"Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness..." Genesis 1:26
God had you in mind before he created the world (1). He made you in his image! (2) A perfect, beautiful being with unique talents and a bestowed glory all of your own. To be enjoyed by God and others, and to enjoy God and others around you. Unfortunately it didn't stay that way (3). Christianity teaches that you have an enemy bent on your destruction (4, 4a). An enemy who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning...indeed the father of lies (5). And you, along with everybody else, have listened to his lies and are broken. The world became broken...just take a look around! As a broken person, you (and I) continue to believe the enemy's lies about so many things. Some of those lies are about who you are as a person. That the truest part of you is that you fall short, or are ugly, worthless, rejected, depressed, stupid...fill in the blank. Maybe you think you are okay overall, but unless you are delusionally arrogant (in which case you are probably a shallow person with few if any real friends), you have to know there are some things about you that are not as they should be. The truth is, the reason the lies hurt so bad is because there may be a grain of truth in them, or at least you have received wounds somewhere in your life that makes the lies seem believable.
But God remembers who he had in mind when he created you. He sent Jesus to set things right again (6). To give you 'heart' surgery. To remove your old, broken heart and replace it with a good and noble one (7). To replace your broken image with a brand new one (actually, the restoration of your original image before it was marred). And to take away the lies you have believed about your identity and give you a brand new name (8, 9). The old is gone, the new has come! (10) He doesn't force it on you. You are free to take up his offer of restoration or to reject it. But it is available to all who ask (11).
If you take up his offer, will you still struggle with brokenness? William Gurnall said It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.So yes, there will still be battles. We are in the midst of an epic battle for and against the restoration of many other lives before the enemy must be destroyed (4). But the good news is that this enemy was defeated at the Cross and one day will be completely destroyed (12, 13). His defeat cost Jesus his life, but death could not hold Jesus (14) (more about that on Easter). And death will not hold us either (15, 16).
There is mystery in this. But there is also adventure and joy. Do you want to know who you are, your true identity? Invite God into your life and start the journey to discovery if you haven't already (Prayer to Receive Jesus as Savior)!
By the way, if you haven't had a chance to watch the video on my last post, please take the time to view it. It will give you a clue about who you are in God's eyes. I also posted another 1 minute clip about the artist of that song, who though he sings beautifully has a speech impediment. You will be blessed by watching!
_________________________
Footnotes:
(1) For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4
(2) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
(3) Genesis 3
(4) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (quote from Jesus; John 10:10).
(4a) Then the dragon (the devil) was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 12:17
(5) He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (quote from Jesus; John 8:44b).
(6) In Luke 4: 18-21, Jesus announced his public ministry be quoting from Isaiah 61:1, which is: The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
(7) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
(8) ...you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. Isaiah 62:2b
(9) To him who overcomes...I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. Revelation 2:17b
(10) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17
(11) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20.
(12) He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.Colossians 2:17.
(13) And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10.
(14) For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
(15) But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20.
(16) The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Revelation 20:13.
God had you in mind before he created the world (1). He made you in his image! (2) A perfect, beautiful being with unique talents and a bestowed glory all of your own. To be enjoyed by God and others, and to enjoy God and others around you. Unfortunately it didn't stay that way (3). Christianity teaches that you have an enemy bent on your destruction (4, 4a). An enemy who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning...indeed the father of lies (5). And you, along with everybody else, have listened to his lies and are broken. The world became broken...just take a look around! As a broken person, you (and I) continue to believe the enemy's lies about so many things. Some of those lies are about who you are as a person. That the truest part of you is that you fall short, or are ugly, worthless, rejected, depressed, stupid...fill in the blank. Maybe you think you are okay overall, but unless you are delusionally arrogant (in which case you are probably a shallow person with few if any real friends), you have to know there are some things about you that are not as they should be. The truth is, the reason the lies hurt so bad is because there may be a grain of truth in them, or at least you have received wounds somewhere in your life that makes the lies seem believable.
 |
| Brooke Davis, from the series One Tree Hill |
But God remembers who he had in mind when he created you. He sent Jesus to set things right again (6). To give you 'heart' surgery. To remove your old, broken heart and replace it with a good and noble one (7). To replace your broken image with a brand new one (actually, the restoration of your original image before it was marred). And to take away the lies you have believed about your identity and give you a brand new name (8, 9). The old is gone, the new has come! (10) He doesn't force it on you. You are free to take up his offer of restoration or to reject it. But it is available to all who ask (11).
If you take up his offer, will you still struggle with brokenness? William Gurnall said It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.So yes, there will still be battles. We are in the midst of an epic battle for and against the restoration of many other lives before the enemy must be destroyed (4). But the good news is that this enemy was defeated at the Cross and one day will be completely destroyed (12, 13). His defeat cost Jesus his life, but death could not hold Jesus (14) (more about that on Easter). And death will not hold us either (15, 16).
There is mystery in this. But there is also adventure and joy. Do you want to know who you are, your true identity? Invite God into your life and start the journey to discovery if you haven't already (Prayer to Receive Jesus as Savior)!
By the way, if you haven't had a chance to watch the video on my last post, please take the time to view it. It will give you a clue about who you are in God's eyes. I also posted another 1 minute clip about the artist of that song, who though he sings beautifully has a speech impediment. You will be blessed by watching!
_________________________
Footnotes:
(1) For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Ephesians 1:4
(2) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27
(3) Genesis 3
(4) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (quote from Jesus; John 10:10).
(4a) Then the dragon (the devil) was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 12:17
(5) He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (quote from Jesus; John 8:44b).
(6) In Luke 4: 18-21, Jesus announced his public ministry be quoting from Isaiah 61:1, which is: The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
(7) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
(8) ...you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. Isaiah 62:2b
(9) To him who overcomes...I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. Revelation 2:17b
(10) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17
(11) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20.
(12) He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.Colossians 2:17.
(13) And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10.
(14) For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
(15) But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20.
(16) The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Revelation 20:13.
No comments:
Post a Comment