October 25th, 2021
Today's devotion comes to us from Scott McKenzie, Partner and Senior Vice President at Horizons Stewardship. He is the author of devotional guides, A Generous Life and Next Step, both of which we read as a congregation a few years ago.
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Genesis 1:1-2 (The Message)
First this: God created the Heavens and Earth--all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
I love to read. I will usually read at least one book a week: Christian, fiction, suspense, non-fiction, history, pretty much everything. Yesterday, I decided to give up that reading and only read the Bible for a time.
In an attempt to read with new eyes, I am using The Message translation. Reading them in The Message, those first familiar verses in Genesis struck me in an entirely new way. Perhaps, the most important words in all of Scripture are the first three words. First this: God. First this: God. In order for my life to make sense, First this: God. Without God being first, life is a a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. There is good news my friends. In the midst of nothingness, bottomless emptiness and inky blackness God is ever present. God is present and God is always working to bring new life and creation into my soup of nothingness, my bottomless emptiness, my inky blackness.
First this: God. Truth be told, when I find myself in that place of nothingness, emptiness and blackness I have often put something or someone other than God in first place. The promise is, as we put God first, there will be a new creation; a soup of nothingness becomes a feast of abundance, bottomless emptiness becomes joyful satisfaction and inky blackness transforms into a brilliant light of love and hope.
- Scott McKenzie
Prayer
Thank you, God, for the amazing story of creation. Thank you for your continuing creation in my life. Help me to put you first. Amen
____________________
Genesis 1:1-2 (The Message)
First this: God created the Heavens and Earth--all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
I love to read. I will usually read at least one book a week: Christian, fiction, suspense, non-fiction, history, pretty much everything. Yesterday, I decided to give up that reading and only read the Bible for a time.
In an attempt to read with new eyes, I am using The Message translation. Reading them in The Message, those first familiar verses in Genesis struck me in an entirely new way. Perhaps, the most important words in all of Scripture are the first three words. First this: God. First this: God. In order for my life to make sense, First this: God. Without God being first, life is a a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. There is good news my friends. In the midst of nothingness, bottomless emptiness and inky blackness God is ever present. God is present and God is always working to bring new life and creation into my soup of nothingness, my bottomless emptiness, my inky blackness.
First this: God. Truth be told, when I find myself in that place of nothingness, emptiness and blackness I have often put something or someone other than God in first place. The promise is, as we put God first, there will be a new creation; a soup of nothingness becomes a feast of abundance, bottomless emptiness becomes joyful satisfaction and inky blackness transforms into a brilliant light of love and hope.
- Scott McKenzie
Prayer
Thank you, God, for the amazing story of creation. Thank you for your continuing creation in my life. Help me to put you first. Amen
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