“GOD CREATED!”

 ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭27‬.                (HCSB‬‬)

“Then GOD said, “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So “GOD CREATED” man in HIS OWN IMAGE; HE created him IN THE IMAGE of GOD; HE created them male and female.”

Contemporary English Version

“So GOD created humans to be “like” HIMSELF; HE made men and women”. 

There are many times when the pace of living in “this world” becomes so “frenetic” (marked by fast and energetic, disordered, or anxiety-driven activity!) that we CANNOT SEE that we are moving faster than we are CREATED to exist!  Humanity is seemingly always trying to make or do something bigger and better than what we have, to make an impact while we are allowed to be on earth?  In REALITY, life is but a “vapor” (James 4:14) and then we “vanish”!!!

Why did “GOD CREATE” an insignificant human such as me, when I was going to grow up to be running SO FAST that HE was required to SLOW me down……FOR HIS GLORY???  Before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9-10), GOD CHOSE me to travel the path (life) that I am fulfilling.  I could NEVER have dreamed or imagined so many DRAMATIC twists and turns, but HE had never left me, NOR FORSAKEN me (Hebrews 13:5)!  

On January 08, 1978, when HE rescued me from my choices, I couldn’t have FATHOMED that HE would have such a beautiful, GODLY woman PREPARED for me?  The two sons that HE blessed us with a FAR MORE than I could have imagined!  The four grandchildren are FAR MORE than words can possibly describe. All of these BLESSINGS are solely because “GOD CREATED” me and I AM HIS!!

“GOD CREATED” me IN HIS IMAGE, and I am CHOSEN to REFLECT that IMAGE!  In my “weaknesses”, HE is made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9).  I am not CALLED to be anything other than what HIS CALLING is for me.  “GOD CREATED” me for HIS GLORY, and I NEED to reflect that IMAGE!!!

“YOU KNOW!”

Psalm 139:1-3                 (ESV)

Search Me, O GOD, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

    [1] O LORD, YOU have searched me and known me! 

    [2] “YOU KNOW” when I sit down and when I rise up;

        YOU discern my thoughts from afar. 

    [3] YOU search out my path and my lying down

        and are acquainted with all my ways.”

This morning during my “quiet time”, my mind was running wild with things, mainly worldly things, that were in my plans for later on today in my life.  But very quickly I reminisced about July 09, 2007 and being dumbfounded by my legs not holding me up!  I was trying to pull myself back on top of my bed, but was literally trying to compute why I couldn’t walk???

Almost 20 years later I can CLEARLY SEE that GOD was NOT surprised, nor was HE wondering if I would make it through the next 19+ years with VERY few disabilities.  My lovely wife seemed to KNOW, but all of the nurses, therapists, doctors and other medical professionals thought that she MUST HAVE BEEN “afflicted”!!

While “YOU KNOW”, O GOD, humanity DOESN’T have a clue, therefore FAITH IN YOU is our ONLY HOPE!  “YOU KNOW” our paths and our struggles.  “YOU KNOW” are strengths and our weaknesses.  “YOU KNOW” EVERYTHING, so what makes me think that “I can assist YOU” when you CREATED simply by saying LET IT BE!!!

“YOU KNOW” that I love YOU, but I am moved to tell YOU MORE AND MORE!!!  “YOU KNOW” what I must do to be COMPLETE IN YOUR PLAN, so I will TOTALLY TRUST IN YOU!!!  After all, “YOU KNOW”!!!

“WHO WILL BELIEVE IN ME!”

 

John 17:20-26                 (ESV)

“[20] “I do not ask for these only, but also for THOSE “WHO WILL BELIEVE IN ME”through THEIR WORD, [21] that THEY may all be ONE, just as YOU, FATHER, are in ME, and I in YOU, that THEY ALSO may be IN US, so that the world may believe that YOU have sent ME. [22] The GLORY that YOU have given ME I have given TO THEM, that THEY may be ONE even as WE are ONE, [23] I in THEM and YOU in ME, that THEY may become PERFECTLY ONE, so that the world may know that YOU sent ME and loved THEM even as YOU loved ME. [24] FATHER, I desire that THEY also, WHOM YOU have give ME, may be with ME where I AM, to see MY GLORY that YOU have given ME because YOU LOVED ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD. [25] O righteous FATHER, even though the world does not know YOU, I know YOU, and THESE know that YOU have sent ME. [26] I made known to THEM YOUR NAME, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which YOU have loved ME may be in THEM, and I in THEM.””

Normally I capitalize any word that IDENTIFIES DIETY, as GOD, JESUS, and the HOLY SPIRIT are certainly WORTHY to be elevated far above my humanity!  However, this morning as I was “editing” this text, I felt I had to CAPITALIZE we WHO BELIEVE that JESUS CHRIST died for our sins, because HE now LIVES in our bodies!

This text of Scripture is part of what is subtitled “The High Priestly Prayer”, and my life doesn’t reflect JESUS enough to warrant being recognized as a BELIEVER?  As the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:15, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”  The King James Version says “I am chief”!!  

Observing THE CRUCIFIXION through “this lense”, it opens my EYES to SEE how much I am LOVED by MY CREATOR!  HE CHOSE (Ephesians 1:4) ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, FULLY KNOWING that I would be as pitiful as I am, TO GLORIFY HIS NAME!!!  JESUS went through the TRAGEDY OF THE CROSS just because of me!

There are MANY times that I have to be reminded that I AM CHOSEN!!!  Being WORTHY isn’t something that I would EVER be mistaken for, but I am CHOSEN BY HIM to be ONE of HIS!!!  JESUS prayed for me in HIS HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER when HE prayed for THOSE “WHO WILL BELIEVE IN ME”!!!  I AM BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE!!!

“LET HIM HEAR!”

 Matthew 13:9                 (ESV)

“He who has ears, “LET HIM HEAR.”

 Have you ever heard of an account of someone hearing a lecture and they weren’t affected by the words that they heard?  It was as if they didn’t hear the same thing from the teacher that others and the impact of the teacher was seemingly “null and void”?!?

JESUS had just been TEACHING people who were coming out to SUPPOSEDLY hear his MESSAGE?  HE went into a boat and delivered the WORD, but NOT EVERYONE who was listening TRULY heard what was being said.  It was as if they COULD NOT HEAR the words that JESUS was speaking???

It is becoming CRYSTAL CLEAR to me that I CANNOT move through a day without HEARING from my CREATOR!  It is CLEAR to me that I am IN NEED OF A SAVIOR and my dependence upon HIM is becoming more and more evident.  Most days, I have a NEED to “get my fix” from JESUS, and I think that is what HE is saying that we need to do……DEPEND ON HIM!!!

The MOST IMPORTANT thing for this “brain damaged” person is to BE CHANGED by HIS WORDS!  The song ringing in my mind is “I’m so tired of being stirred, but not being changed”!!!  I need to TRULY HEAR THE MESSAGE that HE is delivering to me!  “LET HIM HEAR” what HE IS SAYING TO ME!!!

“IF?”

John 8:31-33                 (ESV)

THE TRUTH Will Set You Free

“[31] So JESUS said to the Jews WHO HAD BELIEVED HIM, ““IF” YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD, you are “TRULY MY DISCIPLES”, [32] and YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” [33] They answered HIM, “We are offspring of Abraham and have NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Once again, this passage of Scripture is SPEAKING to me.  Three verses from the Book of John are filled with LIFE ALTERING WORDS, especially when I SLOW DOWN and receive what GOD has to CHANGE my life!

JESUS says “”IF” YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD, you are TRULY MY DISCIPLES!  There are many translations of Scripture that use differing words, but all of them that I can see use the word “IF” in their variants of the Scripture!  “IF” is used as a pre-qualifier of what comes next following the word “IF”!   So “IF” we abide in MY WORD, then we can consider ourselves TRULY MY DISCIPLES!!!  

I was CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (Ephesians 1:4) to be used to GLORIFY THE NAME of JESUS!  I have done NOTHING WORTHY to have been CHOSEN by HIM, but that doesn’t make HIS decision any less valid!   JESUS said in John 14:6 “I am THE WAY, and THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME!”  

Accepting that JESUS CHOSE me, knowing that I would be so full of flaws and weaknesses plainly displays HIS GRACE and MERCY!  “These Jews” were NOT CHOSEN, and regardless of their religious accolades, they were NOT going to Heaven!  Being CHOSEN definitely has its benefits!  “IF” these Jews could only SEE TRUTH???

“WHO HAD BELIEVED!”

 

John 8:31-33                 (ESV)

THE TRUTH Will Set You Free

“[31] So JESUS said to the Jews “WHO HAD BELIEVED” HIM, “If you abide in MY WORD, you are TRULY MY DISCIPLES, [32] and YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” [33] They answered HIM, “We are offspring of Abraham and have NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

There are times when I CANNOT “let go” of a piece of Scripture that GOD is SPEAKING to me through.  A pastor friend of mine was commenting on social media about how THE TRUTH was being distorted by a lie offered by “this world”!  Another pastor friend was commenting on a different post about how exposition of THE TRUTH might be mistaken as criticism.  Basically, some people are unable to SEE THE TRUTH, especially when it causes them discomfort in their current lifestyle.  

“The Jews “WHO HAD BELIEVED” HIM, abide in MY WORD” were being identified by JESUS as unbelievers, AND IT WASN’T COMFORTABLE!!  Although they were unable to SEE THE TRUTH, they were about to expose themselves as people who were NOT CHOSEN!  Their response “We are offspring of Abraham and have NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED to anyone” displayed their ignorance and arrogance!  They DID NOT SEE their need for a SAVIOR!  They actually believed that they had NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED???

Maybe my ancestral background permits me to SEE that I am a worthless wretch in NEED of a SAVIOR?  These Jews “WHO HAD BELIEVED” JESUS were unable to get past being Abraham’s descendants!  But wasn’t Ishmael THE FIRST descendant of Abraham to Hagar?  That is something that is never brought up, maybe because it takes away the fact that BEING CHOSEN is what we should be looking for???  

There is NOTHING that can “fill the gap” of “the Jews” syndrome in most of mankind, both in the time of JESUS and today!  We ALL need to STOP with being a part of the problem and realize that we NEED A SAVIOR, and JESUS CHRIST is “the WAY, TRUTH, and LIFE” (John 14:6) and NO ONE comes to THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH JESUS!!!  

“THE TRUTH!”

 

John 8:31-33                 (ESV)

“THE TRUTH” Will Set You Free

“[31] So JESUS said to the Jews who had believed HIM, “If you abide in MY WORD, you are TRULY MY DISCIPLES, [32] and YOU WILL KNOW “THE TRUTH”, and “THE TRUTH” WILL SET YOU FREE.” [33] They answered HIM, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

People are so very quick to explain “I saw it myself”, as some sort of supposed “evidence” of a happening.  But, “THE TRUTH” isn’t limited to what the physical eyes can see, nor anything explained by the things of “this world”!!  

I KNOW “THE TRUTH”, and that makes absolutely no sense within the limits of humanity.  Limits are placed on everything in humanity, for that is “how we do it”!!  When anything happens OUTSIDE OF THOSE LIMITS, the term “MIRACLE” is used to describe the aforementioned things!  

On September 25, 2007 I went to my doctor for the first time since my release from the rehabilitation hospital that I was released from on August 30, 2007.  My doctor wrote in his medical record of this appointment, “However, he has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a MIRACLE FROM GOD”!!  

I continue to experience this MIRACLE FROM GOD, with every breath I take!  But, DON’T WE ALL???  Every time we INHALE, oxygen is consumed by our lungs and it supplies our blood with the oxygen we MUST have to be able to live!  Our bodies are so finely “programmed” that, for the most part, they function WITHOUT any human intervention!  According to one website, “Estimates of "the total number of people who have ever lived" published in the 2000s range approximately from 100 to 115 billion.”  

Yet GOD continues to provide enough oxygen for each individual to survive, without having to reprogram HIS CREATION!!!  HE also PROVIDES MIRACLES every time humanity needs another BREATH (Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:25; Job 34:14-15, etc.)!!! The GOD WHO CREATED everything THAT IS can DO ANYTHING HE DESIRES, and we need to understand that HE DOES AS HE PLEASES (Psalms 115:3)!  We don’t have the vastness in our minute brains to comprehend some events or happenings, because we are simply HIS CREATION………and HE IS “THE TRUTH”!!!