Day 1 - Beginnings

Ok, so off we go with the Connect blogosphere project. So just an introduction first. I'm going to be using this to share my thoughts and feelings about what each day's passages mean to me but also on how they might impact other people's lives. This is mostly going to be a personal thing though so PLEASE feel free to chip in with any comments and such. I'm going to do this every day till next August as long as I have an internet connection nearby and if I've got the technology and the discipline, I'll also be doing a vlog on my YouTube channel, britishhedgehog. Obviously subscribe to that so I can be nearly as famous as Will Palmer :)

So on to today's readings.

Genesis 1:1-2:17

Matthew 1:1-25

Psalm 1:1-6
 
Ok, first things first. If you've not read those passages do so now! If you've not got a Bible handy then go to http://www.biblegateway.com/ and pick your favourite translation. The Soul Survivor team are using the NIV and I'll be reading that and also checking my Message version to get another perspective.
 
I should say as well, if you're new to reading your Bible, or even just reading in general, then there're a few things you can do to make it easier and more fulfilling for you. Firstly, put all your other distractions to one side. Put the phone down, log off facebook, shut the dog out of your room. Second, take your time with the passage, it's not a race. Third and most important, keep a pencil with you while you're reading so that anything you don't understand or can't follow you can underline and follow up later either on here or with another Christian.
 
Right. On to business then.
 
So the first passages must have been the easiest to pick when the Soul Survivor guys started this book. Today's readings are all about beginnings. The passage in Genesis looks at how God created everything from nothing. Matthew looks at where Jesus came from and the Psalmist (the person who wrote the Psalm) is talking about how you can begin your walk with God.
 
Taking the passages individually, these are challenging bits of text. A lot of you might struggle with the creation story in Genesis and it's certainly one of the things that Christians never seem to agree on. What's hit me on reading it today is how the detail of it seems to be of such insignificance when you take into account the size of what's happening. Today I've been helping John Harper move all the offices around in church and it's been a tiring job that's involved a lot of umming and ahhing. Mostly it was Harper thinking and me lifting but that's John for you... But it struck me how there was loads of little things and small jobs that needed doing in order to make the move successfully. However, if you went in there and tried to describe how the offices came to be as they are, you might make a lot of guesses and focus on the big things but you'd probably not notice that the dartboard needed moving or that we had to dissassemble and rebuild the desks before and after moving them.
 
This passage seems a bit like that to me. The universe is flipping enormous. It's just impossible to comprehend how vast and fantastic it is and how tiny and minute our lives are, let alone the tiny ecosystem that our world relies on. This first part of Genesis seems to me to be someone's attempt to comprehend the amazing achievement of God and make it understandable for us. Even with the scientific discoveries we've made, God's creation is no less mind blowing and that's the key point. That at the beginning of every day, every project, every new year at school; God is there and with us. He's the one who was there at the beginning and His love and strength will see us through to the end.
 
Matthew's account of Jesus' genealogy was covered at Soul Survivor and Andy raises an interesting point on the Soul Survivor blog. Jesus didn't descend from saints. There're people who are direct relations of Jesus that did really nasty things. And yet Jesus rose above it. I think that's another really valuable thing to remember. That if we really are starting something new, the past doesn't matter if we've got God in our present.
 
And finally the bit of today's message that really spoke to me was the Psalm. I'm currently jobless and looking for a bit of direction besides making sure that my house is tidy and the washing up is done! So what an amazing challenge it was to read that the man who lives his life devoted to God's word is going to prosper. My Mum has a sign in her kitchen saying "Coincidence is God choosing to remain anonymous" which means that if something seems to happen accidentally, it might well be God's hand pointing and poking us in the right direction. So on the day I decide to commit a large portion of my year to studying the word of God and helping other people get into the truth, God let's me know that people who devote time to His word are well looked after by Him. Fantastic news!
 
Of course the other side of this is that if you don't follow God, eventually you're going to be in trouble. Both Genesis and Psalms talk about the consequences of not following God's way and I think it's a pretty important thing to realise that having God involved at the beginning of things not only gives us blessings and strength throughout but also without God we're heading for disaster and will earn nothing but seperation from Him. Which is scary stuff...
 
So there you go. Day One in the bag. Not every day will be this long, don't you worry! But by all means feel free to feedback, comment, question, contribute. There's a whole lot of Bible left to talk about but we'll make our way through it!!
 
Jon