Child of God
Let’s walk through the Bible! This is the final devotional in the Reset series, where we took a fresh look at our faith by walking through the Bible from start to finish. Let’s recap what we’ve seen during this journey and what this means for us now.
In the beginning, God…
The song “Genesis” tells the story of how God created a perfect world and dwelled in perfect union with mankind. Adam and Eve served God by caring for each other and for God’s creation. They had everything they could need and want, and their work was pleasing. God’s spirit lived in them, so they always knew what was expected and what decisions to make. That said, they still had free will, for God desired their love to be given freely without coercion.
You will be like God…
“Free Will” is the tragic story of the fall of man. Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve to eat the fruit from the one tree that was forbidden by promising them that they would be like God. The desire to be gods of our own lives is a devastating temptation that has destroyed mankind ever since the fall. Our pride often gets in the way to where we erroneously believe that we know better than our Creator! When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, the Spirit of God immediately left them, and the result was pain, fear, and guilt. God’s spirit would continue to dwell with mankind to varying degrees after that, but it would never be the same. In addition, in obeying Satan over God, they effectively handed the title deed to the earth over to Satan. He became the ruler of this world.
Their minds were continually on evil…
In “I Promise You”, we learned that humanity had become so despicable that God had no choice but to do a world-wide “reset”. Noah was obedient to God and builtd an ark of protection by which he and his family were saved. Although Noah tried to warn others, no one would listen, just like many will not listen to the Gospel today. Their disobedience and refusal to listen to the warnings caused their destruction, just as it will in our time.
The Lord told Abraham, “Go…”
“Unfathomable” is the story of God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham was living quite comfortably when God called him and told him to move. He didn’t tell him where he would go, simply that he should go. Abraham was obedient to God, and God blessed this. He promised to make a great nation of Abraham, but he and his wife were very old and childless. They couldn’t understand how God could do this, and they tried to take matters into their own hands instead of simply trusting God. The same is true for us!
I had a dream…
“Higher Vision” takes us to the days of Joseph. As a young man, he had dreams from God of greatness, but those dreams seemed to die when his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt and later when he ended up wrongfully imprisoned. But God had a higher vision. He used Joseph’s “down time” to mature him, and eventually, Joseph became the 2nd in command in Egypt and saved his family from starvation. It is easy for us to complain when things don’t go well and to give up, but when we trust that God knows what he’s doing, we will eventually find purpose to our suffering, just like Joseph did.
Let us go…
“Rescued” is the story of how God freed the Israelites from slavery through a series of miracles. Sadly, once they were free, they did nothing but complain and fall back into Egyptian idol worship. They also rallied against Moses, God’s chosen leader. As a result of their total disobedience, none of the adults were allowed into the promised land. We need to remember that when we engage in willful disobedience, we should not expect God to cater to our requests.
I am the Lord your God…
God wanted his people to live healthy, productive and happy lives, and so he gave them a set of rules that would allow this to happen. He wasn’t being mean or restrictive, but he was teaching them the best way to live. Sadly, they wouldn’t listen, and they suffered the consequences. The same goes for us today. If we choose to disobey God, we will not live the life that he intended for us.
The Lord is my Shepherd…
“Psalm 23” gives the story of King David, a man after God’s own heart. David was obedient to God, and he became a successful king of Israel. It was not easy, and David found himself in many terrible situations, yet he trusted God through everything. But even David fell into sin, and he suffered the consequences of it. But when David confessed his sin, God forgave him, and David was comforted by having his relationship with God restored. How amazing it is that we can serve a forgiving God!
King after king…
“Sins of the Fathers” tells the sad story of mankind’s continual rebellion. God tells us how to live fulfilled lives and promises blessing for obedience. He always keeps his promises, but as humans, we constantly miss the mark. Fortunately, for all of us, God knew that we would do this, and he had a plan for redemption.
A promise…
God knew the plan of redemption before the world was created, and he spoke of it repeatedly through the prophets. The Old Testament records over 300 prophecies of the first coming of Christ, all of which were literally fulfilled. It is great comfort to know that God always had a plan, and he has a plan for our future as well.
Unto you a child is born…
“Emmanuel” means God with us. In spite of all of humanity’s failures, God still loves us. Jesus willingly left Paradise to live a wretched human life and die a horrific death in order to pay the price for our mistakes. His love for us is that great, and it is something we should never take for granted.
Hasn’t God said…
“Temptation”. In order to win back the title deed to the earth, Jesus had to come as a man, and he had to live a sinless life in order to qualify to pay the price. He accomplished this through complete union with God the Father. Satan tried to derail him by tempting him, but Jesus loved us enough to throw off those temptations. He overcame them with scripture. We can defeat temptation in the same way. God will always give us a way out.
Follow me…
“Take All of Me” was about the calling of the twelve disciples. God called twelve men who had no special training and were not at all qualified for the task. But in their weakness, God stepped in and equipped them just like he will for us today when he calls us to do something. We simply have to listen and obey.
Be still…
In spite of the miracles and power the disciples had witnessed, they still became fearful when a storm kicked up until Jesus calmed the storm. Jesus is our “Shelter in the Storm”. He will allow us to go through trials and temptations, but when we turn to him, he will always carry us through.
Blessed are you…
“To Be Like You” is about the greatest sermon ever given – the Sermon on the Mount. Here, Jesus outlines the path to purpose and fulfillment in life. True fulfillment comes from focusing our lives on Jesus, which allows us to humbly love and serve others. The result is purpose, passion and peace! Each time we practice this, we become more and more like Jesus, and we become better representatives of him to a world without hope.
And there was “Silence”…
In order to redeem lost humanity, Jesus led a life without sin and then took our sin on himself on the cross. The Bible tells us that Jesus became sin, so that he could offer us the gift of salvation. Bearing our sins was far more painful to him than the tortures of the cross, yet he willingly accepted this, so that we could be free.
On the third day…
We serve a God who defeated sin and death! God resurrected Jesus from the grave, and in doing so, he overcame death itself. The work of redemption was finished. If we accept the free gift of salvation, we can find ourselves one day “Gazing into the Eyes of God” without fear or condemnation!
Go forth…
After the resurrection, Jesus commanded his disciples to go forth and make disciples of all nations. Every Christian is called to ministry, regardless of vocation. We are called to share the truth of Jesus Christ with unbelievers and to mentor new believers. We have the beautiful opportunity to offer a future in paradise to a world that is currently condemned to eternal isolation and suffering. Isn’t that worth sharing? Lord, let me be “Your Vessel”!
Tongues of fire…
When Jesus returned to Heaven, he sent his Spirit down to dwell inside of every believer. It was through this “Fire of God” that the disciples went from cowering fearfully in a locked room to speaking boldly about Jesus Christ, even when it cost them their lives. Although we will not have perfect union with God, like Adam and Eve originally had, until we are in eternity with God, we can have varying degrees of that power. It is literally Jesus Christ living inside of us! The more we rely on him and less on ourselves, the more fruitful and pleasing to God we will be.
“It’s Always Been About Faith”
Right standing with God has always been about faith and never about works, yet faith without works is dead. We don’t do good works in order to be saved, we do them because we are saved. We should never cheapen the amazing grace of Jesus Christ, because that grace cost him everything! Our focus should always be on Jesus – not just for salvation, but to bring us peace and joy here in this life.
There will come a time…
“How” is a fascinating study of the end times. Throughout the Bible, we are told to watch and be ready, so that the last days don’t catch us off guard. It is entirely possible that the rapture of the church will happen sooner rather than later. This should cause us to consider how we live our lives and how we approach unbelievers.
Heaven bound!
Humans are eternal beings. Eternity is a realm outside of time where everything has always been and always will be. There is no past or future – only now. There are only two destinations – Heaven and Hell. They are real places, and we choose where we will go. We can choose to put our faith in Jesus, turn from sin, accept the free gift of grace, and obey God. This will lead to an amazing life filled with joy, peace, and fulfillment now and an eternity of love, joy, freedom from pain, freedom from sin, and fellowship with others and, most importantly, with God! The other choice leads to pain, emptiness, and suffering here on earth, and eternal separation from everything that is good, and to pain and complete isolation. Eternity is forever! It is beyond our understanding, but it is forever. This is the most important decision we can make, but if we make the right one, we will find ourselves filled with praise, e and singing, “Worthy is the Lamb!”
You are a “Child of God”!
The story of the Bible is God’s faithful redeeming love. He has always been faithful to his creation. This contracts to mankind’s stubborn pride, blatant rebellion, and, to put it bluntly, sheer and utter stupidity!
God loves you! The Creator of the universe loves you so much that he gave everything for you! Satan hates you. You are beloved of God, and he hates you for it. He wants to bring you down. He knows his time is short, so he uses every tool at his disposal: hate, fear, desperation, loneliness, pride, apathy, anger, and a whole host of mental illnesses. But, we serve a God whothat has already won the war! By harnessing the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome every dart the enemy throws and live a life that is powerful and purposeful!
That is my prayer for every one of you! Always remember that you are a Child of God!
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 5: 6-11 (NLT)
Songs of Victory
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Royalty-free images from Storyblocks.com
