By Pastor Naomi Mitchell
For Carter County Times
Genesis 1:26-27 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 2:7 reads, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
It is God who formed man (us) from the dust of the ground in the beginning of time when He said, “let Us make man in Our image!” Could you imagine a world with absolutely no people in it? It was beautiful just the way God created it in the creation story in Genesis chapter one. However, that was not God’s first thought! His very thought at the beginning was to create man in His image. But God had to first create the most wonderful place and home for His most prized and beloved man. God formed man perfect in his sight. He breathed His very breath into man.
He gave Adam and Eve specific instructions in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:17 says, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”
The enemy hated what God had created.
Genesis 3:13 says, “And the Lord God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” James 1:14, says, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” They were drawn away of their own lust and the temptation caused them to sin against what God had instructed them not to do. Sin will deform us causing separation from a holy God.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
God would not give up on man having a wonderful relationship with Him. He knew man could not do anything to redeem himself back to God. He would need to supply the perfect blameless sacrifice without blemish. No one or nothing could accomplish this except His Son Jesus.
John 1:29 says, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Jesus willingly became the sacrificial lamb to die on the cross for our sins. The blood of Jesus is the only cure to wash away our sins. He is the only one that can transform us!
Sin will take you further than you want to go, and it will keep you longer than you want to stay. John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” There is a way for you to be transformed, to be changed from this old man to the new man. It is through a cleansing of the blood of Jesus, God’s only begotten Son.
The temptation to continue living and giving into sin will always be there. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Revelation 21:5, “And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful.” What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! God formed us, sin deformed us, and Jesus transforms us! I am so thankful for Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” Amen! So be it!
Joyful House of Prayer, 2519 Quicksand Road, (P.O. Box 856), Jackson, Kentucky 41339. Send Comments/Prayer Requests: Pastornaomi4god@gmail.com. FB: JoyfulHoprayer. Services: 10am Sunday and Joyful Kids Class at 10:30am, 6:30pm Thursdays. Radio Broadcast: WJSN 97.3 FM & WEKG 81.0 AM Sundays 1-2pm.
