“God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female.” Genesis 1:27 MSG

You were made in the image of God and therefore were made to bear His image to a world who desperately needs to see it. How are you bearing His image? What kind of God are you showing? Is He loving? Forgiving? Joyful? Patient? If your friends who don’t know the Lord had to write a description of who God based off what you show them what would they write?

I realize, as I write this, that my answers to these questions are not what I would hope they would be if I am honest. But asking them helps me move toward the question, “What changes do I need to make in my life to better reflect the God I know?”

Maybe, for some of you, you don’t know the heart of God very well so you’re not even sure how to reflect Him. But for others of us it’s just a matter of choice and priorities so the question becomes, “How do you want to reflect the image of God?” And then again, “What do I need to change to make that the reflection in what I say or do?”

“Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him and be firm in the faith…” 1 Peter 5:8-9 HCSB

If you are going to be serious about your life with Christ, then you will certainly face resistance. For many people, the enemy doesn’t pay much attention to because they are content with the status quo. They’re dabbling in Christianity and the enemy doesn’t need to take them out as they are not a threat. But for those who trying to live out their faith, you should expect some kind of resistance. 

What does this look like? Well, Satan is the father of lies and is a master at turning you away from God. He will attack your mind making you feel things like your unworthy, you’ve sinned too much, and God has turned his back on you! He’ll make you think you have rebelled too much and “lost your salvation”, that you are too broken to be useful to God. 

Maybe you have already been taken out by him. You need to know that these are all lies. No amount of sin is more powerful than what Jesus did on the cross.  God doesn’t change His mind, and you can’t lose your salvation. You are unworthy, but God’s grace has saved you, not because of anything you did or will do. God takes the weak things of the world to shame the wise – you are not too broken. 

Don’t let the enemy take you out. It’s time to stand firm and resist him.

Spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to expose the truth to you. Ask Him to give you the discernment to weed out the enemy’s schemes against you and to give you the courage to stand against them.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end– Because I am God, your personal God,The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: [trade in nations for you] That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. So don’t be afraid: I’m with you…” Isaiah 43:1-6 TM

What does this say about the heart of God? Do you know God this way? How passionate He is for you? 

I admit I have trouble reading this – that God loves me that much – it’s hard for me to grasp. Hard for me to receive, but it makes it no less true.

Remember, in these uncertain times, you have a choice. You can focus on the trouble around you and give in to despair, or you can focus on the one who called you out of the pit and set your feet on solid ground and recieve His extravagant love for you.

Will life ever be the same? Will we ever get back to normal? Does that really matter?

The world is thirsty for the truth. You can be the one who shares it with them. Receive the love of the Father, and share it with a world who desperately needs it right now.

“This is the kind of love we are talking about– not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.” – 1 John 4:10-11 MSG

How much love do you have for God? 

That’s the wrong question, isn’t it? It’s not about you, and how much you are doing for God, and how much you love God; it is, however, about how God loves us and is restoring our relationship with Him despite our sinful selves. That is what makes you who you are. You have to grasp this before you can move on to the next part. 

God is love. The more you know Him the more capable you are to love. Your love for your family comes from God. Your love for your spouse, comes from Him. Your love for anyone, comes from the Source of love.

Why is it so hard to love others sometimes? Maybe because we don’t realize how sinful we are and how much God loves us. We’re the hypocrites. Once we get to a place where we realize we’re sinful perople saved by the grace of God, then we can’t help but extend that grace to those who are in the same boat.

Love someone today. A kind word goes a long way.

“You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him–with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.” 1 Peter 1:8-9 MSG

We believe in things we cannot see. Like the wind, you can’t see it, but you can see and feel its effects. Our faith in Christ is the same. Though you can’t see Him, you have experienced His unexplainable peace. Faith does have eyes. It sees the truth in the midst of lies. It sees the love of God through others. It sees the hope of one day when all sadness and suffering shall cease. It sees purpose and direction. It see change in our lives for the better. 

Spend some time with your eyes closed. What do you see? Were you flooded with a myriad of random things? Were you overwhelmed with accusations?

The key to real life is is less of what you see with your earthly eyes see and what you know to be true of God.

Spend some time confessing your sins to Him. Where have you allowed other people and other things come in and define your reality. Consecrate yourself to Him. And ask Him to open your eyes to see the truth.

Now close your eyes one more time. Let the love of God and the truth of God wash over you.

“And Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38

What happens to you when you read this verse? I admit for a long time I got frustrated. I didn’t know what it meant. How do you love God with all those things? I wanted to; I just didn’t know how. 

Well, how can you love something you don’t know much about? How well do you know God? He longs to be known. He has made it easy for you to do so. He gives you His word that speaks about Him. His character can be known even from creation, like the beauty of a flower or even the human body which is amazingly detailed inside and out and can heal itself. The character of God is everywhere. 

Before you pray and utter your long list of needs, stop and look around you. Ponder and learn the character of God. I promise as you know Him more deeply, your love will grow. 

“If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.” 1 John 1:8-9 MSG

There is a horrible idea that is prevalent in our culture that we’re all okay. Many people assert that the glass is half full instead of half empty. They tell us to put on a happy face even when the world around us is spinning out of control. It seems so right. Gives us warm fuzzies sometimes, but it is not the truth. 

We are sinful, and the Bible says that sin separates us from God. Separation from all that is right and good a true about life. Therefore our glass is really completely empty, but if we confess our sins and admit that we’re not ok, God forgives us from the penalty and guilt of our sins. And then He does something amazing… He then fills our glass completely! The Bible says in fact that He fills us with Him so much that our glass overflows!

Spend some time in prayer confessing your sin to Him, where you have tried to fill your glass with other things that never satisfy. Now, ask Him to fill you completely with His Spirit to the point that you overflow.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

“O Eternal One, guide me along Your path
so that I will live in Your truth.
Unite my divided heart so that I will fear Your great name.” – Psalms 86:11 VOICE

Most people go through life with divided hearts. One part is for God, one is for the world, and even another is for them self.  This divided heart is what keeps us from the real life and joy that comes from an undivided heart. 

The problem is that we don’t know any better. Our view of God is stunted by what we’ve experienced both in ourselves and those around us. Our theology is shaped by the Christian culture we are surrounded by, so we put God in a box saying that He can and will only do what we’ve seen or what we know to be true. We give Him that small piece of our heart where we believe He can work in. But what if God is more? What if God wants more for you?

What do you think God’s truth is for you?

Spend some time in quiet reflection. Ask the Lord to reveal to you how your heart is divided. Ask Him to shatter the box you’ve put Him in and expose the real truth. Ask Him to unite your heart that you may walk in His truth.

“Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 NIV

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

One of the easiest verses in the Bible to memorize. And for good reason. Because in it holds the secret to real joy and real life. 

The words as easy as the air you breathe so why not take it in? As you take in a deep breath, speak the words in your mind, “He must become greater.” As you exhale speak the words to yourself, “I must become less.” Repeat this several times letting the meaning sink in each time. Think about all the things you have to do today and all you are anxious about as you take in this truth.

Remove the finite mind and all it’s restrictions and “can’t” dos and take on the Infinite where the possibilities of what you can be and do are endless. 

Learn this verse. Commit it to memory. It will be useful the rest of your life.

“For you know that your lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation. It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold, which eventually perishes, but the precious blood of Christ—who like a spotless, unblemished lamb was sacrificed for us.
This was part of God’s plan, for he was chosen and destined for this before the foundation of the earth was laid, but he has been made manifest in these last days for you. It is through him that you now believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, so that you would fasten your faith and hope in God alone.” 1 Peter 1:18-21 TPT

What have you “fastened your faith” to? Your friendships? Your education? Your career? Your bank account? Your retirement plan?

Anything can be taken from you – your job, you friendships, your marriage, your house, your car, your money, your savings, your health, or even your freedom. We ordinarily operate under a premise that these are a given, and we make plans assuming this. Recently, we have learned, and I’m afraid we will continue to learn, that nothing is a guarantee in this life. If there is anything that this pandemic has done for us is that it has exposed all the futile things we put our hope in. So, I’ll ask again, what is it you are “fastening your hope” to?

God knew the futility of this life, and the trouble that was ahead, which is why He sent His Son not only as a way out but as a way to make it through this life. He didn’t choose to ransom us with something like money or gold, that can be taken away or lose it’s value. He chose something that wouldn’t perish or couldn’t be lost, so we could confidently attach our faith to poured out his blood for us.

Spend some time in quiet reflection thinking through all the things this quarantine has exposed in your life. Ask the Lord to show you where you have put your faith in futile things. Refasten you faith and hope in the One who never changes and can never be taken away!