Genesis 1:1-5

Genesis 1:1-5 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Happy new year!  As always, I start my years with the Rose Parade, both because the floats are amazing and because it's a good reminder that somewhere in the world, the weather is warm and beautiful, unlike these gray Ohio winter days.
  January is seen as a time of new beginning -- perhaps you've made resolutions, striving to improve yourself and your life in some way, either through diet or exercise or cleanliness or increased devotion.  It's always a good idea to look ahead with hope, just as it's important to look backward and remember what it was about the previous year that brought you joy.  (Tim Ferriss recommends a year-in-review).  If you can look back with joy and forward with hope, you'd be in a pretty good place with much to be grateful for.
  Just remember one thing as you plan for the coming year -- God has truly amazing creative power.  With a word, God created the light and set it in the midst of the chaotic darkness, just as God's Word was able to divide land from sea and the stars from the sky.  God's Word created, and God's Word created the hope we share in Jesus Christ, and the same Spirit that moved over the waters in the beginning is at work in your life and your community today.  So when you look forward with hope and make plans for change, provide room for that Spirit to speak into you and lead you into the future.  God can inspire and lead us in certain ways, guiding us into the future and providing opportunities for us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let God lead you, and you'll be amazed at how God is still at work creating in the world today!