I’m going to read thru the Bible again this year…pretty sure this is my 5th consecutive year and I have every intention on continuing. I’m also (somewhat publicly for the 6 people who will read this) going to try to move to blogging (somewhat) daily thoughts from it. Thanks to my mom for my sweet new ESV journaling Bible.
So today, we started in Genesis 1-2, which I was really looking forward to reading. After the NANC pre-conference this year was from the Answers in Genesis folks and I read a book they recommended on why we are losing so many young kids from the faith called “Already Gone.” Reason – they begin to doubt that the word of God is truth – not in college – but in middle school and high school. Where does it start? Well…Creation of course.
Genesis tells us that God created all things and it was all very good. (Gen 1:31). Man is the one who introduces sin by his disobedience. (It reminds me of Dr. Michael Boys’ great message to us last Sunday 
on the gospel, the tragedy of sin, and the astonishing greatness of God’s redeeming grace in Jesus.)
How do we keep our lives “good” or “blessed”? Psalm 1 says that we need to “delight in the law of the LORD and meditate (“chew”) on it…day and night” (Ps 1:2).
Then we will be fruitful, not for our glory but for God’s glory and in THAT is our joy and our blessing, when we do what God has created us to do – glorify him and grow in the likeness of Jesus, His Son, our Redeemer. We will be like a tree planted by a stream – growing, bearing fruit, not matter how dry the desert is around us, whether we are a Pastor or a Project Manager – in all that we do we prosper – for the glory of our great Creator God!
Happy New Year!
Mike Ruel 