RUMINATION means:
1 : to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly
2 : to chew repeatedly for an extended period.
Intransitive verb definition is
1 : to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud
2 : to engage in contemplation

This page will be a little different from now on. I will be posting WEEKLY scriptures for us all to RUMINATE over. Think upon, Ponder, to chew on it. We as Christ Followers are called to Read, LISTEN, AND APPLY the Word to our lives. I desire to give an opportunity to you for personal growth along with me. Take what you read here and meditate upon it and find ways to apply it to your everyday life. I invite you to leave your comments, corrections, concerns, whatever they may be I want to hear from you!!!


Thursday, March 25, 2010

Destined to be Great

Last week we looked at the creation of man, and how in Gen. chapter 1 God created us in His own Image. I pray that you took the time to reflect upon this chapter and seek God for your TRUE Identity. If you weren't able to read it please look in the right hand column and click on last weeks posting. We will be going on a journey a little farther than where we were last week. We're going to be looking at Ephesians 1:4 "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes." NLT Now again we must look at this very carefully and it may not come right away that is why we have a whole week to think upon it, chew it and pray into it to allow God the time to speak. What is this saying: Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. This is packed with so many things in this one sentence!! It states before creation, before God spoke a word to form the world He loved us and chose us IN CHRIST. So God being the all knowing God that He is knew that by creating the world He would have to sacrifice His Son. So can you imagine the conversation between God and Jesus at that time. I would like to think it was something like this....Hey Jesus come over here for a moment. I wanted to run this plan by you and see what you think. I want to create this world, that is beautiful and awesome, every inch of it screams my Majesty and praises me. I want to create galaxies upon galaxies with millions and millions of stars, and planets and other cosmic wonders, that declare my Glory and power! Also I want to create humans, beings that are created in my own image. I will implant in them my own self, and they will care for this world and worship me and love me for all time! They will be my chosen ones Holy and without fault. Jesus was probably like YEA BUDDY, LET'S GET ON THAT!! That sounds great....but then God would say, well there is one more thing I must tell you. These humans that I will create they will disobey my command at the very beginning. I will give them free will because I don't want to control them, I want to love them and have them love me on their own. So in order for all things to happen like I have planned, for them to be Holy, and without fault I'm gonna need you to actually go down to this world at some point and live a perfect sinless life and die for all their sins. So that through you relationship may be restored, and we can have intimacy again. The only way for all this to work out is for them to come to me through you. You will be their atonement, a sacrifice on their behalf. Weighing all the words that God had just spoken Jesus willingly accepted. Knowing at some point He'd be sent to die for each and every person, some wouldn't even choose to accept Him but yet He'd do it anyways. So that is before creation, God had us in mind and He knew the destruction that we'd create for ourselves. He made the first step creating us with the intention of us loving and serving him. He went a step further and created a way for our return to Him through Christ to be Holy and without fault. That is the important part here that we were created to be Holy and without Fault, that was messed up but there was still an option we can come into relationship with Jesus, choose to live in Him, and be found Holy and without fault through Him. We were destined to be in relationship with God. He thought it all through before He even began creation, made a plan and created the world knowing the only way for humans to be in the place he desired, to be holy and without fault WAS THROUGH Jesus Christ.
It is fitting that God has placed this on my heart to share as we approach Easter. I didn't have it planned out I just wrote what I felt needed to be written. Meditate on this passage, and really think through it. Take it to heart, spend time before the Lord asking Him to speak to you through it. This is the identity from last week, these are 2 characteristics that God created us to live out! Read the creation story and then read this one verse and allow God to open your mind and heart to Himself.