Tag: Created

Posted in Bible study, Christ is All I Need, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

The Visible Image

Posted on by MaryEllen

Today’s Road Map for the Journey: Colossians 1:15-17; John 1:1-3 ~ (soap: Col 1:16)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, 16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. ~ Colossians 1:15-17 NET

I have a friend whose father passed away many years ago. However, because two of his children (and some of their children) look and sound just like him Corky’s ‘image’ remains visible to me. As I was reading today’s passage, I thought of them and the clear resemblance of their features. I get the same type of comments from the nurses and residents at the senior living center where my mother lives: “You look so much like your mother” is part of at least one conversation or greeting every time I visit. While these similar traits and comments make me think of Paul’s declaration that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God”, there is a distinct difference. While I may look very much like my mother, unlike God, my mother was never invisible. Instead, my mom has a visible form that I resemble. Corky had a visible form that many in his family resemble. However, Paul writes that “Jesus is the image of the invisible God.” In other words, as Bibleref.com explains, “The unseen God became seen, in the form of Jesus.1“

Paul also describes Jesus in this passage as the “firstborn of all creation.” However, it is important to understand that this in no way means that Jesus was created. Jesus was, and is, and always will be. John wrote in John 1:1, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In John 10:30, Jesus Himself declares, “The Father and I are one.” A quick glance back at Genesis 1:1-2 reveals that: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” God was creating from the beginning, and as we have already been reminded, John wrote that Jesus was in the beginning with God. He went on to say in the verse that followed that “He/Jesus existed in the beginning with God.” This settles any question of Jesus being a created being. Paul makes it equally and dramatically clear in verses 16 and 17 of our passage today, where he writes: “for all things in heaven and on earth were created in Him ~ all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or power ~ all things were created through Him and for Him. He Himself is before all things, and all things are held together in Him.”

If He were created He would not be equal to the Father, nor would He be eternal.

Bibleref.com

Friends, in the beautifully poetic exaltation of Paul in Colossians 1:15-17, describing Jesus as Creator, we must not lose sight of this truth: Jesus created not only the sun, moon, and stars… He created us. As today’s LGG Journal entry rightly reminds us: “We were made for Jesus, not the world, your reputation, your relationship status, or your material possessions. You were made to know and worship the Creator.2

Reflection and Application

Love God Greatly’s journal entry for today concludes with this statement and two questions: “Everything was created in, through, and for Jesus. He is the only being worthy of our worship.”

  • Is your mind captured with the greatness and beauty of Jesus?
  • Do you worship Him?

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, you made everything. You are in charge of all powers. Nothing happens without your permission. Help me to worship you in the way you alone deserve. Amen3

The More We Know

What does John 1:2 mean? by Bibleref.com

This continues to introduce Jesus, while countering false views of spirituality. John already described Jesus as the Logos, meaning “the Word,” of God (John 1:1). Jesus is a living message: a definition of God the Father. John also specifies that Jesus did not become God. Nor did He rise to the level of God. Jesus Christ has always been God, from the very beginning. John 1:1 states that the Word was God, not something separate from God.

This verse clarifies that this was true from the start. Jesus was not a created being, nor a separate being. He was, and is, God. This is a claim Jesus will make of Himself later in the gospel. In John 8:38, for instance, Jesus claims to speak what He has heard directly from the Father. Shortly after, in John 8:58, Jesus not only claims to have existed before Abraham, He refers to Himself using the name of God: “I am.” John will relate several of these “I am” statements in his book.

Footnotes
  1. Bibleref.com, Colossians 1:15 ↩︎
  2. Christ is All I Need, p74 ↩︎
  3. Christ is All I Need, p74 ↩︎

Posted in Abide, Abiding in jesus, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

Created for a Purpose

Posted on by

based on the LGG Study, Abiding in Jesus, w6d3

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10 and SOAP: Ephesians 2:10

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Paul makes it clear to his audience that salvation is totally an act of God’s love. It is a gift of God’s grace and not something we can take credit for. Salvation is not by any work that we can do, will do, or have done. On top of the fact that salvation cannot be earned, as bibleref.com explains, even the good that we do was planned for us long ago.

God calls us His workmanship or His artwork, from the Greek word poiēma. We are something crafted, with skill and a purpose, by God, for His purposes. Specifically, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Good works do not give us salvation, but they are absolutely meant to be the result of salvation.

Bibleref.com/Ephesians 2:10

While it can be tempting to see someone else use their spiritual gift and try to imitate it or wish to be like them, be careful not to fall into that trap. For, as Paul teaches us here, each of us has been created in Christ Jesus to do good works – works that He created us to do.

Today’s journal entry by Love God Greatly points out that “God’s plan for each of us is personal, unique, and perfectly fitted for who He created us to be.”

“The ‘good works’ God prepared for you may look different than those He’s assigned to someone else, but each is essential and equally valued in His eyes. Some may be called to serve in their homes, nurturing their families with love and faith. Others may be called to workplaces, schools, or hospitals, bringing light and hope into environments that need Jesus.

Abiding in Christ means recognizing that wherever He places us, we’re equipped to bear fruit for His glory.

Love God Greatly, Abiding in Jesus, p179

Father, we are Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that you prepared in advance for us to do. May our lives be a daily offering to You, in whatever You have called us to do; and may each act bring You glory- In Jesus’ name. – Amen

Friends, let’s praise Him daily for creating us with a purpose and equipping us with His Spirit that we might bear fruit for His glory. May God open our eyes to the work He wants us to do, and may our hearts and hands be yielded to serving Him well.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, Love, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time, Some of My Favorite Things

Finding Rest in God

Posted on by

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”

~Saint Augustine

How true these words of Saint Augustine are. They certainly ring true in my heart and mind. Raised in a Christian home, taken three times weekly to church, and saved at a young age, I really do not know a time when I didn’t know of God, who He was, and what He had done—though I do confess knowing more of Jesus than of God. – I knew God created the world, split the Red Sea, gave the ten commandments to Moses, and loved the world so much that He sent His Son to save whosoever believed in Him. What I didn’t understand until much later in life was that He made us for Himself.1 It was much later in life that I learned that He created, desired, and sought out His people because He wanted to have a relationship with them.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” 

“All things were created by him and for him.” 

Revelation 4:11 / Colossians 1:16 

From the beginning to the end of Scripture, we read how God made Himself known to His people, how He cared for them, taught them, led them, loved them, and poured out His grace, forgiving them of all their sins. However, until I understood this and removed myself from the hamster wheel of trying to please and trust God in my own strength, I was indeed – restless. The restlessness came from always striving to please Him, and when I failed, there was the unending feat of trying to make it up to Him. “Saved by grace” is not just a winsome phrase but a never-ending characteristic of God and of His love in action. It is a love meant to change us from the inside-out, to make us new creations in Christ🦋 – so that we can live and walk in fellowship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • Rest in His love … for there is no greater love than giving your own son to die for the sins of the world.
    • For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. John 3:16-17
  • Rest in His Grace … grace that is greater than all our sin
    • 20 Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 5:20-21
  • Rest in His Strength … the strength that raised Him from death to life.
    • I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Eph. 1:19-20
  • Rest in His promises … for has He not kept all of His promises to this day?
    • For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2 Cor. 1:20
  • Rest in His Greatness … knowing that He alone has the power and words of eternal life.
    • “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68

Friends, “‘To whom shall we go?’ wasn’t written by John as a question of despair—it’s a declaration of devotion. Once you’ve tasted living water, nothing else satisfies. Once you’ve heard the voice that awakens your soul, all others fade. The deepest worship may simply be this: staying when it would be easier to walk away.2“

Prayer of Response To God’s Word

Father, what a blessing it was the day I began to understand that You created me for Your pleasure. I wasn’t just one of many that You created – I am known by You, created to be loved by You and to love You. I was created with a purpose and am meant to be dependent on You – and called to find rest in You. Oh, what a good good Creator and Father You are. Remind me daily to cease striving and find rest in You alone. – To You be the glory and honor, amen 💜

The More We Know
https://atomic-temporary-62140760.wpcomstaging.com/2023/03/14/know-these-truths/