{Limitless Life} God's Masterpiece

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Do you ever get the feeling God is trying to tell you something? That is how I have been feeling this week. This verse has been following me everywhere!

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

It is the memory verse for my bible study this week and it came up in my personal devotion time. A friend even gave it to me in a thank you note saying that she read the verse and I immediately came to mind. It seems when God wants to tell you something, He does not let it go!

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For we are God's masterpiece. What does that even mean? A masterpiece is a person's greatest work (dictionary.com). So I am God's greatest work. Okay, but me and everybody else, right? Well, yes, Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." We were all created in the image of God, so we [human beings] are His masterpiece.

So how does being God's masterpiece help me? Honestly, it doesn't always make me feel warm and fuzzy that God made all humans in His image. In fact, there are some humans that are just plain scary. First John 3:8 says, "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." The truth is there is evil in the world. Satan prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) ready to infect the hearts of man with pride, lust and fear (among other evil things).

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However, just as God created us in His image, He also created us as individuals with our own unique story to tell:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Psalm 139:13-16

We do not surprise God with our choices. He created us and gave us personality and spirit. He knows our flaws and He loves each of us anyway. We were all woven together, many pieces melting into one another, to create a greater story - God's story.

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Going back to 1 John 3:8 for a moment, John says that the reason Jesus appeared was to destroy the works of the devil, which is sin. Ephesians 2:10 says that God created us each anew through Christ Jesus. When Jesus sacrificed Himself, a perfect man and a holy God, He defeated sin and gave us a power that can change us completely if we only have the faith to believe. Jesus creates us anew - that means all those flaws that God already knows about is a moot point. We are no longer bound by our mistakes, we are set free by the truth of the One who loves us most (John 8:32).

Once free of bondage we can do all of the good things that God planned for us long ago. Not only can we do good things, but God is leading us to and through all of those things! Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." God knew what our potential was even before we were born. He gave that potential to us! It is up to us to make the choice to believe and to act, but God is behind us through the messes, through the trials, through the valleys. He is with us up to the triumph. He stands in our victory. He helps us find the message through the mess.

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For we are God’s masterpiece... We are His special possession (1 Peter 2:9). We are the many stories that He has masterfully woven together to create a great story. 

He has created us anew in Christ Jesus... 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Jesus polishes off all of our rough edges. When we devote our life to being more like Him, we enter into a lifetime of joy and peace that only He can offer. We are no longer our old, sinful selves, we are anew, washed by the love of Jesus.

So we can do the good things he planned for us long ago...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6

God created us to worship Him. He wants all of His children to be adopted as children into the Kingdom of God. He blesses us and loves us. There will be tough times, indecision, doubt, but behind all of that uncertainty is a God who just wants you to lift your hands and say, "Father, I trust you! Catch me when I fall, lift me up when I am down, and love me through it all. I thank you and I love you!"

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It seems Ephesians 2:10 has a lot to say to me. Thank you God for the persistence to show me the great love you have for me. I pray that you can learn from the lessons God teaches me and He touches your life in very special, personal ways. You are God's masterpiece, I am God's masterpiece, We are God's masterpiece and we are new creations in Christ. We can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Amen.