In 2013 God Wants Us To Know…

  1. That we are created in His image (Genesis 1:27). We have a similar emotional structure and intellect to God Himself in order to better know Him and enjoy Him and respond to Him (Job 32:8).

  2. That we are God’s children twice over – through the physical creation and by being adopted into the Divine Family by the merits of the Beloved Son (Ephesians 1:5-6). We are like our heavenly Father in our essential need to create, as the results of human imaginative powers clearly gesture towards (1 Corinthians 2:12).

  3. That our yearning for eternal life is a genuine part of us (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and the good news is that this eternity will be spent in harmonious sharing and unimaginably constructive relationships with God Himself (1 Corinthians 2:9).

  4. That any sense of alienation we sometimes feel as result of sin has been bridged by the self-offering of our Intercessor, the Son, Jesus Christ, who presents us to the Father through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 17:3).

  5. That through this Holy Spirit, the Father and Son have already taken up residence inside us (John 14:23) just as Jesus tabernacled with us a brief while in the flesh.

  6. That God can take the abilities and talents with which every human being is endowed and magnify them abundantly for His service (1 Corinthians 12:7).

  7. That though we live in a dark world we are called the light of the World, a reflection of the very Light which has come to us (John 8:12).

  8. That passing on this light is one big reason we have been called and chosen (Matthew 5:14), a light even more visible if the world around us grows darker and darker.

  9. That we possess in our minds and spirit this motivating treasure of the Gospel, though in earthen vessels right now (2 Corinthians 4:7); sharing this treasure is the way to find purpose, true riches and fulfillment.

  10. That our time is limited and that our lives might indeed be the only Gospel some will ever “read” in this life. This means that every day we have to be alert to opportunities to help lead people away from fear, doubt, loneliness, guilt towards the true Light (2 Corinthians 5:20).

All of which is true because, as the great evangelical leader John Stott (1921-2011, pictured) used to remind us, if God is for us who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?