We will spend our lives and then eternity climbing the mountains of knowing God, seeking and seeing new peaks of beauty of Him, to get to the tops to only discover there is yet another peak, more majestic and beautiful than the previous.
Jesus Christ, the only being who has or ever will possess this characteristic! This is huge to our faith and everything that we know. The infinite God that came willingly into a finite world! Matthew 1:18 tells us that Jesus Christ was fully human born of woman, even sharing our human characteristics and emotions Luke 2:40, Luke 2:52, Matt. 8:10, John 11:35, etc. Yet he did not share one thing with us and that was sin (1 Peter 2:22), which is imperative to all that we believe.
Scripture also shows us that Jesus was fully God, the same passage Matthew 1:18 shows us that Jesus birth was a supernatural act of God. We also affirm Christ being fully God in Colossians 2:9. “The eternal Son of God took to himself a truly human nature. His divine and human natures are forever distinct and retain their own properties even though they are eternally and inseparably united together in one person ” – Wayne Grudem. This truth is why Christ has the power to conquer and forgive our sins, it is why we live today. “Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them. ” Isaiah 43:7 NLT
Hebrews 12:9-11 “Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. “
It is first important to know God does not make us sin nor does he tempt us to sin, but rather we by our own nature choose to sin. As we all struggle with sin it is good to know that God ‘s discipline in our lives is good. That bad things that happened due to our poor actions may be God ‘s way of discipline and pruning us to be a better servant to Him. Just as earthly parents discipline when we disobey them God disciplines when we disobey Him. This should both encourage and humble us!
We were created by God for three things. For His Glory, in His Image, and to care for the Earth. “Genesis 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
We were created for His Glory, not as if He needed anyone to bring Him glory as He was already infinitely glorious before creation, however He choose to create us. As we Glorify God we are filled with Joy, because there is nothing greater than God so as we enjoy and worship God and give thanks for all the good things He has made we in turn give Him glory which in turn provides us with great joy as we live how we were created to be.
We were created in His Image. This is an amazing and beautiful things. If it wasn ‘t for this we could just put ourselves along with the rest of creation. But this says something deep about us and the way we live and think. We were made by God in His own image, in His likeness.
However because of sin the image of God in us is distorted by our own actions and sinful nature and we defile the pure image that God intended. But the bible gives us true hope, Romans 8:29 says we are being conformed into the image of His son and Colossians 1:15 talks of us as the image of the invisible God! We are in no way God nor is God like us, but we should find great joy that God choose to make us in some parts like Him.
We were created with responsibilities as creatures in God ‘s image, to “subdue it and have dominion over ” the earth – Gen 1:28. We should always demonstrate care and respect for God ‘s creation. We should enjoy and take part of God ‘s wonderful works and creations but not take advantage or abuse what He has made.
As representatives of the King of the Universe we have awesome responsibility on this Earth. Let us not forget our place with God, that we are His servants and we get the privilege of working along side of Him as He makes all things new and will one day restore His creation to perfection! Amen.
I define prayer as the intentional conveying of a message to God. Intentional is important as it’s a direct and earnest effort on our part to convey a message to God, not just a statement about God. The bible teaches that God is in control and sovereign over every situation but it always tells us to pray and that God hears our prayers. (1 John 5:15)
We underestimate the power of prayer. God hears our prayer if we pray with a humble heart that is seeking Him. Daniel 10:12 “…humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ” It is a health habit for us to pray to God often, how else can your relationship with God increase, unless you spend time talking with Him.
“God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do and directs them to fulfill his purposes. ” Wayne Grudem.
There are more scriptures then I can list that support this statement. With this truth we should be confident everyday to rely on God, to trust Him with all of our heart. He is the God who holds the universe together (Heb 1:3 & Col 1:17) and by Him all things were made (Col 1:16). So take heart that God is always there, always involved and acting upon our prayers according to His will and desire.
(Psalm 19:1-4 ESV) The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. ” Luke 19:40 (ESV) He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. “
In my life I am very inspired by God ‘s created universe, the sky, the trees, the stars all of God ‘s creation that surrounds me. It is amazing to look at it like a child and see the beauty of God ‘s glory shown in His own creation! I think sometimes we need to stop and pause and look at this beautiful creation He has made and know that the reason it ‘s there and the reason it does what it does is because of God, by His very word. “Be still and know that I am God… ” Psalm 46:10
“God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God ” – Definition by Wayne Grudem. Even though the bible never states the word Trinity, we see from scripture overwhelming evidence of a triune God. It is often easy for us to miss the importance of this in our everyday life. Realizing that God is 3 persons yet still one God is an amazing truth that can radically change the way we live and pray. I do not plan to explain the trinity but simple put it out there as truth and pray that we all may seek God in honesty and truth. Please pardon me for lack of explanation or reference as this cannot be contained into 5 simple blogs. Yet the daily joy it brings to even glimpse the Triune God as He is overwhelms and challenges me and I hope to share a part of that.
The Father is a member of the Trinity and is fully God. Gen 1:1&3 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…And God said,… ” We see in the opening of the bible the evidence of the Father, in creation by speaking and ordering the creation of the World. John 6:38&40 “For I (Jesus the Son) have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me…For this is the will of my Father,… “. We here bridge the connection of Father and Son, God who sent the Son and the Son doing the will of the Father, mind you both the One God.
The Son is a member of the Trinity and is fully God. Heb 1:2 “…He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world ” We now see that Jesus the Son was involved during creation, we see here clearly the Son ‘s involvement during creation. The son is fully God “Col 2:9 “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily ” this destroys any false teaching that Jesus was only a man who God brought into heaven. Scripture shows and reveals the truth of Jesus Christ, that He is God and this is a amazing truth since Jesus Christ humbled himself to our condition enduring all that we endure and being faithful even to death on the cross.
The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and is fully God. Gen 1:2 “…And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters “. I ‘ve read the opening of Genesis many times and never caught this connection of the presence of the Trinity even in the beginning. This only confirms the eternality of all members of the Trinity as God. We also see in the new testament Jesus in Acts 1:5 “…you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… ” The trinity of God paints a wonderful and beautiful picture of the most supreme being. A picture we cannot fully understand but just stand in awe of.
Gen 1:26 “Then God said, Let us make man in our image… ” It is a beautiful thing to look at the 3 members of the trinity and read the verses and see the seamless interaction of the 3 members at creation, during salvation and caring out the will of God each in their own way. Although we may not understand it all it is clear that God as the Trinity is telling a wonderful story about His glory. It amazes me even more to know that if we accept and trust in Jesus Christ that we are adopted into His family, into the family of God. We don ‘t think on that as we should, that the human race which rebelled against God has been given a chance to join in communion with God as adopted sons and daughters, and that is a huge deal!
I don’t know if that title has a beautiful sound to you, but it sure does to me. It’s been a while since I shared a song that has touch my heart so, these song lyrics are by Third Day and truly provide joy in my heart when I reflect on them. Just for me to realize that God loved me enough to adopt me as Child is amazing. “Children of God, sing your song and rejoice, For the love that He has given us all, Children of God, by the blood of His Son, We have been redeemed and we can be called Children of God…A mystery is revealed to the universe, The Father above has proven His love, Now we are free from the judgment that we deserve, And so we are called the children of God” – Children of God – Third Day.
Such an easy concept but so hard to put into action. Placing God first in our life is a challenge because it requires self sacrifice on our part. I think we should look at the cross and realize the example that God made when sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Each and everyday we have opportunities to place God first, we need to change our mindset on things and let God transform us.
