November 15 – His Good Work First Then Ours

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

While we read and think on this verse let's be sure to notice that the emphasis is on God and His plans for us. It's not on what we do for God but on what He does for us. Good works cannot produce salvation but are subsequent and resultant God-empowered fruits and evidences of it.1 When the verse speaks of our being created by God it really means our being born again – our re-creation because of what Jesus did for us. It is God who makes that happen and makes us His child and give to us eternal life. That makes us the work of God – we are His workmanship. Like his salvation, a believer’s sanctification and good works were ordained before time began.2 God has a purpose in this and it is that we will do what He gives us to do. We will tend to the work He gives us. Good works in our lives comes after His work in our lives. And all this was prepared and planned in advance. It is God's plan that comes together for our benefit.

 

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^[1] [2] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible., (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Eph 2:10.

March 15 – Doing God’s Will Anyway

“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” – Jeremiah 32:17  (ESV)

Our verse comes from the story in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. The prophet purchased a plot of land from his cousin even though the Babylonians were nearly at the gate of the city. The anticipation was that soon Jerusalem and all in the Kingdom of Judah would be conquered and taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. This truly did come to pass so Jeremiah’s real estate purchase seemed fool's errand. But it wasn’t foolish, because God had directed him to purchase this piece of land. Thinking through the wisdom of his legal transaction bewildered Jeremiah and he goes to God in prayer. Notice how he first extols the sovereignty of God. “Nothing is too hard for you,” is what Jeremiah says. He acknowledges God’s directions in buying the field even “though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.” The promise that nothing is too hard for God is a promise we take to heart today. Whatever God leads us to do, if we know God is indeed giving us that direction, we can know its outcome will be what God intends it to be. Let’s trust God no matter what He has given us to do.

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March 12 – Fulfilled Promises

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” – Colossians 1:15-16 (ESV)

The promises found in our passage today might remind us of the verse in Genesis 1:26-27 where we find God decided and created male and female in His image. One of the meanings of the phrase “image of God” means that people are created as God’s image—or, as His imagers. This passage speaks of the incarnation of Christ—the eternal God becoming a human being and becoming visible for us. The Son of God, Jesus the Anointed One has existed from eternity past. He is the One who created everything that we can see and what we cannot see, and all things on earth and above the earth in heaven. All were created by Him and for Him, the Son of God.  He came to live among us on earth, He lived a perfect life as a man without sin, all to complete and satisfy the promise made in Genesis 3. It was necessary for Him with His divine nature to take on a human nature to fulfill the promise of redemption for all human kind. We can embrace this promise because it is the way God made for us to know Him.

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September 9 – Prepared by God

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

We are again considering how we possess the ability to do good things which are pleasing to God.  If we look at the larger passage our verse comes from today, we will read a list of wonderful things God has done for us without expecting anything for them.  They were done way long ago.  Our God is rich in mercy and He loves us with His great love.  That’s a love no one else has. So we are dead in our transgressions but God makes us alive and saves us from that dead state.  How is this except by the grace He has given to us?  And by that grace we receive also a gift of faith that saves us. No works result in this salvation – that means we have no bragging rights.  “No brag, just facts" that we are saved by God’s grace.  But there are good works to consider. Works God prepared before we were saved and for which God has saved us.  These good works He has for us to do. God’s grace enables us to produce these works also by his Grace. Grace is a blessed gift without which we would be dead. 

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May 19 – Called To Be His

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  - Isaiah 43:1 (ESV)

The nation and people of Israel were precious to the heart of God.  God had chosen them purely on the basis of His will and not because of anything they had done to deserve it. Promises were given to Abraham, then Isaac and then Jacob/Israel.  It was Jacob, the deceiver who wrestled with the Angel of God and became Israel, the Prince with God.  God uses both names when he speaks through the prophet Isaiah to the nation.  The promise out of this verse is ours as well. We have been called by God, chosen by Him on the basis of His will alone to believe.  We are comforted these days by the words “Fear not.”  We never need to be afraid because we have been redeemed by God who has called us also by name and put his claim of ownership upon us. God says to us today just as he said to the nation through Isaiah, “You are mine.”  If we believe and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have been freed from the consequences of our sin, we belong to God. We are His and He will take care of us forever in all circumstances - Hallelujah! 

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January 3 – Fear Not, We Belong

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”  - Isaiah 43:1  (ESV)

The first five verses of Isaiah 43 are promises from God for His people. Delivered by Isaiah, God's prophet to Israel, these words were recorded for us and all of God's people in the Bible.  As God declares in this verse He is the creator of all His people.  God was not only their creator but the one that formed them into a nation of His chosen people. Today, we also are God’s people and the promises here are for us as well. God has the right of ownership of us because He is our Creator and became our Redeemer because His creation failed to obey Him and sinned in Adam in the Garden.  It is a personal ownership, because He calls us by our name. His ownership is certain, because He seals it by saying "You are mine." When God stakes ownership on us, it is absolute.  God cannot lose ownership of us once we have been redeemed through faith in Jesus His Son. Because of these promises, we have no need to be afraid of what is ahead or what unknown might happen.  So, God is also promising that we have nothing to fear when He commands us to fear not. Again, we have nothing to fear because we have been redeemed if we are indeed in God's family through faith.

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June 5 – Made By Him

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

It is good and wise to always remember that we are not living on our own.  We are not self-made men or women as is often claimed by some.  God has had something to do with our lives before we accepted Jesus as our Savior and when we do accept his offer, He has given us eternal life.  He has been working in our lives ever since, helping us fit more and more into His plans for us.  Our verse today reminds us that God has planned for each of His children that we do good works.  He did not plan that we just live for ourselves.  He wants us to positively affect others by the way that we live and by the things that we do.  Let's be sure that we allow our Lord to guide us in out activities and accomplish His purpose. 

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May 11 – Seeing and Hearing

“Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?”  Psalm 94:9 (NIV)

When God created our human ancestors in order to have fellowship with them, He gave His creatures the ability to know what is going on. Each of us was given the ability to see what is around us and to hear sounds happening around us. Not not every creature sees and hears equally well and some not at all, but such circumstances were not in God's plan at the beginning. We are reminded today that the ability to see and to hear were given to us by the one who created us.  God fashioned the ear to hear and the eye to see because God wanted us to experience a part of what He has always experienced. God gave us the ability to see some things because He sees everything. He made us able to hear some sounds because he hears everything. Yes, our God sees us in our needs and he listens when we pray – that is the promise he made when he made us. Let's be thankful.  

November 15 – God's Advance Planning

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

While we read and think on this verse let's be sure to notice that the emphasis is on God and His plans for us. It's not on what we do for God but on what He does for us. When the verse speaks of our being created by God it really means our being born again – our re-creation because of what Jesus did for us. It is God who makes that happen and makes us His child and give to us eternal life. That makes us the work of God – we are His workmanship. God has a purpose in this and it is that we will do what He gives us to do. We will tend to the work He gives us. Good works in our lives comes after His work in our lives. And all this was prepared and planned in advance. It is God's plan that comes together for our benefit. 

February 9

“Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.” Isaiah 60:20 (NIV)

We’re used to having the sun rise and set every day. We count the hours as the sun travels through the sky and we are conscious of the passage of time by the monthly changes of the moon too. But the time is coming when all these changes will end. We are living here on earth because this has been part of God’s plan. He created the earth and He has given each of us a life to live here. But he has also planned other things for us and has told us about these plans as well. God wants us to enjoy Him forever. Instead of thinking about our concerns and sorrows our thoughts will be focused on Him and our souls will be fully satisfied to be in His presence. Let us today thank Him for what He is planning.