India

And so it begins. Flight leaves today, off to India. Please pray, will update when I can.

Prayer

Today’s post is a collaborative effort with a friend of mine, Sophia Arul. We dove into prayer and covered the surface of most of the major points. I will be going into more depth on these categories later as I have more time, if we covered them all fully this would have been far longer than any of you wanted to sit down and read in a sitting. ;) enjoy.

What is prayer?

Prayer is intentional[y] conveying a message to God – John Piper

It is not just communication because God doesn’t speak back to us through his prayer to us.

Communication meaning: The imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing, or signs.

How do we pray?

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus said:

“This, then, is how you should pray:
 “‘Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name, 
your kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
   on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us today our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, 
   as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.
 Jesus didn’t say to repeat this prayer every day. He said pray like this. We have to understand the meaning behind these words and use our own words to exalt and acknowledge our Father in heaven with humility and adoration, seek ye first the Kingdom of God(Matthew 6: 33)
Surrender completely to his will and relinquish control over our lives and letting him guide us in the right direction.
Present our request for our daily needs, Our God is our provider. Remember our wants and needs are two different things.
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14&15)
Ask for protection over our lives – protection from unseen and visible temptations & dangers.
We ask for all these in the name of Jesus since no one reaches Father except through Jesus.
“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. (John 14:6 NIV)
“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence”. (Ephesians 3:12 NLT)
What if we don’t have words to pray?
Prayer doesn’t come easy for most of us. Some of us struggle with not having the right words to express our true needs. It is not unusual for the bible teaches us clearly in Romans 8, it is a weakness.
 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26 NASB)

It means that the Holy Spirit greatly assists or aids us; not by praying for us, but in our prayers and infirmities.

With groanings - With sighs, or that deep feeling and intense anxiety which exists in the oppressed and burdened heart of the Christian.

IF God knows what we need already then why do we pray?
Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him (Matthew 6:8 ASV)
God is sovereign over all and governs all. No one can manipulate the mind of God, but we can join in through prayer with God in all his doing… We are children of God. Prayer is a part of His great plan.
Prayer causes things to happen that wouldn’t happen if you didn’t pray. Prayer is our privilege of engaging with God to bringing to pass events into universe. Our request would bring into existence of events which otherwise would not come into being.
 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. (Luke 11: 9-10 NIV)

We need to take time away from our busy world to spend time with him and get to know our creator. Just like in life in any relationship the more you talk to one person the more you feel closer to them. The more you get to know them. We should get to know our heavenly Father in the same way; through his word and quiet time and understand his will for our lives which will enables us pray in submission to His Will and plan for our lives. Jesus himself took time away from his disciples to have time alone with Father. (Mark 1:35)

Should I ask more than once?
Absolutely yes, In fact, God tells us to, more than once.
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.(Isaiah 62:6,7)
In these verses God is telling His people that He is going to lift Jerusalem up to be a praise for all the earth, He tells them to keep calling on Him for this to happen and to continue praising until it does.
Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him. And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
    “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
   “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”(Luke 11:5-13 NIV)
In this verse Jesus tells his disciples that the man didn’t get what he needed from his neighbor just because he asked. He receives he continued to ask and didn’t give up.
Word of Caution:
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:7-8 NIV)
Yes we are to pray for things more than once, but do this at different times. Repeating the same thing over and over in a prayer is useless. Give God time to answer before you ask again, as in this parable:
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!” (Luke 18: 1-5 NIV)
Where do we pray?
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6: 5-6 NIV)
Jesus puts emphasis on praying in private, just you and God. He did this in His own life, see these verses:
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, (Matthew 14:23 NIV)
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”(Matthew 26:36 NIV)
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1 NIV)
In all of these cases Jesus left His disciples and prayed alone. He is our example, we should do the same.

Armor of God

I know it has been a while since I posted, things have been very busy and during my study times I wasn’t feeling called to write. However God has moved in some pretty amazing ways these last few days, and revealed a lot that I feel needs to be shared. So today we will be looking at the armor of God in Ephesians.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I out to speak.” Ephesians 6: 10-20

I love these verses. We open with a call to stand strong in the Lord. And the rest tells us how to do that. We are no longer fighting against each other, but a spiritual battle, therefore we do not need conventional weapons and armor, but something different, something spiritual. I want to go through the pieces of armor one by one, and examine them.

First we are told to wear truth around our loins.

I know what many are thinking, and that is, why there? Why are we to wear truth around our waist?

I believe the answer to this comes in the very nature of that region of our body. That is a very secretive area, people don’t walk around with that exposed, it represents what we don’t want others to see. We are being told to guard our secrets, what others don’t see, with God’s truth.

This involves a lot. It is a call to be the same in public and in private. Our devotion to God shouldn’t be a face we put on for the sake of others; it should be who we really are, even when we are in the privacy of our homes or rooms. We should be living for God even when there is nobody else watching.

The next piece of the armor is the breastplate of righteousness.
We are to protect our heart with God’s righteousness. Remember that our bodies are now the Lord’s temple. He lives in us. 1 Corinthians 6:19
We need to keep God close to our heart, so that He can transform us. Whatever we hold close to us, the desires of our hearts, becomes what defines us. We need to hold God closest to our hearts, and let His righteousness define who we are. Let Him shape and mold us.

Then our feet are covered with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
This is a big one. We already have ourselves covered in God’s truth, His righteousness is transforming our hearts. Then we put on the preparation of the gospel of peace.
We need to dive into God’s word, know it, and be prepared to use it. How can we share His word if we ourselves have not read it? We need to be prepared by it. Whenever Jesus gets questioned He turned to the scriptures for His answers. We should do the same.
But why our feet? I think that answer rests in Matthew 28:19-20. We are supposed to GO and teach. When we have put on the preparation of the gospel of peace, we are carried forward and to those that need it. When we understand the gospel we can’t ignore it, and we naturally begin to live it. That is why we needed to put on truth and righteousness first. Because once we have on the preparation of the gospel we begin to move.

Now we pick up the shield of faith.
Once we have entered into the world, to carry the gospel to others we will be challenged, attacked, and face resistance. It is vitally important that we lean on our faith for defense rather than ourselves. Faith is of God, and when we rely on Him there is no obstacle we cannot overcome. This gives us a trust and reliance on God. Draws us close to Him.

Next is the helmet of salvation.
We wear this as a helmet because we need to keep this on our minds at all times. We need to let this transform us, and renew our minds. (Romans 12:2)

Next is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Our weapon is not a tool of destruction, but rather a tool to edify (Ephesians 4:29). We use the word of God to teach and instruct those we come across, and to build them up. Reveal God’s truth.

Now this last part isn’t a piece of armor, but it is vitally important. Prayer. After we put on all of this armor we aren’t asked to run and fight some big battle, we are simply asked to pray. The process of putting on this armor aligns us with God’s Spirit and will. This is what makes for powerful prayer.
Luke 11:9. We are told to ask and it shall be given to us. This passage has been used by many to claim that God will give you whatever you want, but that is only a partial truth. Jesus is speaking about those who are aligned with the Spirit of God. When we align ourselves with His Spirit, we want what God wants, and therefore we will ask only for those things that God wants to give, things to glorify Him, or edify others.

As many of you know, Joplin was recently hit by a powerful tornado and most of the town was destroyed. There are more than 160 confirmed dead and hundreds still missing. Rescue crews and relief agencies are sifting through the wreckage, trying to help whoever they can, but it is long, hard work. Last night another powerful tornado was heading their way. Word was spread among those I know as each heard about the storm and spread the word to pray for the people of Joplin. God moved last night and exact prayers were answered, the tornado dissipated, and the storm turned. Joplin was spared. When we align ourselves with God, we see powerful results to our prayers. We need to surrender to His will, and pray with confidence. Remember the centurion that asked Jesus to heal his servant. He knew that Jesus had that authority and had no doubt that even if Jesus didn’t go to the servant in person, what He said would come to pass. We have that same power living inside of us, and when we align ourselves with the Spirit, it isn’t our words that we pray. The Spirit will speak through us and we will see results. Believe this, trust this, and praise God. For all the Glory is His.

Shall Never Perish

“And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.”  Mark 5:21-24

“While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.”  Mark 5:35-43

I would like to start here, with one of the more spectacular miracles of Jesus.

This is a powerful lesson on what faith can do, Jesus simply asked the father to believe, and then He raised his daughter.

But there is something a bit deeper that I want us to look at, something I think is often overlooked.

“And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying” Mark 5: 39-40

Jesus told them she was just sleeping, and that she was not dead. And they laughed.

Isn’t that how most of us, even in the church, react to outlandish sounding statements of faith these days? Here Jesus not only ignores those who doubt, but excludes them completely from what happens next. He sent them out, and took with Him only those who believed.

However, we all know the story, she is restored and everyone is happy. I want to look closer at the words: “The damsel is not dead”. She very clearly was. Death was not an uncommon thing in these days; people knew what a dead thing looked like. Yet Jesus says that she isn’t dead.

Perhaps they didn’t know what death was, and perhaps… we still don’t.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25-26

Ah, here we find words in another resurrection story. This time it was Lazarus, again we all know the story so I just want to focus on the above verses. We know that Jesus spoke truth to us, and here we see Him clearly say that if we believe in Him, we shall NEVER die.

Interesting… but we have all lost people, been to funerals, or heard about the deaths of famous people, even “christians”. So does that mean none of us have faith? That we don’t believe in Him?

Or does that mean that we don’t know what death is?

Christ promised us this more than once, if you wish to see another verse just look here:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”  John 10: 27-28.

So the natural conclusion is one of two things, either A, none of us, including the disciples, truly had faith. Or, we can’t tell the difference between dead and sleeping.

Paul discusses death and the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as in the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, bretheren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 15: 42-58

Now this is a powerful piece of scripture. I could probably write a whole post just on this here (although at this point I have no intention of doing that, though who knows, maybe someday). What I want to focus on is the heavy emphasis here on the resurrection being a change. Whether we are alive or “dead” these bodies will not go with us into eternity, we will receive new spiritual bodies.

Note how Paul also uses the words “we shall not all sleep”.

This is seemingly random and put in where all other similar words are death, and dead. By all rights that word could easily read as die, yet Paul doesn’t say that. He says sleep.

Are they interchangeable? Is there a distinction? I can’t really say for sure. What I can say is that death has always been a statement of finality, and in Christ, nothing is final. I like this word sleep. We don’t have to mourn the passing of those we know and care about, or even of ourselves.

It is not final, simply a quick nap before being called home to Christ, refreshed and ready for eternity.

Praising God with our lives

Today I want to go into more of what has changed my life. And that is simply learning to praise God, to really make Him the focus of my love and attention, above all else. I want to look at Psalm 66 today, while reading I was just floored by it, and can’t wait to share.

“Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. Psalm 66: 1-4

Make a joyful noise!!  I love this so much, and is at the heart of my worship. A simple statement like this, we aren’t asked to worship God in any particular way, with a certain style of music, singing, or praise. He simply wants us to make a joyful noise unto Him. And He wants ALL of us to do this. Our God is great and powerful and deserving of our affections and praise. He should be ahead of all things in our lives, and He deserves all of our praise.

 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.” Psalm 66: 5-7

We aren’t just worshiping a God who demands it, we are worshiping a God who time and time again has shown us that He deserves it. God has done amazing things for His people, and is utterly deserving of everything we can give. Who are we in comparison? How can we lift ourselves up against God? This is a call to humble ourselves before our God. It is Him that we serve.

“O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, Which my lips have uttered and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. Psalm 66: 8-15

We also praise our God for all that he has done for us. When we suffered, when we struggled, it was God who rescued us. Even while we were in our sin God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us, and save us. He is bringing us into His presence, because we can’t get there on our own. This Psalm is written while men lived under the law, thus we see listed the sacrifices that were given to God. We are no longer under that law, but we can still sacrifice for Him. What do we cling to in our lives that we should throw upon the alter and be done with? Our God deserves our first and our best, if we are placing anything at all before God, we need to sacrifice it. Give God our praise, for to Him goes all the glory. Think about how we spend our time, for our praise is more than music at church, or a song in our hearts. Our praise is a condition of our heart. We need to place God first in our lives.  Do we spend as much time diving into His word, or serving others, as we do watching television, or playing video games? How about our time on facebook? Does it eclipse our time with God? God needs to be first in our lives, and we need to devote our time to Him. If we are spending more time in other areas of our lives, then we are praising those things above Him, we have made idols and we need to break them down and turn back to God.

 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.”  Psalm 66: 16-20

God has done so many amazing things for me, and for you. Are we declaring this the way we should? I won’t speak for individuals, but as a culture I can see clearly that we are not. And I am not even including non-believers in this statement. Of those that call ourselves Christian, the vast majority do not live a life that shows praise to God. I am not sure how this bit on praise turned into such a look into our lives, but I feel the Spirit leading me to say this, and so I will. During this Easter season, look inside yourselves, and at the outward image you present. Can people see God in you? If you don’t know how to answer, or if you know that they don’t. Ask yourself this, what can I sacrifice to the one who gave it all to me? How can I make my life a praise to Him? Focus on the last sentence in these verses. God gave us His son, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again. No longer do we have to worry about making ourselves right with God as the one who wrote this song did. If we surrender to Jesus our very lives, God will hear our prayers, and His mercy is already showering down upon us. Give praise to the God who created us, and to Jesus for rescuing us. God Bless you all.

Dominion

I would like to start this post with a look at something I covered briefly in my last post, a comparison between some verses in Genesis chapter 1, and Colossians chapter 1.

“Who is the image of the invisible God,” Colossians 1:15

As we covered last time, the Who mentioned at the start of this verse is Jesus. And image refers to the traits and character. So what this verse says is that Jesus is the very nature and character of God, only in a form we can see, touch, smell, and learn from. God came down in the form of Jesus and walked with us, talked with us, left us with lessons on how to live our lives, and, most importantly of all, redeemed us! In my last post I went over some of the traits that Jesus portrayed, and I say some because I know I only scratched the surface, my writing isn’t meant to be all inclusive, only to cause a desire to dig deeper, only God’s Word truly teaches.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” Genesis 1:26

And here is the quote from the first half of that verse in Genesis that I also quoted last time; where God is saying that He is going to make man “in our image”. This is powerful. We are made after the image of God. So yes, we are made in the image of God. Refer back to Colossians (or refer forward as the case may be) and look again at the image of God mentioned there. From the very beginning, Genesis chapter 1, we were made in Christ! God knew the very day we would fall away from him (yes, song reference, for those that know me try not to faint) and was preparing, even then for that eventuality. We belonged to Christ then, before the fall, and had His traits. Now this is where comparing these two verses starts to get really interesting, let us take a look at these two areas, include a few more verses surrounding each.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1: 26-28

Wow, so when we were created we had control over everything on the earth? Every creature, “over all the earth”. That is amazing. We were created to lead, and to rule, under God, but over the earth. Suddenly the name “King of Kings” is more appropriate than ever before, in a way, all were given dominion here and all were kings, and He the King over us. And then sin enters the picture, we all know the story, serpent deceives Eve, Eve eats forbidden fruit, Eve gives unto Adam, Adam eats, God kicks us out of the garden and we find ourselves living in the curse, all of a sudden without that same dominion we had before, now we have to struggle and work to get results out of the earth. If the story ended here, I probably wouldn’t be writing this, but then something happens; Jesus comes. Let us look into Colossians and see what His description is.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1: 15-17

Well, this is getting exciting now. “firstborn of every creature”. This doesn’t mean that Christ was the first thing created by God. Biblically speaking firstborn always refers to not an order of birth, but a right. The firstborn received the largest portion of inheritance, the firstborn ruled after the father passed. Solomon, though not the firstborn son of David, is considered a firstborn in the rights that he received. You see that with Jacob and Esau as well, Jacob received the rights and blessings of firstborn, even though Esau was born first. Christ was not created, in fact He created us and we were created in Him. He is the firstborn of creation because He rules over creation. The next part of these verses goes into some examples of the things that He rules over, which is a list of, well, everything. The verses close out with a clear statement that Christ is the head of all, and the reason for our very existence. Now I said this was where it got exciting, and I know some of you are probably wondering what is so exciting about this, we all knew Jesus was God, where is the news? Where is the excitement? Whereas I do have more, I just want to assure you that this is exciting, I am thrilled with my Lord Jesus and even simple statements like this make me want to belt out praises (again, those that know me know I don’t sing well, so that would be to the detriment of all nearby). This is glorious when compared side by side with all that Christ taught. Because Christ did more than just cleanse our sins, he brought the kingdom of heaven back to us. He has returned what we lost in Eden.  If there be any doubt of this, let us take a look at some of Christ’s teachings.

I don’t want anybody panicking on me here, I am not about to get into one of those God will give you what ever you want messages. I am going to start off in Luke, chapter 11, after Christ teaches the Lord’s Prayer and the parable of the man who asked for three loaves. We start off in verse 9:

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11: 9-13

This is powerful. If we ask we receive, if we seek, we find, if we knock, the door is opened. I realize that on the surface this might look like what I just told you I wasn’t going to do, so I encourage you too look a little farther, what does it say our heavenly Father will give us? That is right, the Holy Spirit. So wait, what does this mean? When we seek, ask, and knock. God answers, He fills us with His Spirit. The Spirit can then guide us in the ways of God, comfort us through our troubles, and truly teach us how to ask things of our Lord. You see, God doesn’t provide for us whatever we ask for before Christ. This is part of what Christ brought to us. When we surrender to Christ, live for Him, the Holy Spirit fills us with desires that are Godly, and a heart that seeks His face. It is when we ask through the Spirit that God grants us our desires, for then, the desires are truly His anyway. The real power of prayer comes not in praying for what you want, but in letting the Spirit pray for you, and accomplishing His perfect will. This is but the first step in finding what Christ brought back to us, there is more, so much more. Getting excited yet? Let’s move on.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16: 15-18

This is Jesus speaking to the disciples just before his ascension into heaven. When we believe and are baptized. This is critical. First we believe, our faith is a gift from God, granted by him, and then we surrender into baptism. We give up our old ways to follow Him, surrender ourselves and receive the Holy Spirit. At this point Christ describes what those who believe will look like, I don’t know about you, but that seems like a fairly powerful group of people. In the name of Christ we can do all of those things, if He but gives us the faith. The dominion that was given when man was created, and lost to the sin of Adam and Eve, has been restored through Christ. If we surrender to Christ, allow the Spirit to live within us. That dominion is given back. Through His name we regain what was lost, not of ourselves, but of Him that created us, died for us, and defeated death itself.

All praise and glory to God the Father, through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

Image of the Invisible God

“Who is the image of the invisible God,” Colossians 1:15

I know that isn’t the whole verse, but I want to stop there, at least for now, I will probably cover the second half of that verse and the next few in another post, but my last post was far longer than planned, and I don’t want to do that again, at least not so soon after the last time.

For those that are wondering, the Who being referred to is Jesus. So I ask, what does it mean by the image of the invisible God? There is another place where we have seen something referenced as being in the image of God, and that is in Genesis:

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” Genesis 1:26

Again, I know I cut the verse off midway, however you have the context I am trying to connect you with, the rest is also important, but I will cover it in my next point, as it shadows the rest of Colossians 1:15, the connections are inspiring. Now, we have to references to the image of God. The image of God refers to God’s traits, so us being made in the image of God means we contain these traits, although sin has separated us from God and the traits are a poor reflection of our creator. However, Christ is not mentioned as in the image of God, He IS the image of God. Christ is no reflection, He is the real deal. When we read through the Gospels we get a window, a glimpse at God, and His very nature and character, in a form we can see and understand clearly. We see His mercy, love, kindness, power, and control. Before I go more into them though, I want to point out one more thing.

We are made in the image of God. Christ is the image of God. We are made in Christ. Now this may seem mind bogglingly simple, but let this sink in for just a second. Allow this thought to be more than just a thought, let the truth sink in.

Now, back to the image of God, Jesus portrays the characteristics and traits of God. First, he is all powerful. There are numerous instances where Jesus casts out demons, which is exerting His might over darkness. One of my favorites, that truly shows how the demons and devils fear our Lord, is found in Mark.

“And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (There were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.” Matthew 5: 2-13

That is power. The enemies of Jesus fall and worship at his feet. There is no struggle, no resistance; they know they have not the power to resist. We worship the God of all. He is the Most High. Next we take a look at another trait, which is control, turn back just one chapter in the book of Mark for an example of this.

“And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”  Mark 4: 35-41

Christ has been given dominion over all the earth, this includes every part of it, from the smallest of creatures, to the largest of mountains. He but needs to speak a word for the winds and the seas to obey Him. Christ is in complete control. There is no circumstance or situation that He is not both aware of, and prepared for. We have no reason to fear anything for our God is in control.

The next trait I wish to discuss is Christ’s mercy.

“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8: 3-12

Here we find how Jesus treated someone who was undoubtedly guilty, and who, according to the law, should have been killed. And yet Jesus does the unexpected, He displays mercy, rebukes her accusers, and allows her to walk free, saying nothing more than “sin no more”. Wow. This is something to praise God over. Despite the fact that we are all guilty of sin, without exception, Jesus is extending mercy to us, saving us from the death we deserve.

Last I want to show Christ’s love,

Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the yes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” John 11:35-44

Here we see an example of Jesus’ love for others mixed with a show of his power to heal, and even bring the dead to live. Jesus was grieved for the loss of Lazarus, even to the point of tears. Jesus cares for every single one of us greatly, so much so that He died for us, that we may live in Him. There is no greater love. We should follow this example, and have true compassion for those around us. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and we are made in His image. We need to surrender to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, allow the Spirit to move in us and make us more like Him.