God’s Masterpiece - Martin Wiles

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 NLT

Oblivious to the treasure I had, I placed the bowl on the kitchen table and filled it with old plastic vegetables.

When my wife and I began dating, we discovered both of us loved old things. Her passion was carnival glass, something I’d never heard of and knew nothing about.  

One day, she looked at the bowl sitting on the table and said, “That’s carnival glass.”

We removed the old vegetables and cleaned up the bowl that had belonged to my great grandmother’s mother. There were no markings, so we decided to take it to an antique dealer friend and see what they could find out. Imagine our surprise when we were told it was an early piece of Fenton worth several hundred dollars. Needless to say, we didn’t return it to the table and fill it with plastic vegetables. We proudly displayed it in a safe and noticeable place where its true beauty could shine.

Paul says believers are masterpieces even though I sometimes don’t feel or act like one. But my feelings and actions don’t change the facts. God sees the finished work; I see the work in progress. And a painting in process often looks ugly or like nothing at all.

While I may not appear as much to others, God sees me as extremely valuable. So valuable that He let His Son die for my sins instead of making me pay for them. And although I make many mistakes and foibles along the way, with God anything is possible. He has the power to form me into what He wants me to be. All I must do is cooperate and seek His wisdom and guidance.

Having had the blood of Christ applied to my life, I am worth more than others might think and more than I could ever imagine—but only because I am in Christ and have been created by a loving God.

Although sin mars the masterpiece God is painting, the forgiveness of Christ restores its beauty. Others may say you are nothing, but God says you are something. He wants to take all the clutter away, wash you up, and display you as His. A beautiful work of art.

In God’s eyes, you are of inestimable value. Live as God sees you.

Tweetable: Do you know you are of inestimable value?

Prayer: Father, may we live out in action, attitudes, and words the people we truly are. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Like a Thief - Martin Wiles

Like a Thief

Famous Japanese Admiral, Isoroku Yamomoto, said, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.” And his enemy, American President Franklin Roosevelt, said of December 7, 1941, that it was “a date which will live in infamy.”

Until September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center was destroyed by planes, the attack on Pearl Harbor was probably one of the greatest surprises in American history. More than 350 Japanese planes launched the attack, and by the end of the day over 2,000 people had been killed and America’s Pacific fleet heavily damaged. Currently, the United States of America is continuing to make preparations so she is never surprised like this again. Read more...

Tweetable: Are you ready for Christ's arrival?

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The Way That Seems Right - Martin Wiles

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12 NLT

The deposit was in the safe, but the safe wouldn’t open.

Our church treasurer was on vacation. When he’s gone, it falls to me or the assistant treasurer to secure our deposits in the safe or to remove them and take them to the bank. We normally have a shortcut that allows us to open the cantankerous safe without having to spin through the entire combination. This time it wasn’t working.

After several days of unsuccessful attempts, my frustration level was high. Then the treasurer called to say he had to make a quick trip home and would come by and open the safe. I watched as he spun the numbers and noticed one thing he did differently than I had. And that one thing opened the safe.

What seemed right to me didn’t work. It didn’t for the writer of this verse either. The way that usually seems right for people to gain God’s approval has to do with works. If I do enough of them, God will let me into heaven. The other popular way concerns morality. If I’m a good person, I’ll get in.

The end of these ways—and any other I can drum up—isn’t heaven, but eternal separation from God. Jesus said He was the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one could get to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Pretty cut and dry. Doesn’t matter whether or not I like it. It is what it is. I can’t make up my own combination and expect the safe to open.

Trying to go another way hinders God’s blessings. As long as the safe was locked, the blessings of the deposit would not be made into the church’s bank account. Not only will I miss heaven by trying to come some other way to God, but I will also miss blessings and extraordinary living in this life.

Attempting another way to God also leads to frustration. The ornery safe had raised mine. Good works, moral living, or anything else I might try won’t fill the God-initiated spiritual void in my life. I’ll be left feeling empty.

God’s safe of salvation has only one combination, not many. Put in the correct combination so you can enjoy His best for you now and in eternity.

Tweetable: Do you know the combination of God's safe?

Prayer: Father, thank You for making the way possible for our sins to be forgiven and our eternity with You to be assured. 

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Pushing God Away - Martin Wiles

But you thought you could get along without me. Ezekiel 16:15 NLT

“I can’t wait until I turn eighteen so I can get out of this house and do what I want to do.”

How many times I said that to my parents, I’m not sure, but it was enough that the statement is indelibly inscribed in my memory. I loved them, but I didn’t love their rules. Looking back, the rules weren’t unreasonable. My state of mind just made them seem so. Rebellion, obstinacy, and selfishness ruled my life. I wanted to be on my own, thinking I’d have no one to answer to. Foolish of me to think that—and I soon found out I would always have someone to answer to. I pushed my parents away, thinking I didn’t need them, their protection, their love, or their presence.

God accused His people of doing the same thing. Comparing Himself to someone who found them kicking in their newborn blood and rescued them, He reminds them of how He loved them and cared for their every need. When they were old enough, He married them, but they rewarded His faithfulness with unfaithfulness. They played the prostitute every time they had a chance with the pagan nations who lived around them—pushing Him away as if He were unimportant and had done nothing for them.

Pushing God aside isn’t always an act of rebellion or hate. Sometimes it just happens because my focus is elsewhere. Hovering over my children more than I should instead of letting them learn independence and responsibility. Spending more time than I should trying to climb the career ladder. Giving a hobby more time than it deserves. Doing anything that brings me pleasure. Or using my money unwisely by buying too many play toys.

Nothing will fill the void that only God designed Himself to occupy. I need spiritual wisdom to live life successfully. Only He can give it. As Adam and Eve walked and talked with Him in the cool of the garden, so I need to spend time with Him daily. Otherwise, I’ll find myself traveling in unwise directions.

God gives people the free will to push Him away, but we’ll never find peace if we do. The joy and peace I thought I’d have when I left home didn’t materialize until I re-established a relationship with my parents.

Don’t push God away. Invite Him into every aspect of your life.

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Prayer: Father, may we see the need for making You a part of every detail of our lives. 

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Flashback Friday - A Touch of Encouragement - Martin Wiles

A Touch of Encouragement

Like many people, I want mine shortly after my feet hit the floor in the morning. Without it, my morning doesn’t seem to proceed as smoothly.

I love coffee. I suppose I inherited my adoration from my paternal grandparents since neither of my parents were coffee drinkers. Nothing compared to an early afternoon cup of coffee as we sat in the den discussing family, religious, and political occurrences. But some would say I’m not a true coffee drinker because my cup of coffee must be prefaced with sugar and cream...enough to take away the bitterness. These added ingredients encourage me to drink the java which in turn makes my mornings brighter. Read more...

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