Born According to Plan
Ephesians 1:4-5
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.
Chosen and Adopted
God designed you as a wonderful and unique person for a job that only you can do. He could do that because he knew his plan for you before he had even created the world. The scripture above makes it very clear that you are not an accident. He had your life all mapped out way before you were born. One vital stop on the highway of your life is the day you become his adopted child by accepting his offer to forgive your sins and save you for all eternity.
The word “predestined” means that God planned everything out and made sure you got saved so you could be his daughter or son. I never quite understood this concept until I learned what God did for my friend Margaret. I meta student at a Christian camp. They had suffered some of the worst tragedies we could imagine. They had been terribly abused as a child. As a teenager they used drugs and alcohol.
At the end of this camp they accepted Jesus as her Savior. They immediately enrolled in the yearlong disciples’ Bible study program. In time, they shared their story. One day, they knew about Jesus and often prayed to him when things went wrong. God worked behind the scenes to move them here and there. He kept them alive until they came to the shelter and heard about Jesus.
Fortunately, God’s plan for most of us doesn’t include what Margaret suffered. Instead, he gave us Christian parents who love us dearly and tell us about Jesus from the time we’re born. They take us to church and share the plan of salvation with us. And one day, it all makes sense and we pray to receive Jesus as Savior. We ask him to forgive us for all the bad, mean, dishonest things we’ve done. He gives us a new heart and makes us pure enough to go to heaven when we die. At the very moment we ask him to save us, we are adopted into God’s family—all according to plan, right on time, and without fail.
Today’s Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for planning for my salvation. Thank you that before I was even born, you knew you would adopt me into your family. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to hear about Jesus and the faith to accept him as my savior. Please help me be a good son/daughter to you, one that will make you proud. Amen
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek
Jeremiah 29:13
“ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
My Search for God
Do you remember when you were little and you would play a game of hide and seek? One thing I remember vividly is the way it felt when I was “IT”. I can sum it up in one word: Lonely. I used to dread having to look for people, but I loved the feeling I got when I found the first person. It meant that I was no longer “IT.” The person whom I had found now had my burden and became “IT” on the next round. Is it coming back to you yet?
The Bible records the ultimate game of Hide and Seek. We are lonely, lost and sick of being “IT.” We are desperate for an encounter with God. Just like in the game, if we search for God diligently we will find Him. Except unlike the game, God is not hiding from us. When we find Him he then takes our sin burden and carries it away, In response we repent and turn away from our sins. God gives us every capability to find Him. One way to start is through His Word. It is a reassuring feeling to know that I will never be “IT” again in my relationship to God.
Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God for he will abundantly pardon.”
Today’s Prayer:
Thank You Lord for making yourself approachable and giving me the chance to find you. I want to search for you all my life, may I never give up. Thank you for delivering me from the awful sin burdens I had when I didn’t know you. I love you Lord, Amen.
Jeremiah 29:13
“ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
My Search for God
Do you remember when you were little and you would play a game of hide and seek? One thing I remember vividly is the way it felt when I was “IT”. I can sum it up in one word: Lonely. I used to dread having to look for people, but I loved the feeling I got when I found the first person. It meant that I was no longer “IT.” The person whom I had found now had my burden and became “IT” on the next round. Is it coming back to you yet?
The Bible records the ultimate game of Hide and Seek. We are lonely, lost and sick of being “IT.” We are desperate for an encounter with God. Just like in the game, if we search for God diligently we will find Him. Except unlike the game, God is not hiding from us. When we find Him he then takes our sin burden and carries it away, In response we repent and turn away from our sins. God gives us every capability to find Him. One way to start is through His Word. It is a reassuring feeling to know that I will never be “IT” again in my relationship to God.
Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God for he will abundantly pardon.”
Today’s Prayer:
Thank You Lord for making yourself approachable and giving me the chance to find you. I want to search for you all my life, may I never give up. Thank you for delivering me from the awful sin burdens I had when I didn’t know you. I love you Lord, Amen.
Monday, February 16, 2009
What I was made to do
What I was Made to Do
Ephesians 2:10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We’re created and saved for service to God.
Years ago, our family owned a Border collie. The first time we took her for a group walk, we noticed that she got very concerned when the members of our group didn’t stay together. I didnt stay with my parents, my brother lagged behind and my parents walked with Lady. Poor Lady didn’t know what to do. She nearly ran her legs off trying to check on everyone. We laughed and laughed at her efforts. They seemed terribly foolish from our point of view.
Missy was absolutely committed to her task, though. She persisted in checking on all of us because of who she was. Border collies are bred to herd and guard sheep. They just naturally try to keep them together because a stray sheep will almost certainly become coyote food. Lady didn’t understand why her barks and jumping in front of us didn’t turn us back into the pack.
There are some similarities between Lady and us, particularly when we consider what we are designed to be and do. Before God saves us, we just naturally sin. We’ve been born with a sin nature that desires to please self more than anything. But, after Jesus saves us, He gives us a new nature that desires to please God more than anything. The most natural thing in the world for a saved sinner to do is to obey God. It’s what He made us for.
God will never accept us in His presence because we keep His commandments or do good things for other people. He requires absolutely perfect holiness of anyone who enters into His presence. We can never make it by what we do. But, God made it possible for us to become righteous as we place our faith in Jesus and His death on the cross as the sacrifice for our sin. Once we believe, we do right things as an expression of our gratitude and to show our new character.
Today’s Prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for making it possible for me to have a personal relationship with You. Thank you for Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Now that You have saved me and given me a new heart, please help me serve you faithfully and honorably. Help me be what You made me to be. Amen.
Ephesians 2:10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We’re created and saved for service to God.
Years ago, our family owned a Border collie. The first time we took her for a group walk, we noticed that she got very concerned when the members of our group didn’t stay together. I didnt stay with my parents, my brother lagged behind and my parents walked with Lady. Poor Lady didn’t know what to do. She nearly ran her legs off trying to check on everyone. We laughed and laughed at her efforts. They seemed terribly foolish from our point of view.
Missy was absolutely committed to her task, though. She persisted in checking on all of us because of who she was. Border collies are bred to herd and guard sheep. They just naturally try to keep them together because a stray sheep will almost certainly become coyote food. Lady didn’t understand why her barks and jumping in front of us didn’t turn us back into the pack.
There are some similarities between Lady and us, particularly when we consider what we are designed to be and do. Before God saves us, we just naturally sin. We’ve been born with a sin nature that desires to please self more than anything. But, after Jesus saves us, He gives us a new nature that desires to please God more than anything. The most natural thing in the world for a saved sinner to do is to obey God. It’s what He made us for.
God will never accept us in His presence because we keep His commandments or do good things for other people. He requires absolutely perfect holiness of anyone who enters into His presence. We can never make it by what we do. But, God made it possible for us to become righteous as we place our faith in Jesus and His death on the cross as the sacrifice for our sin. Once we believe, we do right things as an expression of our gratitude and to show our new character.
Today’s Prayer:
Dear Father, thank you for making it possible for me to have a personal relationship with You. Thank you for Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Now that You have saved me and given me a new heart, please help me serve you faithfully and honorably. Help me be what You made me to be. Amen.
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