FEBRUARY 1 2013

Touch the Inside                                            February 1, 2013

Dear Family and Friends, 

^“You created my inmost self, knit me together in my mother's womb. For so many marvels I thank you; a wonder am I, and all your works are wonders. You knew me through and through,”   Psalm 139:13-14 NJB

            In my 52 years I have seen the mountains of Colorado and Tennessee, the deep green-blue Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. I have taken pictures of sunrises and sunsets from atop a cruise ship and from a balcony in Jamaica. I have smelled the roses in my mother’s garden and the wild honeysuckle at my grandmother’s. I have watched horses run from my window in Ireland, and gazed in awe at the depths of the Grand Canyon.

            All of these wondrous things convince and convict me of a God who is the Master Craftsman. Yet of all these marvelous creations He considers us, you and me, His crowning glory. We are His workmanship, formed with His hands, and with His very breath He brought us to life. In His image He formed us.  “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Gen 1:27 NKJV

Why do we resist the understanding that we matter to Him?

“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6, 7b NKJV

 Why do we doubt that He loves and cares for us?

“casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1Peter 5:7 NKJV

He took the time and thought and energy to craft each of us.

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Luke 12:7a NKJV

 He knows us, planned our lives, and He wants us to live abundantly.

“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 NKJV

I don’t say all these things for us to get puffed up in our own importance but to remind us all that who we are in Christ is what matters most. Through Christ we have the strength we need. Through the Holy Spirit living in us we have the guidance we need. Through Almighty God we have life. And that my dearest family and friends should free us to live the abundant, fruitful life that God has planned.