January - Day 1

For me there were a few things  that stand out to me from my reading today 

Genesis 1:1 - The world was formless, empty , and dark before  God breathed life  into it.  If you don't know Good,  there is a good chance this is how life  can feel at times because God is the giver of life and the one who makes a masterpiece out of our mess. He brings order to our chaos.  

Psalm 1 is a favorite - The formula to experience joy is to focus on God's truth and refuse to look at, associate with, participate in the schemes of the evil one.  I think we are often guilty of saying - I'm not doing anything, I'm just watching it.  I don't agree with them/it  - the show is just interesting or they are just fun to hang out with.  In other words - we tend to look at, associate with, and participate in.  Also, I feel like this is often the progression of sin. Watch, hang around, join in.  

Matthew 1 - While the list of people in the line of Jesus can often seem uninteresting, I have come to find it quite comforting knowing that it is a list of people from many different backgrounds, many different stories, and often unlikely candidates.  It is a reminder that God can use anyone as a part of his bigger story.

Acts 1 -- I love that is says that Jesus "proved" that he was alive many ways.  Many of the eyewitnesses to his resurrection didn't just believe because they saw him once, but because they saw proof several times.  
The other thing is the purpose of the Holy Spirit was to empower us to be a witness to Jesus - living proof!