Genesis 1 – January 1

Happy New Year! And happy new habit if you’re joining us for the first time! Welcome to our online study in Genesis. We’ll be doing a chapter a day for the next 50 days. Read today’s scripture, journal on it using SOAP, then please share as we encourage one another in this one thing. Below is the NIV version of today’s reading, then below that is a SOAP from one of our study leaders. The Comments section on our website is an open forum for sharing, requesting prayer, and asking questions. Let’s get started!

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹ And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. ¹² The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴ And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

The Power of the Holy Spirit | Dyea Rowland

Welcome to the first day of the Genesis study – – I have never done this study, so this will be great for me. So, for everyone following along – teach me all you can; I can’t wait to share and learn together, and see all of your comments. Sitting at Jesus’ feet and quieting myself, I am very excited about all of the take away and knowledge that will be bestowed upon me. Let’s begin — and what a great place to start “in the beginning…”
Scripture

Genesis 1:2

Observation

What I love about the first chapter is seeing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – – the great Trinity. We have God speaking things into motion, the Holy Spirit giving everything power, and Jesus creating away. What a beginning!

When I think of the power of the Holy Spirit and all of his personalities, I am blown away. He is our comforter, interceder, sustainer, healer, and guide; our teacher and forbidder. The list goes on, but moreover we can’t forget His divine attributes, which His are all the same as God’s.

I had some voids lately; not that things were dark, they just were not clear for me. In late October, I got a call, which advised that my three-year-long “work” battle was over. I was expecting a victory, which I had an idea on what I wanted that to look like, but which of course God had a different one. After being bullied, lied to, and subjected to an absence of support; it was over, and all I could think is “well, now what?”

That’s where the power of the Holy Spirit comes in. He was the only one that was getting me through that tough battle (my comforter, healer, interceder and sustainer), making me endure the lesson of learning “patience” (my teacher) for a little while longer, which felt like forever. I am happy to say – two weeks ago He set me on fire again. The direction that I had gotten quite a while ago (a piece of His puzzle had been given to me in 2010 – now five years later, it’s flourishing) had been strengthened, the darkness is shining bright, and I am ecstatic about this new chapter taking form.

Application

Just like in the beginning, things were taking form; things were given power; darkness was being blotted out, light was shining brightly out, and voids were being filled. Let me never forget – that when I think things should be heading in a way that I think they should be heading, You give me that strength to keep moving forward and school me when I get a clearness of what You had intended for me all along.

Prayer

Father, just like when I was full of void and trapped in darkness, Your power keeps me going. The boldness that comes, the intimidation that flees, of new and unfamiliar things. Because You are in control of it ALL. In Your divine Name…Amen.

 

The Discover One Thing main website continues to follow the Life Journal Reading Plan which covers the whole Bible in one year. Click HERE to check out today’s Discover One Thing post.