Blog Archives - Created through Him

Created Through Him

Creator is from of old, from everlasting

1/21/2012

2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (Micah 5: 2).

Micah was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom (Judah). He prophesied at the same time as did Isaiah. There are some interesting similarities between the books of Isaiah and Micah. Compare Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 and you will see a very direct similarity.
The prophecy in Micah 5:2 is amazing. This verse foretells of the coming of Christ over 700 years before His birth. Equally amazing is that we learn that Christ is from of old, from everlasting. Christ was present before Creation, and therefore He was not created. He is everlasting God, the Son. Rather than being a part of creation, Christ had a part in bringing creation into existence.
Another interesting possibility is that Christ may have been the one that walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). Christ’s ‘goings forth have been from of old’ (Micah 5:2). So when you place your faith in Christ, you place it in the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth. The Creator is from of old, from everlasting.

Creator is irresistible chooser

1/20/2012

1Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 4But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken (Jonah 1: 1-4).

Jonah was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom (Israel) during the reign of Jeroboam (2 Kings 14:22-25). Nineveh was an important Assyrian city (2 Kings 19:36). So Jonah probably assumed he would not be very ‘welcomed’ in Nineveh, especially since he was going to be telling them that they were angering God. Jonah ‘bailed’ on his assignment. God would not be ‘bailed’ on. The result: God=1, Jonah =0.
In the book of Jonah, several qualities or abilities of the Creator are revealed. These qualities or abilities include the control of the physical world according to His choosing, and the choosing of individuals for specific tasks as a sovereign action on His part. In short, the Creator chooses, and if He chooses, no amount of resistance will change the outcome. We can all learn from Jonah. Resisting the Creator’s calling is not in our best interest. This does not mean that God is capricious; it does mean that He is sovereign over all creation. Remember too that in the end Jonah preached to the Ninevites, and they repented and turned towards God (Jonah 3:1-10). This was God’s plan all along. God has plan for you, for your good and His glory. When God calls you, hear and obey His call. The Creator is the irresistible chooser.

Creator is restorer

1/19/2012

17But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions (Obadiah 1:17).

So how about a show of hands for those that just looked at this verse and said, “Obadiah, yep, never heard of him…that is in the Bible?…sounds like a guy from Hee Haw”. But sandwiched between Amos and Jonah is the shortest book in the Old Testament at 21 verses. Not much is known about Obadiah as a person owing largely to his parsimony, but a parsimonious prophet says a lot with a little.
Obadiah is prophesizing against the enemies of God’s people; in this case against the Edomites. God will deliver His people to holiness. When you think about it, verse 17 is about the restoration of all things. It is about restoring the creation and God’s people to their correct place before the Creator. Paradise lost is to be paradise restored. This is good news for the people of God. The Creator desires to restore us to a proper relationship with Him. This is accomplished through the work of Christ as the holy deliverer. Obadiah the parsimonious prophet looked forward in time to the day that the Creator would restore His creation. The Creator is restorer.

Creator is Creator...

1/18/2012

11I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 12Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. 13For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name (Amos 4: 11-13).

Amos was a shepherd (not a wealthy man) and a prophet to the Northern Kingdom (Israel) at a time of relative prosperity (Amos 5:11). But Israel was backsliding, they were not remembering the poor among them (Amos 5:11-12), and they were not behaving as if God had redeemed and blessed them. God is warning Israel of punishment for failing to acknowledge and obey Him.
God draws Israel’s attention to the fact that He is Creator (Amos 4:13). I do not think this was by accident, for the start of unbelief often has to do with ‘beginnings’. The people of Israel had forgotten God. They were not thankful for their many blessings, and they were turning away from God. They were denying God as their Creator. Glaringly, this seems to be the case in the world today as well. We live in relative prosperity and yet many people today either through their actions or inactions, deny that God is their Sustainer and Creator. This does not please God. It is for our own good that we be thankful toward God and remember Him as Creator. The Creator reminds us, as He reminded the people of Israel, to remember our blessings and to remember that He created us for a purpose. The Creator is Creator…

Creator is Yahweh

1/17/2012

28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. 32And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call (Joel 2: 28-32).

This passage is the one that the Apostle Peter quoted on the Day of Pentecost-some 500 plus years after being written by the Prophet Joel (Acts 2:17-21). In this passage we see that the Creator involves all of Creation in His deliverance (sons, daughters, old men, young men, heavens, earth, moon…). This is so because they are His. Notice too in this passage that the Holy Spirit is given to His people.
Verse 32 is where I want to draw your attention. We are living in the age of grace. If you call upon the name of the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, you will be delivered. It is significant and essential too, that you call upon the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is Yahweh. Yahweh means to be; He transcends all things; He is the great I AM (Exodus 3:14). You are calling on the one who IS. There is much more here, remember too, when Christ was asked who he was by the religious leaders, He said, “ Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). Therefore, Christ is your redeemer and deliverer, and He is I AM-Yahweh Himself.
It is also important to notice that this passage does not say you might be delivered, it says you will be delivered. The Creator does not leave things to chance, and if He promises something, it will occur. Please call upon the name of the Lord, in this age of grace, while there is still time. The Creator is Yahweh.

Creator is not to be forgotten

1/16/2012

14For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof (Hosea 8:14).

The prophet Hosea was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom (Israel). Hosea prophesized at the same time that Isaiah prophesized to the Southern Kingdom (Judah). The context of the times in which these prophets preached is one in which the people turned away from worshipping God to worshipping idols. Hosea warns Israel about the consequences of failing to worship the one true God. The consequences for Israel were disastrous including the destruction of Israel first by the Assyrians then by the Babylonians.
Israel had forgotten God their Maker. We have the same choice as the people of Israel: We can either worship God as Creator, or we can worship another god. There is no middle ground. It is essential then to remember and serve God as Maker.
The issue here is to whom we belong, either to God our Maker, or to another god. If we belong to God our Maker, we remember Him as such. If we do not remember Him as Maker, we worship idols. Idols are not just representations of other deities. Idols are anything that shifts our focus from the true worship of God. Idols can include many things, and in fact all things-unfortunately even ‘religion’, if those things cause us to forget the one true God. Remember and serve God your Maker, and in doing so you will worship Him. The Creator is not to be forgotten.

Creator is without end

1/15/2012

13I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7: 13-14).

The book of Daniel contains a number of prophetic passages. This particular prophetic passage reveals several qualities of the Creator. The Creator is before time (Ancient of days), and establishes dominion and kingdoms. Dominion is something the Creator has granted since the beginning (Genesis 1:28).
Inherent in the concept of dominion is the idea of control. Control establishes authority. In verse 14 we find out who is actually granted authority, it is one like the Son of man. The one ‘like’ the Son of man is Christ. Verse 14 is a messianic prophecy and was written over 500 years before Christ. We learn in this passage that Christ will have an everlasting dominion and kingdom. His kingdom will have no end and cannot be destroyed.
When you place your faith in Christ you place it in the everlasting God Himself. There is a command in verse 14 that we must not miss as well. The command is to serve Christ. You serve and place your faith in the ultimate Authority and Creator who is without end.

Creator is blessing

1/14/2012

25And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them (Ezekiel 34: 25-27).

Ezekiel is writing during the Babylonian exile, as he was one of those who had been carried off into exile. The exile resulted in dire circumstances. Ezekiel is prophesying about a future time when there would be restoration and peace from all these circumstances. We learn from Ezekiel that this restoration and peace will be over all of creation. God as Creator restores by delivering His creation from the conditions that ultimately destroy it. The conditions that destroy creation will one-day be eliminated as well.
These verses from Ezekiel are not abstract promises, but rather they are concrete and absolute assurances. The Creator will make a new Creation and it will be in a correct relationship to Him. The covenant of peace in verse 25 is a relationship. He shall be our God and we shall be His people. We know now that it is through Christ that we become His people. This is a blessing, a blessing to all of creation. We should, like Ezekiel, know that the Creator is the Lord God and look forward to the ultimate restoration of all things. The Creator is blessing.

Creator is the turner of your heart

1/13/2012

19Thou, O LORD, remainest forever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20Wherefore dost thou forget us forever, and forsake us so long time? 21Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old (Lamentations 5: 19-21).

The book of Lamentations was written at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in conjunction with the Babylonian captivity. These were desperate times. The author (possibly Jeremiah) reminds the reader that God and God’s rule is forever (everlasting), and that by turning toward God a renewal can occur. The concept of ‘forever’ is difficult to grasp. But for sure, forever is a long time. Forever is past, present, and future all in one, and therefore is a quality of the Creator.
In verse 21, it is requested that God turn the people back towards Himself. Turning towards God results in a new beginning. This is still true today, if we move away from the things that harm us and toward the God that created us, we will get a fresh start. What God has to offer us is a new beginning. It is important to realize from these verses that there is great benefit to us in tuning toward God but it is actually God that ultimately does the turning for us. This is a profound mystery and this is amazing grace. The Creator is the turner of your heart.

Creator is before

1/12/2012

4Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak (Jeremiah 1: 4-7).

We do not have to read far into the book of Jeremiah before we find discussion of God as Creator. Jeremiah was known before he was born and he was created for a purpose. God as Creator also reminds Jeremiah that in addition to Jeremiah being created for a specific purpose, he was also equipped to fulfill that purpose.
Our Creator is before all things and our Creator is a planner. But unlike our human planning, planning by God will never fail. The Creator acts out of eternity into time and therefore His planned actions occur without fail. If God ordains it, nothing can come against it or stop it.
The Creator knew you before you were born as well. He has a purpose for you. The purpose God has for you will be fulfilled in time. This is very reassuring. Remember your Creator will never ask you to do something you are not prepared to accomplish since the Creator is before….

Created Through Him