HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

I will not boast in anything,

No gift, no power, no wisdom

But I will boast in Jesus Christ,

His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?

I can not give an answer

But this I know with all my heart,

His wounds have paid my ransom

After the beginning…

Sin Has Damaged Everything

Nothing works perfectly. Because the entire human race has made poor choices …

Everything’s broken, and nothing on this planet works perfectly. Sin has damaged everything.

Sin has ruined everything. Sin has destroyed everything. Sin has corrupted and spoiled everything. Sin has injured everything — every relationship, idea, dream, and human body. Everything has been touched by this damage.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes six dimensions of your life that sin has damaged. Over the next few days, we’ll look at these six dimensions.

1. The first result is natural disasters and deformities.

We’re not living in Eden anymore. As John Milton wrote in a very famous poem, paradise was lost. We live on a broken planet. And, as a result, we have hurricanes, typhoons, wacky weather, earthquakes, droughts, and floods.

It’s amazing to me that insurance calls all these things acts of God but doesn’t call the birth of a baby an act of God. In other words, an act of God is only the negative stuff that happens. God does not want these things happening in the world. And he is as upset by natural disasters as we are. The world was broken when sin damaged everything.

The Bible says in Romans 8:20, “Creation is confused” (CEV). Everything on this planet has lost its original purpose. Everything in the world was damaged including your DNA, your parents’ DNA, and their parents’ DNA. Have you figured out yet that your body doesn’t work right? If everybody’s body worked perfectly, there would be no need for doctors.

2. The second result is physical decay and death.

There was no death on this planet until sin entered the world. Ecclesiastes 8:8 says, “We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death.” We know that death is inevitable, but we sure try to stop it. We go to great lengths to postpone the decay, too.

But there’s actually good news: God doesn’t want you to live forever on this planet. He wants you to live forever in a perfect place, not on a planet that’s been broken by sin.

 

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
Romans 8:22 ESV

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Who am I? From Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker

I am the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13)
I am the light of the world (Matt. 5:14)
I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life (John 15:1,5)
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15:16)
I am a slave of righteousness (Romans 6:18)
I am enslaved

to

God (Romans 6:22)
I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Rom. 8:14,15; Gal. 3:26, 4:6)
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Rom. 8:17)
I am a temple ‐‐ a dwelling place ‐‐ of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19)
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30)
I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18, 19)
I am a son of God and one in Christ (Gal. 3:26, 28)
I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal. 4:6,7)
I am a saint (Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2)
I am God’s workmanship ‐‐ His handiwork ‐‐ born anew in Christ to do His work (Eph. 2:10)

Later,

Pat.