Before We Were, God Was and Is!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.John 1:1,2 NIV

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV

Sometimes, when the world appears to be spiralling out of control, we need to step back from the drama and remember–from the beginning–God was and is still with us!

Even though there are still scoffers and scorners who refuse to believe God–that is their prerogative, but for the Believers–if we just keep in mind that God created all that was created and nothing was created without Him–we’ll still be here to point the way to Him. But we must also remember that God will not force anyone to act against their will. We must submit to God and allow Holy Spirit control over our lives if we want to see any real change in our society and in the world abroad.

Though observant and mindful of everything going on around us, we cannot control the outcome of anything but what we do. Therefore, we must pay attention to all that is going on in the world so we’ll know how to pray–seeking God’s wisdom to know what we can and must do to change the atmosphere around us.

When we don’t agree with how people live–we put them on our prayer list and pray God’s wisdom will seep into their hearts and they will want to please Him, not us.

When the foolish continue to act like fools–we put them on our prayer list and continue to promote God’s Word.

When un-believers continue to live in sin–we put them on our prayer list and pray that God will remove the blinders from their eyes.

When people are dissatisfied with the bodies God gave them–we put them on our prayer list and pray they will find joy in The Lord and love themselves as they were from the beginning.

When lawmakers are lax in doing their jobs–we put them and the voters on our prayer list and pray that wisdom in electing public officials will reign in the heart of every voter.

In the beginning, God created the universe and all within it and I’m sure He knew what He was doing when He created man and woman–putting everything in place where He wanted it to be for His purposes, not ours.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made–unique in every way–whether we were born alone or with others (twins, etc.), we are who God intended us to be.

I am convinced that most of the confusion experienced by many about their gender identification is a result of them not loving themselves from the beginning. If we don’t learn how to love self (not be in love with self, selfishly), we’ll never be happy or able to  love others. I’m also astute enough to know that our environment plays a big part in how we look at ourselves and in our expectations of self. So, if in fact a person’s desire to forsake their beginning is the result of externalities over which they had no control, we pray for them to forgive anyone who influenced their self-hatred and that they will allow God to guide them in life.

We must remember–Before we were, God was and is!

 

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We Are His Treasured Possession!

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,” (Exodus 19:5 NIV)

To obey God “fully” is to acknowledge His authority in all things and to simply, just do it! There is no other way that we can see ourselves as His treasured possession, chosen specifically by Him, and given favor so all the nations shall see us as His.

Of course obeying God comes with a price tag that many of us already understand. It means we withstand the ridicule and derision of those who think they know than God–who are actually the Godless and we know them by their behavior. We are belittled by those who attempt to derail everything we say because of their own insecurities, guilt, and self-hatred. We stand up to their accusations of hate because we know it is not us who hate–when we are filled with the love of God–there is no room for hatred, but watch how they personalize attacks against those who dare to stand up for Truth and Righteousness according to God’s Word and not our opinions.

Yes, there is a price to be paid for obeying God and some are paying with their lives when they refuse to recant their faith in God. These are the true heroes of faith in Christ Jesus. Those who will not turn back or turn away from serving an all-wise God, though physical death may be the end result, God’s reward for obedience is greater than the hatred of those who will not hear Him and obey.

Yesterday, as I often do, I commented on an article in the New York Times regarding Ireland’s referendum. Part of the caption to the article started, “love prevails…” and that is what caught my attention. My comment, “Too bad many cannot distinguish between love and lust,” and it triggered so much vitriol that I was truly amazed. Hatred spewed from the fingers of many who replied and I just sat in wonderment watching them, thankful that I have so much of God’s love within that I never went into attack mode as they did.

This is when we know we are His treasured possession–when we can respond to someone attacking us, without attacking in return. I am so thankful to God that He has chosen me to be His, curbs my tongue and my fingers when the godless attack and propels me to show them respect for their opinions, even when they won’t respect mine.

When we are filled with His goodness, we recognize those who are hurting because their hatred directed at us, is without merit. They react out of guilt and self-hatred and when we dare to say anything that is remotely different from what they think–they attack. I truly feel sorry for them and I’m praying that they will eventually see the need to know God and be set free from the hatred that holds them so tightly. They fail to understand that it is not us–the Believers who obey God–who hate them, but them who hate us because we dare to believe God and obey Him.

This world is in need of much prayer for all–the saved and unsaved, but while we wait for the unsaved to get a revelation of God’s love, we can rest in the knowledge that we are His treasured possession. Keep praying!