God as Your Creator
Have you ever paused to reflect on God as your Creator?
God is unlike any other that is, was, or will be. He alone is able to fully sustain that which He creates. And He alone is able to create—miraculously orchestrating His purposes—merely by speaking it into existence.
But there's more…
If you dig even deeper into the pages of Scripture, you learn about power by which God creates:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.
John 1:1-3
For in him, all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:16
The writer of Hebrews assures us that, "by faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible" (Hebrews 11:3 NIV).
This "Word" is Jesus Christ, and through Him, God brought everything into existence. The ultimate redemption of all God's promises will come through that same Word—Jesus Christ.
Reflect on that truth for a moment: The same power that spoke the universe into existence is the same power that will bring about the redemption of all things promised.
Today, take some time to reflect on God’s role as Creator, and allow it to fill you with great hope. Because He's not just any creator; He's your Creator, and He holds the very universe—and your life—in His hands.
His Pain, Our Gain
Isaiah 53 is a stunning chapter in the Bible—in what is now commonly referred to as the “Old Testament.”
Approximately 700 years before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah prophesied about a suffering servant who would also, somehow and in some way, be exalted. A coming Savior, a future Redeemer, the long-awaited Messiah—whose death would ultimately bring life.
A portion of Isaiah 53 says this:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NIV
So, who was this man who would be pierced, crushed, and wounded because of someone else’s sins? Whose undeserved punishment would be the catalyst for healing? Whose life would be given as an offering—so that others might live?
Jesus Christ not only fits the description of the suffering servant who paid the ultimate price to buy His people back, redeem them, and set them free—He ...
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge...