In the Beginning #2155

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, NKJV)

Beginnings. Every New Year’s Day, people worldwide reflect on the previous year and resolve what they will do during our next 365-circuit around the sun. It is a perfect moment to remember who created the heavens and the earth and, therefore, time itself. With the precision that defies random chance, the earth sits on its tilted axis, rotating to produce night and day (not to mention gravity). This well-arranged order also gives the earth its seasons, protecting us from the sun’s otherwise harmful and deadly effects while sustaining plant, animal, and human life. God did that (Gen. 1; Psa. 33:6-9; Jer. 51:15-16). The hubris of humanity dares to think humans control this globe. God said to Job, “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place” (Job 38:12)? We neither control the morning light nor the dark of night; God does. How foolish it is to think humans control the heavens and the earth! “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:4-7)? Pause as another year begins to give thanks to God, our Creator, and Sustainer. Thank God for your life, and especially for the life He gives you in Christ (Rom. 6:23). There is no better beginning to your new year.

Cycles of the Earth #1658

5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; 6 The wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit. 7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. (Ecclesiastes 1:5–7, NKJV)

The Lord God created the earth with times and seasons intended to regulate and sustain life on this planet. The heavens and the earth are His, and He honors us with being stewards of His great creation (Psalm 8). These cycles of life are evident in the daily rotation of the earth that makes the sun appear to rise and set each and every day. Wind currents encircle the earth, forming weather patterns and helping to shape arid, temperate, tropical and frigid regions of the earth. The earth’s evaporation system moves water from the seas to the clouds to the land to the rivers and back to the seas. It is an amazing filtration system that provides life-sustaining water to humans, animals and plants. These cycles and seasons did not appear by chance. They could not have merely evolved over billions of years. No, my friend. God “spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9). Yes, climate changes. It always has. Seasons come and go. God made them that way. While we take care of the planet, remember, God created the earth to take care of you.