James 3:9,
“Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse
we men, which are made after the similitude of God.”
The Word of God (the Bible) proclaims that God created mankind IN HIS OWN
IMAGE. My heart cannot express in words how awed I am at the very thought of
being created in the image of God. What a precious and heart-warming truth!
Genesis 1:26-27, “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.”
God exists in the three distinct and individual Persons of God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20; Colossians 2:2). This
is the Biblical doctrine of the
Godhead (or
Trinity).
The Doctrine Of God The Father (Dr. Jeff Owens). There is
only ONE God (Deuteronomy 6:4), but He exists in three Persons.
Likewise,
God created humanity in the threefold form of spirit, soul and body (1st
Thessalonians 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God
created the human soul with a mind, heart and spirit. People often mention
body, soul and spirit, but the Bible lists the spirit first in order,
because a person's spirit is who they really are. When our body decays,
breaks down and diminishes until it is no longer able to house the soul and
spirit, our earthly life ends. Hence, one's true life exists in the spirit
and soul. Hebrews 4:12 teaches that the Word of God can discern our
intentions, piercing even to the dividing asunder of our soul and spirit. No
other person or thing in the world can boast of such a claim. The Bible is
the owner's manual, if you please, of humanity. When all else fails, read
the instructions!!!
We were all created in God's image, having feelings just like God. The
Lord becomes grieved when we gossip, slander and fight with one another
(which has become epidemic on the internet)...
Ephesians 4:29-32, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your
mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister
grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye
are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all
malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Gossip is corrupt communication, which accomplishes nothing. Gossip
grieves God. We are sealed as born-again believers with God's Holy Spirit.
Amen! Since God's Spirit cannot die, neither can our spirit die once we are
born anew of God's Spirit. It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for any Christian to
ever lose God's Spirit. Salvation cannot be lost. If saved, always saved!
I shutter in horror
when I see war documentaries, one country after another,
millions-upon-millions
of soldiers and civilians killed by war.
War is so stupid, needless,
selfish and typical of the wickedness of mankind. For the same reason that
neighbors rise up against neighbors, nations rise up against nations, that
is, PRIDE! Proverbs 13:10, “Only by pride cometh contention:
but with the well advised is wisdom.” ONLY BY PRIDE COMETH
CONTENTION! Only by pride does divorce happen. Only by pride comes wars.
Only by pride comes lawsuits. Only by pride churches are split. Only by
pride are families divided. Only by sinful pride do these things happen.
Each and every individual human being is made in God's image. There's
nothing more tragic than one man killing another. God created us in His own
image, loving us beyond comprehension, giving His only begotten Son to die
for our sins.
God not only forms us in our mother's womb (Jeremiah 1:5), but He also
makes us in His very own image. God spoke the universe into existence, but
He FORMED mankind with His own hands from the dust (elements) of the earth
(Genesis 2:7). What is humanity? We are the mere dirt of the earth. We are
composed of what our parents ate while we were growing in the womb, and
everything we've eaten and drank since. We are what we eat! Scary, huh?
Think about how amazing that is! The incredible human body exists of various
elements from the ground. What makes one seed grow into a carrot, and
another into a watermelon, and another seed into corn, and yet another into
a tall sunflower? It is DNA, the building blocks of all life and mass in the
universe. Mankind is just beginning to discover the incredible world of DNA
and mind-boggling discoveries are in the near future if the Lord tarries His
return.
Years ago I planted a bunch of sunflowers and the squirrels figured out
how to chew the inch-thick plant shaft right below the 12-inch-wide
sunflower. When it fell about 6-feet to the ground they ate it. Since I love
squirrels I was happy to know that my sunflowers fed them and made them
happy. I only grew them for their beauty, and was glad to see them go to
good use to feed some hungry squirrels. God is so awesome and amazing,
greatly to be praised for His wondrous works!!! Oh! How we ought to praise
God continually for His blessings and goodness, and for His mercy and the
gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ!!! Amen and amen!
It is very true that 5-minutes of praise will do more for a person than a
lifetime of criticism. Just a few kind words of encouragement and praise
from a righteous man accomplish more good than everything the corrupt and
evil newspapers and newsmedia accomplish during their entire miserable
lives. I'd hate to make a career out of spreading manure and utterly
destroying people's lives. Newspaper publishers destroy people's lives
without being held accountable for the lives they destroy. Oftentimes
information that newspapers publish is later found untrue, but the damage is
done for life.
God created man in His image, desiring for men to become born-again by
His Spirit. Literally, God wants to live within us, as our Friend and
Companion for eternity. I am humbled every time I stop and think that God in
His sovereign plan chose to live within my body as His child (1st
Corinthians 3:17-18; Romans 8:9). Our physical body is the temporary
tabernacle (tent) of our spirit and soul. Being a Christian doesn't make
life easier, but it makes life better because we have the Lord's presence
and promises in His Word to guide, comfort and instruct us. Without the Lord
Jesus people can become monsters! Unsaved people don't have the Spirit of
God living in them and are capable of unthinkable evils.
Sadly, even believers sometimes commit horrible sins because we are still
in the flesh. David commit adultery and murder, the man after God's own
heart. David had gone astray. Ah, but listen to David's precious words in
Psalms 119:67 and 71, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now
have I kept thy word. ... It is good for me that I have been
afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” Afflictions are good
for humans. Some people quit and take the easy way out by committing
suicide, but the Lord allows us to be afflicted for our own good. The Bible
promises that God will never lay more burdens upon our shoulders than we can
handle (1st Corinthians 10:13). Nor will the Lord ever leave us (Hebrews
13:5).
Jesus warned that people will be held accountable for their words, both
spoken and printed (Matthew 12:36). Proverbs 24:12 teaches that God knows
men's thoughts and will judge them accordingly, making it impossible for
people to shift the blame, make excuses and lie to the Lord. God sees all
(Hebrews 4:13). Proverbs 24:12, “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it
not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that
keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every
man according to his works?” God is the KEEPER of each and every
human's soul. That ought to be a frightening thought if you've never
received the gospel of Jesus Christ as
payment for your sins.
God deserves our praise. Notice carefully in the Lord's prayer that the
first thing Jesus taught His disciples to pray is “Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name” (Luke 11:2). Before we pray
(ask) for our daily needs, or for forgiveness (even as we forgive others who
trespass against us), we are taught to brag on the Lord's precious name, for
He is worthy. God desires our praises. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. Do
we praise God and thank Him with even one of those seconds? God is our
Creator. Sadly, most people never thank God for anything, even denying His
existence.
Even nature itself proclaims God's existence, power and Godhead (Romans
1:20). Psalms 19:1-3 teaches that the heavens (plural, meaning the universe
around us) declares the glory (goodness) of God. Romans 1:21, “Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.” The wicked refuse to acknowledge God's presence
and power. They are not thankful. They are ingrates, like
Shakira and
Kesha and
Lady Gaga.
Luke 6:35 says that God is kind to the evil and the unthankful. Oh! How
longsuffering and merciful is our God!
It's our differences as humans that cause conflicts. No matter how
different a person is, or weird in our opinion, or contemptible, or
whatever, we ought to view that person as someone for whom Jesus Christ was
willing to die on the cross. God loves everyone, even if we don't. No one
should ever make fun of others, nor say mean things like “Duh!” when someone
mixes up their words or says something that we think is silly. The heathen
world puts other down, insulting each other, cutting each other down with
their harsh words. Hollywood glamorizes such insulting communication,
teaching people to be jerks instead of doing as God commanded in
Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” The
unsaved world thinks that kindness is weakness, so they are cruel, harsh and
mean instead, thinking it is the way to act. The Bible says that the wicked
think they are being merciful when in reality they are being cruel (Proverbs
12:10). We were all created in God's image and should love, respect and
treat one another as we would like to be treated. This is The Golden Rule
(Matthew 7:12).
My heart's main desire for the readers of this article (apart from
getting saved of course, if you're not) is that you would realize God's need
and desire to be praised by YOU individually. If even one human being fails
to praise God, there is a missing place at the table. God NEVER creates
anyone to go to Hell. God in His foreknowledge knows who will go to Hell
forever, but it is only by their OWN choice and not God's doing. Man is
NOT CHOSEN TO SALVATION.
The Bible says that God created Hell for the Devil and His angels. It is
interesting that the Bible calls the fallen angels “his (Satan's) angels”
(Matthew 25:41). Those wicked angels chose to follow Satan, just as most
humans do. They are now the Devil's angels. If you want to follow the Devil
too, then that is YOUR decision, but you will forfeit the eternal love,
generosity (Romans 8:32) and awesome fellowship with a great King, Lord,
Friend, God and Savior... JESUS CHRIST!
When we pray as Christians, we ought to always begin by bragging on God.
Praise is bragging on God for what He does. Worship is bragging on God for
Who He is. If we fail to brag on God, it is only because we have become
sinfully proud and aren't thankful for the blessings of God in our life. Oh!
God deserves our sincerest heartfelt love, admiration and continual praise.
Did you ever stop to realize that God created all the amazing animals, fish,
birds, insects, nature, colorful sunsets, galaxies and wonders of creation
to impress us with His handiwork? Science is the discovery of God's
handiwork. Yet, it is so tragic that most people have their heads buried in
man's concrete jungles and steel cities, following the materialistic lusts
of the heathen world. Most people cannot see the forest for the trees,
blinded to the beautiful spiritual world that exists only by faith in the
Word of God.
According to 1st Corinthians 2:14, the natural (unsaved) person CANNOT
discern spiritual things. There is nothing more wonderful than discovering
the handiwork of God's universe in view of the inspired Words of God in the
Bible, having God's Holy Spirit living within my heart as a born-again
believer. God's Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I am His child.
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God.” I am not only created in God's awesome
image, but as a born-again Christian I have God's Holy Spirit indwelling my
body as His adopted child. Thank you Lord Jesus, for you are so precious and
greatly to be praised as my God, my King and my Savior.
