In His Image

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in

Our image, according to Our likeness’

. . . So God created man in His own image;

in the image of God He created him;

male and female He created them.”

     Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV)

This past week, the church I attend observed Sanctity of Life Sunday.  What a precious truth that God created every person in His own image, special and uniquely formed in their mother’s womb, and created to know God in an intimate and personal way.

As Christians, we are called to shine forth God’s light to those who don’t yet know Christ.  We are to be faithful to Biblical truth and the mind of Christ should determine our responses to the issues of our day. Thus, we should be life-affirming, to do what we can to protect and stand up for those who are weak and defenseless among us—i.e., the unborn, the elderly, those who are vulnerable because of mental and physical disabilities, etc. 

However, our pastor warned us that it’s easy to focus only on the groups of people and causes that we like.  For example, we may be pro-life advocates or champions for the disabled.  And we should be.  But let’s not forget the other people that we tend to ignore because we don’t relate to them, such as the outcasts, those who live on the fringes of our society, all the broken people we pass by every day without a thought—or worse, thinking they are outside of God’s reach or unworthy of His love. 

We are all created in God’s image and Jesus Christ died for each person.  God wants to know each one, so that all may have peace and abundant life in Him.  So let’s not be selective about who should hear this good news.  Who can you reach out to today, this week with the love of Christ?

Thursday Devotional - Daily Encouragement

God gives us each other to help encourage us and to stay accountable to follow God’s Word. If we aren’t careful, we can be easily misled. Having godly people around us daily is important.  

Hebrews 3:12-15 ¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. ¹⁵ As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I usually do my quiet time and Bible study during Sarah’s nap in the afternoon. Well, this past Sunday, I didn’t do that. Joe, James and I were talking in the living room together instead. Then, after the kids went to bed, I wanted to look up some of the Michigan ski deals. However, since Joe was doing Bible study, I did my Bible study first and then had a few minutes to do some research.

We need people around us daily to encourage us in the right direction. (I’m daily encouraged by the other devotional writers and those that comment with additional insight!) We can also be that encouragement to others. Who can you and I encourage today to hear God’s voice?

Alice

Setting the Stage

Then the Lord told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”

And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh—‘the Lord.’  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty’—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.  And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.  You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.  Exodus 7:1-5


When Grey’s Anatomy first came on, I was always fascinated by how each show would seemingly end flawlessly.  It did not always end with people being happy or everyone being safe.  The beauty was never in the ending.  It was always in how the stage was set for it.  The storyline would be told well, and you had a level of certainty where it would build to this final crescendo.  Then far too often, you found yourself saying, “Wow!  I did not see that coming!”  However, it wasn’t the kind of ‘that’s impossible’ type incredulity.  It was the ‘what an amazing finish’ type feel you had.  Sometimes you laughed, and other times you cried.  But you bought in every single week because the story was built up so well, it became entirely credible.


This brings me to the storyline God builds in our lives.  We often feel like we are fighting to just stay afloat.  We know God has a reason for us doing something, but we do not see the fruits of our labor right away.  If you are like me in my younger days, you might have given up saying, “God?  I’m just tired.  I can’t do it your way anymore.  I will do it my way now.”  Then, something changes.  God reveals Himself when you almost can’t bear to do what He asks of you anymore.  Or perhaps, you make that one final time saying to God, “Ok.  I will try one more time,” and then that makes the difference from a setback to a comeback.


When you are going through hardship, remember these are the moments God is setting you up for your greatest triumphs.  We have moved forward in the story of Moses where he and Joshua have given to Pharaoh the message to either free the Israelites or suffer from the wrath of God.  Pharaoh, with his heart hardened, chose to instead make the Israelites suffer more by making their building of bricks exponentially more difficult while expecting the same amount of work.  The beatings and agony were such that now the Israelites and even Moses were beginning to wonder if God would stay true to His word.  In the prior verses, Moses said, “Why have you brought all this trouble on your own people, Lord? Why did you send me?  Ever since I came to Pharaoh as your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to your people. And you have done nothing to rescue them!” (Exodus 5:22b-23)  As we read further, we realize God had not forgotten His people at all.  Of course, He would never do that.  However, how often are we the Israelites getting beaten down mentally and physically and we speak with the frustration of Moses?  Don’t we sound a bit like he did?  But I digress.  God had set the stage for His greatest glory to be revealed to all so that not only His people would know who He is but also the Egyptians who had no reason to believe in Him.  This is who God has always been.  He will put us through hardship only to reveal Himself to us as the great and everlasting God.  King of kings, and Lord of lords.



There is no burden too great that our God cannot handle.  Peter once was fishing after Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus simply told him to cast his net on a certain side, and he went from a no—luck fisherman to one who couldn’t even bring in the net (see John 21:4-6)  Just as Peter once couldn’t catch a fish, Moses couldn’t catch a break!  But God was setting the stage for Moses’ greatest triumphs to come, and perhaps, now is the time in your life where you need to keep believing in that which God placed on your heart, mind, and soul.  Let us continue to move forward trusting God is making the pathway to victory for us.  What doubts are on your mind today?  How can you fight a little more trusting God is still with you?  My prayer is that we look beyond our circumstance and realize that God is ‘setting the stage’ for us.  Amen.