FBC Daily Devotional – January 1, 2021

Well, happy new year 2021 has dawned and Hope you have dawned with it to a new day looking forward to a new year.

You know the Song in the sound of music you've seen that movie.

I'm sure where Maria is trying to teach the kids how to sing and And She can't figure out, you know, she's trying to you know, just Didactically teach them how to sing.

She's trying to be all and then she comes up with this great idea She said I've got an idea and then she sings them a song.

She says let's start at the very beginning She says this it's a very good place to start so when you read you begin with ABC and when you sing you begin with do -re -mi and When it comes to reading the scriptures you begin with Genesis so how

Appropriate is on this first day of the new year that we begin a whole process of reading through the

Bible with reading in the book of Genesis the first book of the

Bible that takes us to the Beginning it is a book of beginnings.

There's all kinds of things that are Firsts in the book of Genesis and show us the beginning of things

Of course see the beginning of creation the beginning of our the existence of the universe

See the beginning of human existence the beginning of human sin the beginning of human conflict the beginning of false religion the beginning of the redemption story also all kinds of Beginnings in the book of Genesis, but what

I want to zero in on today as We begin a new year and we look at this first Reading in the in the reading schedule and by the way, let me pause here if you would like a copy of that reading schedule, please send me an email or Call the church or whatever and we'll get you a copy of that The the reading schedule is to take us through the entire

Bible in two years and so for example today You would to read Genesis 1 and 2 and Psalm 1 and then for tomorrow

You would read Matthew chapter 1 and some verses in Proverbs and then on Monday Or on Sunday, you would come back to Genesis read a couple chapters and Psalm 2 and then on Monday You'd be reading again in Matthew and a

Proverbs and so forth you go back and forth like that every day until Two years from now you will have read through the entire

Bible. Well, anyway today Read Genesis 1 and 2 and Psalm 1 and when you do that What you're struck with is that it all begins with God in the beginning

God in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and he goes on to talk about the different days of creation and then on the seventh day

God Ceased from all his creative work and then he sanctified that day so what

I want to encourage you with at the beginning of this new year is to begin as God's book begins with God himself make beginning with God a

Priority in your life. I don't know if you're a New Year's resolution person. I don't write resolutions

I do establish goals. I try to establish some goals for a new year and Some things

I really believe the Lord would have me work on accomplishing in the course of a year If that's you and I encourage it.

I think it's good for us to do that Then maybe you need to establish the goal of beginning with God in some very key ways so for example begin your day with God and Get into some habits that will

That will be at the start of your day that focus on God for example, I One of the first things

I do in first thing I do in the morning when I get up is I have my cup of Coffee and I grab my cup of coffee and I sit down with the

Bible and and read and pray Call it devotional time, whatever you want to call it, but it sets a course for the day at least that's the intention

That's the goal. Do I ever get off course? Absolutely. And so will you but but that in that's

Establishes an intention for my day Then I begin the day with God So you've begun the year with God if you've read

Genesis 1 and 2 and Psalm 1 so far and then Begin your day with God each day and and then we encourage you to begin your week with God So the

Lord sanctified the seventh day the Sabbath day and set it apart and In the in the giving of the decalogue the

Ten Commandments the Lord said remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy and he gives the reason for remembering it because the

Lord created the world in Seven days or six days on the seventh day. He ceased he rested so you could think of it this way that the first the first work day was, you know

Monday the first creation day was Monday and Then on the seventh day he rested in our calendar.

Okay the way we reckon time So begin your week Not with work, but with God at the

Lord's house in God's house with God's people Again worshiping and serving your

God begin with God So Genesis 1 challenges us to begin with God But then you also read

Psalm 1 or at least I would encourage you to read Psalm 1 and when you do Notice how

Psalm 1 begins Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of ungodly nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but The blessed man is one who whose delight is in the law of the

Lord and in his law He meditates day and night there again beginning with God but not not in a

You know like an obligatory Got to do it kind of a way Be bit but because you delight in his word you delight in his law

So at the beginning of this new year's you're thinking about what what are things Areas of life that I need to enhance or change or grow in Begin with God start there

What are the areas in your spiritual life where God would be telling you?

These are areas you need to work on begin with God in the beginning

God created and In the beginning of this year. He wants to create a new thing in you.

What would that what would that be? What would that look like? So let's let's have that perspective as we begin 2021 and Encourage you to read through these readings every day and find some great encouragement and blessing

For your life as you delight yourself in the law of the Lord So our

Father and our God, thank you for the dawning of a new year New opportunities before us this year new challenges that face us new goals to pursue and I pray that first and foremost in all of these things would be our relationship with you and our priority of You as our

God in our lives. And so this we pray in Jesus name. Amen All right.

Well again have a good day Good New Year's Day. If you can join us this lot this

Sunday this Lord's Day. We'll have in -person service at 1030 And we will be having a communion

The Lord's Supper on this Lord's Day Again, if you're not comfortable getting out yet because of the coven fears and so forth, it's understandable

You can catch us on live stream at 1030 on Facebook YouTube as well as the church home page, so Hope you will be able to join us one way or the other