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Image Redeemed

Dearest sister,

While reading Genesis I was sweetly reminded that we are made in the image of God. Not only this but God breathed into man the breath of life. Everything else He simply spoke into being. But Adam He breathed into life. Wow! Living in the garden, Adam and Eve enjoyed unadulterated communion with the Lord God. They talked with Him, walked with Him, and were unashamed before Him. Just imagine what that must have been like!

But as we continue reading Genesis we come to a pivotal point in the narrative. The serpent approaches Eve, deceives her, and Eve falls (along with her husband) into sin and darkness. Now when they hear the Lord’s voice they are afraid and hide from Him.

Dear sister, let me share with you a situation that arose in my life that reminded me of how far I fall short of reflecting God’s glory. On Thursday I drove a perfectly suitable car with a clear view out of the windshield to and from work. That night I heard a loud crashing noise right outside my window. I opened the front door only to find tree limbs at my doorstep and a giant tree trunk on my car! Thankfully, there was no structural damage but my windshield was completely shattered.

Just how in one moment I went from being the proud owner of a drivable car to bumming a ride to work the next morning, so too did Eve go from perfectly reflecting the image of God to reflecting a shattered image that could not be distinguished.

Because of Eve’s disobedience, the image of God that we still bear is now tainted with sin and its consequences of guilt, shame and fear. We can no longer see Christ clearly through the temples that the Lord designed for us.

Thankfully we are not without hope. In order to redeem His image in us, God sent His Son Jesus to perfectly reflect God’s character—a feat we are unable to accomplish because of sin. Now, those who have Christ in their lives are new creations. And as we are cleansed from our unrighteousness, we are becoming more and more like Christ.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And Romans 8:29 assures us that “those whom [Christ] foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

These two verses state two truths. 1) we are new creations, and 2) we will be conformed to the image of Christ because those in Him have been predestined to become like Him.

Let us look forward to this new year as we lean on Him to produce in us a character that reflects the perfections of Christ.

Your Sister in Christ,

Kayla

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Imagined Image

Dear Sister,
I’m guilty. Are you? I often live my life according to how I think others think of me. I have no idea what they are truly thinking, but that does not matter. My image is formed by imagined thoughts of others. As a kid, my image was determined by having the “in” shoes and style for the first day of school, having good grades for my parents, being the best soccer player I could, and being at every church function available. My teenage image had all of those but added the desire to be liked by popular guys and girls. Onto college and my image morphed into being the most perfect person I could: from daughter to student to Christian. You see, I wanted the perfect perceived image inside and out. I wanted to make everyone happy and feel comfortable around me. Now as an “adult” my image is still formed by what I think others are thinking about me: I need to be a good mother, hot wife, best lover, best friend, thoughtful, servant hearted, and hospitable to others. At other times I want others to imagine (ha) me as not caring about any of these things so I become apathetic. This gave me a humble image, right? Are you tired? Phew I was/am. I honestly almost died trying to meet this imagined image of myself. I became anorexic and was sent away for two months to begin healing and repenting of this sinful pattern of life where I lived for an imagined image rather than for the image for which I was created. Genesis 1:26a says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’” Hmmm…there is nothing in there about looks, ability, grades, or perfection. It says that our image is determined by the Trinity, not by what we think other human’s think of us. Our worth is being made in the image of God. But wait, there is more!!!

Sin tarnished our image forever, but God has told us in His Word that He made a way for our image to be restored once and for all eternity. He sent Jesus to live a perfect life and die for all sin once and for all. He rose again conquering sins penalty of death so those who put their trust in Christ will be forgiven and their image will be restored to what is was in the garden. Look at what Paul says of the image of the believer in Ephesians 1:3-14

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard he word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee4 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

Holy cow! Do you see this? Paul is reminding believers of their identity because we forget it!

• He has blessed us in Christ with EVERY spiritual blessing
• He chose us before the foundation of the world
• We are holy and blameless because of Christ
• We are adopted into the family of God and have full inheritance
• We have redemption, we are no longer slaves to sin, we have been saved into a family because of Christ
• We are FORGIVEN of all past, present, and future sin to the riches of His grace
• He LAVISHED his grace on us

I could go on and on…and Paul does in every letter to churches. He reminds the believers in the churches of what their image truly is before correcting behavior or addressing questions. Why? Because I forget the gospels meaning and power in my life. I try to form my imagined image on my own instead of remembering who we are in Christ and letting that form my image.

Sweet sister, we act like we believe. If we believe that our imagined image is what is important, then we work at it with all our might! We buy certain shoes and clothes, we join certain groups, we eat certain food, and we behave in a certain way. I pray this New Year we will all stop. Stop letting things and behavior determine our imagined image. I pray that we will actively think on what our image truly is: we are created in God’s image with intrinsic value, we were bought with a price, we are adopted, forgiven, showered with grace and mercy, loved, and have an inheritance, all to the Praise of His glory! Now act accordingly!

Your Sister in Christ,

Colleen

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Son of God, Light of the World

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8: 12

Dear Sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,

It is December 26, night has fallen, and a bit of the blues of another Christmas Past clouds my evening. Alas, all the house decorations, all the gifting particulars, all the music practices, and all the festive gatherings culminated in, what is now, yesterday. Christmas Day has come and gone. Already I await the First Sunday of Advent—next year! That sets my mind on something merry and bright for the next 52 weeks! O Come All Ye Faithful!

Thankfully the delight of Christmas lights that twinkle and shine in the neighborhoods, in the shopping centers and in the parks extend the spirit and the joy—hopefully until Epiphany, January 6. That is the celebration of the visit by certain wise men who brought gifts to the Christ Child. These men, who studied the position of the stars, for whatever reason important to the culture of the times, were fascinated by one specific star in the east. Familiar, also, to the Hebrew Scriptures, they expected the birth of the King of the Jews. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verse 2 contains this narrative:

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?
For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

These highly educated men depended on the Scriptures and the knowledge that God gave them to seek Jesus in order to worship Him. What a precious reflection of the way God draws us to Himself—through His word and in His creation! We do not have to be academicians to know God. The magnificence of the creation tells about the Creator. Indeed, this is exactly what Paul states in Romans 1, verse 20:

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

They followed the star to find a King, and when they found Him, they fell to the ground and worshipped Him. Then they presented Him royal gifts: gold for splendor, frankincense for fragrance, and myrrh for soothing. Imagine that—not being Jewish themselves, there was something that moved them to worship this Child-King. Memorialized in the Gospel of Matthew, our Christmas traditions have, through centuries, included the wise men—and gifts—and stars.

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light.

In our dark world, where sin abounds, where anxieties and fears paralyze, where troubles and sickness hurt, where things and desires overtake, where hatred and warfare kill, we need the Perfect Light. That Light is Jesus, who took upon Himself our sins and guilt on a dark day in the midst of a blaming mob, so that we, who believe on Him and trust that He died on our account, will have eternal life with Him. Jesus, the only Son of God, left His resplendent Heavenly throne to become like us in every way, but sin, and obeyed His Father in every aspect, where we could never obey Him.

In retrospect, Dear Sisters, this day after Christmas has actually turned into a sweet and joyful time. Our Christmas tree never looked so sparkling, there are still a few radio stations playing Christmas music, and there are still some cookies in the tins. Above all, I am glad that you and I have spent this time together, reflecting on the True Light. Joy to the World!

Merry Christmas,
Mimi

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The Greatest Gift

My Dearest Sister,

It all starts the day after Thanksgiving. Department stores are flooded with shoppers, television commercials spout the latest holiday sales, and wrapping paper is sold by the thousands of yards. It’s the season of giving and even the best of us can get caught up in the mad rush to find the perfect gift for our loved ones. All too often though, we forget the very first and greatest gift ever given. It was over two thousand years ago that God sent His Son to this world in the form of little babe born in a stable in Bethlehem. In doing so, He made a way for us to become a part of His family, adopting us as His very own children.

The apostle Paul tells us more about this gift of adoption in Romans 8:15: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified together.” To fully understand the magnitude of this adoption process, we have to consider the audience to whom Paul is writing, the Romans. In order to adopt a son in Ancient Rome, the adoptive father had to buy him three times from the biological father, selling him back again after each time. After the son was sold to the adopting party for the third time, the biological father could claim him no longer. The son was then considered to be in the family of the adoptive father and had the same inheritance rights as one of his natural-born children. However, unlike a natural-born son, he could never be disowned by his adoptive father; the adoption was permanent.

Usually these adoptions happened when a person of great wealth or influence needed a son to carry on their family name and heritage. For example, Caesar Augustus was adopted by his own uncle, Julius Caesar, who had no children of his own. As a result, Julius was able to carry on his lineage and Augustus inherited an incredible position of power. It was a win-win. Because of this custom, it was virtually unheard of to adopt a slave. After all, the adoptive father needed someone worthy of carrying on his legacy, not some poor, dirty wretch who wouldn’t know the first thing about being the inheritor of a wealthy estate or important position. Yet we know from scripture that we were indeed once slaves to sin, following the desires and whims of our flesh. What, then, does God have to gain from adopting us as slaves of sin into His powerful family? What do we have to offer Him that makes us worthy of His affection? The answer is absolutely nothing. That’s what makes His desire to adopt us so amazing!

You see, God already had a Son to carry on His legacy and inherit all of His riches and glory: His name was Jesus Christ and He was perfect in every way, the apple of His Father’s eye. And yet God chose to send Him to this world in the form of a little baby boy, so that He would grow up to be persecuted, mocked, and killed by the very people He came to save. Do you understand what a sacrifice that was? Jesus took the blame that was not His and God, not being able to look on sin, had to forsake His precious only Son on the cross. And for what? For us, sister! Just as a Roman father had to buy his adopted son three times, God bought us with three days and nights of Jesus’ death.

There is only one thing that could explain such an amazing sacrifice: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 1:3). LOVE, dear sister. God cared about us – poor, wretched slaves to sin as we were – enough to purchase our adoption with His own Son’s blood. And not only that, He made us equal inheritors with Christ. I ask you, what greater love can there be than that? So this season, let’s take a break from all the last minute shopping and present-wrapping to appreciate the greatest gift we will ever receive – our adoption as sons and daughters in the family of our ever-loving Abba Father. Merry Christmas, my precious sister!

In His love,
~ Lauren

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We Are Family

Dear Sisters,

Did you realize that Jesus was not a direct descendant of Solomon? I didn’t. I simply assumed as Jesus was of the family of David, assuredly He had His lineage through the wisest, most famous, and most powerful Israelite king. He didn’t. The most widely accepted theory is that Joseph’s lineage is recorded in the book of Matthew (which does include Solomon), and Mary’s lineage (Jesus’ actual bloodline) is recorded in Luke—with David’s barely mentioned son, Nathan, as Jesus ancestor. Another irony—this son of David bore the name of the prophet who confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba. God’s use of irony and subtlety never ceases to amaze me. God does not ignore sin—how can a holy God do so? But, He can and does forgive such through His Son’s death on the cross. He redeems those lives ruined by sin.

And here is the exciting part: once we have recognized our desperate need for a Savior, and trusted that Jesus is that Savior, we have been released from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2) and introduced to a new life. This new life is differentiated by the fact that we are not slaves, mere followers, trembling penitents at God’s feet, but: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” Romans 8:14-15. Did you catch that? The Jews of the Old Testament were so cautious about the God of their Fathers and His absolute Holiness that they did not even utter His Name. Jesus’ habit of calling God, “Abba!” was unprecedented at that time. Yet, as believers, we have the same privilege as Jesus—calling God, “Daddy!”

As a slave to sin, I was a cast-out, I couldn’t even venture to glimpse into heaven—I was not known as part of the heavenly family, nor invited. The very walls of heaven would shun such a one as me, and the gates certainly wouldn’t open. Jesus did not make me a step-child, blending me into a family that may or may not include familial love. No, He adopted me. We know a number of families who are pursuing adoption or have already adopted children. These families have prayed for and wept for their children, they waited years and spent thousands of dollars, they struggled through mountains of paperwork all for the hope they would sometime be able to hold that precious one. Oh, those children are loved—they are family! And we believers; adopted by God, prayed for, wept for, waited millennia for, paid for by His Son’s life, with our names written in His Book—oh, we are His beloved children, wholly and completely!

As you enjoy this Christmas season, take time to snuggle down into your Daddy’s arms—grateful to Jesus and His willingness to be humble for us, to offer to us not just cleansing but entrance into His family—characterized by our new name (Christian) and a redeemed way of life.
Running with you,
Rebecca