local Daily Devotions

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SOUND DOCTRINE



2 Timothy 4: 3 - 4”For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

Paul was writing prophecy here that we today have seen come to pass. Paul said, "The time will come," and we are now living in that time when the lost and the Christians will not ENDURE sound doctrine. That word ENDURE can be defined to mean two things; first the word means to bear or live a life accordingly. The words ENDURE also means to support. We have come to a TIME when people in general, Christians and non-Christians will not live according to THE Sound Doctrine nor will they support the Preaching of THE sound doctrine. Notice the word THE. I typed the word "THE" in upper case letters so that it would show that there is only ONE sound doctrine, which is found in the King James Bible.

Some may ask, "What is the importance of people living accordingly and supporting The Sound Doctrine?" The answer is this; THE sound doctrine will bring the Lost Sinner to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, it will make the Christians a stronger, more devoted Christian. THE SOUND DOCTRINE is good for the Family, to keep homes together, to raise children in a proper manner. The Sound doctrine is the very back bone of the New Testament Church. A Local Church that stands on, Preaches and teaches the Sound Doctrine is a healthy church.

Hey, don't change THE Sound Doctrine to fit the way we live our lives, we should change the way we live our lives to comply or FIT to THE SOUND DOCTRINE.

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Originally Posted by Rob M

Post 126/ September 9....Uplifting! =) Thanks for posting these
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thanks, the last few have really applied to me.

the kicker is...with this forum tapering off, sometimes this devotion is the only "new post" so i hope you guys will read them more

"a man who don't study his life to see if he is all jacked up...IS all jacked up...he just dont know it."

john

[saclifford]

I would read them even if they aren't new everyday. Thanks for spending the time to post them though.

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Mourning for Your City

"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 1:4).

Nehemiah lived in the world of politics. He was a high ranking worker in the government of Babylon. His official title was cupbearer for King Artazerzes. He would be considered the modern-day U.S. Secret Service agent who made sure the King was safe from being poisoned.

Judah had been driven into exile and some of his friends had just returned with news about his fellow brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire" (Nehemiah 1:1-3).

Nehemiah's response upon hearing the news is the kind of response that is necessary for a Christian leader to impact his or her city.

He responded by weeping for the condition of his beloved city. He immediately went into prayer and asked for God's direction on how he could be a positive impact on his city. He developed a strategy to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He accomplished the task in only fifty-two days.

Do you weep for your city? God is calling forth men and women from the marketplace today to be catalyst to impact their cities. Begin today to pray for your city and ask God how you can be a catalyst to rebuild the spiritual wall of your city.

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The Response of Faith

..."Everything is all right".... 2 Kings 4:26


The prophet Elisha often would travel through the town of Shunem, and in that town was a well-to-do couple who extended hospitality to him. At first, they simply offered Elisha a meal when he came through town. Then, seeing that Elisha needed a place to stay and study, they built a room for him above their house so that each time he came through town, he had a place to stay. He was so appreciative of their kindness that one day he asked the wife what he could do for her. His servant Gehazi later informed Elisha that the woman was barren and her husband was old. "About this time next year,' Elisha said, 'you will hold a son in your arms" (2 Kings 4:16). A year later the son arrived.



One day the father was working in the field, and the son became ill and died. The woman ran to meet Elisha to inform him. When Elisha asked what was wrong, she did not panic and react in fear. Her response to Elisha seemed almost unnatural. "Everything is all right," she said. Elisha went to the boy and raised him from the dead. It was a glorious miracle. (See 2 Kings 4.)


Faith looks at situations through God's eyes, not the eyes of our limited understanding. This woman did not panic, for she knew something more than the current circumstance. Faith does not panic, but realizes that what looks like devastating circumstances may be God's plan to bring glory to Himself by demonstrating His power. When Jesus appeared on the water to the disciples in the middle of the night, they exclaimed, "It's a ghost!" (See Matthew 14:26) First appearances can bring great fear upon us even to the point of paralyzing us. Find the Lord in your circumstance today. Exercise your faith today and trust Him for His outcome in the situation.

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Giving Thanks is our Key to Victory!

Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. (Acts 16:25)

We must give God praise and thanksgiving before we see the actual victory.

When Paul and Silas were in the Philippians jail, (Acts 16:22-34), as they gave thanks and worshiped the Lord, ÔÇ£all the doors were openedÔÇØ. That is what we need, the doors opened so that we can walk into what God has for us, so we need to start and continue to give God thanks and praise for it being done until we see it happen.

Regardless of our situation, take a minute right now to thank the Lord. Thank Him for the victory we need, for the doors we need opened, and for the answers to our prayers we have been praying. Thank Him!

In 2 Chronicles 20, GodÔÇÖs people were facing an impossible situation, but something incredible happened when they began to sing and praise the Lord. In the face of an overwhelming problem, and before they saw the victory they so desperately needed, they began to thank God for the victory, as a result, God stepped in and scattered their enemies.

Remember: Your thanksgiving to God is a powerful weapon of warfare. We may have waited for a long time, but our breakthrough can be closer than we think. Even when it seems like our midnight hour has come (Acts 16:25), God can send us an earthquake of blessings when we give Him praise!

Keep the faith, keep praising God for it being done, thanking Him for His blessings and love and watch Him move on our part.

Remember, Giving Thanks is our Key to Victory!

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Specific Path



"So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Josh 24:13).



When something unusual happens in our daily life experience it is a time to tune in to your spiritual antennae. God is often at work. So, I prayed, "Lord, what are you saying through this?" The answer came quickly: "I have called you to walk a specific path. I will bring the fruit to you. All you will have to do is pick it up and stay on my path for you. That is what it means to abide in Me."



The people of Israel conquered the Promised Land as a result of obedience, not sweat, toil, or natural talent.

In our work life call, He desires to give us fruit from our calling when we fulfill the unique purpose for which God made us. You will not have to manipulate the outcome. Abide completely in His presence and purpose for your life so you can pick the fruit He desires to bring into your path. His nature is to do exceedingly beyond what we can think or imagine.

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a personal note: i dont care about failure...I like to see how the person recovers, regroups, and charges ahead

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Failure That Leads to Godliness


"All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader" (2 Samuel 22:2).

God uses broken things to accomplish His greatest work. When David was anointed to be the next king, he was just a boy, the youngest among all his brothers. Little did he know that the next several years would be years of fleeing the sword of Saul. His successes turned into obsessions as a leader who had fallen from the anointing of God. Perhaps David thought, "Why am I living a life as a fugitive? I am the next king of Israel."

Yet, his life was filled with adversity after adversity before he ever fulfilled the ultimate calling God had for him. Others began to hear of David's successes and identify with his plight. But, it wasn't the successful and polished who came to join him. It was "the distressed, those in debt or discontented" who would be part of his army--and army it was! His army would become known throughout the world as the greatest ever assembled, not because of their skill, but because of the God behind the army. God turned David's men into "mighty men of valor."

Failure is often used to make us useful in God's hand. When Jesus called the disciples, he did not go out and find the most qualified and successful people. He found the most willing, and he found them in the marketplace: a fisherman, a tax collector, a farmer, and a doctor.

The Hebrews knew that failure was a part of maturing in God. The Greeks used failure as a reason for disqualification. So often this is what the church does to those who fail.
This is not the way of God. If you have experienced failure, realize that failing does not make you a failure. It makes you experienced. It makes you more prepared to be useful in the Kingdom of God if you have learned from it. And that is the most important ingredient for what God wants in His children.

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Our Agenda

He said to them, ÔÇ£Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

We are servants of Jesus Christ and we all live in very 'paganistic' societies where there is a lot of Lawlessness and Legalism. We need to ask ourselves are we really giving God the Honor and Glory He rightfully deserves. We are not perfect in this walk of discipleship and sometimes things are really difficult but He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. We need to stop being affected by society but start being effective in it! We need to ask ourselves what is our image of God, is He shaped by our environment or our fleshly desires? Do we respect Him enough and do we always acknowledge His authority in our life.

There needs to be a cry, a DEEP cry in our heart to make a difference in others' lives. We need a paradigm shift in our being of where "fun" is considered ministering to the lost, healing others, and ultimately bringing the Kingdom of God here, instead of getting wrapped up in vain, fruitless activities and I'm speaking to others AND myself.

God, please wake us up to the vanity of our ways. Let us be disgusted in our behavior. Let us have a healthy fear of falling away from You. I pray that You would not let us get any enjoyment from indulging in anything of this world, but instead only emptiness. Please drive us to You and submit us to Your will. Please position Your Bride! Make us fully for You! Make us a faithful soldier for You, Lord! I pray that Your agenda would be all we would seek after.

Help us be honest about ourselves when we come to God our Father. Help us be reminded of how great the power of the Cross is. Jesus has taken ALL sickness, pains and problems to the Cross and giving us the Victory. I pray that God will stir up an increased faith in us that assures us of how loving God is and why we are so blessed. Father, please have mercy on us and please find favor in us, in Jesus' name!

Lord, touch our lives and cause a change towards You to happen in our lives. AmenRead moreShow less

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Standing in the Gap



"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none." Ezekiel 22:30).

Israel fell into sin when they worshipped the golden calf. It would not be the first time God's people would fall into idol worship. They had forgotten the great things God had done for them. This angered God so much that He was going to destroy the whole nation.

Only one thing changed God's mind in the matter. Moses. Psalm 106:23 says that "had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them..." Moses was a man willing to stand in the gap, sacrificially for those who were not deserving of such sacrifice. This sacrificial love by Moses is called for among His people today.

The prophet Ezekiel describes another situation in which the people of God fell to sin. God was ready to destroy the nation. God speaks to Ezekiel asking him if there is a man willing to stand in the gap so that God does not have to destroy the nation.

Judah was a man who stood in the gap on behalf of his younger brother, Benjamin. Joseph held all the brothers captive in Egypt but allowed them freedom only if someone would stay as insurance for bringing the younger brother back to Joseph. Judah had a long history of a me focused life, but here he comes forward to stand in the gap for his younger brother because of his love for his earthly father, Jacob. His sacrifice was rewarded.

Just as Christ did we are to be the one who will stand in the gap on behalf of those who are not aware of their own vulnerable condition. It is a proactive sacrificial position. Who is God calling you to stand in the gap for? Perhaps it is a mate, perhaps it is a business associate that has not come to know the savior, and perhaps it is a wayward child.

Are you willing to become the sacrificial offering to God to thwart His plans of judgment because of your willingness to stand in their place? This is a hard teaching. This is what Jesus did for each of us. When we stand in the place of another,

God moves because of our willingness to stand on their behalf. If we don't, His plans will go forward because He is a righteous and Holy God that must honor His own word even if it means destruction. Are you willing to stand in the breach of the wall today for someone? Perhaps you are the only person close enough to an individual who will stand on their behalf.

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Can a City Be Transformed?

"All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord." (emphasis mine Acts 9:35).

Can an entire city be transformed for Jesus Christ? The book of Acts reveals that at least one city was. There are four key ingredients required among its Christian leaders to see a city transformed. These include prayer, humility, unity, and knowledge of God's ways.


Prayer

In every city in which transformation has taken place, believers have come together to pray for their city. Prayer changes the spiritual climate of a city. Some of the main areas of influence that must be the focus of our prayers includes churches and businesses; the legal, political, educational and medical fields; and the media/entertainment industry. Workplace leaders must be strategically aligned with intercessors to impact their city.


Humility

God uses men and women who recognize that they need each other and who do not seek glory for their work. "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way" (Psalms 25:9). The workplace leaders that God is using today care little about being in the limelight.



Unity

Jesus said, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:23). God calls each of us individually and corporately to represent Christ to the world, but our independence, pride and egos often prevent us from becoming unified in the purposes of Christ.



Knowledge of God's Ways

Sometimes leaders can move in presumption instead of in a faith that is rooted in knowledge of God's ways. Such was the case of David, who wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem. He was zealous for God and celebrated as he brought the Ark into the city. However, the ark was being carried into the city on a cart instead of by priests on poles, as God required. When a man named Uzzah reached out to catch the Ark when the oxen stumbled, he was immediately struck dead by God. David was devastated. He lacked knowledge of God's ways.

Do you want to see your city transformed? Make sure the three ingredients of prayer, unity and knowledge of God's ways exist in your leadership team.

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Knowing and Doing God's Will

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

George Mueller was a pastor in England during the nineteenth century who knew what it meant to live a life that was focused on knowing and doing the will of God. God led him in a walk of faith that has become an incredible testimony to all who hear his story.

Whenever he lacked for something, he prayed for the resources. During his ministry in Bristol, England, George built four orphan houses that cared for 2,000 children at the time. When he died at the age of 93, over 10,000 children had been provided for through his orphanages, and he had distributed over eight million dollars that had been given to him in answer to prayer.



How did he know and do the will of God?



"I never remember a period that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly." Here is how George summed up the way he entered into a "heart" relationship with God and learned to discern God's voice:

1) "I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.

2) Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

3) I seek the will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined.

4) Next, I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

5) I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.



Thus,
(1) through prayer to God,
(2) the study of the Word, and
(3) reflection,

I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly."*


Consider these five steps when discerning God's voice in your life.


*Henry Blackaby, Claude King, Experiencing God, Lifeway Press, Nashville, TN, p. 33, 34

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Learning to Stand


..."Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today...." - Exodus 14:13

The Israelites had just left 400 years of slavery in Egypt. They had fled to the desert, but they had come to a dead end at the Red Sea. Word reached them that Pharaoh had changed his mind. He was sending his troops to recapture the Israelites. They cried out to their leader Moses, complaining that he had brought them that far only to die in the desert.

Learning when to move and when to stand is the greatest challenge for a workplace believer. We are trained for action. We are not trained to sit idly and wait. We are trained to solve problems, not wait for them to resolve themselves. However, God says there are times to wait.

We are to wait until He says go. If we go before He says go, we likely will make our situation worse.

If the Israelites had attempted to cross the Red Sea before it parted, they would have drowned. If they had fled north to try to avoid the Egyptians, God would not have moved in a miraculous way. God cannot work on our behalf if we continually try to solve our problem when He has instructed us to stand still. Standing still is sometimes the greatest action we can do, although it is the most difficult thing to do in the Christian walk.
Stand still when He says stand and see the deliverance

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Being Fully Persuaded

"Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised." - Romans 4:21

Why did God consider Abraham a righteous man? It was because Abraham looked beyond his own limitations of age and strength and considered God as the one who could accomplish His own goals. Abraham came to a place in his life where he realized it had little to do with him and all to do with God. His part was initiating the faith within himself.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God (Romans 4:18-20).

What are the things in your life that are mere impossibilities? What are the mountains in your life? Are these there in order to build your faith in the one who can enable you to ascend to the peak? Once you know that it is His will for you to pursue, do it with faith. Faith requires action when we know it is He who is leading. It may require risk. Faith is sometimes spelled R-I-S-K. Abraham did not limit God. It is this confidence in God that God honored and rewarded. He wants to do the same with you and me.

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Ability versus Availability



"His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." - Psalm 147:10-11



Do you ever feel so skilled in what you do that you require little help from others? Perhaps you may feel that you are more skilled than any other in your field. Does God need your skills and abilities in order to accomplish His purposes on this earth? The answer is NO.



One thing God does not need is our skills and abilities. However, He does give us the privilege to exercise our gifts and abilities for His service. That service may be as a computer technician, a secretary, an ironworker, or even a lawyer. God calls each of us to our vocations to work unto Him. To believe that He needs our skills to accomplish His mission on earth would be to lower our understanding of an all-encompassing and all-powerful God. The psalmist tells us that His pleasure is not in our strength and ability, but His pleasure is in the attitude of the heart. It is what we find in the heart that helps determine whether ability is translated into availability. You see God is looking to and fro throughout the earth for a man or woman who is fully committed to Him. A man or woman who is committed to fearing the Lord and placing his hope in His unfailing love is the person God seeks to support. "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9a).



When our agenda becomes His agenda, we can expect God to fully support all that we do.



If we want to see our skills and abilities multiplied a hundredfold, then we must make them completely available to His service. Where are the opportunities in which God is calling you to be available to Him? Next time someone asks you to be involved in some activity, before you say yea or nay, make sure you check in with the Master of our decisions to ensure that your gifts and talents are being used, as He desires

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A MIGHTY MAN WAS DAVID





My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. (Psalm 84:2)



Perhaps DavidÔÇÖs greatness and his significance for mankind lie in his complete preoccupation with God. He was a Jew, steeped in the Levitical traditional, but he never got lost in the forms of religion. ÔÇ£I have set the LORD always before meÔÇØ (Psalm 16:8), he said once and again he said, or rather cried, for his words rise from within like a cry, ÔÇ£My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?ÔÇØ (Psalm 42:2)



David was acutely God-conscious. To him God was the one Being worth knowing. Where others saw nature he saw God. He was a nature poet indeed, but he saw God first and loved nature for GodÔÇÖs sake. Wordsworth reversed the order and, while he is great, he is not worthy to untie the shoelace of the man David.



David was also a God-possessed man. He threw himself at the feet of God and demanded to be conquered, and Jehovah responded by taking over his personality and shaping it as a potter shapes the clay.



Because he was God-possessed he could be God-taught.



He sent his heart to school of the Most High God, and soon he knew Him with an immediacy of knowing more wonderful than is dreamed of in our philosophies.



Lord, may I be as God-possessed as David. Give me a heart that cries out to You; then teach me and enable me to know You with immediacy and intimacy, Amen.

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The Purpose of Crucibles

The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart. (Proverbs 17:3)

This proverb describes one of God's strangest mysteries. It is a description of God's formula to refine the human heart to bring out its finest qualities. The significant leaders in the Kingdom that make the greatest mark for the Kingdom had to experience their own crucible and fire. Without it the dross can never be removed from the human heart. Without it the encumbrances weigh us down. God understands the human heart. He understands that for us to become all that He hopes we will become there are seasons of fire. For Joseph, he went through many a test. Succeeding in the test qualified him for greater responsibility. The greater the use in the Kingdom, the greater the crucible to prepare the right foundation. Some of God's greatest crucibles are found in the marketplace we live every day. The employee who betrays our trust; the client who refuses to pay; the vendors who falls short of our expectations.

My friend, each of these is God's tests to find out how you will respond. What tests are being brought your way today? His grace has been provided that we might pass the tests that He brings before us. Should we fail, do not fear. His grace is sufficient for this as well. Ask God for the grace to walk with Him in whatever tests He has placed before you this day. He is able to accomplish what He wants for you.

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Who Should Be In Charge





"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan" (Proverbs 29:2, NKJV).



We hear a lot these days about being "politically correct." It seems we must be sensitive to every group, no matter how that group might negatively impact our lives or violate ethical or moral laws. When God created the earth, he did not care what people thought of his policies. His policy was THE way!



But his primary motive was not to control but to bless mankind, His creation. His nature was only good. In Jeremiah 9:24 we find God's nature described: "I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.



He laid down rules in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to follow. As long as they followed the rules, they would reign over every living creature. They were representing the Creator in all aspects. God's government was being expressed through his creation in humans, nature and animals. He was and is the ultimate righteous ruler.



God's desire was to extend this mandate across the earth through Godly leaders who could represent and legislate his Kingdom in all spheres of life. This is why He said in Deuteronomy 28:13, 14: "The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom."



God desires to raise up Godly leaders who can represent His interest on the earth. He has called you and me to be one of His representatives.

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Glenn was emailing the devotions to my work email,
and I had him shift to my home email, so i could post them up, even if i took a day off work.

so todays will have to wait till i get home

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Male and Female, GodÔÇÖs Image Bearers in the Earth

26 Then God said, ÔÇ£Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.ÔÇØ

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, ÔÇ£Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.ÔÇØ (Genesis 1:26-28)


From the beginning GodÔÇÖs heart to build a dwelling place for Himself in the Earth is seen in His creation of man and woman, together, the foundation of the house of the Lord. Through the two of them together, He intended to live and reveal Himself in the world. Through them God intended to manifest His character and authority (image), express His dominion over the Earth, display His indisputable power over the works of darkness, and subdue His archenemy satan.

The first man and woman were a microcosm of the church, signaling that GodÔÇÖs glory would forever be seen in the Earth through the combined expression of male and female. Now as then, GodÔÇÖs blessing, His promise of success, is upon our unity.