Genesis 1:27 “And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.”
1 Cor 15:47-49 The first man was out of earth, earthy; the second Man was the Lord from Heaven. 48 Such the earthy man, such also the earthy ones. And such the heavenly Man, such also the heavenly ones. 49 And according as we bore the image of the earthy man, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:3], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16], equal with God before Creation [John 1:1-5; John 1:14], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [Philippians 2:6-8].
The Hebrew word for image is ‘tzelem,’ within which is another Hebrew word, ‘tzel,’ meaning shadow…kind of an image within an image. It seems that God’s idea was for humans to be a shadow or a reflection of Himself from the beginning. [Genesis 1:26]
However, the first Adam allowed sin and death to enter this world, thus fracturing mankind’s relationship with God.
Now, through the second Adam, Yeshua [1 Cor. 15:21-28], this relationship can be restored. He came to address the problem of death and repair the relationship broken by sin, which had distanced humanity from its Creator. Now, through the second Adam, we have the opportunity to bear the “image of the heavenly” [1 Cor 15:45-49], which was God’s original intention.
What does this look like, the restoration of the image of God in spiritually regenerated human beings now, since God’s intention from the beginning was for mankind to reflect His holy image and to be an expression of His nature? Now, we are presented with the “opportunity of a lifetime” to touch a world in need! The world needs to see the reflection of His love, joy, and peace radiating in our lives — when we do so, we are fulfilling His original intention for us — to truly image Him!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The legendary preacher, Charles Spurgeon once said, "Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right."
En Gedi is a nature reserve about 40 minutes from our home. Surrounded by dry, barren, rocky ground, except to the east where the Dead Sea lies, it is an oasis, fed year round by springs of fresh water, and home to some of the most unique wild and botanical life in the world.
A father asked his son to carry a letter from their camp to the village. He pointed out a trail over which the lad had never gone before. “All right Dad, but I don’t see how that path will ever reach the town,” said the boy. “Well son, I'll tell you how. Do you see that big tree down the path?” asked the father. “Oh, yes, I see that far.” “Well, when you get there by the tree, you’ll see the trail a little farther ahead -- and farther down you'll see another big tree -- and when you reach that one you'll be closer and so on until you get within sight of the houses of the village.”
Yesterday was a big day for us, but especially for baby Obi. He was circumcised in the presence of our friends and family (many of them not believers) at our congregation in Tel Aviv. We had the chance to share about the false report we got concerning Obi's health and how the doctors told us to abort him early on. I tied in the faith that Abraham must have had, especially concerning circumcision. There may not have been a dry eye in the house. Thank you, God!
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I heard a story about a man who was imprisoned during Napoleons reign. While sulking in his dungeon one day, he etched on the wall the words "Nobody Cares".
Many times, our unbelieving family and coworkers -- society in general, can make us feel small and inferior -- like second class citizens -- because we are Christians. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, somehow, we begin to believe it! We become what I like to call "mopey Christians," just moping around, keeping our faith hidden under a bushel, feeling afraid to say a word about Jesus, in fear that we might offend someone! And that's precisely what the enemy wants us to feel!