night. The sun represents God who rules our kingdom of light. I Thessalonians 5:5a calls us sons of the day and of the light. The lesser light is the moon and it is ruled by Satan. I Thessalonians 5:5b tells us that we are not of the night nor of darkness. This is the kingdom of Satan or the Kingdom of Darkness. So our fourth principle is that there are two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness. *** The fifth day, God created fish to live in the waters and birds to fly in the sky. He told them to be fruitful and multiply. The birds and the fish represent spirits that soar in the heavenly places and spirits that dwell under the earth in dark places. There are good and evil spirits living in both areas. God drew us out of the sea of humanity and placed our feet on solid ground so that we could walk as children of light. *** The sixth principle has to do with what he did on the sixth day. God created animals and man. Man was created to be God’s image-bearer on the earth and was given the authority to rule over the fish, birds, animals and wild animals. He gave us all we needed to succeed: seed-bearing fruit (the Word), all the birds in the sky (the angelic host of heaven), and the small animals that scurry along the ground (meat of God’s Word). These were the things God gave man to eat and sustain life. Then God’s seventh principle was rest. This is probably our hardest one to understand and submit ourselves to. We must learn to rest in God’s promises that we know are true, even when they haven’t manifested yet. *** God watered the earth from springs in the ground. He made man from the dust of the earth and created his breath of life into him. He planted him in the garden of Eden and told him to take care of it. There were two specific trees in the garden that God made reference to. One was the Tree of Life. They were able to eat its fruits and the fruits of all the other trees except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were told it they at its fruit they would die. *** God then told Adam to name the animals. As he did this he realized each of them had a counterpart - a mate - except him. When Adam realized this, God put him to sleep and took a rib out of his side and created woman with it. The whole plan of God was to create the world to find a bride for his son, Jesus. He showed us this in the story of Adam and Eve. *** In Matthew, we have the lineage of Joseph, Mary’s husband and Jesus father on the earth. His line was full of patriarchs, prostitutes, kings, and sinners. It included three sets of generations: Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian exile, and the Babylonian exile to the Messiah. *** God sent an angel to Mary, the woman chosen to bear God’s son. She was engage to Joseph, but they weren’t married yet. Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. When Joseph found out she was pregnant it took a dream and the Word of Isaiah 7:14 to convince him to marry her. When she bore her baby, Joseph named him Jesus, like the angel had directed him. *** Wise men from the east came to Herod to ask where the newborn king was because they had seen his star in the sky. Herod found out through written prophecy that the king was to be born in Bethlehem and told the wise men to come and tell him when they found the king. The wise men did find Jesus and gave Mary and Joseph gives of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were warned in a dream not to tell Herod and went home a different way. *** From the very beginning, God had to hide his plan from Satan and preserve the promise to the world. God is still at work behind the scenes dispelling the works of the enemy to bring forth his promises on the earth. *** Lord, thank you for your principles that never change. Thank you that you are the same and your power never diminishes and you are always Good.