communion

In His own image

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

Read: Genesis 1-2, Matthew 1

Genesis-1-27

Reading through the account of creation, we see that man is the only thing God created in His own image. Man is the only being that God breathed His own life into. Though they were made on the same day, man was different from the beasts of the field.

Man was made upright. His understanding saw Divine things clearly and truly; there were no errors or mistakes in his knowledge; his will consented at once, and in all things, to the will of God.

Matthew Henry

Before Adam made the worst decision in the history of humanity, he was at one with God. He knew no separation from his Creator and lived in perfect communion with Him. We know, that at the moment Adam chose to eat from the forbidden tree, that unique relationship was severed. While that relationship can never be fully restored on this side of heaven, God made a way for us to still have communion with Him. But it takes work. It’s not an instant fix; it is a lifelong effort on our part.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

The only way to gain back even a portion of what Adam experienced with God in the garden is to continually renew ourselves to His will. You truly to become like the people you most spend time with, so spend time with God. Become more like Him—the way we were all created to be. This process of renewal must be constant and consistent. always moving forward and never looking back.

Paul said we need to be forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead (Philippians 3:13). We have a decision to make. We can continue to live in separation from God and do as we please. Or we can approach Him through the grace provided through Jesus’ sacrifice and get to know Him and His will for us. We can live as we were created to live in perfect harmony with our Father.

We need more lerts

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

If you haven’t read my post from Saturday, go back and read it first or much of what is to follow won’t make any sense at all.

You need to be a lert. I need to be a lert. We all need to be lerts.

Now, you may be shaking your head thinking this is the dumbest thing you’ve read in a long time, but tell the truth—how likely are you to forget about this?

Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak.

Mark 14:38 (NLT)

Jesus is nearing the end of his ministry on earth. He’s taken a select few disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane with him to pray through the night. While Jesus is in such great distress to the point of sweating blood, the buddies he’s brought with him fell asleep—three times.

They lost their focus. They lost their sense of purpose. It seems as though the disciples were always one step behind. How do we feed these people? Weren’t you with me a short while back when I fed 5000 men plus women and children? Keep these kids away! Hey! Bring them here. The kingdom of Heaven belongs to the children. She’s dead. She’s not dead, she’s just asleep.

Over and over again, even the disciples forgot who they were with. When we forget who we’re with, we forget what they can do. When we forget what they can do, we rely too much on ourselves.

Prayer is meant to be a deep, intimate communion with our Creator. Not a hardship or a task forced upon us by religious leaders. When we seek after the heart of God, we get to know Him better. The better we know Him, the better we know what He is capable of. The more we know what He is capable of the more we can rely on Him.

The more time we spend with God, the less likely we are to allow ourselves to be lead away by the things of the world. Jesus is calling us to him. He wants to speak to us. He wants to guide us. All we have to do is stay still and pay attention long enough to hear him.

Pray! Be a lert!

Daily Bible reading: Deuteronomy 20-22, Mark 14:26-50