Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the December 25, 2016, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Mother Nature is not God”s wife, but creation is God”s gift. It is therefore obvious that God”s people praise him for that gift. And it is right to start that praise on the first day of a new year. Creation arose from the character and power of God and finds its foundation in his identity.