|
By Design
by Steve Countryman Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. We were all made to fulfill God's purpose and will. We were made for His pleasure. We were made to love God and have a close daily personal relationship with our heavenly Father. We were made to be His chosen vessel. We were made to be representatives of God's kingdom while we are here on earth. We were made to be blessed and be a blessing to others. We were made to be containers and spillers of His glory. We were made to influence our surroundings and not to be influenced by our surroundings. We were made to be God's shining light to the lost of the world. We were made to be a sign that points others to Christ. By design God has given us what powerful men and women of God in the Old Testament could only dream of, to have Jesus indwelling in us through the Holy Spirit. When you read the stories of the Old Testament the Bible always refers to "the Spirit of the Lord came upon them" and they performed miracles, signs and wonders. We have the fullness of the triune God living in us every day. Haggai 2:9 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. God has made His awesome spiritual blessings available to us through His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit but we often miss it. We ask God to use us for His glory and kingdom but miss using the tools that God has given us to use. Those spiritual tools/gifts are made to use not to be placed on a shelf to gather dust. It is like having a light bulb that never gets turned on. Unless you turn on that light bulb it cannot fulfill its purpose. 2 Corinthians 5:17Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! We were made to be the victor not the victim. We were made to be the head and not the tail. We were made to be the above and not beneath. We were made to prosper and not for poverty. We were made to be successful not to be a failure. We were made to walk in the fullness of God every day and everywhere we go. We were made to be set apart, Holy, righteous and worthy to be called the sons and daughters of God. By design God has made us to operate in moments of faith not moments of fear. When you have moments of fear you allow the fear to make your decisions for you instead of allowing your faith to help you step out. Moments of fear will cause you to delay or miss your destiny that God has for you. Paul said that we are to seize the opportunities to do God's work. But fear will make you withdraw and miss opportunities to grow spiritually in the Lord. Moments of faith will grow into a lifestyle of faith instead of just moments. God's will is like a rushing river that cuts a path to the sea. It flows by way of least resistance through those who are willing and obedient to His voice and to His Word. It never stops or backs up but continues to move forward until it has completed its purpose. God's will and purpose will never quit, give up, give in, compromise, weaken or fail. It may get detoured by way of those Christians who fail to respond to His voice but it will travel on through others who will obey His call. Don't be one of those who missed out on the blessings of God because they didn't obey. Remember that you were made by design! Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |