Paula Wiseman

Faith and life meet in a story

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Something to think about as you start a new week

Monday Meditations are quick posts designed to get you thinking about God. They provide a fresh perspective as you jump into your routine.

 

More Amazing than the Stars

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More Amazing that the Stars title graphic

Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. Genesis 1:16

He made the stars also.

It reads almost like an afterthought.

The beauty and the wonder of the stars stretch out before us every evening.

We are awed by brilliant colors captured in the breathtaking telescope pictures.

We gaze up at the vast expanses and feel small, insignificant and unseen.

But the billions of stars hung across the incomprehensible distances of space are counted as a small detail in the creation account.

Not so with human beings.

We were made in God’s image. Lovingly fashioned by His very hands. Infused with the breath of God.

Amazing.

Doctrinal Definitions: Glorification

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doctrinal definitions glorification title graphic

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:16-17

This is the end of the process.
What began with salvation ends with glorification.
We cannot have one without the other.

It’s not seeking to glorify ourselves.
That is boastful pride.
And it has no place in the kingdom.

People were created in the image of God.
We originally shared the glory of our Creator.
Through Christ, God will restore what we forfeited.

It is that great glory that Jesus promised he would share with us. (John 17:22)
The glory at the Transfiguration.
Shared. With. Us.

Who is “us”?
The genuine believers in Christ.
The Spirit attests that we are, in fact, believers.

But there is more evidence.
Suffering. Persecution. Opposition.
The promise of glorification, though, gets us through.

And God keeps His promises.

Read the rest of the Doctrinal Definitions series

Doctrinal Definitions: Transformation

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doctrinal definitions transformation title graphic

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 (ESV)

Transformation is changed from the inside out.
Paul tells us the strategy for accomplishing it:
The renewing of our minds.

Making our minds new.
New thoughts. New attitudes.
New approaches. New goals.

The will of God does not conform to the world.
The good does not conform to the world.
The acceptable does not conform to the world.
The perfect does not conform to the world.

If we want to figure out God’s will,
If we want to be, to pursue the good, the acceptable and the perfect.
We need transformation.

The Holy Spirit’s power
Proves to us and the rest of the world
That salvation changes everything about us.

Are you being transformed?

Read the rest of the Doctrinal Definitions series

Doctrinal Definitions: Sanctification

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Doctrinal Definitions Sanctification title graphic

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Romans 6:22 (ESV)

What is sanctification?
It’s not some secret thing reserved for a select few.

It is the fact and the process by which believers are set apart
By God
From the world
To be conformed to Christ
According to His purposes.

We pursue sanctification (or we should),
But the Holy Spirit accomplishes it.

W. E. Vine says it is “an individual possession,
Built up little by little,
As a result of obedience to the Word of God
And of following the example of Christ.”

It is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
It should be our fervent pursuit (Hebrews 12:14).

You are sanctified. You are being sanctified.
One day you will be ultimately and utterly sanctified.

Read others in the series; Doctrinal Definitions

Doctrinal Definitions: Reconciliation

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Doctrinal Definitions Reconciliation title graphic

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10

Reconciliation is changing the relationship from one of enemies to friends.
Enemies of God.
Subject to His wrath.
Marked for destruction.

God doesn’t only remove the enmity.
That would be amazing enough.
He goes a step further.
He offers friendship, love, adoption.

We cannot do this for ourselves.
There are no terms we can offer.
No acts we can perform.
We have no recourse for reconciliation.

Except His grace.
Except His mercy.
Except His invitation.
He invites us to be reconciled.

And He entrusts us with making sure others
Receive that same invitation.

The first in the series: Doctrinal Definitions: Condemnation

Doctrinal Definitions: Justification

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doctrinal definitions justification title graphic

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Romans 5:18

Justification is a legal term.
It is the declaration by the judge
That we are acquitted from guilt
From penalty, from punishment.

Now, in our justice system
We think of acquittal coming
Because of evidence. Facts.
Or sometimes persuasion.

Here are some facts.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God,
but the doers of the law who will be justified.
Romans 2:13

And that’s doers of the law, the whole law.
Like James says.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point
has become accountable for all of it.
James 2:10

With those facts, what verdict could be rendered?
Guilty.
Anything less would be a miscarriage of justice.

That’s why justification is so amazing.
God didn’t ignore or dismiss our sins.
His holiness, His righteousness, His justice will not allow that.
On the basis of Christ’s righteousness.
Because of His righteous act of paying our penalty
God declares us justified.

More Doctrinal Definitions: Condemnation, Redemption, Propitiation

Encounters Series

From the opening pages of Scripture, no one who has encountered a holy God has come away unchanged. Adam, Abraham, Hagar, Moses and many, many others realized that God is not distant but a God who … Read More

Covenant of Trust Series

A covenant is a solemn, binding agreement. God chose to unilaterally enter into a covenant with Abraham. No matter what Abraham said or did, God vowed to uphold the terms and bless Abraham. Marriage … Read More...

Foundations Series

Jesus told a parable about a wise builder and a foolish one, underscoring how important it is to have a solid foundation. He declared that obedience to His word was the surest foundation of all. In … Read More...