"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image.' God in Trinitarian conversation, plans His crowning creation. Man rebelled and though made in the wonderful and creative image of the all-powerful God and can accomplish amazing works with his hands and mind, he, also, with the sin nature unchecked, can commit atrocities unnameable. Without God, man is the center of his own universe. But without God, that universe will come to a terrifying and unfulfilled end.
What brings me to this line of thinking is my morning reading about the tower of Babel. Nimrod, in his pride, wanted to make a name for himself. The tower was to be a monument of man in all his glory. They had been commissioned by God to fill and populate the earth. Instead, they took residence and combined their strength to display their own glory. "Come, let us make bricks...Come, let us build for ourselves a city...let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." This scattering abroad was God's command for them, yet as with Adam, God's command was again ignored. God removed Adam from his comfort zone and again He proceeds to remove the great city of Babel from it's lofty place. "Come let Us go down... So the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the earth." (Genesis 11:3, 5-9)
The "Come let Us" of God once again overrides the "come let us" of man. And it always will. Man's power is no power in the face of God and as His crowning creation, we need to be facedown saying, "Come, let us adore Him."
Friday, August 9, 2013
Guitar Strings
In keeping with my last post (and I'll say oblivious to thinking about it at the time), I was asking God to make me fruitful in whatever way He chose. As I prayed, I said, "Pluck me as just a string on a guitar unnoticed but used." Immediately, I was reminded of my post about "bows and arrows" and realized yet another seemingly insignificant item, yet sorely missed when absent. Continuing in that thought process, I was also reminded of my "evening" read of Charles Spurgeon yesterday:
"All things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23
"When you read of the high and sweet communion enjoyed by favoured saints, you sigh and murmur in the chamber of your heart, 'Alas! these are not for me.'...You hear of exploits which holy men have done for Jesus; what they have enjoyed of Him; how much they have been like Him; how they have been able to endure great persecutions for His sake; and you say, "Ah! as for me, I am but a worm; I can never attain to this.' But there is nothing which one saint was, that you may not be. There is no elevation of grace, no attainment of spirituality, no clearness of assurance, no post of duty, which is not open to you if you have but the power to believe."
"All things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23
"When you read of the high and sweet communion enjoyed by favoured saints, you sigh and murmur in the chamber of your heart, 'Alas! these are not for me.'...You hear of exploits which holy men have done for Jesus; what they have enjoyed of Him; how much they have been like Him; how they have been able to endure great persecutions for His sake; and you say, "Ah! as for me, I am but a worm; I can never attain to this.' But there is nothing which one saint was, that you may not be. There is no elevation of grace, no attainment of spirituality, no clearness of assurance, no post of duty, which is not open to you if you have but the power to believe."
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Bows & Arrows
Bows and arrows, guns and bullets! Which item in each pair do you spend the most time researching when making a purchase? I have absolutely no experience in either pair but I would say the bow and the gun are the major purchase, the most important of the pair, albeit you have to have the bow and arrow, gun and bullet, to matter. But for my post today, the importance of our view of one over the other is my subject.
We tend to view spiritual gifts that way. The outward and seemingly more prestigious, we tend to hold in higher esteem. But we do wrong in that kind of thinking and must be diligent to turn away from that human tendency. When God is using us or anyone else, whatever the work is, we must be in awe and amazed at His use, not necessarily the work. We should be praying for each other in EVERY work we do int eh name of Christ Jesus. Every work needs God's power, protection and provision.
So back to "bows and arrows". In Zechariah 9:13a, God is describing His use of Judah and Ephraim as "bows and arrows". So you might think a measly arrow is expendable. It's shot and may or may not be retrieved again by the owner. However, it can and does strike fear in the enemy and many times puts an eternal end to that enemy. And the bow continues to be used over and over again. But the point to be made is, "I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim." It is God's use, not the instrument!! In His Hand, whether it's a one time act or something done over and over again, it is a sovereign, designated plan with a purpose.
We tend to view spiritual gifts that way. The outward and seemingly more prestigious, we tend to hold in higher esteem. But we do wrong in that kind of thinking and must be diligent to turn away from that human tendency. When God is using us or anyone else, whatever the work is, we must be in awe and amazed at His use, not necessarily the work. We should be praying for each other in EVERY work we do int eh name of Christ Jesus. Every work needs God's power, protection and provision.
So back to "bows and arrows". In Zechariah 9:13a, God is describing His use of Judah and Ephraim as "bows and arrows". So you might think a measly arrow is expendable. It's shot and may or may not be retrieved again by the owner. However, it can and does strike fear in the enemy and many times puts an eternal end to that enemy. And the bow continues to be used over and over again. But the point to be made is, "I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim." It is God's use, not the instrument!! In His Hand, whether it's a one time act or something done over and over again, it is a sovereign, designated plan with a purpose.
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