January 1, 2024
Read Genesis 1, Psalm 1, John 1
Everything has a beginning. Well, almost everything. God has no beginning. Genesis 1 and John 1:3 tell us that God was before the beginning and created everything. Apologist William Lane Craig has championed the Kalam Cosmological Argument in our time. In short, the argument goes like the following: 1.) Whatever begins to exist has a cause of its beginning. 2.) The universe began to exist. 3.) Therefore, the universe has a cause of its beginning. Apologist Frank Turek expands and explains it in depth like this.
God created everything. The Hebrew word “bara” (created) implies “out of nothing.” Have you ever asked yourself, “why is there something rather than nothing?” or “Why are we all here?” I don’t mean why were you born, this is not a birds and bees talk. Go back further to the beginning of time. Why did God create the universe and everything in it? This is known in apologetics as the ontological argument.
Everything that God created was “good” vv. 9, 12, 18, 21, etc.. It was good for God to create. It was better for God to create than for God not to create. Second, we see that one thing was “very good” – People are created in God’s image, male and female was not just good, it was “very good” v. 31.
God had a purpose for creating the universe. Jesus had a purpose for his mission and ministry on earth. I believe God has a purpose for you as well. When you are living in your purpose, how God designed (created) you to live I believe that you will find your greatest fulfillment in life. This is not to say you will have a perfect life, free of trouble, but with a pan or cell phone you are best when you are working as you are designed to work. Think about it, Can you use a cooking pan like a hammer or a smart phone as a drink coaster? Sure you can, but that is not what they were designed to do. One thing you were created to do is to worship God. Psalm 1:2 says “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” You can start right there today. Psalm 1:1 tells us “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked” This is not what we are designed or created to do.
John 1 tells us that God also began his plan of salvation. True it was planned and foreseen much more long ago. But John 1 (the prologue) tells us that God’s plan “became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” v. 14. Jesus began his earthly ministry. He was baptized, called his disciples, and did the miraculous.
January 1 Is the start of a new year. As you start a new year, it requires a “beginning” for you as well. Maybe you are beginning to read God’s Word all the way through in a year’s time. Maybe you are beginning to work on your relationship with God this year. You may have intentions or resolutions that you want to accomplish; lose weight, exercise more, read more books, climb a mountain. It all starts with day 1, it all starts with a beginning. We must “flesh out” our plans and put them into action, just as God did.
What else do you see in these chapters? What words or phrases stick out to you? What themes repeat? What things contrast? Want more? Look into the Cosmological or Ontological arguments on your own. Leave your comments or thoughts down below.
[JW1]https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/existence-nature-of-god/the-kalam-cosmological-argument
[JW2]https://crossexamined.org/the-universe-had-a-beginning/
DId God Really Say... 