A
few years back we took a family vacation up to the Washington D.C.
area. While we were there, we visited some of our national museums.
In the national art galleries, they had paintings by artists like
Rembrandt and Van Gogh and Da Vinci. They truly had some of the best
art of all history. Any one can go there and see these wonderful paintings
up close. Some of these paintings are priceless. At least, the
originals are priceless. In the gift shop, of course, you can buy
posters of some of the more famous paintings relatively cheap. You can
even buy postcards for about 25 cents. But the cheap reproductions,
obviously, are not the same as the real originals painted by the masters
themselves.
We are the originals, handcrafted by God Himself. In Ephesians 2:10 we are told, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Understand what this is telling us. We are originals created by God. We are His workmanship. We are His masterpieces, created with a purpose. We are "created to do good works, which He has prepared in advance for us to do." Because God has a purpose for us, He has created in each of us uniquely the qualities and characteristics necessary to do the works He has prepared for us to do. Nothing that has gone into the shaping of our lives is by accident or random chance.
In Exodus 19:5, God tells the nation of Israel (and this promise holds true for us as well), "If you obey me and keep my covenant, then you will be my treasured possession."
Some of us have been hurt or rejected or ignored or abused or criticized. We have been told things that were hurtful. And those negative messages play in our minds. They affect the way we feel about ourselves. But remember that it is not our friends that determine our worth. It is not our employers or critics or our spouses or our moms or dads or even our culture that determines our value. It is our Designer who determines our value. And God has declared that we are His workmanship. And God has declared that we are His treasured possessions.
When we think of all the wonderful, beautiful things God has created, we are amazed. The intricate, detailed design of the universe astounds me. The stars, the mountains, the rolling hills, the oceans, the deserts, the incredible diversity of animal and plant life. I marvel that God conceived everything from the Swiss Alps to Niagara Falls, to the Grand Canyon, to the South Sea Islands, to the African deserts. It's incredible. There are so many wonderful things that God created. But out of all He has created we are his prized possession.
All of humankind is created by God in His image and has intrinsic value. But we who have believed and trusted God through Jesus are the masterwork of God. We fully realize our value only when we are brought into right relationship with God through Jesus. We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. It is In Christ Jesus that we discover our true worth. We can't fully understand how much we are worth until we accept the love of the One who loves us most.
#by-his-stripes.com #ByHisStripes
We are the originals, handcrafted by God Himself. In Ephesians 2:10 we are told, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Understand what this is telling us. We are originals created by God. We are His workmanship. We are His masterpieces, created with a purpose. We are "created to do good works, which He has prepared in advance for us to do." Because God has a purpose for us, He has created in each of us uniquely the qualities and characteristics necessary to do the works He has prepared for us to do. Nothing that has gone into the shaping of our lives is by accident or random chance.
In Exodus 19:5, God tells the nation of Israel (and this promise holds true for us as well), "If you obey me and keep my covenant, then you will be my treasured possession."
Some of us have been hurt or rejected or ignored or abused or criticized. We have been told things that were hurtful. And those negative messages play in our minds. They affect the way we feel about ourselves. But remember that it is not our friends that determine our worth. It is not our employers or critics or our spouses or our moms or dads or even our culture that determines our value. It is our Designer who determines our value. And God has declared that we are His workmanship. And God has declared that we are His treasured possessions.
When we think of all the wonderful, beautiful things God has created, we are amazed. The intricate, detailed design of the universe astounds me. The stars, the mountains, the rolling hills, the oceans, the deserts, the incredible diversity of animal and plant life. I marvel that God conceived everything from the Swiss Alps to Niagara Falls, to the Grand Canyon, to the South Sea Islands, to the African deserts. It's incredible. There are so many wonderful things that God created. But out of all He has created we are his prized possession.
All of humankind is created by God in His image and has intrinsic value. But we who have believed and trusted God through Jesus are the masterwork of God. We fully realize our value only when we are brought into right relationship with God through Jesus. We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. It is In Christ Jesus that we discover our true worth. We can't fully understand how much we are worth until we accept the love of the One who loves us most.
#by-his-stripes.com #ByHisStripes
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