Genesis 1:9,10 God Revealed in Creation of the Earth
“God: 9 Let the waters below the heavens be collected into one place and congregate into one vast sea, so that dry land may appear. It happened just as God said. 10 God called the dry land “earth” and the waters congregated below “seas.” And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good” (VOICE).
All it took was one little sentence, “Let the waters below the heavens be collected into one place and congregate into one vast sea, so that dry land may appear.” And dry land appeared—that is, the mountains, the valleys, the plains, the seashores, the cliffs, the canyons—they all appeared just as he said they would. Have you looked at Mount Everest? Have you looked at the Grand Canyon?
Have you looked at the deep valleys in Switzerland? Have you looked at the great plains, the breadbasket of the United States?
Have you looked at the White Cliffs of Dover? Yes, you probably looked at each of these, if not in person, then in a video or photograph. Each of the above is magnificent. Each one can take your breath away. In one short sentence, God created the magnificent beauty of this planet.
Why did He go to the bother of creating such beauty? I can think of three reasons. First, He created all of them in order to prepare a planet that would support all the life needed for mankind to live here. I think He also created the earth with such great beauty simply because He likes beautiful things. And third, I think He created the earth as a place of beauty so that we could enjoy it and be amazed at His creative ability. I can collapse all three reasons into just one. He created the earth to look like this because He loves you and He loves me, and he wanted to please us.
In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells us, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (NKJV). What? Earth is not good enough, and Jesus is going to prepare a new place for us? How magnificent must that be? I am looking forward to the return of Jesus when He will gather us all together and take us home to live with Him for eternity.
Genesis 1:20-25 Discover God in the Creation of Animals
"God: 20 'Waters, swarm with fish and sea creatures. Let birds soar high above the earth in the broad expanse of sky.'
21 So God created huge sea creatures, all the swarm of life in the waters, and every kind and species of flying birds—each able to reproduce its own kind. And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good. 22 And God spoke this blessing over them:
God: 'Be fruitful and multiply. Let creatures fill the seas. Let birds reproduce and cover the earth.'
23 Evening gave way to morning. That was day five.
God: 24 'Earth, generate life! Produce a vast variety of living creatures—domesticated animals, small creeping creatures, and wild animals that roam the earth.'
It happened just as God said. 25 God made earth-creatures in a vast variety of species: wild animals, domesticated animals of all sizes, and small creeping creatures, each able to reproduce its own kind. God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good. And God paused" (VOICE).
After He created plants, God created the sun, the moon, and the stars. He also made the earths’s axis tilt 23 degrees. By these two actions, He provided not only for day and night, but also for seasons. Then He created animals. I find it interesting that He created sea creatures and birds on one day and land animals on the next day.
I find it interesting, but I am not going to question Him. I am sure that He knew just what He was doing.
So now we have animals everywhere, and the varieties are simply amazing. If you want to be astounded, view a video of the fish around a coral reef. Then look at a video showing the various birds from ostriches to hummingbirds. Or compare a chipmunk to a great blue whale, or a housefly to a hippopotamus.
I am amazed and astounded that all six of these, ostrich, hummingbird, chipmunk, great blue whale, housefly, and hippopotamus share the same basic physical properties to live. Each one ingests food, breaks it apart into its various needed nutrients, and casts off the unused portion. Each one takes in oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide.
Even though the great blue whale lives in the ocean, it breathes the same way land animals do. Fish, on the other hand, can’t breathe air; they absorb oxygen from the water through their gills and excrete carbon dioxide also through its gills.
When I look at a mouse or a ground squirrel, I try to imagine the tiny size of their hearts and the even tinier blood vessels. It certainly takes an omniscient being to design all these animals along with the processes they need in order to live.
Fish, birds, wild animals, tame animals, plants—all forms of life—God said of them, they were and are “beautiful and good.” It is important for us to remember that God made all of this for our benefit, so we can live, have sustenance, and so that we can enjoy the beauty and diversity of all that He created.
In creation, God reveals Himself as a loving God.
Genesis 1:11-13 The Creation of Plants
11 "Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day" (NIV).
God used a logical progression when He created the universe. He started with light, then He divided the waters so that there was sky above and water below. Then He gathered the seas together and made dry land appear. The earth was now ready for plants, and they were necessary so that animals would have food to eat.
Each time He created something, He took time to look at it, and every time He said, ‘It was beautiful and good.’ How good were plants?
There are almost 400,000 species of plants. We’ve seen tiny white blossoms emerging in volcanic rock, and we’ve seen large, beautiful, colorful, and complex ‘birds of paradise.’ And we’ve seen, as you have, many varieties in between, from single blade grasses to intricate roses to Sequoia trees. I’ve mentioned flowering plants because 94% of plants produce flowers; that’s about 375,000 flowering plants. Wow! Some flowers on plants give promise of fruit to come next, and some flowers seem to have beauty as their particular gift. After all, God did look at plants and say that they were beautiful as well as good. 
Plants provide more than food; they also provide oxygen. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Before we say that plants are the prime source of oxygen, we have to realize that plants also, through cellular respiration, take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. So they are users of oxygen as well as producers of oxygen, but it needs to be said that photosynthesis takes place much more often than cellular respiration, so plants do provide large amounts of oxygen for the use of animals. 
The next time you eat an apple look at a seed and realize that from that seed another entire apple tree can grow and produce many apples. The next time you eat a walnut, look at it and realize that when properly planted, that single walnut will grow into a large tree that produces thousands of walnuts just like it. But, then, that’s just what God said they would do.
God created plants for food for animals and humans and also to produce oxygen, but He also created plants for beauty. He created logically to provide food and oxygen, but He also created exquisitely to bring enjoyment through plants. He is a logical, caring, and artistic God. While He created in a manner that made it possible for life to occur, He also created in a manner to bring joy into our lives. That’s right, 400,000 species of plants express God’s love.
In creation, God reveals Himself as a loving God.