This is my Father’s world

Colossians 1:15-18
    He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
   And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the
   beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that
   in everything He might have the supremacy.
     ~ Colossians 1:17-18

This is Christ. He was from the beginning, and He is now. Everything that was and is, He created, and He holds it all together. Did you catch that? He holds the universe together. John 1 also shows God made nothing without Christ and that Christ was from the beginning. He was the Word; He was with God, and He was God.

The Word is important because God spoke the universe into being (words). And His Son was there with Him (Col 1:16). Jesus is the very Word and power that created everything. God tells us the same thing in the Old Testament (God created everything by his word – Psalm 33:6). A few verses later comes that part that is really exciting for us:

  “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever/ the purposes of His heart through all generations.”
     Psalm 33:11

Is that not wonderful? God’s plan will be. He is supreme (Col 1:18). One of the amazing things about His plan is that it stands firm forever, showing us that God has had the same plan since the very beginning of time. And his plan has always worked and will always work. From the beginning of time God has known everything about you and your life. Even more than that, His very words have power and will “achieve the purpose for which” He speaks them (Isaiah 55:10-11). What God says to be true is true. What He says is, is. From the beginning, up to now, and in the future.

So why is that important? What does it mean to us? God is supreme. He created everything and rules everything. His plan has been set from the beginning. It is unchanging and unmoving. Even so, God, in His infinite wisdom, knew everything in order to create a plan before time began that would, until the end of time, “work all things for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).

Wow.

I know He is my God. Do you know that He is your God, too? Do you personally know our God? If not, now is the perfect time for you to go before the Lord:
   That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in
   your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For
   it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
   your mouth that you confess and are saved.
    ~ Romans 10:9-10

Here is my prayer:
God, what You says is, is. What you say isn’t, isn’t. I will embrace the things You tell me to do, but reject the things You tell me to not do. Thank You, God.

Isaiah 1:10-17

     Wash and make yourselves clean.
     Take your evil deeds out of my sight!
       ~ Isaiah 10:16

Sin or simple religious acts are lifeless. Have nothing to do with them. All of your outward show means nothing if your heart doesn’t lead. If your heart is far from God, you are far from God. In life, you have two choices on how to act – evil or good. If you are far from God, you’re probably doing evil. When you set aside your sin and those evil actions, what you have left is to do what is right.
Doing what is right should then need no further justification beyond the knowledge that evil acts go hand in hand with separation from God, while closeness with God goes together with right acts. As Paul says in Romans 6:16, you are either “slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.” More simply, if you’re not doing good, you’re doing evil. If you’re not building God’s Kingdom, you’re trying to tear it down. That may seem harsh, but God doesn’t have a middle ground. I have areas and times in my life where I know I’m not building God’s Kingdom, but I never thought I was working against Him. But I am, and God makes very clear that I must stop and turn the other way.
Have you rationalized anything you do because it was “harmless” or neutral? I’m telling you now, it’s not.