Taking on God's Character - Wednesday

People often use the phrase "like father, like son" to refer to family resemblance. When people see my likeness in my kids, it pleases me. God wants his children to bear his image and likeness, too. The Bible says, "You were created to be like God, truly righteous and holy." (Ephesians 4:24 GW)

Let me be absolutely clear: You will never become God, or even a god. That prideful lie is Satan's oldest temptation. Satan promised Adam and Eve that if they followed his advice, "you shall be as gods." (Genesis 3:5 KJV)

Many religions and New Age philosophies still promote this old lie that we are divine or can become gods. This desire to be a god shows up every time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and people around us.

God doesn't want you to become a god; he wants you to become godly - taking on his values, attitudes, and character. We are meant to "take on an entirely new way of life - a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you." (Ephesians 4:22 Msg)

God's ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ.

Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn't want to destroy it.

Congrats to those that are getting baptised/confirmed on Sunday; it's definitely an essential part of your walk with God and something to celebrate over!

"God's ultimate goal for your life is not comfort, but character development."
God gave us a direct example on how he wants us to be by sending Jesus to die for our sins. Rather than him just dying for our sins, another reason why he was here was to show us the path to God. From "Nobody comes to the father but through me" to "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life", there are numerous examples to portray the significance of Jesus, rather than just dying on the cross for us. As Sam said this past week, he didn't CHANGE the law but fulfilled them. He used himself to set an example for us so that our relationship with God could be built.

I illustrated this just like line charades, as the first person, being Jesus, would start to express the word using body language in order for the last person in line to guess the right answer.
Through other people we can see His grace, but we have to remember that it can become distorted. That's why, when nobody could guess the answer, the guesser looks at the first person in line. We always have something to rely on when it comes to how we should act, think, and make decisions.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17

yo guys... seriously it is soo cold in the mournings and nights... Gonna starting wearing my jacket to bed... I actually cant get out of bed.

Getting back on topic, i REALLY like how this devotional mentioned how God's ultimate goal for our life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants us to grow up spiritually and become like Christ.
If i reflect back on the previous years, mannn i changed soo much. Personally and spiritually. Of course, the previous years weren't the most comfortable as well. I cant deny the fact that it was fun but there were times where i had to get out of my comfort zone. A good example of this is street missions. I've done street missions 4-5 times maybe and still, every time is a totally different experience. Sometimes I would talk to someone and get really inspired by their stories, other times I'd feel really lucky to have this community, other times I'd be too shy to talk to people. Just every time is just so amazing even if i can't muster up the courage to talk to people. But the fact that i was able to get out of my comfort zone is a achievement for me.
i HATE change and thats a fact. Every time something new is introduced or there is a break in our regular events, it just displeases me. But life isnt about having things your way. If we always did things and had things the way we wanted, it would be really hard to grow both spiritually and personally.

So what i want all of you guys to get out of this devotional is to go the extra mile and try you best to get out of your comfort zone. There will be times in your life when you are challenged and may not want to get involved, but if its God related definitely do it

I think if God's goal for us in life was to have comfort, everything would be completely different. Comfort may provide some respite and relaxation but we don't gain much from it, let alone let alone learn much from it. Our character development is essential into finding out who we are, how we can contribute and fit into to God's will and purpose, and how we can use our unique character to advance the Kingdom. Most definitely, the progress of our character triumphs the desire and need for comfort. One should not make comfort their ultimate goal.
If we were all meant to be God or a god, our existence would not be needed. There is only one like God, and there will only be one for eternity. We were created to be like God, to live a life that gives glory to God, and represent Him through our lives. Through our own unique personalities, we were meant to cultivate them in order to create a lifestyle that revolves around the idea of living a godly life. If we use our special characteristics to reflect a godly life, we develop character and, during the process, we also bring glory to God.
We were all made for a purpose, and a reason. No one's existence was ever an accident, and never will be. We were all carefully crafted and wonderfully composed by God.

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24

21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 2:21

Like a father and child, God is our rolemodel. We want to take after him and live a life that he wants for us.
God wants the best for us but it may not be exactly or entirely what you want.
As we get older, people tend to depend more on themselves. I actually talked about this with my mom this morning....
We need to be like a child to go to heaven.
What I mean is that a typical child accepts the fact that they don't know much in this world and let their parents lead the way. That's what God wants from you, your full trust and faith.
Aim to live a humble, serving, godly life. You don't just help yourself by doing this, you help other grow along the way as well. If you continue that, you will get one step closer to being like Christ.

~Audrey~

Mmmm, definitely, the value within this devo is "follow Christ's footsteps."

I guess one question we could ask about it though is how do we go about doing something as vague and ambiguous as that? Do we just try to follow the Bible word for word? And as simple the answer seems to all of us, that probably is the answer. If anything, the Bible should be the answer, and not what opens the answer. In that case it really should be SIMPLE to follow Christ and what he expects of us.

Not EASY.
SIMPLE.

The things he asks of us is very practical in the sense that most ambiguity is answered by He Himself. Honor family. Avoid coveting. Believe in Him and Him alone. All these practical things are simple directions, and a reason why we might be getting constantly frustrated is that we know it's actually VERY SIMPLE, yet find it SO DIFFICULT to follow through. The crux of me personally has always been sloth. If any of you feel that it's the same way for you guys, then we can approach this with the idea that we're signing up for SIMPLE SALVATION and not EASY SALVATION.

If I can translate and illustrate: Jesus did a SIMPLE thing. He received thousands of lashing upon his back, and the penetration of nails through his bodily organs. It's SIMPLE and EASY TO UNDERSTAND. NOT EASY. The same rule applies for FOLLOWING Jesus.

SIMPLE.
Not EASY.