Daily D – Genesis 1:31
Happy New Year! Thanks for joining us on this journey through the Bible. We will ask God to mentor us throughout this year. We will seek his wisdom and direction daily. We will trust him to speak to our hearts and to show us the way we should go.
I am reading the YouVersion Bible reading plan from the BibleProject called One Story that Leads to Jesus. I am reading the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) as the primary translation for this plan. I will also compare the New International Version (NIV), the New Living Translation (NLT), The Message (Message), and the New American Standard Bible 2020 (NASB 2020).
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S = Scripture: These devotionals follow the SOAP Bible study process. Each entry begins with a Bible verse or passage.
O = Observations This is where I write what God is saying to me.
A = Application This is where I write down how I will put into practice what God tells me.
P = Prayer This is where I respond to God’s instructions with prayer for strength and guidance to do what he says.
The most important lesson we will ever learn, and the most important lesson we will ever teach, is how to hear and obey God. This SOAP Bible study method helps us master this most important subject.
Pray for me as I spend time alone with God and write these daily entries. Please let me know how I may pray for you.
Special gratitude goes to Casey Lester, who set up this template in MailChimp. She also curates Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook posts from these devotionals. You can follow me on these social media streams by searching for @davidgbowman.
With gratitude,
David
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Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day. (CSB)
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One of my favorite gospel songs from a generation ago says God created a perfect world. The sentiment is correct. The reality is a little different. In the epic first chapter of the Bible, God’s bottom line says, “it was very good indeed.”
God is good. He created every good thing that makes every other good thing possible. From the beginning, however, there was the chance somebody was going to do something wrong. Discovering how the world turned the wrong way doesn’t take long. Taking the forbidden bite seemed like such a small thing, something upon rationalization God himself would not withhold from those he loves.
When God says No, or You Shall Not Do This, it is because his Very Good intentions for us are in play. What he wants for us is better than what we want for ourselves. His provision is superior to anything we ever long for.
God gives us the freedom to choose. We can choose his way which is filled with an ever-deeper knowledge of his heart and mind, an ever-closer walk with him through the world he created, and an ever-more meaningful experience of relationships with others.
We can likewise choose to go our own way.
Those who go their own way quickly seek wisdom from someone else who has gone their own way and made significant progress. Today, on this First Day of the New Year, online bookstores are bursting with volumes of partial wisdom. What’s old is new again. Stoicism is all the rage, especially among young men charting their own paths. Sooner or later, isms lose their steam as followers discover how ancient paths fall short of the desired destinations.
Everyone wants and needs a mentor. One of my favorite books is entitled The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro. The subtitle is Growing Your Faith as You Sit at the Feet of the Savior. Cordeiro teaches the SOAP Bible studymethodology I use to write these daily devotionals. Who better to mentor us than our Creator? Who better to lead us than the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?
Forbidden fruit is a popular topic of advertising and entertainment. Forbidden fruit always leaves us in a worse spot than where we began. God wants a fruitful life for each of us. Jesus had a lot to say about this in John 15. The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, tells us how God supplies us with fruit that heals. We find everything we are looking for in life when we seek those things in God our Father.
Today is Square One. It is a new beginning. It is a fresh start. Start with God. Stay with God. Find in him his perfect provision for our foibles and failures.
Let God mentor you this year. He knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way with you. You will never lack his supply when you stay in step with him. This will be your best year yet as you learn to lean into his plan and purpose for your life.
Let’s go together. Journeys like these are best enjoyed when we travel with others on the same quest.
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I will invite Jesus to mentor me daily this year.
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Our Father, I often ask you to show me the way. This is a daily prayer. You are gracious to hear and answer this prayer better than my prayerful intentions. Today, I ask you to mentor me throughout the months of the year ahead. What I have prayed daily for so long, I pray for this Leap Year. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Amen.
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