Out of This World
For thousands of years, people have gathered around campfires and peered into the night’s sky, studying the stars.
Now, thanks to telescopes and satellites and advances in modern technology, we’ve uncovered more about God’s celestial creation than ever before: diverse planets, interstellar dust, mysterious black holes, and billions of other galaxies.
What we’ve discovered, however, is not new to God. It’s the very same heavens and the very same earth that He spoke into existence at the very beginning of time. And though we’ve only scratched the surface on what’s still to be discovered, the vastness of the heavens and the brilliance of its design beckons both humility and worship.
In Psalm 8, David wrote:
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
Psalm 8:3-4 NIV
The same God who hung the sun, moon, and stars in the sky also created us. He created you. It’s mystifying to think that He considers us His prized creations.
Like David, this should humble us and compel us to worship.
Who are we, after all, to be loved, chosen, and redeemed—especially when we don’t deserve it? Who are we, when we consider the magnificence of our Creator, to be made in His image? Who are we that God is mindful of us? Who are we that He cares for the details of our lives?
We are His people. His children. We belong to Him.
So today, let’s trust in our creative, compassionate, and loving God. He is where we’ll put our confidence. He is where we’ll put our hope.
Power, Love, and Discipline
One of the miracles of salvation is that when we have faith in Christ, God not only saves us—He also gives us the power to live according to His will. Your life in Christ is one that is empowered by the Holy Spirit living within you.
This is a great gift, but a big shift. It often takes time to change how we think and act. We may have bad habits that take hard work to correct, or patterns of thought that are challenging to break.
Thankfully, God promises to be with us and to empower us to make these changes in our life. When Paul is writing to his mentee Timothy, he encourages him to continue to develop the gift that God has given to him. While we are saved in an instant, it takes a lifetime to develop and work out what God is doing inside of us.
Paul reminds Timothy that God’s Spirit does not give us fear or cowardice. Those things are tools of the devil who is trying to keep us from God. But the Spirit of God empowers us with confidence in Him. He gives us the ...