1/01/01 Gen. 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
I was an auditor for many years it seems a lifetime ago. One of the things I learned in auditing was that everything has a beginning. Big audits and small audits all start at the beginning and develop one step at a time. This year as you face big projects and small projects, remember that you need to always start with the Lord. Then under His guidance you can complete your project one step at a time.
1/02/01 Gen 3:21
And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
Satan is a master at taking the blessings of God and turning them into something that winds up being a curse. As you begin this new year, join with me in reviewing your daily activities to make sure that you have not slipped into bad habits and let God’s blessing become a curse.
1/03/01 Gen 6:5
Now the Lord observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil.
Stinking thinking habits are hard to overcome. Me, my and mine are always proposing that I count more than someone else. The Lord wants me to think about what is good for others. I am the only one that can deal with a self-centered heart.
1/04/01 Gen 7:5
So Noah did exactly as the Lord had commanded him. He was 600 years old when the flood came, and he went aboard the boat to escape, he and his wife and his sons and their wives.
God always does exactly as he says. The goal in my life is to do exactly as the Lord says. Often I do not accomplish this goal. When I don’t, I go to Jesus and ask him to forgive me of my sin and he does. Jesus is the reason we can have a relationship with a Holy God.
1/05/01 Gen 11:4
Let’s build a great city with a tower that reaches to the skies, a monument to our greatness! This will bring us together and keep us from scattering all over the earth.
Best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. The world is always attempting to be it’s own god. The Lord is God and there is no other. He made us.
1/06/01 Gen 12:1
Then the Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house and go to the land that I will show you.”
Sometimes the Lord calls us to unknown places. We can trust the Lord. Where ever He leads is a good place to be. It is much easier to trust the Lord when we are letting Him guide us each day. His words of direction remind us of how much He loves us; how totally He is in charge of our lives.
1/07/01 Gen 14:19-20
Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed by God Most High who has helped you conquer your enemies.”
We don’t always need to know where we are going as long as we know whom we are following. God is in control. Even when we wind up in strange places or unusual circumstances, the Father is not caught by surprise.
1/08/01 Gen 15:6
And Abram believed the Lord and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith.
I tend to be impatient. I want everything to happen right now. My impatience is a symptom of sin. The sin is lack of trust. I am the only one that can control me. I often critique myself with a harsh 20/20 hindsight. Jesus doesn’t critique me; He calls me to repentance for my lack of trust. He forgives me and energizes me to stay the course that God has called me to journey.
1/09/01 Gen 17:1-2
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation.”
I have a covenant with the Lord. I called upon Jesus Christ to save me and be Lord of my life. He did. The Word of God says that He will never let me go. That’s a powerful covenant. Thank the Lord that it is.
1/10/01 Gen. 17:9
“Your part of the agreement,” God told Abraham, “is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility.
There are no grandchildren in the family of God. All of us become children of God the same way, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. My life is my responsibility. Bad luck, evil friends, or poor parents does not change the fact that I and I alone am responsible for making the eternal decision in my life. Will I accept Jesus as Lord of my life or will I deny Him and perish?
1/11/01 Gen 18:32
Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?” And the Lord said, “Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
Lot gave up everything when he moved to Sodom. He certainly didn’t change any of the people in Sodom. There were not even ten righteous people in Sodom. I sometimes wonder, am I making a difference where I am? Do the people I come into contact with know that I am living a Godly life? Do they know it by the way I care for them? Secret Christianity is dead Christianity. Everywhere a secret Christian looks people are perishing in their sin.
1/12/01 Gen. 21:1
Then the Lord did exactly what he had promised.
My youngest child wanted to go to Paris when she was six. I promised her that when she was fifteen that I would take her to Paris. Ten years passed too quickly. When the time came I really didn’t want to go to Paris. But, we did go. It was the best trip I have ever taken. It was a joy to see Paris through the eyes of a fifteen year old. It blessed me exceedingly. God never breaks a promise. There are more than 7,000 promises to us in the Bible. Find them, memorize them, remind God of His promises and you will be blessed. God always keeps His promises.
1/13/01 Gen. 22:1
Later on God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
Wow. God spoke and Abraham answered. Sometimes when I am praying the silence is deafening. I am learning that that is the time to search for sin in my life. Lord, point out my sin and cleanse me. He always does. I wish my response were always immediate like Abraham’s. I confess that my relationship is not always pretty. I am hard headed, foolish, self-centered, and a lot of those other things just like you. But, when I do accept responsibility for my sin, confess and change, God speaks.
1/14/01 Gen 25:8
“Then Abraham…died in a good old age, an old man and full.”
That was the way the original Hebrew text read. When Abraham died, he was full of trials and temptations, victories and rewards, and reminders and reassurances. He believed God, lived his life patiently and died doing what God had told him to do. He was a friend of God. I will never be an Abraham. But, when I die I don’t want my epitaph to read, “He generally did what God told him to do.” Even though my life is only a supporting role in the kingdom, I want it to be said of me, “He did what God said.”
1/15/01 Gen. 28:16
Then Jacob woke up and said, “Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it.”
The Lord spoke to Abraham at Beer Sheva. He met with Jacob at Bethel. Moses meeting with God was in the wilderness. Paul’s meeting was on the road to Damascus. I meet with the Lord daily at a particular place in my home. Where do you meet with God? Are you aware the Holy One is there? He is.
1/16/01 Gen. 32:26
Then the man said, “Let me go for it is dawn.” But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
The greatest challenge that I face in my life each day is my relationship with the Lord. Will I trust Him? Will I spend time with Him? Will I do what He says? God is interested in my obedience.
1/17/01 Gen. 35:1
God said to Jacob, “Now move on to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to worship me-the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”
I am experiencing a move this week. It is disconcerting and upsetting. In my spiritual walk God calls me to move on from my old habits of sin. Christ provides forgiveness and healing. I am charged with the responsibility of not returning to the comfort of old habits. I am to pick up new ways and focus on Christ.
1/18/01 Gen. 39:23
The chief jailer had no more worries after that, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him, making everything run smoothly and successfully.
Sometimes life can look like a jail. Notice what Joseph did, he excelled in jail. God may not answer all our questions but He will meet all of our needs. When life seems like a jail, excel.
1/19/01 Gen. 37:23-24
So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe and threw him into the pit. This pit was normally used to store water, but it was empty at the time.
Joseph went from the pit to the palace as Pharaoh’s chief assistant. It was not a pretty journey. The road was filled with hardship, disappointment and thirteen long years. What a training program. Next time you are in the pit, remember Joseph’s pit. The Lord cares for you. You too are on a training program in service to the master.
1/20/01 Gen. 41:53
At last the seven years of plenty came to an end.
The most powerful tool that I have for dealing with the ups and downs of my life is an attitude of gratitude. I am learning to say thank you more often. I am convinced that if I will focus on enjoying what I have my life will be richer and fuller. Life is a gift. All of the blessings that I receive make this gift of life more enjoyable.
1/21/01 Gen. 45:8
Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you!
God has his eye on you. He knows everything you do. Your life is valuable to Him. Wherever you are God meant it for good. You can be joyous, even as Paul in the midst of a Roman prison. Remember, you are not alone. God cares for you.
1/22/01 Ex. 2:15
And sure enough, when Pharaoh heard about it, he gave orders to have Moses arrested and killed. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and escaped to the land of Midian. When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well.
You did what you thought was right and the end result was disaster. Next time disaster strikes, find your well and sit beside it. Mediate on God’s encouraging words for discouraged disciples. Is there anything too hard for God?
1/23/01 Ex. 3:7
Then the Lord told him, “You can be sure I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries for deliverance from their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.”
My life never happens in a straight line. Good and bad seem to be always intertwined. The events of my daily life do not define my relationship with my Father. Our relationship is based on my confidence in His promises. God is faithful. I can trust in Him.
1/24/01 Ex. 5:1-2
After this presentation to Israel’s leaders, Moses and Aaron went to see Pharaoh. They told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go….”
“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord that I should listen to him and let Israel go?” People who do not know God will not listen to you or me. Our job is not to force people to change. We are to care for those around us and give them the opportunity to see our loving and powerful Lord at work in our lives. It is God’s job to change hearts. He changed ours.
1/25/01 Ex. 8:19
“This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard and stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord predicted.
Obviously I would never do anything like this. The tragedy is that unless I pay close attention to the way I live I will miss God’s directions. Lord, help me to recognize your intervention in my life.
1/26/01 Ex. 15:27
After leaving Marah, they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the springs.
Marah was a place of bitter dispute and heartache. Elim was a place of rest and comfort. Elim was only 5 miles down the road from Marah. When the bitterness of life clouds your heart remember that rest and comfort are just a little ways down the road.
1/27/01 Ex. 20:2
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.”
God is almighty. What I think does not change that truth. Jesus Christ has revealed God in a way that I can see and understand. My responsibility is to accept Jesus as Lord. I am not responsible to decide who God is.
1/28/01 Ex. 20:7
“Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”
God is not mocked. When I misuse the name of God I am mocking Him. I have a hard time dealing with the common cold. I think that it is a real mistake for me to attempt to fight with God.
1/29/01 Ex. 23:1
“Do not pass along false reports. Do not cooperate with evil people by telling lies on the witness stand.”
I have a strong desire to be liked. Sometimes I find myself saying things to be liked. When I omit the truth I commit an untruth. A white lie is a real lie. My prayer is Lord help me to be truthful or to keep my mouth shut.
1/30/01 Ex. 31:16
“The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day forever. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with them. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but he rested on the seventh day and was refreshed.”
I realized one day that the Lord was on my side. His rules and regulations were to help me. His limitations were not oppressive but protective. Today when all around us diseases are rampant, the solution to many of them are to follow the prescription for life that the Lord lays out for us in the Bible.
1/31/01 Ex. 32:5
When Aaron saw how excited the people were about it, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be festival to the Lord.”
Religious leaders are people too. We must always be careful who we follow and what we do as a result of their leadership. I am responsible for my relationship with the Lord. I am responsible for the things I do or don’t do. Following folly will make me foolish.
