2 CORINTHIANS 4:4 ICB
4 The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News -- the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God.
What is God like?
Before Jesus of Nazareth came on the scene, the human concept of God was a bit fuzzy. (It still is for those who have not understood this truth.)
But Jesus perfectly revealed to us what God is like. He was (and is) Heaven's perfect representative.
COLOSSIANS 1:15 ICB
15 No one has seen God, but Jesus is exactly like him. Christ ranks higher than all the things that have been made.
COLOSSIANS 1:15 WEYMOUTH
15 Christ is the visible representation of the invisible God, the Firstborn and Lord of all creation.
HEBREWS 1:3 WEYMOUTH
3 He brightly reflects God's glory and is the exact representation of His being, and upholds the universe by His all-powerful word. After securing man's purification from sin He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
The scriptures above should have made it clear that God is like Jesus. Now let's look at a verse summarizing the life of Jesus on earth.
ACTS 10:38 NKJ
38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Notice that Jesus went about DOING GOOD -- not doing bad. Not hurting people, but helping people. That is what God is like.
JOSHUA 1:8 NKJ
8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
God's Word never changes. What God promised would work for Joshua will work for you, also. The problem with most of us is that we are just too busy to put God's Word first like we should. But we are not too busy to work trying to get ahead. Explain that.
God never lies. Follow His instructions given above and you WILL have prosperity and good success. Maybe not in 10 minutes. Maybe not even for 10 years. But you will. God promises it.
Notice that Joshua 1:8 does not just say to think about God's Word. No -- the Word must continually be in your mouth! Words!
1 PETER 3:10 NKJ
10 For "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile;
Speaking and thinking in line with God's Word will cause you to prosper and succeed. If you would like to see good days, the Bible admonishes you to watch your words!
Never confess defeat. Confessing Jesus as Lord of every situation brings glory to God.
ISAIAH 61:3 NKJ
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
Jesus came to give us beauty instead of ashes. To transform the ashes of our life into something beautiful -- for His glory.
As I was walking one day, I came upon a tree. It was short, twisted, and poorly shaped. Obviously, it had faced many storms and had suffered greatly. To be honest, the tree itself, was ugly.
But that day something transformed that ugly tree into something gloriously beautiful, and very pleasant to look at. It was covered with little pink flowers. In fact, the tree was bursting with life coming from inside its gnarled branches.
As I looked at the tree, enjoying the beautiful sight, it reminded me of us as believers -- who may not be very desirable on our own -- but with Jesus' life and love flowing through us -- we become glorious creatures.
So no matter how twisted and ugly you may have become because of the storms of life, if you allow Jesus to live and manifest through you, everyone will see beauty instead of ashes and ugliness.
JEREMIAH 17:7-8 NLT
7 "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
