Genesis 1:27 "In God's Image"

Have you ever wondered why universally women all want to be beautiful and men want to be strong and courageous? In every culture on the face of the earth for as far back as we have recorded history, women have wanted to be beautiful and men have wanted to be strong and courageous.

I know that evolutionists would say it’s because of how we evolved so that the human race could survive. But I think a better answer is found in the verse , Genesis 1:27, “God created people in His own image; God patterned them after Himself; male and female He created them.” 

Courage and strength and beauty are all characteristics of God –and we were created in His image. We were created with and for God’s glory.

Satan would love to destroy God’s glory –in fact, to destroy God -but that isn’t possible, so he has made it his mission to destroy those created in God’s image. What difference do we make to Satan? None. The only reason he cares about us is because God cares about us.

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John 10:10, Isaiah 61:1 "Matters Of The Heart"

I think that we forget the importance of our hearts. We forget that Jesus told us the greatest commandment is to love God with all of or hearts. We forget that we are to hide the Word of God in our hearts. We forget that God’s commandments and promises are to be written on our hearts. We forget that although man looks on outward appearances, God looks at our hearts. We forget that it is out of our hearts that authentic praise and worship flows. We forget that our hearts are the very wellspring of life. We forget how central the heart is, but our enemy hasn't.

Our enemy knows how important our hearts are –and that’s why he is so intent on destroying them –that’s why he is intent on breaking our hearts –on twisting our hearts –on deadening our hearts. If the enemy can break our hearts, he has broken us. 

The enemy twists our hearts and deadens our hearts and breaks our hearts –but listen to this prophecy from Isaiah chapter 61:1 that Jesus claimed as His own mission statement: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for prisoners."

Here, then, is the situation. The enemy (according to John 10:10) robs and kills and destroys, but Jesus gives life, binds up the broken-hearted, and proclaims freedom and release to those in bondage. He came to take away our damaged, unresponsive, broken hearts –and replace them with new hearts –hearts fully capable of loving God. Jesus came to give us back our hearts.

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