In the Beginning
By Gail Kennedy Keffer

The Bible is full of many characters, more than any novel, but each is different. Some of them have a major part in the story of God's creation and love. Some do not have a major part in the story, but they tell us about ourselves. We all have a role in life here on earth because we are God's people. But, each of us is unique to God who cares not only for each of us as individuals, but also for the lily of the field and the sparrow.
We will attempt to study twelve of these people in the series of devotionals, "In the Beginning," and see how each of them tells us something about ourselves. Are we different than they were? We are all God's creation and while God loves each of us and forgives us, God knows our ways, and knows our weakness before we tell Him or ask for forgiveness. We are each unique and blessed just as the people were in their day and so will the people of tomorrow be blessed. Each of the people in this series is in the book of Genesis. It is only one book, but it says so much about us, about how we act and react. It tells us how people have been from the beginning of time.
Sometimes we tend to think that everyone in the Bible was a saint. They weren't. Sometimes we wonder why God put those "bad" people in the Bible, and sometimes we wonder how we could ever be as good or bad as some of them were! They had human frailties just as we do, but through their frailties, God was able to use them to do His will. We can do His will also if we are willing to allow Him to guide us when we ask. This series from the book of Genesis includes devotionals on: I Am, Adam, Eve, Abel, Cain, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, and Noah.

Title	Author	Description
I AM	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And Moses said unto God, 'Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your father hath sent me unto you.' An...
Adam	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God." Genesis 5:1
Eve	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." Genesis 3:20
Abel	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting...
Cain	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4:9
Abraham	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him. I have chosen him that he may charge ...
Sarah	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, th...
Isaac	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And God said, 'Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an ever...
Rebekah	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"Behold, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken." Genesis 24:51
Jacob	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Genesis ...
Esau	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came. . . And Jacob said 'Receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy fa...
Joseph	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors." Genesis...
Noah	Gail Kennedy Keffer	"And spared not the old world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly." II Peter 2:5