Uncategorized - Lift Up My Eyes

God’s Creation: Decently and In Order

During the recent solar eclipse that was visible where I live, I marveled at the fact that the exact time, to the day and minute, that the eclipse could be predicted. This was an amazing event. I was at the doctor at the time, but got an excited phone call from Heather “I can see the eclipse. It is amazing.” I even learned via a Google search that there will be a total solar eclipse on September 23, 2090 at 12:29 pm in Lakeland, Florida, and will have a duration of seven minutes. I don’t think I’ll be around for that one. For me, the most ”Aha!” God moment was when I first gazed at the Grand Canyon. I could only wonder how someone could see something like that and deny God’s existence. That wonder turned to amazement as the words of an old hymn came to mind:

I stand amazed in the presence

Of Jesus the Nazarene,

And wonder how He could love me,

A sinner condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! How wonderful!

And my song shall ever be:

How marvelous! How wonderful!

Is my Savior’s love for me!

Aha Moments. There are other things that are equally marvelous in God’s creation. I polled my Facebook friends for things that make them go “WOW!” and shouts “God!” One person marveled at cicadas. Their life cycle starts with mating. The female then lays eggs in holes made in tree branches and shrubs. The eggs will hatch after six to 10 weeks and the cicada nymphs will burrow themselves into the ground, attaching to the tree’s roots. They will remain underground for a “dormant period” of two to 17 years, depending on the species. Then they emerge in adult form only to die in a very short time.

One person marveled at the way God had guided him in his life. Looking back, he saw a life of order with incredible things unfolding. Others mentioned things we think of as commonplace, but tend to overlook the miracle involved – a beating heart, the birth of a child. That the oceans know where to stop.

Someone mentioned the dogwood tree. This tree symbolizes Easter as it is said that Jesus’ cross was made of dogwood. At that time the dogwood grew tall and straight. Legend has it that Jesus cursed the tree so it would never again grow straight. Legend also tells us that Jesus blessed the tree with the ability to produce beautiful flowers that would bloom in time for Easter. True or not, we can view a dogwood tree and remember His sacrifice. And it is a beautiful tree.`

Another mentioned the platypus. This mammal is unique, combining the features of ducks, beavers, and otters. Science tells us that it is well-adapted for their semi-aquatic lifestyle. Right here I would give science a “Duh.” While that statement is true, everything in God’s creation is well-adapted for its lifestyle. A scientist responded to my Facebook request, giving me scientific reasons for the “why” of all this, but still behind it is a God of order and not of chaos. Besides, I think the platypus shows us that God has a sense of humor.

Chaos and Order. Chaos is an interesting word. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a state of utter confusion.” But it goes on to another definition that gives me pause. It reads that chaos is “the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system (such as the atmosphere, boiling water, or the beating heart).” I would take exception to the “inherent unpredictability” part. It may seem unpredictable to us, but we don’t know what God has in store. This definition would likely classify the flood in Genesis as inherent unpredictably, but it didn’t take God by surprise.

In mythology, at least seven cultures have a god of chaos. There is a widespread belief that “out of chaos comes order.” In other words, it seems that chaos is the natural state of the human race. So a god of chaos was invented to explain that things are a mess (created by said gods). This was necessary so that the human race can then turn to the other gods or to themselves to bring about order.

Jonathan Petersen writes that, in creating earth, God brought perfect order out of what was “without form and void.” When man sinned, chaos was brought into the cosmos. As a result, chaos is often associated with sin and darkness. Two scripture passages lead us to the fact that chaos is not a trait associated with God. I Corinthians 14:33 reads “for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.” The Amplified Bible sheds some additional light on this verse, reading “for God is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order.” And a few verses later Paul pens “But all things must be done properly [decently] and in an orderly way (v. 40).” Our God is a God of order.

Creation is Explicitly Orderly. Jennifer Hereen writes “All of God’s creation is orchestrated explicitly. Nothing about the universe, the earth, or the human body is haphazard. There are patterns and laws of nature. There are intricate plans built into the wonder of science. God is a God of order. Of systems. Of science. He designed everything on Earth so that human beings can live in a way that they wouldn’t be able to on any other planet. God is Lord over it all. He designed it all for our benefit because He loves His children.” Since order is a characteristic of God, it is incumbent on us to live our lives in an orderly manner. We are to strive to be like God as we read in Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

In I Corinthians 14, as we have already cited, Paul is referring to our worship being decent and in order. This applies when we assemble to worship in song, Bible study, prayer and other forms of corporate worship. Paul does not describe how we are to worship only that it be done decently and in order. This does not rule out any genuine worship of our God. Just that it is to be decent (honoring God) and in order (proceeding in an orderly manner, not disorganized chaos). Worship goes beyond what we do corporately, beyond the four walls of our church. Real worship is living our lives in a manner that honors God. We live orderly lives within His ways.

God is Love. One might pause and ask “Why did God go to so much trouble to create an orderly universe?” I use the word “trouble” here as there are no words that easily describe the creation. When God creates, he simply speaks it into existence. We are told in Genesis 1:1 that “the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness.” God didn’t just happen on this emptiness. He created it, but when He did, He left it as a formless, desolate emptiness until it was time to create the earth and all it contains. At the ordained time, He spoke the formless earth into a new creation. We don’t know the when but we know the why. God created the earth and all it contained in order to display His glory.

Don’t think for even a minute of our God as an egotistical ruler demanding worship and allegiance from his followers. He created earth for our delight. Think of the things that bring you joy – your spouse, your children, your extended family, friends, pets. Or think of nature – a tapestry of color in the Fall mountains, the thrill of seeing the mighty waves of the oceans, the grandeur of an eagle flying through the air, the majesty of a lion ruling his dominion, the vast array of types of marine life. Or your hobbies – sports, reading, collecting things, skiing down a mountain slope, eating a five-star meal. All of this is made possible through God’s orderly creation. Order brings certainty.

Look and See. All of this should make us stop and worship God for his creation. God made all this because He loves us and wants us to enjoy Him. We reflect His glory back to Him. Psalm 19:1 makes this absolutely clear. “The heavens tell of the glory of God; And their expanse declares the work of His hands.” All we need to do to see God and His glory is to look for Him. Yuri Gagarin was a Russian cosmonaut, who reportedly said “I went up to space, but I didn’t encounter God.” That is false. Gagarin, in fact, was a devout Christian. The statement was made by Nikita Khrushchev. In a meeting before the Central Committee, he said “Here is Gagarin, who flew up to space, and yet, even he didn’t see God anywhere.” At a later point in his life Gagarin stated “An astronaut cannot be suspended in space and not have God in his mind and his heart.” We don’t have to go into outer space to see God, we just need to look for Him, wherever we are.

The creation account in Genesis tells us that we, as human beings, were created in the image of God. An image is a visual representation of the original or a reproduction or imitation of the form of a person. Every one of us bears God’s image. God is everywhere in His creation in addition to his actual presence. Note the difference. We reflect God. God is in nature but nature is not God. God, not human beings, not nature is to be worshiped. All of His creation should point us to Him. Isaiah 6:3 has the angels proclaiming “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.”

As you go about your daily tasks, I would have you consider two things: 1. Does your life reflect order? 2. Does your life reflect the image of God?

All scripture is from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise stated.

I would like to thank Joan Creasman, Brendan Doran, Mel Rhodus, Kelly Miller, Richard Beamer, Harold Walsh, Mike Westall, and Nick Egoroff for sharing their “Aha” moments.

Photo credit Grand Canyon S2dunguyn on Pixabay

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How Does Worship Change You?

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Like many words, worship has become overused. One definition of worship is “adoration or devotion comparable to religious homage, shown toward a person or principle.” The trouble with this definition is that it broadens the word far beyond its original intent. A narrower definition reads “to show reverence and adoration for a deity. To honor with religious rites.” This gets us to the heart of what worship should be. But even that is not a definition that helps me to know what worship consists of. What makes up acts of true worship? How do I worship?

The first definition broadens worship beyond God. Admittedly, we often worship people and things that are not God. In our passion for sports, we may worship our favorite athlete or team. We may be in love and say we worship the object of our affections. We may worship an object, such as a vehicle or other belonging. Misdirected worship can also be applied to certain aspects of our religious life. We may even worship the church we have attended for 30 years, or a long-time pastor. All of these examples show that it can be easy to direct our worship away from God and to other persons or objects.

Four Types of Worship

There are numerous types of worship and it seems that the list varies depending on who wrote it. I have chosen four that I feel represent most genuine Christian worship. This is not a detailed examination of each type, merely an overview of tendencies.

Liturgical Worship usually occurs as a part of a church service with prayers, readings, and music. The Book of Common Prayer is frequently utilized in this type of worship. This is usually conducted as very formal.

Non-liturgical worship is more informal and less structured. The elements of this type of worship can vary depending on the different types of services – traditional, contemporary, or other types.

Informal worship focuses on the adoration of God and may occur within a church building but also other venues such as an auditorium, beach, or mountain retreat setting. Frequent use of modern, popular Christian music is encountered. These services are often free-flowing. The congregation may discern the presence of the Holy Spirit so these services may be quite spontaneous, worshiping through raised hands, clapping, shouting – worshiping God with their whole bodies.

Private Worship can take many forms, incorporating elements of the other three types discussed. However, it usually is done alone or with family and close friends. It gives the worshiper an opportunity to explore a personal connection with God.

No one form is necessarily better than the other. As long as the one true God is being worshiped, a believer should worship using whatever method elevates the worship experience.

Why Worship?

We worship God so we can recognize, honor, and express His worthiness as our maker and savior. Revelation 4:11 expresses the “Why?” of worship. “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”

In Isaiah 6 the prophet enters the presence of God. As he does he is awestruck with God’s majesty and holiness. Isaiah finds wonderment beyond comprehension in God. Worship is also transformative. We cannot encounter God without being transformed from sinner to someone experiencing the forgiveness of God. As we are transformed, we also are renewed. Isaiah is such a renewed person, crying out to God “Here am I, send me.” And worship is decentering. We become centered on God’s will and purpose for our lives, away from our self-centeredness.

Experiencing Worship

All of us have probably been to worship services that left us empty, unfilled. How can we experience wonderment, transformation, renewal, and decentering in our worship? We can prepare for worship. Have times of personal worship during the week. Try to make getting ready to go to church services a less stressful time. We can participate in worship. Worship is NOT a spectator sport. We can watch a movie, sporting event, or other forms of entertainment. But worship is not entertainment. It is about participating with the saints in praising and encountering God. We should come to worship with expectation. Why are we there? Are we focused on ourselves or do we come expecting God to change us? Finally, worship should invoke imagination. Can we imagine that God can change our lives? Do we believe God can work in our lives, making us into the image of Christ? This involves faith – we must be able to imagine God can and will do this in our lives.

As is my custom, I was in my home church for worship. Our pastor was discussing prayer and how we should be consistent and persistent in our prayers. He told us to “Pray it ‘til you see it.” That requires imagination. Can you imagine God doing great things in your life? If not, start praying for the faith to let God move in your life.

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Are You Spirit-Empowered?

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Christians are familiar with the concept of the Trinity – the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. After all, this doctrine is one of the central Christian affirmations about God. Yet, theologian A. W. Tozer wrote “We have higher-than-earthly royalty—we have the Lord of lords and the King of kings—we have the blessed Holy Spirit present, and we are treating Him as if He were not present at all.” A recent survey indicated that, while 69 percent of Americans self-identify as Christian but only 58 percent of this group believe the Holy Spirit is not real but is merely a symbol.

However, scripture says the exact opposite. In Acts 5:3, Peter says that Ananais has lied to the Holy Spirit but in verse 5, he says that Ananais has lied to God. In I Corinthians 2:11 Paul says the Spirit of God knows the thoughts of God. And in Matthew 28:19 Jesus says that His followers are to baptize and make disciples of the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” These passages, and others indicate that the Holy Spirit is indeed God and is real. These do not indicate that the Spirit is a different person than God. John 15:26 indicates that the Spirit of Truth goes out from the Father. To go out would indicate that there is a distinction between God the Father and the Spirit.

The Spirit is very much a person. Ephesians 4:30 says “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Being grieved indicates personhood. As individuals, we are grieved over many things – the loss of a loved one, a personal or professional failure, rejection from others, just to mention a few. How do we grieve the Spirit? This is by no means a comprehensive list but we resist Him, insult Him, disobey Him, quench Him, and deny Him. That would grieve anyone.

I think part of our problem with the concept of the Holy Spirit is that the Bible often makes indirect references to the Holy Spirit. He is called Dove, Comforter, Intercessor, Paraclete, Presence of God, Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth. It sometimes becomes difficult to note all the references to the Holy Spirit as we may breeze over the words and not realize the scripture is referring to the Third Person of the Godhead – the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was sent by God as our Counselor (John 14:26). A dictionary definition of counselor is “a person trained to give guidance on personal, social, or psychological problems.” While this is a secular definition, it indicates what the Spirit can do for us as our Counselor. A Biblical counselor is described as one who strives to relate the counselee not to him/herself to bring about healing, but to Jesus Christ and his Truth that sets men free. I am reminded of the section of Handel’s Messiah quoting Isaiah 9 – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” In this one passage we see the Trinity.

As Counselor, what does the Holy Spirit do? Again, quoting from Tozer “He has come to comfort. He has come to teach. He is the Spirit of instruction. He has come to bring light, for He is the Spirit of light. He comes to bring purity, for He is the Spirit of holiness. He comes to bring power, for He is the Spirit of power.” When we call on the Spirit, we are not imposing. God wants to do this for His people. He doesn’t ask what denomination we are, how long we have been a follower. He asks that we be willing to obey and listen. As Christians, we need to discover, or rediscover that the Holy Spirit is real and want to be a part of our lives.

Take a few minutes of reflection, contemplation, and prayer. How have you grieved the Holy Spirit? He will empower you to listen and obey Him.

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Be The Light

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The context of this passage is that the Temple had just been dedicated. God was speaking to Solomon. In essence, God was renewing or reiterating the covenant between Israel and Himself. He was stating the blessing and the curse associated with the Covenant. In claiming this promise, we often fail to read far enough. If we read on the verses 19-22 we see that there is a “But.” Got has attached conditions to the promise.

“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.”

The first takeaway we see from these scriptures is that the promises are conditional. We can’t just pray for God to heal our land and it will happen. God is not a genie in a bottle that we rub to get our prayers answered. We are told to pray, seek God, and cease from our sin.

The other thing that we should note is that this is a promise made to Israel. This was about the covenant between God and Israel. I know that, as Christians, we claim to be God’s people. But this was a collective promise, not one to those outside the Covenant. God may heal our land but he has not promised to do so, even if we repent. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for our land. Hebrews 2:1-2 tells us “First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made on behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. And we certainly need those prayers in the United States today. As I write this, the U S Capitol Building is under lockdown. We need prayers, we need God to intervene in our lives. But God has not promised the political, economic, or cultural salvation of our nation.

We need to take our main focus away from the collective and bring it down to the individual. As believers, God guarantees us personal salvation in Christ. We are told that God will use us to accomplish His purposes. It is our duty to seek God individually, pray, and share the Gospel. Be Christ for someone today. I am reminded of this song you will know if you grew up in a church.

This little light of mine

I’m going to let it shine

Oh, this little light of mine

I’m going to let it shine

This little light of mine

I’m going to let it shine

Let it shine, all the time, let it shine.

Be the light.

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God IS With Us

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One thing that I like to do during my prayer and devotional times is to reflect and pray the names of God. Herbert Gabhart wrote a book The Name Above Every Name in which he wrote a devotional on every name of Jesus. There are enough devotionals to provide one every day for a year. Who would have thought there were so many names for Him!

One of my favorite names for Jesus is Immanuel. Immanu is Hebrew for “with us.” El refers to Elohim, or God. God is with us. He is not a god who is “Up there,” not an unreachable god on a pedestal. He is right here with us.

Think for a minute about that term. To be with someone is probably the ultimate compliment we can give. We are choosing to spend our time with this other person. “Will you go to dinner with me?” “Would you like to go to a concert?” Would you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?” Anne Murray recorded a song “Can I Have This Dance?” The lyrics, in part, read:

“Could I have this dance

For the rest of my life

Could you be my partner

Every night

When we’re together

It feels so right

Could I have this dance

For the rest of my life”

To me, this is a human expression of the ultimate “with you.” God has promised to be with us. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus stated “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Jesus has promised to be with us always. There are no conditions once we become one of His. And he punctuates his promise by saying “Amen.” I don’t know if Jesus whispered it softly. He was speaking to the remaining 11 disciples, so this would be understandable. But I can see him shouting His final words to them. He wanted to be certain that they heard and understood him. We often make a big deal about a person’s final words. What wisdom does he/she have, what do they want to tell us, speaking to us for the last time? These were Jesus’ final words on earth. I can see him loudly proclaiming it, maybe even staring at Peter and the other disciples. His look said “Do you get this?” Do we get it?

It is one thing to acknowledge that God is always with us in an intangible sort of way. Even though I may not be physically present with a friend or loved one, I may feel like I am with them in my thoughts, at least. But God is not with us in that way. He is here, with us right now. He came to earth to be a part of mankind. He came as a baby with all the physical characteristics of an infant. Imagine Mary burping Jesus on her shoulder, changing His diaper. He became one of us, entering our world, so that we might enter His.

You might say “I don’t feel God next to me.” Max Lucado answers that by saying that God goes to those who have time to hear him. Initially, His coming was announced to some shepherds. They were of no social standing, they were guarding sheep in the night. Time was the one thing they had plenty of. So God got their attention. Someone once said “If you don’t feel God is close to you, guess who moved.” God is there, but he doesn’t command us to accept him. We can ignore Him and we just sort of forget him. But He is still there, placing people or events in our midst to try and get our attention.

In his book Jesus: The God Who Knows Your Name, Max Lucado states: “God’s nature would not hold him in heaven. It led him to earth. In God’s great gospel he not only sends, but he also becomes; he not only looks down, but he also lives among; he not only talks to us, but he also lives with us as one of us.”

Immanuel – God with us. That is almost incomprehensible. But praise God, it is fact.

The World’s Peace – Or God’s?

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Peace. Such a simple word. We use it on numerous occasions, with many meanings. We may meet someone on the street and carry on a short conversation. As we depart, we may wish them “peace.” When two nations have been waging war and cease hostilities, we say there is peace. We may dwell on the peacefulness after a storm. The dictionary describes peace as an absence of disturbance, a tranquility. We may turn down the lights, put on some mellow music, close our eyes and achieve a level of peace. And this is good. I am all for peace.

But there is a different peace, the peace that Jesus brings. In John 14:27 it is recorded “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (NASB).” Did you get that? Jesus’ peace is a different kind of peace, not the world’s peace. What is different about this peace that Jesus brings? I had a friend who once made a statement to me that God’s peace is the only thing that Satan cannot counterfeit. Some have described Satan as a counterfeit Jesus. He can seemingly replicate many of Jesus’ characteristics. But he cannot replicate the Peace of God. Remember, one of Jesus’ names is Prince of Peace.

I recently experienced both sides of God’s peace. Early on, when COVID first emerged, I was worried, not feeling peaceful. During my devotions one evening, I got a tremendous sense of peace, God said “I am in control. Don’t worry about this pandemic.” That has sustained me over the subsequent weeks and months. That is not to say I am not concerned. I grieve for those with the disease, I pray for them, for our country, for the world, for loved ones. But God was telling me he had it under control, despite what the world was telling me. That did not lead me to take a “bulletproof” attitude toward the disease. I am acting responsible, taking appropriate protective measures. But I believe we will get through this, one way or another.

In another situation, I lacked peace. I need eye surgery and I had my timetable for when it should occur. When things didn’t go as I planned, I was concerned, distressed, out-of-sorts. I need to do this, and I need to do it now was my attitude. For whatever reason, God’s timing on this was not my timing. As I lay in bed the other night, unable to sleep, I felt God speaking to me. “Why are you so concerned about this? I’m in control. Give me the steering wheel.” Oops, OK God. Sleep came.

How do we get God’s peace? Phillippians 4:6-7 (NASB) reads “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” We get God’s peace through prayer. Giving our concerns to Him.

God’ peace is different in at least five ways.

First, It transcends all understanding. It is beyond human comprehension. All we know is that God has it under control, so I don’t need to worry about it. I prepare income taxes. I have clients that can’t comprehend the details. They just want the results. That’s somewhat how it is with God’s peace. We don’t understand it, but we trust God for the results.

Second, God’s peace supersedes earthly circumstances. I don’t have a detailed blueprint of what’s going to happen, I just leave it to God. Why is this happening? Isn’t this approach that I have a better way? Leave it to God, He sees the end game.

Third, peace is a blessing from God. It is one of the fruits of the spirit. In Psalm 29:11 the Bible tells us that God will bless His people with peace. We don’t have to beg for it, it is a gift of God. We just need to accept it. Don’t pray “give me peace,.’ the offer has been made. Instead, pray “Thank you God for your gift of peace. I accept it with gratitude.”

Fourth, peace is in harmony with his character. I Corinthians 14:33 reads (NIV) “God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

Finally, to appreciate God is to live with Him in peace. To be with God is to be in peace. As a contrast, the moneychangers in the Temple were not with God when Jesus drove them out. They lacked peace.

A final caveat. We live in a fallen world. Everyone does not know God. We will not achieve peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 deals with this contingency. (NIV) “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” We can’t control others, just take care of yourself and your relationship with God.

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Is God Always Good?

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There is a popular saying in Christian circles that goes “God is good all the time.” This is certainly true. Scripture is full of references to God’s goodness. It is not in His nature to be not good. We may think of ourselves as good people but, if you’re like me (and I know you are) you aren’t always good. Romans 8:28 reads (NASB) “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

I think sometimes we misapply this verse. I get the mental picture of something bad happening to me, to a loved one, or some cataclysmic event occurring. Something not good. Since God is good, he couldn’t have caused it so the thought may occur to us that God was caught by surprise at this event. And He is now in heaven, scrambling to make it good. I don’t think that’s it at all. I certainly don’t have all the answers to this conundrum, but I have some thoughts.

What is the “good” that is referred to in this passage? It is not a comfortable life, a nice house, a lack of health issues, a perfect family. There is nothing wrong with any of these, but I submit that the good referred to here is God working in us to make us more like Jesus. That is our goal. That’s why we are here on earth, to bring glory to God. I am not here to be a good husband, a good father, a good professor, not even a good church member. I am here to be conformed to the image of God’s Son. When that happens, that is good.

This verse does not have universal application. God works things together for good to “those who love God.” How do we express love? On a human level, if we love someone we want to do good things for them. We want to please them. We want to spend time with them. We want them to be a part of our lives. If a person says he or she loves God but doesn’t spend time in His word, doesn’t talk to him in prayer, doesn’t make God a part of everyday life then I question if that person loves God.

The final part of this verse further qualifies who this promise is for “to those who are called according to His purpose.” His purpose is for us to bring glory to God, to be more like Jesus. Our goal in life should be His purpose. What does that look like?

Philippians 3:20-21 reads “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” We are citizens of a nation, community, or a group, you will want to abide by the laws of the land. If you are a member of a group, you want to conform to the expectations of that group. As citizens of heaven we want to conform to the “expectations of heaven.” Our bodies will be transformed into conformity with the body of Christ by His power.

Job is an example of faithfulness to God. God did not cause Job’s troubles. Job’s friends urged him to “curse God and die.” Yet he remained faithful to God. God restored what was lost. But, on a human scale, all was not good. Yes, his family was restored, his wealth was restored. But he still carried the memory of those lost loved ones. But when Job was transformed into his heaven “God worked everything for good.”

How powerful is God? He is the God of the universe. His power is unlimited and unending. But He does not impose himself on us. We can choose to be one who loves God or we can reject Him. My goal is to work daily to be more like Christ. When I make that choice “all things work together for good for me.”

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