Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Throughout the world, millions of dollars are spent on priceless works of art. I'm always amazed at how much people will pay for one painting -- some are considered virtually priceless. But what makes a masterpiece? It's not a what -- it's a "who" -- a master makes a masterpiece!
There's a Master at work on you. Your life is a priceless work of art in the Lord’s hand. God's masterful artistry, His perfect "touch", is painting, sculpting your life day by day to create the masterpiece He envisions you to be. Every stroke of the brush, every strike of the chisel, places color, renders shape to your individual identity in Him. You can trust His craftsmanship, rely on His artistry, because not only is He the consummate Master Artist, but He loves His works.
"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works"....so it seems the Master Artist has created you to be an artist too; to walk in good works which reflect His work in you. You are a beautiful masterpiece in the making, designed to portray a beautiful Master in all you do.
The Lord's work is beautiful, it's the best, highest quality available, three dimensional, living and breathing...and it's truly "priceless" in terms of this world's reckoning– but wait until you see just how He values you and your good works where it really counts -- in the World to Come. So realize that you are a work of God -- created for good works to be valued, highly valued, in Eternity.
Read more Christian devotions on: Beauty, Change, Encouragement, Guidance
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]This weekend, the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim. This holiday commemorates Israel’s amazing reversal in Persia during the reign of King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) when Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai gained victory for the Jews and protected them from annihilation at the hands of the evil Haman.
Over two decades ago, when I moved to Israel, I had the opportunity to spend considerable time with a pastor and his wife. This pastor imparted significant wisdom to me during that period, counseling me to “be like the children of Issachar,” he directed me to this specific passage in 1 Chronicles 12.
Over the past few days, I’ve been discussing the will of God and how to walk out His will daily in our lives. The Lord’s general will involves the development of our character and the ways in which we relate to Him and to our fellow man. Much of this is the same for every believer. But each of us is unique, and each has a potential life vision unlike any other. God has an individual will for every soul that belongs to Him, an individually shaped destiny which varies according to our gifting and calling and purpose in His Body.
As God worked on creation for six days and rested on the seventh day, so our seven day week is established on that pattern. If, as the scripture declares, with the Lord one day is as 1,000 years and 1,000 years as a day, then the seven-day cycle also finds expression in a great historical “week”. As we approach the 1,000-year reign of the Messiah, this “millennium” as it is called, (described in some detail in Revelation chapter 20), is clearly understood as a time of global rest, peace, and righteousness throughout the Earth.
The word for “restitution” in this passage is the Greek word – “apokatastasis”. This is the one and only place it is found in the New Testament. The word literally means to “restore again” or “to repair”. The plan of God in sending His Son Yeshua (Jesus) was to restore that which had been broken and ruined. The Lord’s saving work is a global repair job. Each one of us has come to Him already ruined by sin. But God’s will and His promise is to restore and renew us through His Son.
These past few days, writing about the will of God, has reminded me of the prophet Jeremiah, and how the Lord knew him – even before he was in his mother’s womb, and he was sanctified by God as a prophet to the nations. A similar foreknowledge and ordination of God belongs to us who are under the New Covenant. God’s foreknowledge of His people is clearly stated in scripture. We were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless, and created in Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) unto good works which He foreordained that we walk in them.
Writing daily devotions throughout the years I’ve often been asked the question, “How do I find the will of God?” There are probably many good scriptural approaches to answering this question; but I want to offer something very basic as you think about understanding the will of God. That is, simply, that you’ll know His will when you come to know the heart of God.