God’s
intention for humanity was that we should respond to his love by loving him and
respond to his commands by obeying because of love. This is the way humans can
experience the true life of fellowship with God for which we were called into
existence. Therefore humans can find no permanent home in this world but are
dependent on God for ultimate fulfilment. God made everything beautiful from
the beginning. He also set eternity in the hearts of men; and they will find no
rest in the temporal world (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Man was created for a special covenant
love relationship with God and to enjoy fellowship with him.
Month: July 2008
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Man in the image of God has a special fellowship
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Man in the image of God signifies a special standing
Man’s
divinely given destiny begins with a special standing before God in a covenant
relationship. As humans created in the image of God, we are the recipients of
his love; this means that each human being has special worth in God’ sight
(Matthew 6:26). In the covenant with God we are also recipients of God’s
commands, which mean a special responsibility. God entrusted to humanity a
special task with reference to creation, namely, that we serve as his
representatives. Humans are to reflect to creation the covenant nature of God. -
Om å tala profetord
Gud reiser opp ein ny profetisk
generasjon, – eit profetisk folk – som har lært å høyra Guds røyst og tala
profetord til menneske, forsamlingar, fellesskap, samfunn og nasjonar. Gud
reiser opp eit folk som lever i hans nærvær, forfriska av Ordet og Anden, og
som kan verta brukt av Gud til å tena Guds plan i si levetid. Dei lever med Gud
i kvardagen og vender hjarte, hug og tankar heile tida til ”Den Levande EG ER,
Den Allmektige, så dei kan tala inn i livet til menneske dei møter i jobb, på
universitet, på torget, på gata, i nabolaget, over alt kor dei ferdast. Av di
dei har lært å leva i Guds nærvær kan dei formidla Guds kraft, nåde, fred,
glede, kjærleik og lækjedom til menneske dei møter i kvardagen. -
The meaning of “Image of God”
Out of all
the creatures God made, only man is said to be made in the image of God in the
Genesis account of the creation:Then God said, "Let us make man in
our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the
creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed
them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth
and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over
every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:26-28).The fact
that humanity was created in the image of God in the simplest terms means that
humanity is like God and represents God. Since this is the straightforward
meaning of the biblical expressions, the Bible does not need to say something
like, “The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God in
the following ways: intellectual ability, moral purity, spiritual nature,
dominion over the earth, creativity, ability to make ethical choices, and
immortality.” -
Eat this book!
The purpose of my new book, "Releasing Jesus," is to keep our identity focused on Christ and our lives Spirit-filled, our discipleship passionate, our hope fresh against all human odds – that the life of Jesus may be released within us. As we assimilate the Word into the tissues of our lives, we become what the Word says and Jesus is released in us. The Word gives us health and wholeness, vitality and holiness, faith and hope, wisdom and love.
The words of the poems in this book are written to keep us in touch with and responsive to reality, both visible and invisible: Christ-reality, Spirit-presence in our everyday life. These poems are mainly inspired by the Word, sometimes in quotes and paraphrases, sometimes in new metaphors and poetic expressions. The Word is the primary means for getting us in on what is, – the ultimate reality, on what God is and is doing in us and around us.
The words in this book are intended to form a life that is harmonious with the world that God has created, the salvation that he has worked out in Christ, and the community he has brought together by the Spirit. God is using the power of the Word to penetrate our lives and create truth and beauty and loving-kindness.
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My new book is awailable!
My new book "Releasing Jesus" is now awailable at Amazon and The Book Depository and a lot of other shops on the world wide web. The Book Depository offers a very good price and free delivery worldwide!
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Man was created in the image of God for his own glory
The Bible clearly tells us that man was created to glorify God and bring him joy. God created man for himself – for his own glory – or “to the praise of his glory” as the apostle Paul is saying (Ephesians 1:6,12,14) . God tells us through the prophet Isaiah:
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth – everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. (Isaiah 43:6-7)
This fact guarantees that our lives are significant. When we first realize that God did not need to create us and does not need us for anything, we could conclude that our lives have no importance at all. But the Bible tells us that we were created for God’s own glory, indicating that we are important to God himself. This is the final definition of genuine importance or significance to our lives: If we are truly important to God for all eternity, then what greater measure of importance or significance could we want? -
Love is the motivational nature of God
Only when
we see that God is covenant love we may begin to grasp some of the inner
dynamics of God, in who and what the divine being is in himself, the dynamic
relationship within the one God, and how our triune God overflows in creating
the universe as the home of humanity and then enters into relationship with his
creation. Love actually makes creation possible. The act of creation is the
overflowing of the eternal love relationship within the triune God. The world
exists because of God’s love. Everything God does is motivated by love or flows
from his own character, which is covenant love.Before the
beginning of the world, before God created, God held a council within himself.
In love the Father, Son and Holy Spirit planned what to do according to their
own good pleasure. The one God was under no compulsion to create as the love
was already complete within the Trinity. But because God is covenant love, God
is self-giving, and willingly decides to create the world. Creation is God’s
loving act, it is free, voluntary, non-necessary, and fully in keeping with his
character. Since there was perfect love and fellowship among members of the
Trinity for all eternity (John 17:5, 24), God did not create us because he was
lonely or because he needed fellowship with other persons—God did not need us
for any reason. -
Bible Week at Harstad
Since Wednesday we have been attending the Bible Week in Harstad, beyond the arctic circle in the northern part of Norway. It has been wonderful days in the presence of God and a lot of fun in the fellowship of the believers. My friend Roger Aubrey has been the main speaker, and he has been mightily used by God. His teaching of the Word has been provoking and challenging, but more than anything else it has been encouraging and faith building. One night the presence of God broke in on us in waves upon waves.
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The essence of God is love
To
understand the original intention of God we need to understand the basic covenant
nature of God which is love according to the apostle John (1.John 4:8). Love is
a relational term which presupposes a subject and an object. There is someone
who loves and someone who is loved. God is as to character truth and love, but
love cannot be God. Love only exists as a relation between the lover and the
beloved. Because God is triune, the divine being already comprehends both
love’s subject and object. Therefore we come to understand that the essence of
God does indeed lie in the relationship between the Father and the Son (love) which
is the Spirit.