“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.” – Psalm 139:14
I have a question for my friends. If you really knew my true, inner self, would you still be my friend? Would you have compassion on my idiosyncrasies, tolerance with my shortcomings and patience with my failings? Do I have to wear a mask for you to like me? Do I need to play games in order for you to spend time with me? If this is the case, then I am above all people, most miserable! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? (Romans 7:24).
Thanks be to God, I am
already accepted through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Jesus came
to earth to demonstrate that He is for me and not against me. He came to let me
know that He is not counting my sins against me, because He died for them, so
that He could reconcile me to Our Father. His death was the ultimate expression
of God’s love for me (Romans
7:25; Ephesians 1:6; Romans 8:31; 2
Corinthians 5:18-19; 1 John 4:10).
Jesus gave up everything He
loved in Heaven, so that He might show me how much He loves me. If I receive His
gift, I also receive God’s Spirit living within my spirit, because Jesus and
the Father are one. Now, nothing will ever separate me from His love again. He looks forward to my homecoming, so He can throw the biggest party heaven
has ever seen (Romans 8:31-32; 1 John 2:23; Romans 8:38-39;
Luke 15:7; Ephesians 3:14-15).
I am not a mistake, because God
planned for my life. I am
fearfully and wonderfully made. He knit me together in my mother's womb. He
brought me forth on the exact day I was born (Psalm
139:13-14, 71:6). God chose me and planned a life
for me before He even created the world in which I would live (Ephesians 1:11-12). The Father, Son and Spirit made me in
their image – a triune being with a body, soul and spirit (Genesis 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
God
called me to be His child, because He
knew me even before I was ever conceived (Jeremiah 1:4-5). He even knows the number of hairs on my head (Matthew 10:29-31). God determined
the exact time of my birth and even where I would live (Acts 17:26). Jesus transforms my soul and
makes me a suitable member of God’s beloved family (Ephesians 1:6). God knows everything about me, but He still loves me
and makes a difference in my life. He knows when I sit down and when I rise up.
He is familiar with all of my ways (Psalm 139:1-3).
God’s
plan for my future is completely filled
with hope, because He loves me with His everlasting love. His thoughts toward
me are as countless as the sand of the sea. He even rejoices over me with
singing, because I am the apple of His eye. One day God will wipe away every
tear from my eyes. He will take away the memory of all the pain I suffered during
my lifetime (Jeremiah 29:11, 31:3; Psalms 139:17-18;
Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 17:8; Revelation
21:3-4).
Because all of this is true, the next question I have for my friends is this, “Now that you know who I really am, will you join me in allowing God to deliver you from a life that is dominated by sin and death, will you choose to accept Jesus sacrifice for your life and will you join me in enjoying all of these benefits as His child?” (Romans 7:24; James 4:8; Luke 15:11-32).
Prayer:
Father God, You love me even
as You love Your only begotten Son. You revealed Your love for me through Jesus.
He is the exact representation of You. You made the
world and everything in it. You made Jesus the Lord of heaven and earth. You do
not live in temples built by human hands, but in the spirit of every Born Again
Believer. You are not served by human hands,
as if You need anything. Rather, You give me life and breath and everything I
need. (John 17:23, 17:26; Hebrews 1:3; Acts 7:48,
17:25; Psalm 23:1).
Thought for the Day:
Every one of our days is
written in His book. - Psalm 139:15-16