Gleanings had an inauspicious beginning. I had decided to try writing, and I knew that doing so would require writing regularly. So, on January 1, 2001, I committed to writing a short daily devotional online at a site that let anyone post.
This was in the days long before things like blogs existed. I managed to do it, and some people even read it. It wasn’t the best of Gleanings, but it was a start that carried on for nearly 4000 issues before I hung up my writing spurs for a while.
The Bible starts, of all places, in the beginning of the story.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 ESV
Those few words start the initial revelation of God and His plan of redemption for fallen humanity. They are also very controversial words.
What God? When was the beginning? Hasn’t the universe always existed? Surely there is no God. How long did it take? How did He do it? Isn’t that just another myth? … and so on.
I’m not even going to attempt to answer those questions this morning. Some of them are quite valid questions, and some of them involve logical fallacies. All are beyond the scope of the short space we have.
“In the beginning” tells us that there was a point when the material universe as we know it did not exist, and yet something (someone) was there. Even good science affirms that; I may disagree with their explanation and their time frame, but they acknowledge there was a time of nothing.
God created. This says so much about God. He is complete in and of Himself, yet He must also be a God of incredible power and creativity. He conceived of something that had never existed, in its myriad forms. Then He made it happen on a mind-blowing scale.
This wasn’t a child making something with Lego or Playdough. He created a universe so vast that NASA says it is at least 28 billion light-years across. Traveling at the speed of light, it would take 28 billion years to get from one side to the other. I can’t fathom the speed of light, let alone traveling 28 billion years. Let’s just leave it as God created something so big that we can’t fathom it.
He put into place all the laws of physics and mathematics that govern how the material world functions. He created life and everything needed to sustain it.
Things that we take for granted, like daylight and oxygen and gravity, were made from nothing.
He created the heavens and the earth in all their vast array. He put life here on this little blue planet.
All of that is incredible. Even if we knew nothing other than the beginning sentence of the Bible, we would have enough to ponder and marvel about for eternity.
Of course, we know that the God who reveals Himself in the Bible didn’t just create the world, wind it up and let it go. He stays intimately involved in the lives of His creation, and He loves us.
It is no wonder that the Scriptures themselves declare God and His Word as marvelous in many places.
As Christians, we also have a second beginning. We are born again into a Living Hope. That is a miracle on par with the creation of everything. People often cry out that they want to see a miracle. Every time a sinner is reborn as a believer and given the righteousness of Christ, there is a powerful new beginning and a miracle of incredible power.
Until next time, take some time to ponder the God who is so powerful and creative that He spoke everything into existence. The same God who brings wretched, depraved sinners out of bondage into freedom with Him forever.
May He forever be given the honor and glory due His name.
Blessings,
Kevin
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SUMMARY
I look back at Genesis 1:1 and marvel that God spoke the heavens and earth into existence out of nothing, creating a universe so vast we can’t even fathom its size. That same all-powerful God gives every believer a second beginning, a new birth into a living hope through Jesus Christ.
TAKEAWAY
Genesis 1:1 declares that God created the material universe from nothing, revealing His limitless power and creativity.
The vastness of creation, at least 28 billion light-years across, points to a God far beyond our ability to fully comprehend.
Salvation is a second beginning, a miracle equal to creation itself, when a sinner is reborn into new life in Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
All contents, “Gleanings From the Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2026 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, “Gleanings From the Word.” All rights reserved.
From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.