The Best News Ever

Because of Jesus I have an incredible hope.

Romans 8:31-34 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one, for God himself has given us right standing with himself.

34 Who then will condemn us? No one, for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

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I’m the comeback kid, but it isn’t because of anything good that I did, I have God on my side! I can never be good enough but I don’t have to be! Think about it, God has the right to judge me and if He does then he will certainly find me guilty but instead He fixed our relationship so that I can call Him my Father.

Too many people don’t have this joyful outlook, even followers of Jesus don’t always remember how awesome their condition is with God’s love and favor upon their life. I learned from Pastor Tim Keller that the opposite of joy is hopelessness and if you have hope in God then you should always have joy.

Before I became God’s child I had one enemy and that was God. My enemy was good and wanted to help me even though I was at war with Him. Now that I have peace with God and he is no longer my enemy I have even more enemies than I had before and they are all evil.

My new enemies as a child of God are the world, the flesh and the devil. The world has a mindset that tries to sell you on the idea that you can find peace and joy somewhere else, your flesh is your old sin nature that wars against your good intentions and the devil is your accuser that judges without mercy.

All three of these enemies are very powerful and they are pretty good at stealing our peace and joy if we allow them to take our eyes off of the source of our hope. The fact that he is coming for me should dominate my thoughts and give me plenty of reason to be full of joy when my circumstances don’t look good.

Philippians 4:4-7 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again–rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Instead of losing our joy we need to remember to pray about everything. Paul told the Philippian church that their prayers should be followed up immediately with thanksgiving. We usually like to wait and see the results of our prayers before we decide to say thanks, that’s just how we are, we need to realize that what ever answer we get is ultimately for our good so we should thank him up front before we see the answer.

John 16:22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy

I have hope that the rest of the world is so desperately pursuing in all the wrong places. I need to share the hope that comes from the only Son of God, the only one that could take the punishment that I deserved, the only one that could secure me a home in heaven for eternity.

Only One God

It's impossible to worship when you are so busy complaining.

Exodus 15:1-3 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; He has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him--my father's God, and I will exalt Him! 3 The LORD is a warrior; Yahweh is His name!

Exodus 20:1-5 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.

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After the miraculous escape from Egypt there was so much rejoicing and relief for what God did for His children. It is so obvious to everyone that God is the only one with power over the gods of Egypt and He is in love with His people. It also seems like the people are in love with Him as well.

One of the earliest praise and worship songs ever, was sung by Moses and all of the people joined in, it looks like there was 100% participation in worship on that day. Imagine seeing God's power displayed as it was during the plagues of Egypt and the power that they saw as they escaped the Egyptian army, worship was the only appropriate response. (Exodus 15:1-3)

But the worship service didn't last long enough, God's children found that the quickest way to end a worship service is to start complaining against God and the leaders that he has given, it is impossible to worship Him if you are busy complaining about Him. (Exodus 15:24, 16:2, 17:2)

When God's people grumble and complain about God the outcome will include complaining about each other. Right after the people complained about God they also started having disputes with each other that Moses would have to decide. There were so many disputes that it took up all of Moses time. (Exodus 18:13-16)

Meanwhile the complainers are making a vow to God to be obedient to all of the commands that God gave to them through Moses.  "We will do it," they promised (Exodus 19:8, 24:7) but just a little while later they are already going back on the number one rule to have only one God without any "god's." (Exodus 32:1)

It is too easy to make empty promises, we make them to each other, to ourselves and even to God. You might buy your empty promises and you may fool somebody else but God knows what is going on, promises and sacrifices wont do you any good if you are living in sin and you are not willing to repent and change your ways.

Just like God's children we have gained so much that it makes you wonder how we could be so unfaithful to the greatest friend that we could ever have. When God says that He alone is God and He wants me to live in that reality everyday then how dare I become a traitor and place my loyalty somewhere else.

Isaiah 45:22 Let all the world look to Me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.

God gave out some basic guidelines to help us to know how to treat him, he proved to His people over and over that He alone is God and He alone has the right to rule over our lives. But if you are not thankful for what God has done then you will be just like those complainers in the wilderness.

Sure, they got to see some spectacular miracles but we have the full revelation of the Gospel that they didn't have, we have the big picture of the New Testament that they couldn't know about like we do. Yet we are so bored many times with grace even as we sing the song "Amazing Grace."

As Easter approaches I need to remember that I have a friend that is true to me and He will always treat me better than I could possibly treat Him. I need to be true to Him and do everything that I can to be pleasing to Him and serve Him above anything or anybody else.

Who Is Like Our God

Come let us remember what our King has done.

Come let us remember what our King has done
Let us remember His everlasting love
Let us remember He alone has overcome

Come let us remember He rules His enemies
Let us remember we share His victory
Let us remember we were slaves but now we’re free

We will sing through the night
Til the darkness breaks
We will rise up and shout
Til the heavens shake

Majestic holiness
Glory and righteousness
Who is like our God
Who is like our God

Unending strength displayed
Forever He will reign
Who is like our God
Who is like our God
No one

Come let us remember our God will never change
Let us remember His Kingdom will remain
Let us remember the power of His name

No one above Him, beside Him
There’s no one like our God

Praise The Lord

Psalms 113:1-9  Praise the LORD! Yes, give praise, O servants of the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD now and forever.  3  Everywhere--from east to west--praise the name of the LORD. For the LORD is high above the nations; His glory is higher than the heavens.  Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of His own people! He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother. Praise the LORD!

You Are The Treasure That I Seek

The world has a lot of cool treasure to distract you from what is priceless.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.

Psalm 29:2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

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Have you ever dreamed of finding a treasure chest full of gold and jewelry? The world is full of stuff that we would like to get our hands on. It is so natural us to value new cars, fancy homes and a fat wallet, we can also see great value in the relationships that we have with our family and friends, but there is another treasure that is far above any of these.

It is good for us to examine our lives, take a look at ourselves and see how we are doing, take a quiz and ask yourself some important questions. While I listened to the Gaither Vocal Band sing the song "You Are My All In All" I thought of theses questions:

"What do I really value the most, is Jesus really the treasure that I am looking for?"

We have been told to love God, we know that he deserves to be loved to the highest level that a person can possibly love, but we let so much get in the way and rob us of our time with him or we take the time but we don't really love him fully.

Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."

We can get lost in the empty pursuit of happiness, trying to get some more stuff, trying to have the perfect relationship, chasing down the stuff that the world says will make us happy. Finally when our day isn't going so well we decide to cry out to God to make it better. Is that true love?

I have to wonder how good of a job that we can do at loving God, since love comes from God and it is pure and without self seeking motives, how can we possibly love God adequately on this side of heaven? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 John 4:7) While researching this blog post, I found this old hymn that I have never seen before, it speaks of the love that we should have for God that goes beyond any selfish motivation.

My God, I love Thee--not because I hope for heaven thereby; Nor yet because,if I love not I must for ever die. Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me Upon the Cross embrace; For me didst bear the nails and spear, And manifold disgrace, And griefs and torments numberless, And sweat of agony, Yea, death itself; and all for me Who was Thine enemy.

Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ, Should I not love Thee well? Not for the hope of winning heaven, Of of escaping hell; Not with the hope of gaining aught, Not seeking a reward; But as Thyself hast loved me, O ever-loving Lord! So would I love Thee, dearest Lord, And in Thy praise will sing; Solely because Thou art my God, And my eternal King.

I have to continue to work towards loving God as he deserves, making him my most treasured possession, as I live in God's love he will teach me how to do a better job of loving him. (1 John 4:16-17)

Focus On God

Take a look at my awesome God!

Psalm 77:13  God, Your way is holy. What god is great like God?

Psalm 19:1-6  The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.

Psalm 103:11-13  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him.

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.

Psalm 111:4  He has caused His wonderful works to be remembered. The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

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Our mind is so limited when it comes to grasping who God is, the scriptures tell us a lot about him but our ability to comprehend who he is with our little brains is so limited.

Yesterday's post was about maintaining our relationship with God so that he will hear us when we pray, we talked about doing the right thing, today's scriptures talk about thinking the right thing, we have to keep the right attitude about who he is. King David knew about the characteristics of God, many of his Psalms tell us about them: he is holy, glorious, full of love, forgiveness and compassion.

God is focused on me, he proves it with his love and forgiveness for me, I need to focus on him and realize what a great ally he is.

It is amazing Lord, that you care so much about me and that you had me in mind when you came to save me from the death penalty. Help me to keep my eyes on you.

Are You God's Friend?

Men of the Bible Series - If he had a Facebook account, would you be on God's friend list?

James 2:23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God

Isaiah 41:8  But you, Israel, are my servant. You're Jacob, my first choice, descendants of my good friend Abraham.

Proverbs 18:24  There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

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Have you ever thought about what it would take to be God's friend? I mean really his friend, not just a close acquaintance, but somebody that is really intimate? Usually we try to do nice things for the people that we want to gain as a friend but Abraham became God's friend completely out of the blue, there wasn't anything that Abraham had done to deserve the riches that God would bestow on him.

In fact Abraham blew it from time to time just like we do, yet in the long list of Bible saints he alone is spoken of as "the father of the faithful" and as "the friend of God" His obedience and his faith in the promises that were given to him was proven greater than his failures.

Just like our human friends that we try to please by being nice to them and doing things for them, God expects us to do good things for him. Not as a way of earning his favor but because we already have his favor, we cannot do anything to earn his love, our motivation to do good is because he has already loved us even when we were his enemies.

John 15:14  You are my friends if you do what I command

I want to show my love and appreciation for God by living his way. He is the creator of a better way of living and the best way that I can prove that I am a friend of God is by living everyday according to his commands.

Thank you Lord for making a way for me to become your friend, as the song says:

Who am I that You are mindful of me
That You hear me when I call
Is it true that You are thinking of me
How You love me it's amazing 

I want to live each day faithful to your plan for my life.

You might like to read: Men of the Bible blog series.

Decisions, Decisions

We all have to decide about God's involvement in our lives. 

Joshua 9:1-20 Now all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as the Lebanon mountains.

2 These kings combined their armies to fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites. 3 But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to deception to save themselves.

They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. 5 They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy.

6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us." 7 The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you." 8 They replied, "We are your servants." "But who are you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do you come from?"

9 They answered, "Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the LORD your God and of all He did in Egypt. 10 We have also heard what He did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River--King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth). 11 So our elders and all our people instructed us, 'Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, "We are your servants; please make a treaty with us."' 12 "This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey."

14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD. 15 Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby! 17 The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty. 19 But the leaders replied, "Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath.

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We have heard of the might of the LORD your God

The God of Israel has a reputation for helping his children, he has done mighty things to prove that he alone is God, everybody knows what he does for his people. The crazy thing is that these people could have acknowledged him as God, they could have tossed out their idols and false notions about who God is but despite their knowledge about the awesome God that we serve, they still refuse to change.

So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORDThe Israelites look at the physical evidence and buy into the story that the heathens made up and even though they realized the possibility of a trick, they still made a hasty decision, they didn't give God the time of day.

God could have helped out either of these two groups of people but he wasn't considered as an option by either of them. The heathen nations could have had a change of heart just as Rahab did back in Joshua chapter two. The Israelites shunned God and made their own decisions without asking him what he wanted them to do.

For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. – Rahab

It is amazing that we can know God and how awesome that he is and still we don't run to him until it is the last option that we have, I need to invole him in every decision that I make, I need to find out what God's will is before I run away with my own will.

Thank you Lord for your patience with us and for allowing us to come back to you with our mistakes. I want to always be reminded of how awesome that you are.

A Speck In Creation

Who are we that he cares for us?

Psalms 8:1-9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you set in place, 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?

5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority - 7 the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, 8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

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He made the galaxies with all their splendor and yet he is still mindful of the tiny little speck that is me. You made me just below the heavenly beings and put me in charge of your creation.

Hebrews 2:9-10  What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. 

Jesus became like me so that I can spend eternity with him in heaven, he rose from the dead, I will to, he is in glory and I will be there to. I must not forget how small a part of creation that I am and still remember how important I am to my creator.

Lord, I am so undeserving of your thoughtfulness toward me. Thank you for giving me value far beyond the rest of your awesome creation.

Something From Nothing

Nobody else could have made something so awesome from absolutely nothing.

Genesis 1:31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

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I can be pretty creative and do some handy- man type of work to make something but I cannot begin to make something the way God did.

Every "scientific" explanation for creation is dependent on there being something around that was reshaped into something else but the Bible is very clear that everything was created from nothing, what a concept to try to understand the idea that nothing existed except for what God told to exist.

He didn't have a storeroom of parts that he rummaged through, he didn't have a box full of pieces that came with instructions on how to make a universe, he just spoke it and boom, there it was.

Jeremiah 10:16  But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists,

Acts 17:24  He is the God who made the world and everything in it.

It is difficult to think that God has any needs, but perhaps he does have a need, something that he couldn't get before he created us, it is very likely that the main thing that God was creating when he made us was the ability to have a relationship.

Matthew 11:28  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

I must remember that the Bible is God's love story, from Genesis to Revelations, you have written the greatest love story ever told. He is great at creating something from nothing, he did it with creation and he did it by loving us even when there was nothing coming back to him.

You are an awesome God that spoke everything into existence, thank you for the beauty that you have made, thank you for desiring a relationship with me.

Remember the Lord, Who is Great and Glorious

How great is our God?

Nehemiah 4:7 But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. 9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, "The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves."

11 Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, "Before they know what's happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work."

12 The Jews who lived near the enemy came and told us again and again, "They will come from all directions and attack us!" 13 So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows.

14 Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, "Don't be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!"

15 When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall. 16 But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. The leaders stationed themselves behind the people of Judah 17 who were building the wall. The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. 18 All the builders had a sword belted to their side. The trumpeter stayed with me to sound the alarm.

19 Then I explained to the nobles and officials and all the people, "The work is very spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding. Then our God will fight for us!"

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The task of rebuilding the walls and the gates of Jerusalem was a huge task and to make it more challenging the builders had to worry about being attacked. So now this gigantic task is being done by half as many men so that the other half can stand guard with their weapon and then for a bigger challenge the workers had to carry a weapon in one hand while they did their work with the other hand.

Maybe God was trying to tell them that they were not the ones building this wall but it was Him that was making it happen. Lest they become prideful about what they had accomplished, it becomes a job bigger than they are so that the people will "Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious."

We have an awesome God that will take care of the things that are way too big for us to handle, Nehemiah was a leader that knew where the vision came from to build this wall and he knew where the power would have to come from to make it happen. God would be faithful to his people if they would "Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious."

When the going gets tough help us to "Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious." Thank you for your faithfulness to your people, help us to be faithful to you.

Our Awesome Creator

scripture

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Genesis 1

observation

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Notice the order of creation, God didn't get the fish created and then say oops, where do I put these guys at and when he created trees there was already dry land for them to sit on.

Except for God, everything else had a starting point, everything had a point where it didn't exist and then God merely spoke and then there it was. Just the power of his voice was all that was needed, in fact it seems that the only thing that God made "hands on" was the man and the woman, that should let me know that I am significant to God.

Psalms 33:6 The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. 9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.

What awesome power that would cause something to exist from nothing and just look around at the magnificent creation that he made to display his majesty, what craftsmanship, what attention to detail. Everything that he made shows us what an awesome God we have.

Psalms 19:1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. 4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.

application

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I will always stand in awe of the magnificent work of our creator, every time I watch a nature show it is so sad at how far they will go to say that something else happened, he is an awesome God and his creation proves that he must be.

prayer

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Thank you Lord for the awesome world that you gave us to enjoy, the heavens and earth display your glory. Thank you for creating a perfect environment on this planet to sustain life.

Jesus Is The Greatest

SCRIPTURE

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Heb 1:1-4 (NIV)  In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Heb 2:1-4 (NIV) We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? Those who heard him confirmed this salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, to us. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

OBSERVATION

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Just like a child that has never met his parents and longs to know them, God knew that we would want to know him. God has always been revealing himself to his creation, in the past he used the prophets by using dreams and visions and he even spoke to Abraham and Moses personally.

But now God has revealed himself in a better way. He has given us his son, which is an exact representation of himself, just like looking in a mirror.

The scripture says that Jesus is:

• Heir of all things • Creator of the universe • Sustainer of all things • The radiance of God’s glory • Our Savior

• Sitting at the right hand of God. • God’s son • Worshipped by God’s angels • Going to rule forever on his righteous throne

Wow, just like a small child that believes his dad is the greatest, we should be even more so impressed that the God that created us has everything under control.

Therefore since we have an awesome and righteous God we must be very careful that we do not ignore his plan for making us right with him, if we do then how will we escape our just punishment for everything that we have done wrong?

APPLICATION

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I know that my creator is the awesome God of the universe. I will thank him for caring about me and for making me right with him.

PRAYER

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Thank you Lord for your great salvation!