How approachable do we view our Father? Is he on a throne in the midst of heaven beyond reach? Probably not to most of us. But how approachable is he? Do we quickly, readily and regularly come to him with our cares, concerns, conversations, and dreams? Do we regularly partake in communion with him - not the wafer and juice, but the fellowship of souls, the intimate knowing of persons? When we fail/fall/sin do we immediately run to him?
My study in Ephesians 3 has the word "boldness" sticking out today. In 3:12, the New Living Translation states "Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence". You won't find much of that in the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, you find a lot of people dropping dead when they violated the regulations about coming in contact with God's presence through the Ark and the Holy of Holies. The High Priest, when he entered the Holy of Holies in his annual sacrificial prayer, had a rope with bells tied onto it and if those outside heard it stop jingling, they knew the priest had been struck down and would drag the him out. I digress. Christ's work was so all sufficient that all of the price of sin was so overwhelmingly paid that the sin barrier was wiped away removing all obstacles between us and the Father. AMEN!
Back to "boldness". This passage is similar to Hebrews 4:16 in which we are admonished to "come boldy to the throne of grace". Boldness is laced throughout the New Testament as a characteristic indicative of one who has embraced the totality of Christ's work at the cross, who has been filled by his Spirit, and who now freely comes before the Father to obtain help and mercy. I decided to do a little word study on "bold", "boldly", and "boldness" and here's what I found.
In the New Testament there are three greek words or concepts for boldness that are used. The first is the word "tolmao" and it means to dare to do something terrible and fearful. It is used when Joseph of Arimathaea went with "boldness" before Pilate to obtain the body of Jesus for burial. He overcame his fears, probably risking his own life and/or reputation to ask this Roman governor for an executed criminal's body. I think many people approach God in this manner yet today, and yet this is not the boldness that we are instructed to approach him with in Ephesians or Hebrews. How many of us have attempted this kind of "boldness" when we've tried to witness to others - you know, the kind where the words get stuck in your throat and your heart races as you try to overcome your concerns about your reputation, and potential ridicule as try to do the right thing and project the light of Christ's love to the world around you? Sadly, too often this is the "boldness" that I've attempted and I don't think this is what the apostles walked in.
Another kind of boldness is listed in Romans 15:15 where Paul is telling the Roman church that he is writing to them in a more stern/bold form. This word is "tolmeros" and means "to bear one's self boldy, to deal boldy with". Paul is basically explaining to the Romans that though he knows them to be filled with good works and good things, he is having to be very frank and bold with them in his writings - to the point, not pulling any punches. In a way he is prepping them for the fact that though they have things that are praiseworthy, he is also chastizing them with honesty and bold statments of truth.
The final word/phrase and the one that characterizes most of the uses of the term in the New Testament is the word "parresia". This means "freedom in speaking, unreserved speech, free, fearless, confidence, cheerful courage, assurance". A derivative that is also used is the word "parresiazomai" meaning "free spoken" and "to assume a bold bearing". Parresia is how we are to approach the throne of grace. It is the word used in Ephesians 3:12. Parresia is how we can pray to the Father because of the work at the cross and Jesus sacrifice. When Peter spoke at the Day of Pentecost, he was parresiazomai - free spoken, with a bold bearing.
Boldness is the characteristic of the believer who has grasped their position in the kingdom; boldness to speak to their Father, boldness because of who resides within them, boldness because of the fact that the blood was shed and all sin forgiven. These disciples were fishermen, not eloquent speakers and theologians. Peter was a man of action, not words. When they came to arrest Jesus, he didn't dialogue, he whipped out a blade and swung, taking the ear of a servant. After the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, though, Peter's boldness and speech marveled the multitudes. Free spoken - bold bearing. This is not arrogance. Arrogance is drenched in self-pride and none of us has claim to anything that permits pride, for nothing of ourselves is deserving of the grace and mercy that God has lavished upon us. Arrogance is what cast Lucifer from heaven and we can expect no audience with the King with arrogance in our hearts. Boldness is assurance, confidence in HIS work and in our position as he has defined it - not listening to the lies of the enemy as to our unworthiness, but to the truths of the Father and his Word as to the total sufficiency of his sacrifice. God himself has commanded us to come into his presence with this kind of boldness - unashamed, confident, secure, with cheerful courage.
My own children give no second thoughts for asking me of every want and desire on their hearts as I'm sure most of yours do. They do not cower in fear when they hunger, they do not agonize over whether they are worthy to approach when they are cold and in need of additional clothing. They simply and "boldly" proclaim "I'm hungry; when's dinner?" or "I'm cold - can I put on a sweater?" In many instances, they very often help themselves. They are confident in the knowledge that they are my children, that I love them, and that I care to see their needs met.
We are God's children. How infinitely more does he love us? Didn't Jesus ask the crowds this same question "you know how to give your children good things, how much more will my Father give to those who ask?" God expects us to come to him with "parresia"; with the boldness of a child.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Flesh vs. Spirit: Slave vs. King Part 2
The fruit of the Spirit - we as New Testament, New Covenant believers are too familiar with this phrase. We've lost its meaning as we've glossed over it in scripture, heard it countless times from the pulpit, probably even colored little apples and grapes in sunday school as children. Jesus stated that by a tree's fruit you would know the tree. The Word later states that by a person's fruit you would know them. The same applies to us. By the fruit of our lives, the outward evidence of God's inner working, people will identify us as the people of God, the light of the world, the holy people of a holy Lord. Do you stand out as such in your day to day? My answer is all too often not as much as I should.
This fruit of the Spirit is more than unintended and accidental good behavior if we follow after God. It is a harvest of holiness that each of us should be sowing, guarding, working to bring forth in our lives. In the greek we gain further insight into each of these words and they shed tremendous light into what the first century believers were hearing in their own vernacular when Paul listed the following fruit/evidence of the Spirit:
Love: first and foremost - it is the essential nature of God. It means to welcome, be fond of, have affection for and can only be know by the actions it prompts. Another concept of this word "agape" is "a love feast" and the sense of inviting others to a feast of charity. To walk in this kind of love is not to show love only towards those one has affinity towards, but to open up the "feast" to everyone who crosses your path. It actually seeks out the opportunities to do good to others that arise in life. Paul, in Corinthians states that without this kind of love, everything else is for naught and we become noisy instruments (clanging cymbals). As our pastor recently put it, "it is the curtain rod upon which everything else hangs".
Peace: a state of tranquility, harmony, enabling a state of security and prosperity - friendliness, freedom from molestation, wholeness, quietness. Being so assured of one's salvation and what we've been called to that we fear nothing from God and are content in him for whatever our walk on this plane brings us.
Longsuffering: always associated with staying constant under trials, patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, slowness in averaging wrongs.
Kindness: Goodness in action in tenderness and compassion as opposed to indignation against sin. The root word "chrestos" means "fit for use or able to be used". Also meaning good, virtuous, mild, and pleasant. Only in kindness will we be fit for use in God's hands.
Goodness: uprightness of heart, life, morally honourable and pleasing to God and therefore beneficial. This greek word and it's root, "agathos" differ from kindness in that kindness is the gentle gracious aspect of goodness. The latter also includes the notion of doing good to others, but is not always by gentle means. Christ driving the money lenders out of the temple is an example. Goodness includes gracious tenderness but is not limited to it.
Faithfulness: the character of one who can be relied upon. This is tied to the concept of assurance, a guarantee, a pledge. To be confident in, to trust. Obedience is the action resulting from this trust and is the outwart expression that evidences the invisible inward faith.
Gentleness: a meek disposition, mild, soothing. In the Old Testament, the meek are those who wholly rely on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. It is the opposite of self assertiveness and self interest. It stems from trust in God's total control of a situation. This can only come from the Holy Spirit and not from human will.
Self Control: one who masters his desires and passions rather than letting them master him. From the greek "kratos" meaning "strength". Controlling the power of the will under the operation of the Spirit of God. Also from the greek word "egkrates" meaning "having power over, mastering, controlling, restraining, strong, robust".
Against the above fruit of the Spirit there is no Law. This statement continues a line of truth earlier stated that this salvation, this pursuit of God, this new and holy life, this indwelling of his Spirit is incomparibly superior to the Law by itself. The Law was given to restrain the evil tendencies of man, but they were ever present. When the fruit of the Spirit is in place these inborn tendencies have no place and the Law has no claim or judgment against the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit surplants these tendencies in the believer's life who is actively taking up their cross, crucifying their flesh (again see earlier posts for "staking down the flesh") and following Jesus. In this there is complete and total freedom. In this a slave is made a king!
This fruit of the Spirit is more than unintended and accidental good behavior if we follow after God. It is a harvest of holiness that each of us should be sowing, guarding, working to bring forth in our lives. In the greek we gain further insight into each of these words and they shed tremendous light into what the first century believers were hearing in their own vernacular when Paul listed the following fruit/evidence of the Spirit:
Love: first and foremost - it is the essential nature of God. It means to welcome, be fond of, have affection for and can only be know by the actions it prompts. Another concept of this word "agape" is "a love feast" and the sense of inviting others to a feast of charity. To walk in this kind of love is not to show love only towards those one has affinity towards, but to open up the "feast" to everyone who crosses your path. It actually seeks out the opportunities to do good to others that arise in life. Paul, in Corinthians states that without this kind of love, everything else is for naught and we become noisy instruments (clanging cymbals). As our pastor recently put it, "it is the curtain rod upon which everything else hangs".
Peace: a state of tranquility, harmony, enabling a state of security and prosperity - friendliness, freedom from molestation, wholeness, quietness. Being so assured of one's salvation and what we've been called to that we fear nothing from God and are content in him for whatever our walk on this plane brings us.
Longsuffering: always associated with staying constant under trials, patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, slowness in averaging wrongs.
Kindness: Goodness in action in tenderness and compassion as opposed to indignation against sin. The root word "chrestos" means "fit for use or able to be used". Also meaning good, virtuous, mild, and pleasant. Only in kindness will we be fit for use in God's hands.
Goodness: uprightness of heart, life, morally honourable and pleasing to God and therefore beneficial. This greek word and it's root, "agathos" differ from kindness in that kindness is the gentle gracious aspect of goodness. The latter also includes the notion of doing good to others, but is not always by gentle means. Christ driving the money lenders out of the temple is an example. Goodness includes gracious tenderness but is not limited to it.
Faithfulness: the character of one who can be relied upon. This is tied to the concept of assurance, a guarantee, a pledge. To be confident in, to trust. Obedience is the action resulting from this trust and is the outwart expression that evidences the invisible inward faith.
Gentleness: a meek disposition, mild, soothing. In the Old Testament, the meek are those who wholly rely on God rather than their own strength to defend against injustice. It is the opposite of self assertiveness and self interest. It stems from trust in God's total control of a situation. This can only come from the Holy Spirit and not from human will.
Self Control: one who masters his desires and passions rather than letting them master him. From the greek "kratos" meaning "strength". Controlling the power of the will under the operation of the Spirit of God. Also from the greek word "egkrates" meaning "having power over, mastering, controlling, restraining, strong, robust".
Against the above fruit of the Spirit there is no Law. This statement continues a line of truth earlier stated that this salvation, this pursuit of God, this new and holy life, this indwelling of his Spirit is incomparibly superior to the Law by itself. The Law was given to restrain the evil tendencies of man, but they were ever present. When the fruit of the Spirit is in place these inborn tendencies have no place and the Law has no claim or judgment against the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit surplants these tendencies in the believer's life who is actively taking up their cross, crucifying their flesh (again see earlier posts for "staking down the flesh") and following Jesus. In this there is complete and total freedom. In this a slave is made a king!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Flesh vs. Spirit: Slave vs. King Part 1
Still working through and meditating on some truths that God has been dealing with me on and decided to do a comparitive study today. God has really been dealing with me on getting the flesh out of my day to day, removing that which trips me up so readily and constantly. We are all going to be fighting this one for the rest of our days on the earth so in no way do I think I'll achieve the pinnacle of "fleshlessness" in the next months and live a perfect life for the remainder of my days as an example to all. But as I am striving for a deeper daily communion with my Father I am realizing that my flesh impedes my closeness and more of this sin-nature, tainted dna I can "stake down" (see previous posts) the deeper I can move into relationship with Him and into his will for my life. I want this so badly. As I pursue this, I find that the old "little" sins, such as the sarcastic comments once spoken about the obnoxious and rude individual who obviously deserves to be taken down a notch or two, suddenly are uncomfortable to my ears and not something I really want involvement with. The Spirit speaks much more regularly and with deeper conviction the closer we get to Him and it is our choice to listen or to ignore but if we truly want a deeper relationship then we should not be surprised when his voice starts to become more and more clear in our hearts.
The passage of Galatians 5:16-26 urges the believer to walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh; to take up a lifestyle of spiritually centered living and daily decisions rather than walking out and living what is natural and desired by our attitudes and unregenerative thoughts and "flesh". The works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit are both spelled out and a deeper study into what each of these really are is merited. So often we see these lists as "thou shall nots" and "thall shalls" and gloss over them because we don't take the time to ponder their relavence in today's vernacular. When Paul wrote these, they were very clear. The flesh works kept the people chained to an old covenant, the Law, which condemned them. If they stayed there they stayed condemned and ultimately remained out of fellowship with God. But Jesus fulfilled the old covenant and those who would walk in him and walk in the new Spirit with the evidence of the fruit of the spirit in their lives, against these there was no Law. These statements were poignantly clear to the first century believer living in the Mediterranean rim near the Jewish nation.
What are the works of the flesh as outlined in Galatians? What are those things that keep me bound and chained, keep me from fulfillment of freedom in Christ and life, keep me from the potentials that God has created for me? The following is a study of the words as written by Paul and the original greek words translated from Strong's Concordance.
Adultry: being sexually unfaithful in mind and/or action to one's spouse. This ranges from the fling with the other woman to what Jesus pointed out - simply looking at another with lust in your heart - it's all adultry and in our society it is everywhere from swimsuit model covers to internet images to redlight districts.
Fornication: being sexually promiscuous outside of the marriage covenant - casual sex among singles etc. Living and working near a "college town" this is something that is rampant throughout the university setting.
Uncleanness: impure motives, lustfull, luxurious living, sensual - this is splashed all over reality television and the media and is the epitome of self centered living.
Lewdness: disgraceful, soiling the clean, insolent disregard for decency, base or uncontrolled speech, shameful
Idolatry: placement of anything in a state of worship or focus above the Lord - America has no end of this but it extends even to the believer. "I'll give you everything Lord, but I really don't want to sacrifice my comfortable home, or my weekends with family, or my friends, leave those alone and you can have all of the rest of me!"
Sorcery: literally the use of drugs or medicating - poisoning with incantation and a goal of altered consciousness. I never equated drug use with witchcraft/sorcery but in the Old Testament and historically divination and incantation went hand in hand with drug use to produce altered states of consciousness and mental states.
Hatred: the complete opposite of agape love - emnity. Jesus put it this way - "you've heard it said not to murder, but if any of you hates - you've already committed murder in your heart". Ouch!
Contentions: the expression of emnity - to quarrel, again based in dislikes and hatred towards others.
Selfish Ambitions: a desire to put oneself ahead of others, seeking to win followers, creating factions and divisions
Dissensions: standing apart, refusing involvement
Heresies: Dessentions arising from diversity of goals/oppinions, a self willed choice/oppinion that is substituted for submission to the power of truth leading to division
Envy: to long for, a displeasure in hearing/witnessing the prosperity of others to the point of desiring to deprive others of said prosperity
Murders: to kill, slaughter, cause death
Drunkeness: denotes habitual intoxication and regularly partaking of intoxicating drink - tied to riotous behavior and revelry - those who revel in a behavior
Revelries: rioting, carousal, the consequences of drunkeness, to riot
In this passage we are told that those who practice the above will not receive/inherit the Kingdom of God. So often we hear this phrase "inherit the kingdom" or "receive the kingdom" and we think of when we die or when Jesus comes. That is not what these words meant. There is a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven. The greek here is not referring to an actual physical place but rather the right to rule or the authority, royal power, dignity, dominion. The dominion of God. We have the kingdom now. The kingdom moves with the believer, it is a sphere of dominion and authority that radiates from God's children to everything their spirit/lives touch or are associated with. This is not a stationary thing. Though the earth had been turned over to Satan by Adam, Jesus, before ever enduring the cross, could look the pharisees in the face and proclaim "today the kingdom of God is in the midst of you!" To say this to them meant the full might and sovereignty of God's power, authority, and rule was in their presence. Further, when he sent the disciples out to preach, teach and heal, we read that he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God.
When Jesus instructed his disciples to pray "thy kingdom come", he was not telling them to pray out a gradual transition or progression. The greek spells out an event of catastrophic and violent overturning. This is how we as administrators of God's will on earth are to take from the clutches of Hell what Satan took from Adam. We are to violently shake the gates of Hell in all of its manifistations around us and in us; in the broken and shattered lives that surround us daily, in the bondage and sin around us. This is what Jesus did on this earth. This is why the demons feared him. This is why Satan fears us, fears the Word in us, fears what we have been given. This is why he works wihout ceasing to keep our minds and hearts blinded and distracted and numb to the power and life God desires we walk in.
The kingdom of Heaven is always the kingdom of God, but the kingdom of God is not limited to the kingdom of Heaven. If we'll get the flesh out, start walking out the kingdom and become the instruments that God desires us to be then we too, can overturn the hurt, the poverty, the brokeness that surrounds the world around us, whether it be in our backyard or half a world away. God is not limited by our reach or what we perceive to be our reach - he lengthens it, expands it, grows us and enlarges our abilities beyond it. Put down the flesh and walk in the spirit and enjoy the abundant life of true kingdom authority!
The passage of Galatians 5:16-26 urges the believer to walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh; to take up a lifestyle of spiritually centered living and daily decisions rather than walking out and living what is natural and desired by our attitudes and unregenerative thoughts and "flesh". The works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit are both spelled out and a deeper study into what each of these really are is merited. So often we see these lists as "thou shall nots" and "thall shalls" and gloss over them because we don't take the time to ponder their relavence in today's vernacular. When Paul wrote these, they were very clear. The flesh works kept the people chained to an old covenant, the Law, which condemned them. If they stayed there they stayed condemned and ultimately remained out of fellowship with God. But Jesus fulfilled the old covenant and those who would walk in him and walk in the new Spirit with the evidence of the fruit of the spirit in their lives, against these there was no Law. These statements were poignantly clear to the first century believer living in the Mediterranean rim near the Jewish nation.
What are the works of the flesh as outlined in Galatians? What are those things that keep me bound and chained, keep me from fulfillment of freedom in Christ and life, keep me from the potentials that God has created for me? The following is a study of the words as written by Paul and the original greek words translated from Strong's Concordance.
Adultry: being sexually unfaithful in mind and/or action to one's spouse. This ranges from the fling with the other woman to what Jesus pointed out - simply looking at another with lust in your heart - it's all adultry and in our society it is everywhere from swimsuit model covers to internet images to redlight districts.
Fornication: being sexually promiscuous outside of the marriage covenant - casual sex among singles etc. Living and working near a "college town" this is something that is rampant throughout the university setting.
Uncleanness: impure motives, lustfull, luxurious living, sensual - this is splashed all over reality television and the media and is the epitome of self centered living.
Lewdness: disgraceful, soiling the clean, insolent disregard for decency, base or uncontrolled speech, shameful
Idolatry: placement of anything in a state of worship or focus above the Lord - America has no end of this but it extends even to the believer. "I'll give you everything Lord, but I really don't want to sacrifice my comfortable home, or my weekends with family, or my friends, leave those alone and you can have all of the rest of me!"
Sorcery: literally the use of drugs or medicating - poisoning with incantation and a goal of altered consciousness. I never equated drug use with witchcraft/sorcery but in the Old Testament and historically divination and incantation went hand in hand with drug use to produce altered states of consciousness and mental states.
Hatred: the complete opposite of agape love - emnity. Jesus put it this way - "you've heard it said not to murder, but if any of you hates - you've already committed murder in your heart". Ouch!
Contentions: the expression of emnity - to quarrel, again based in dislikes and hatred towards others.
Selfish Ambitions: a desire to put oneself ahead of others, seeking to win followers, creating factions and divisions
Dissensions: standing apart, refusing involvement
Heresies: Dessentions arising from diversity of goals/oppinions, a self willed choice/oppinion that is substituted for submission to the power of truth leading to division
Envy: to long for, a displeasure in hearing/witnessing the prosperity of others to the point of desiring to deprive others of said prosperity
Murders: to kill, slaughter, cause death
Drunkeness: denotes habitual intoxication and regularly partaking of intoxicating drink - tied to riotous behavior and revelry - those who revel in a behavior
Revelries: rioting, carousal, the consequences of drunkeness, to riot
In this passage we are told that those who practice the above will not receive/inherit the Kingdom of God. So often we hear this phrase "inherit the kingdom" or "receive the kingdom" and we think of when we die or when Jesus comes. That is not what these words meant. There is a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven. The greek here is not referring to an actual physical place but rather the right to rule or the authority, royal power, dignity, dominion. The dominion of God. We have the kingdom now. The kingdom moves with the believer, it is a sphere of dominion and authority that radiates from God's children to everything their spirit/lives touch or are associated with. This is not a stationary thing. Though the earth had been turned over to Satan by Adam, Jesus, before ever enduring the cross, could look the pharisees in the face and proclaim "today the kingdom of God is in the midst of you!" To say this to them meant the full might and sovereignty of God's power, authority, and rule was in their presence. Further, when he sent the disciples out to preach, teach and heal, we read that he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God.
When Jesus instructed his disciples to pray "thy kingdom come", he was not telling them to pray out a gradual transition or progression. The greek spells out an event of catastrophic and violent overturning. This is how we as administrators of God's will on earth are to take from the clutches of Hell what Satan took from Adam. We are to violently shake the gates of Hell in all of its manifistations around us and in us; in the broken and shattered lives that surround us daily, in the bondage and sin around us. This is what Jesus did on this earth. This is why the demons feared him. This is why Satan fears us, fears the Word in us, fears what we have been given. This is why he works wihout ceasing to keep our minds and hearts blinded and distracted and numb to the power and life God desires we walk in.
The kingdom of Heaven is always the kingdom of God, but the kingdom of God is not limited to the kingdom of Heaven. If we'll get the flesh out, start walking out the kingdom and become the instruments that God desires us to be then we too, can overturn the hurt, the poverty, the brokeness that surrounds the world around us, whether it be in our backyard or half a world away. God is not limited by our reach or what we perceive to be our reach - he lengthens it, expands it, grows us and enlarges our abilities beyond it. Put down the flesh and walk in the spirit and enjoy the abundant life of true kingdom authority!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
God's Masterpieces
What comes to mind when you think of the word “masterpiece”? For me I think of works such as Michelangelo’s perfectly and smoothly chiseled David, or his tumultuous and energetic Sistine Chapel. I long to peer into the depths of the eyes of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. I recall the experience of standing inches from a Seurat, making nothing of the myriad of dots and colors and then gazing in amazement as I backed away and they merged to become fantastic snapshots of 19th century life. Water lilies drift lazily in peaceful streams under stone bridges in the countryside as captured by Monet’s brushstrokes and I long to step into the tranquility of those canvasses. Masters, each of these men, creating works the likes of which have never been reproduced and likely never will. Each work worth extraordinary sums for the unique nature in which they were created or the hand that created them – deemed priceless.
So what does it mean when God calls us his masterpiece? Is the word so diluted by paintings and sculptures and works of men that will ultimately fail the test of eternity that a timeless God who labels us so loses relevance? Consider the expanse of the universe and the images pulled from deep space, the ones that astronomers indicate must be billions of years old because the light has traveled so far to reach us. Simply consider the fact that there IS a universe so vast, and we haven’t even seen the edges of it. We’ve scarcely adequately studied our own solar system, even the depths of our own oceans.
God doesn’t say the heavens and the cosmos are his best work; he doesn’t call the creation in which we are placed the culmination of his abilities. He doesn’t even call the very Heaven in which he resides the pinnacle of creative talents. He calls you and me his masterpiece. According to Ephesians 2:10, we are created for more than just to be placed on a shelf and admired. We are created for good works. I find it encouraging that God has a plan of good works for my life. That means that he has a plan. That means that I don’t have to struggle to find myself, find my plan, find what my life is supposed to be about. I simply follow his leading. And this plan isn’t just being thought up as we walk through this life. “Well, he did this so we’d better compensate by doing this”. God had my life mapped out before I existed, had the impact of my life on this earth figured out before I took one step onto this soil. God knew who I would talk to, who I would witness to, who would watch my life, who would be affected by it, who I would change, who would hurt me, who would be hurt by me, and who I would love from my first breath to my last. He has the whole thing mapped.
Do I throw my hands up and say, “well if that’s the case then I have no choice and so I’ll just do what I want”? NO! God told the nation of Israel "before you is blessing and cursing, life and death, choose life". You DO have the choice. Next to giving up his Son, it's the greatest sacrifice God gave, to allow his beloved creation the freedom to turn away from him if they so choose. I believe every choice, every decision is a fork in the road and compounded these create millions and even billions of end results and I believe that I serve a God who is omniscient and big enough to know the end from the beginning of every single one of those paths. I believe God has a plan and if I follow him and pursue him as he desires me to, then I will ultimately find myself in the flow and center of that plan. My God is all powerful, powerful enough to wipe away my sin and past mistakes, he is all knowing, knowing every end from every beginning and what is best for me, and he is omnipresent, everywhere and always with me. God has prepared the good works for us, all we have to do is step into them, because we are his masterpieces and he cherishes every single one of us because he created us for just this reason.
So what does it mean when God calls us his masterpiece? Is the word so diluted by paintings and sculptures and works of men that will ultimately fail the test of eternity that a timeless God who labels us so loses relevance? Consider the expanse of the universe and the images pulled from deep space, the ones that astronomers indicate must be billions of years old because the light has traveled so far to reach us. Simply consider the fact that there IS a universe so vast, and we haven’t even seen the edges of it. We’ve scarcely adequately studied our own solar system, even the depths of our own oceans.
God doesn’t say the heavens and the cosmos are his best work; he doesn’t call the creation in which we are placed the culmination of his abilities. He doesn’t even call the very Heaven in which he resides the pinnacle of creative talents. He calls you and me his masterpiece. According to Ephesians 2:10, we are created for more than just to be placed on a shelf and admired. We are created for good works. I find it encouraging that God has a plan of good works for my life. That means that he has a plan. That means that I don’t have to struggle to find myself, find my plan, find what my life is supposed to be about. I simply follow his leading. And this plan isn’t just being thought up as we walk through this life. “Well, he did this so we’d better compensate by doing this”. God had my life mapped out before I existed, had the impact of my life on this earth figured out before I took one step onto this soil. God knew who I would talk to, who I would witness to, who would watch my life, who would be affected by it, who I would change, who would hurt me, who would be hurt by me, and who I would love from my first breath to my last. He has the whole thing mapped.
Do I throw my hands up and say, “well if that’s the case then I have no choice and so I’ll just do what I want”? NO! God told the nation of Israel "before you is blessing and cursing, life and death, choose life". You DO have the choice. Next to giving up his Son, it's the greatest sacrifice God gave, to allow his beloved creation the freedom to turn away from him if they so choose. I believe every choice, every decision is a fork in the road and compounded these create millions and even billions of end results and I believe that I serve a God who is omniscient and big enough to know the end from the beginning of every single one of those paths. I believe God has a plan and if I follow him and pursue him as he desires me to, then I will ultimately find myself in the flow and center of that plan. My God is all powerful, powerful enough to wipe away my sin and past mistakes, he is all knowing, knowing every end from every beginning and what is best for me, and he is omnipresent, everywhere and always with me. God has prepared the good works for us, all we have to do is step into them, because we are his masterpieces and he cherishes every single one of us because he created us for just this reason.
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