Day #1 God–the Creator
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” ~Genesis 1:1
At times in my life I have walked through my house assessing the chaos of messiness in front of me, and overwhelmed with despair I have sighed, “Where do I even begin?” I draw in a deep breath in order to give myself the fortitude to continue, and then I step into the kitchen. The kitchen is always my starting place because it seems the core–the heart–of my home, and if it is organized, I can continue from there.
We begin our Spiritual Shift with that same thinking. What relationship needs to be our foundation–our core–our heart? While the obvious answer is God, our Creator, many people would not state the Almighty as their first answer. I will admit that, unfortunately, I have gone through many seasons in my life without God as my foundation.
Just as I must begin somewhere when tackling my messy house, we must begin with our Creator when tackling our messy lives. Let’s shift gears in order to realign our lives with our Maker.
Today let's begin our routine.
Assessment: What is the current condition of my relationship with God, my Creator?
What is the purpose of this relationship?
What is the state of this relationship? What is going well? What isn’t?
What changes need to be made to this relationship?
When was the last time each of us considered our relationship with God as our Creator? Again, a relationship requires effort by each being in the relationship. God is steadfast; God is unchanging. God is not the weak link in the relationship.
That leaves us. Is there a chance we have allowed our awe and reverence for God to be diminished to casual complacency? Have our vocal statements of praise become drowned out by the sounds of the world?
Let’s shift how we view our Creator, Great Mystery.
Adjustment: Read and reflect on Bible verses in order to adjust our focus from a world view to a spiritual view.
Deuteronomy 6:5
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
In short, God made us (and the whole world) and He has asked us to not have other gods. None. While that seems simple enough, this is the complex struggle that has been fought and will continue to be fought throughout time.
These verses give us solid starting point, now let’s explore a few more verses. First, let’s read about how the Israelites viewed God’s presence:
Exodus 20:18-19
“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
God's Holy Presence made an impact. It left the people in awe.
Jesus’ death on the cross provides another view of Almighty's power and the remarkable events surrounding the occasion.
Matthew 27:50-52a, 54
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open…When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
The next verse records the appearance of the Holy Spirit; this event had to have made quite an impression.
Acts 2:1-4
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
In light of the God of these verses, is there a chance we have become too casual about our relationship with our loving God? Is there a chance that we need to realign our relationship with God our Creator? As we go about the rest of this Day #1, let us reflect on our Creator and give Almighty the reverence that He deserves. This last verse might summarize what we are feeling about God, our Creator, right now.
I Timothy 1:17
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Alignment: Pray. Let us submit to the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Almighty God, we want You at the heart of our lives; we want You on the throne of our hearts. Forgive us for limiting You in our minds; forgive us for taking Your power and Your creation for granted. Holy Spirit, realign our wills to Your will. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” ~Micah 6:8
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