Tag: #CREATOR

Co-Regents with GOD

Did you realize that man was created to rule with God? In Genesis 1-2, Adam and Eve were created as co-regents with God to rule over ALL of creation. He created us to be rulers over the earth. How are we doing?

“Then GOD said, ‘Let Us make man in Our Image, after Our Likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ 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.’ ” Genesis 1:26‭, ‬28 ESV

“The LORD GOD took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Genesis 2:15‭ ESV

GOD is the Creator, and man is His Creation, created to rule over the earth and everything in it. He gave us free will to make our own decisions, so I ask again, how are we doing? Based on what I see, I don’t think the Creator is going to be giving us any commendations like this master did:

“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ ” Luke 19:17 NASB

The astounding thing to me is that even with the incredible mess we have made of our lives and the earth, JESUS CHRIST, Son of the Living GOD, integral part of the Trinity, still wants us to reign with Him for eternity (that’s a long time). He, Jesus Christ, is the second Adam, and we will reign with Him! Based on how we do here, we will each be put in a different place of authority. Faithfulness is the key.

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us…..” 2 Timothy 2:12 NASB

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21 NASB

“And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the LORD GOD will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:5 NASB

What will we reign over?

“Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2‭-‬3 NASB

I know I’m not competent to judge anybody, or anything, yet my LORD is going to elevate me to co-rule with Him. That’s the most humbling thought….. He’s lifting you up to that throne, too, if you have accepted and acknowleged Him as your personal Saviour. Where are you today? Are you anticipating being co-regent with the GOD of the Ages, or are you still waffling? If you haven’t decide, remember, we aren’t promised tomorrow, or even the next 5 minutes. Make up your mind.

First, Last ….. I AM

This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “I AM the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who is like Me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future. Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim My purposes for you long ago? You are My witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!” Isaiah 44:6‭-‬8 NLT

This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer and Creator: “I AM the LORD , who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with Me when I made the earth?” Isaiah 44:24 NLT

Let Us Make Man in Our Image

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26‭-‬28 NASB

We are made in GOD’s image. Look in the mirror. What do you see? From whitest white to blackest black, and every shade of skin between, we are made in God’s image. Man or woman, we are made in God’s image. African, Asian, Pacific Islander, European, American (North or South), whatever continent or landmass you are from, we are all made in God’s image. It makes me crazy when people insist on separating us by color! I have sisters and brothers that don’t match my skin tone, but that doesn’t make our relationship any less. I saw a post online about two little girls who insist they are twins. They are not biologically related, and their skin color is quite the opposite, and that doesn’t matter at all to them. As far as they are concerned, they are twins.

Of course we are different culturally. That’s a given. I celebrate cultural diversity, and love getting to know different customs and culinary styles. It’s fascinating to see how different our customs can be even when we are in the same nation. From deep in Cajun country to the Navajo farmer to the California surfer there is probably as much or more cultural difference as between a Midwesterner to a Moscovite. But color? That’s a man-made distinction that doesn’t – shouldn’t – exist in God’s universe. We are all people of color, excepting albinos, who lack pigmentation in their skin. Even then, we could consider them the basis for all of the rest of us!

So what then, you ask?

As Christ followers, Christians, it is imperative that we lead the movement of taking “race” out of our vocabularies. My sisters Deborah and Brenda, who just happen to have different parents and darker skin colors than me, are still my sisters. They aren’t a different race. We are all part of, and full members of, the human race. Celebrate the diversity of skin colors and body shapes and unique faces that our Glorious God saw fit to populate our world with!

Can I get an AMEN, people!!

Image by Dreamstime.com

Joy, Joy, Joy!

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?” – Job 38:4‭-‬11 NASB

Oh, the Absolute Joy of Creation!

“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.” – Psalms 100:1‭-‬2 NASB

Listen to All of Creation by Mercy Me!

“Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His Lovingkindness is everlasting.” – Psalms 106:1 NASB (Psalm 118:1, 136:1)

There is so much to be thankful for! So much JOY to be had, if we just reach out for it. Finding beauty in our pain, our loneliness, our darkness…. it isn’t easy, but it’s possible. I woke up today. Sometimes, I think about the alternative to waking up here and how utterly glorious it will be to wake up with Jesus, but I’m not ready to leave just yet. So I am thankful I woke up! I walk out the door and view the profusion of God’s decorations – flowers, trees, birds – and I rejoice at His Creation. Our birth families may not be what we hoped for, but we have many opportunities to forge our own families with people we love. I am blessed to love and be loved by my birth family. We should always be able to find something to fing joy in and rejoice over!

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” – John 15:11 NASB

Jesus gives us an even greater reason for joy. He came to us, stooped down to our level, to bring His Joy to us. Amazing Grace! His Joy can be in us! Accept it!

Photo credit to http://www.ministry.com

Stuck In The Muck and Mire

“But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” – LUKE 22:21‭-‬22‭, ‬40 NASB

When I turned on the radio this morning, and a new song by Matthew West was playing. It’s called “Unplanned.” I was unplanned. My 2 younger sisters and my younger brother were unplanned. Should we then not be allowed to live? How many of you, my wonderful readers, were unplanned by your birth parents? I can’t hear the song without being brought to tears. What a slap in the face of the Creator it is each time an unwanted, unplanned baby is destroyed! We betray our Lord with each abortion that is performed. I supported the abortion industry for years until I realized exactly what I was supporting. I wasn’t supporting women’s rights, I was supporting a massive industry that was all about money. As a society, we are stuck in the muck and the mire of political correctness, in which there is very little that is correct.

“…. behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table…..”

That hand was my hand. Betraying the God of the Universe; betraying His Son, and putting His life on the line, just as we put the life of every single innocent baby on the line with each abortion performed. Jesus had to bear that sin on the cross!

Charles Spurgeon, one the greatest evangelists to ever live, said this, “for those claiming to be Christians, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper will also deceive you, if you rest your salvation on them; when you are near death you will find them too frail to be supports to bear the weight of an immortal soul’s eternal interests. It will be worthless when you lie dying, if your conscience prompts you to say, “I went to church or to prayer meetings so many times a week.” You will find it a poor dressing to your soul’s wounds to be able to say, “I made a profession of godliness.” Oh, your facade will all be torn away from you by the rough hand of the skeleton called “Death”; you will need a real Savior, vital godliness, true regeneration, not baptismal regeneration; you will need Christ, not sacraments; and nothing short of this will do “at the end.”

Are we merely claiming to be Christians, the Christians Charles Spurgeon talks about, resting our ‘Christianity’ on an outward show of rituals and attendance, or have we put Jesus in our hearts and our consciousness? Are we listening to our Lord apeak in our lives? I am a massive failure at hearing God in my life. Many times, I hear Him and then I do what I decide to do. I know one thing: I do not want to continue to be that hand on the table betraying my Lord! Abortion – or rather, the opposition of it – may not be your ‘sword’, but I believe it should be in every Christian’s arsenal.

Please hear this: There is forgiveness for having an abortion, or for having facilitated one (or hundreds). That doesn’t mean it’s okay to sweep our participation under the rug, so to speak. I am grateful I didn’t have an abortion, even though I was not prepared in any way to raise a baby*. I was blessed beyond measure that a family member was there to step in and adopt my child, and I know that there are hundreds of Christ-followers who would give almost anything to be able to have those unplanned, unwanted, babies. (*I wanted my baby, but was emotionally, physically, and financially unable to care for the child…. and the father was even more ill-equiped than I.)

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” – PSALMS 139:13‭-‬16 NASB

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.” – ISAIAH 53:4‭-‬7 NASB

Jesus bore the weight of every single child lost through abortion. Like Him, they are lambs, and we are the sheep that are silent. We will do well to immitate Him. As Peter tells us,

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit ….. ” – 1 PETER 3:8‭-‬9‭, 12,18 NASB

Matthew West announced this song on Twitter with the following message, “As long as my God holds the world in His hands, I know there’s no such thing as Unplanned. Watch the music video for Unplanned from the @UnplannedMovie at the link below. https://t.co/hsd7HT0ruT pic.twitter.com/yg1bU2L3WN

“Oh I don’t believe in accidents
Miracles, they don’t just happen by chance
As long as my God holds the world in his hands
I know that there’s no such thing as unplanned“

The GLORY

“The heavens proclaim the GLORY of GOD. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.” – Psalms 9:1‭-‬4a NLT

WOW.

Verse 3: “There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” The heavens, the skies, the sun and the moon and the stars; the planets …. the clouds all display the Majesty and the Glory of GOD! It isn’t just the heavens, either.

“Sing a new song to the LORD! Let the whole earth sing to the LORD! The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the LORD made the heavens! Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with His Truth.” – Psalms 96:1‭, ‬5‭-‬5‭, ‬11‭-‬13 NLT

Throughout scriptures, everything that we (humans) see as inanimate comes alive in praising the Creator. Picture a black night sky positively bursting with stars, or an impossibly blue sky full of dancing clouds! Can you see the fields and valleys literally glowing with new grasses and flowers and leaves, rejoicing in the breezes? The sea, as the whales and dolphins leap and the fish fly threw the air? Smell the scents of the forest, dirt and pine and newness of life. How can you look at new life, animal or human, and not see the Hand of the Creator GOD?

It just happened?? Who in their right mind could believe it?

Wisdom, Understanding, and Folly

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.” – Jeremiah 17:7 ESV

Isn’t it fascinating that the author of Proverbs, reputed to be Solomon, the wisest man on earth, addresses Wisdom and Folly as female:

“Does not Wisdom call? Does not Understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man.” ….. “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old. [“The LORD brought me forth as the first of His works, before His deeds of old ….. – from the NIV] Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before He had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there; when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress His Command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him, like a master workman, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, rejoicing in His inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.” – Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-27, 30-31 ESV

Even the earth is referred to as “she” in ancient history. Don’t misunderstand me. I believe that GOD – GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT; the Triune, Three-in-One Creator GOD – are masculine. That’s how they are ALWAYS referred to in scripture, but here in Proverbs the writer makes a point of using the feminine forms to describe Wisdom and Understanding and Folly. It is as if they are creations, too; in fact, in verse 22, it clearly states that Wisdom was brought forth as the first of His works, His acts, of old. We also see in verse 1 where the writer refers to Understanding as feminine: “Does not Understanding raise her voice?” I have struggled with the idea that God would create His companions – the angels, the Seraphim and Cherubim and all of the heavenly hosts – only as males, but and only after that create man and woman, and all of the creatures on earth as male and female.

Are all angels, then, created as masculine as portrayed in the masterpieces of old? Clearly, there are masculine angels, but for example, is the Archangel Michael masculine – or perhaps feminine? We won’t have a definitive answer until we get to see JESUS, but in whatever form, they are definitely created by God, and they are His warriors. Satan is obviously male (based on the scriptures where the reference is always “he”) but remember that one third of the heavenly hosts followed him in his rebellion (that’s where Folly comes in). Before we (women) start to get too proud of the fact that Wisdom is feminine, we need to read what the scriptures say about her sister, Folly:

“The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol [also know as Hell].” – Proverbs 9:13‭-‬18 ESV

I don’t really think it’s worth spending a lot of time trying to figure out the masculine and feminine of all of our GOD’s Creation, because it is as He created it. Worry or concern over it won’t change anything. The important question, the critical question, is this: Do you choose each day to follow Christ, and listen to wisdom, or do you prefer to listen to folly? (Be sure to read that last verse, Proverbs 9:18, again!)

Just some thoughts.

Artist: Adam de Colonia, 1660-1685, oil on canvas

Unto Us Is Given – and FORGIVEN – Much

There isn’t much – if anything – that I can add to these Words:

“For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.” – Colossians 1:16 ESV

“And no creature is hidden from His Sight, but all are naked and exposed to the Eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:13 ESV

“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the SON of GOD, and has profaned the Blood of the Covenant by which He was Sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of Grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.” And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living GOD.” – Hebrews 10:29‭-‬31 ESV

And finally, this. If every person professing to be a Christian, a follower of The CHRIST, JESUS MESSIAH, were to live according to this one verse out of all the scriptures, how different a world we would be living in!

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the MOST HIGH, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” – Luke 6:35 ESV

“What then shall we say to these things? If GOD is for us, who can be against us? For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of GOD in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.” – Romans 8:31‭, ‬38‭-‬39 ESV **NO-THING, NOTHING, can separate us from the Love of GOD….

Sing along with Matt Maher “What A Friend We Have In JESUS!”

Photo of the Milky Way, from cnn.com

The Yearning I Feel

Do you know what I’m talking about when I say I have a yearning in my heart, in my soul? It’s that emptiness we feel and try to fill with people, places, and things to ‘make’ us happy. “If I just had that car / job/ house …..” “Getting to travel, that would satisfy me!” “I’m not happy alone. I need a partner.” “I need a child to fulfill me.” “My house / clothes / car has to be perfect for others to see.” JESUS addresses this very attitude while visiting with his friends Mary and Martha. He said to Martha, who was bustling around, worried that everyone was taken care of in her best hostess way, as she complained that Mary wasn’t helping her:

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:41‭-‬42 NRSV

Did you read yesterday’s post? It isn’t “The LORD is my Shepherd, but …..” We should be thinking, and saying “I want (or think I need) this thing, but the LORD is my Shepherd.” Mary wasn’t worried about everyone else’s opinions of her. She was concentrating on the One Who mattered, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. I can imagine that Psalm 23 was very much in her mind that day.

“The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for His Name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.” – Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 NRSV

The yearning we feel and try to fill on our own is the yearning of our souls to fill the hole in our hearts, but it will never be filled with any person, or place, or thing in this world. We were made with that GOD-shaped hole, and it’s a hole that can only be filled by Him, our Creator. JESUS came to earth specifically to show us how to fill it. He spoke to the crowds near Capernaum and said this:

“For the Bread of GOD is that which comes down from heaven and gives Life to the world.” They said to Him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” JESUS said to them, “I AM the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” – John 6:33‭-‬35 NRSV

If you are experiencing that yearning, and you’ve tried everything you can to fill it but keep coming up empty, I encourage you to think on these things. Ponder them, research them, and finally, remember this verse and know that GOD doesn’t threaten, He only speaks Truth. The enemy is Satan, the Father of Lies, and even he and his demons know that this is true:

“Whoever believes in the SON has Eternal Life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure GOD’s Wrath.” – John 3:36 NRSV

https://it.aleteia.org/daily-prayer/domenica-29-luglio/