Valuable

Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Powerful so powerful

Your glory fills the skies

Your mighty works displayed for all to see

The beauty of your majesty

Awakes my heart to see

How marvelous how wonderful you are.

We sang the song Beautiful One yesterday at church. I periodically dwell on the thought that God has created all things. Maybe I'm simplistic in my views of Him. And certainly this is not the first time, nor the last, that I bring this up. These words, though, spoke to my heart as I sang them. They pierced my soul. They go along with the verses above. There was an instant connection. The Lord was speaking to me at that very moment. He was showing me something, again nothing new. It's for all of us.

If we can grasp that all we see around us was created by our Father in heaven, we need to take it a step further. He he has created all these things to bring glory to Himself. He has every right to that glory because, despite some claims the earth was created in one fell swoop by some big bang theory, in actuality He has created all things. He brings glory to Himself because He wants us to see Him for all He is. He wants us to recognize what He has done for us and more importantly what He can do for those desire to be called His children. If we can grasp His glory, we might be willing to take it a step further and receive Him to ourselves for our salvation.

If we can grasp all we see around us why not take it one step further and allow ourselves to see what He can do in us. First of all, He has created each and every one of us. Everything He creates is important. Everything. We were formed in our mothers' wombs...by Him, before He even created all the earth. It is by His miracle of conception, growth, birth, life. (And I will add that it grieves Him to have such life taken from the womb.)

If we can grasp all we see around us, the beauty of it, the magnificence of it, the awesomeness of its conception, growth, birth, life...and death to bring about the cycle of life again and again...we need to see what an amazing creation each of us is.

This is what He showed me, spoke to my spirit: If you can imagine how majestic My creation is, imagine, just imagine, how great you are to Me. You and I have been created by this God. And while last on the list of all His creation, we are the greatest of all. He gave us life, a body, mind and soul, that we might recognize His creation and most importantly, that we might...and might is the key word here...recognize Him for all He is and all He has done and give honor and glory to His name. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭28‬)

Oh, the importance of us all. Each one of us His creation...for His glory also. He so wanted me this day to recognize yet again my importance. And I'm not saying this is just for me. We all need to know we are more important than all the things we see around us, things that give us pleasure, God's eye candy if you will. Imagine all those important, innocent lives that have been lost before they could be recognized.

We are all so important to Him. This is no new concept. All we see around us is for our pleasure, but how much more important am I, we, than the beauty around us? 1Corinthians 8 shows us this: ...yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. (‭1Corinthians‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬) It does go on to say that not everyone recognizes this, though.

I don't know how to explain why He felt He needed to show this to me again. I suppose to reaffirm that if I call myself a child of God, am saved by the grace of His Son, Jesus, then I am special in His sight. And we who call ourselves children of God all can know this without a doubt. And, again, this is for all people who will put their trust in Him. He is here for everyone. He longs for a relationship with everyone, yet not all will respond.

1Corinthians 8:5 spoke of the idols we have in our lives. Those idols can be the very stumbling blocks that prevent us from knowing the one, true God. We cling to those idols or gods we have in our lives. They might include, and certainly are not limited to, certain beliefs, pride, strongholds to addictions of any kind, stubbornness... The biggest is pride which I believe is the root of all other idols. We cling tightly to our own beliefs, which may be wrong, our addictions, stubbornness...and anger, unforgiveness, hatred. We are encumbered by them when God wants us to be free from them.

Later we sang a song of thanks to our Lord. We can thank Him for all we are, what He has done in us, through us and all He has given us. We mean so much to Him. He wants for all of us to have Him mean so much to us. He wants the truth of His Word to be known and settled in our hearts and souls. I share with you what He has shown me. He is all we need.

Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

He Does Because

Romans 11:33-36 - Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” “Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

God and His ways can really take us deep into our thoughts. Often we end up at a wall realizing our lack of knowledge on those things only He knows about. We can ask why would He do this or that and come away with our own unsatisfactory answers, none at all or coming to the conclusion that it's just because.

I had been messaging with a friend on the meaning of God's will. Out of it all, I have to admit my finite mind has to back off and believe one thing: because God can. Because He is sovereign...and He is. He does not cause or will evil, He allows it. But when He does, it is still for a purpose only He is privy to...because He is God...and He wants us to realize that.

He knew sin would enter into the world, yet He created it. Why? To show His glory. To show His nature, power and attributes, His goodness and judgment. To show what happens when you choose evil over good. We need to see both in order to make a choice. We all have choices to make and there will be consequences for them...good or bad.

When all is said and done the answer is, just because. Because He is Creator God. Because He is in control. Because He is sovereign. Because.

I'll tell you, when I get myself to a place where I don't have an answer...and it's okay not to have an answer; it's okay to say I don't know and defer to just trusting God...my thoughts eventually run backward to the beginning where everything began. God, our Alpha, First, Creator. It all started with Him. His infinite wisdom, glory, judgment, plan, creation. He has done all things for His own glory. And that's all we need to know. We need to honor that too. We need to allow Him to be that glory. We cannot negate it.

He does...because!

Some of the points my friend stated she believed I know are not true. She does not believe God knows all things because why would He create at all knowing evil would exist. To show His glory... And why would He create Adam and Eve knowing they would bring sin into the world? To show His glory... And why does God allow death of innocent children? To show His glory...because He is sovereign. A verse from Psalm 139 tells us He is in control and sovereign: Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. They say we are His perfect creation and He knows the beginning from the end of each of our lives. Because of sin in the world, we die. Even this glorifies God, through His sovereign power.

I also know that we must see both sides of God. Just like we must see our sin in order to realize we have a God who loves us enough to allow evil, as it were, into our lives to appreciate how God can also take us out of that evil...through Jesus. We must see His judgment side, or the side we would just as soon not see or hear about, in order to realize His other side, the goodness and righteousness He is. I hope this makes sense. God reveals Himself in both the good and the judgmental. This all shows His glory. How? To show our need for Him in difficult times. To show He is sovereign. To draw us closer to Him, to see how we will react in difficult times, to see whether we are trusting Him.

In some churches only the good side is discussed. And maybe that's why it's hard for some to understand why bad things happen to good people, in particular children. Maybe they have learned only that God is love. I'm not saying that God is judging a small child in their death but that He allows it to happen. It is all part of this fallen world we are in.

So why would He create at all if He knew evil would exist? That question is a tough one. The only answer I can come up with, again, is to show His glory, though it may not seem like enough of an answer. Because He can, He is God. Because He wants His glory to be seen. We need to see His glory in order to believe in Him, although some never do. It's His plan for us, since we have been created by Him, to know Him, believe in Him, trust, follow and obey Him for our eternal life...

And what it boils down to is just believing and trusting Him in all circumstances. Plain and simple. That may just be the hardest thing man can do. Man wants to fix something, find a solution, come up with an answer. And some might even try to do this with God, find a solution about Him that man can understand. God wants us to just trust in Him, let His glory be revealed. Man wants his own glory. He wants his answers to always be the right answers. But we have to admit we don't have all the answers. We have to settle for the answer of just because.

Oh, the questions I will have for Him someday!! Others probably will too. However, the frustration can be quelled by knowing Jesus, following after Him, hearing Him speak through His Word, obeying Him and trusting in Him. That's what all of life is about. It's not all about us.

Job 11:7-9 - Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven— what can you do? Deeper than Sheol— what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You!

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. [And] by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain...(Ephesians 2:10, 1Corinthians 15:10)

Continuing from yesterday regarding blessings, another thought came up as I was reading the other night, one which knits itself into the fabric of who God is and what He does. In the book Radical by David Platt the author asks the question: What is the message of Christianity? The amazing answer is: It's not about me! What a novel concept! It's not all about the fact that Jesus loves me. Somewhere within the recesses of my mind and spirit I knew this. But it bears explanation....

Oh, He does love us and He did die because He loves all mankind. But it goes much deeper than that. If He died because He loves us, the message is all about us. There we go again...thinking only of ourselves. He created us for His glory. I mentioned yesterday we all think too highly of ourselves and "it's all about us and our stuff." It just isn't. And that shows how sinful and in need of a Savior we are...that we might be blessed with His wisdom and understanding in things of this nature.

So, the true message of Christianity is, as Platt explains, that He loves me so that I might make him--his ways, his salvation, his glory and his greatness--known among all nations. Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around Him. We are not the end of the Gospel. God is...He saves us for the sake of His holy name.

It's about what God has done in us. How He has called us unto Himself. Jesus blessed me by saving me, which is great, but you'll notice He did the work, not me. My salvation was not something I deserved. But the fact that He could enter into my life and bring about changes brings glory to Him. It's about His power, His Spirit, His transformation in me. (Oh, but let me say, He's certainly not done with me.)

Now it is my turn to do a favor for someone else that they might receive the same blessing.  Our goal, then, is to pass this information on...until all nations have heard the Good News. Each person who receives Christ brings just a bit more glory to Him. It shows His power in the lives of all people, His sovereignty. But He needs His believers, those whom He has called and changed, to plant the seeds that He might water them and bring them to new life.

As I continued to read the chapter I kept hanging on to the thoughts so many people have...Doesn't it seem that God is a bit self-centered? Is it all about Him? And don't you know, Platt answered the question with another question: Whom else would we have Him exalt? There is no one greater than He. It begins and ends with Him as Creator God.

Our Bible study on Hebrews this past week brought up a very similar idea. It was what I mentioned yesterday regarding oaths. God covenanted with us; He initiated it. His oaths to us cannot be taken away because He cannot lie. Because He is the Beginning and the End, there is none greater than He. Hebrews 6:13-14  shows us this: For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." 

It's all about God. It's not about us. Some may believe what they want about God being self-centered, with a Master/slave mentality, but when you realize the greater blessings He has in store for anyone willing to take Him in, He's pretty hard to refuse. When all He allows is there for our good so that we might see that He has been in the midst of us protecting, providing and loving on us, we see there is no one greater than He. Don't bite the hand that feeds you! 

He made us in His image. He gives according to His grace and mercy. He wants only to fully bless us with His Spirit, His peace, His wisdom, His strength, His love, His compassion. Glorify God, who calls Himself I AM. He alone has so much to offer. He offers Himself to you.

Ephesians 3:14-19 - For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.