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You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:5
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
We are unsure of when King David wrote the words of Psalm 8. It could have been written while he was on the throne in Jerusalem, or it could have been while he was on the run from one of King Saul’s murderous rampages. His present location isn’t clear, but his mindset is.
I imagine David writing this Psalm as he thought back to simpler, safer and easier times in his life. Times when his biggest enemy was loneliness as he sat in the hills of Judea watching over his father’s sheep, and his biggest fear was an occasional bear or lion or other enemy attacking the sheep when he least expected it. The words of this Psalm could very easily have come to David during his time as a shepherd, only to be written down later.
Imagine laying in the soft, cool mountain grass during the stillness of the night and looking up into the vast array of stars that make up our universe. While staring into space David is reminded of God’s great love for him. A love that is so great and enduring that God not only loves us, He honors us. He lifts us up and esteems us! To think a frail, weak, rebellious human such as I would be honored and esteemed by the ruler of the universe!
Years later, the Apostle Paul is writing his letter to the Romans and he too is reminded of God’s great love. He candidly shares with the Roman disciples his own shortcomings and struggle with sin and with failure. In the midst of this he reminds all of us that God’s love is directed to us on the basis of who Jesus is and what we do with Jesus, not on whom we are or what we can do for Him.
If the God of the Universe loves us so much that He honors and esteems us above all other things then how could He be any less anxious to bring his very best into our lives? We may not always understand the struggles we are going through or why God allows things to come into our lives. But we can know that in the end He will work everything for good in our lives.
Your Heavenly Father wants to do great things in your life. You may not understand all that is going on in your life right now, but you can know that your Heavenly Father can take even the toughest times of our lives and use them for our good and His glory.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I have to admit I don’t understand why you do what you do, particularly at this point in my life. I thank you for the promise that you love and honor me even though I’m so unworthy. Help me grow more in my love for you as you lead me through the tough times of life. Amen.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17
We are not remodeled. We are not restored. We are not refurbished. We are new creations. What an amazing truth to ponder. To remodel, restore or refurbish means that we take what is good from an object (car, building, etc.) and try to recreate it to its previous state, or improve upon its previous state to make it better and more useful.
The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are new creations. Our Father doesn’t reach down and try to refashion us into what we once were. He doesn’t take the good parts and set them aside, remove the bad stuff and then rebuild us. He makes us new.
The Apostle Paul says, in Corinthians, that all of the old is gone now. The past has been removed. In Jesus Christ we are brand new creations. That means that we no longer need to live in the shadows of our past. The poor choices, the broken relationships, the addictive tendencies no longer need to rule over us.
Does that mean that we won’t ever struggle with sin? NO! In Romans Paul tells the candid truth that even this great man of God struggled daily with sin. He says, “The things I want to do, I don’t do. The things I hate to do I find myself doing!” As long as we live on earth we will struggle with the temptation to do things wrong. But Jesus wants better things for us. He died to remove sins penalty. He rose to give victory over the grave. He ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for us. He sent His Spirit to empower us to live more fully for Him each day.
You are a new creature in Jesus. Don’t let the past haunt you any longer. The things of your past no longer have any control over who you are. In a sense you no longer have a ‘past’, only life with Christ. Walk daily with Jesus. Let Him direct your paths and show you the way to living live fully in Him. Jesus alone can free you from the barriers of the past and empower you to live completely new lives in Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I thank you for the love you have shown through Jesus. Thank you for the way you made me in your image. I confess that the sins of my past have kept me from living the life of fullness you have for me. I pray that I will learn to walk more closely to you and that through your Spirit the baggage of my past will be left behind. Help me to live as the new Creation I am. Amen.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4
Every day we encounter situations which can affect our entire outlook on life. One negative comment can send us scrambling for shelter like a frightened armadillo or startled turtle. It can be something as simple as a cross word spoken or a misunderstanding of the meaning behind something we hear.
When we fight the world’s battles with the worlds weapons defeat is inevitable. How we react to daily situations in our lives can have a lasting effect on how we feel about ourselves and what we can accomplish in life. A parent’s disappointment in us can affect us well into adulthood and even affect how our children feel about themselves. It isn’t the obstacles in life that determine our success or failure. How we view of ourselves is more often the determining factor between success and failure.
The Apostle Paul tells us that the weapons we have to fight life’s battles aren’t the same weapons the world uses. The weapons of the world are destructive. The obvious weapons of physical warfare are easy to see and while they can cause death and destruction, the unseen weapons of the world are in some ways more destructive because they don’t leave bruises or blood, only inner pain.
Because of Jesus we can overcome these weapons or strongholds of criticism, judgmental attitudes, vindictive rumors and the like. When we listen to the attacks of the enemy and allow them to determine how we see ourselves, depression, poor self-esteem and discouragement are bound to follow and have detrimental effects on our relationships.
The divine weapons we have been given offer life not destruction, healing not wounding, building up, not tearing down. They are based on God’s view of us and not the view we or others have of us. When I see myself as God sees me it doesn’t matter how others view me! Other people see my failures, my mistakes, and my faults. God sees me as His beloved Child. He looks at me through His Son, Jesus.
Don’t allow the weapons of the world to thwart Gods power to attain the life you want to have. The abusive words and actions of those in your past can be set aside as you pursue all that God has for you in Christ Jesus. With the weapons we have we can overcome the strongholds the world would like to place on us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to see myself as you see me and not be affected by the negative and destructive actions of those in the world. Empower me through your Spirit to lift the fallen, encourage the weary and patiently bear with those intent on my demise. Amen.
We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. Psalms 78:4
During Old Testament times the stories of God’s deliverance were crucial to reminding each generation of how God worked in the lives of His people. Some of those stories told of great victories over enemies. Some stories told of God’s judgment for sin and a refusal to follow His commands. These stories were a constant reminder of God’s desire to be involved in the lives of His people.
Sometimes, when we read these stories we forget that the people involved in the events had no idea how they would turn out! We have the advantage to read ahead and see how God acted to save His people. They had to live the suspense, fear and anxious moments without knowing ahead of time what would happen.
The stories in the Bible remind us that God is actively involved in our lives and that He expects our lives to be active. Contentment in God’s eyes means that we rest in His provision while at the same time we yearn to grow closer to Him, to see Him work more fully in our lives. He never expects us to be stagnant.
Being a follower of Jesus Christ means that we will never settle for less than what He can give us. Through the working of His Spirit in our lives we can understand more of what He has in store for us. As we seek to grow closer to Him we will meet resistance. The voices within us will tell us we can’t attain the things God has for us. We will feel we aren’t worthy of His blessings. Our failures and weaknesses will seem too large.
Don’t listen to the lies. You are God’s chosen child. He gave all He had through Jesus so that you can rise above the struggles and roadblocks that come into your path. Remind yourself of the stories of how God worked in the past. He can do the same for you today as you grow in your relationship to Him.
PRAYER: Holy God. I remember the Bible Stories of my youth and how you did miracles in common people’s lives. I have to admit that many times I feel that kind of involvement isn’t meant for my life. Forgive me for believing that lie. Help me to draw close to you and to believe that you can and will do a miracle in my life today. Keep me from being content to stay where I am in my walk with you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 