Monday, May 26, 2014

OUR DAUGHTERS, Part Three: A Return to God's Glory

Imageo Dei (Image of God)
That which distinguishes man from the rest of God's creatures (Genesis 1:26)
- Concise Dictionary of  Christian Theology,  Millard J. Erickson

The second step in the goal of bringing our daughters back to wisdom and moral fortitude stems from last week's admonition to speak truth into their lives!  Our daughters are growing up in a world unlike the one we matured in and it is still changing rapidly.  Their minds are constantly bombarded with pictures and voices of the hip and cool, wealthy and successful all gained supposedly with ease and no consequences.  They are willing to do whatever it takes to ride this thrilling but temporary wave of excitement just to feel valued and significant!  That's why we must guide them back to their True Identity- Who They Are In Christ!  

It begins with understanding that they are made in His image. No matter the circumstances of their birth, they are no accident!  (Psalms 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5).  They bear the stamp of our Creator and should celebrate His goodness in spite of any limitations and flaws!  A Return to God's Glory Begins with Accepting WHO THEY ARE:

GOD'S SPECIAL DESIGN - custom made by God to His liking.  Their shape, height, coloring, ethnicity, personality, talents, disabilities, and flaws are exactly the way He wants them.  It is what makes them unique and unlike anyone else.  In the Old Testament when Moses questioned his speaking and leadership ability God asked him: Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf  or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? is it not I, the Lord? (Ex. 4:11; I Cor. 4:7)  How dare we critique God's Masterpiece when we look in the mirror and don't see what He sees! We must teach our daughters that they are designed to be different!  That if they are in Christ,  their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, holy vessels in which only the righteous may come into and worship! (I Cor. 6:19)  Let's teach our daughters to value their bodies physically and their minds and emotions spiritually.

A RECIPIENT OF GOD'S UNIQUE PLAN - In God our daughters have a Divine Life Coach who specializes in devising strategies that will bring them into the fullness of their potential and His ordained plan for success.  Every event, circumstance, and experience develops skills needed to be exactly what He designed her to be! (Rom. 8:28-30). No need to be hating what others have achieved vocationally or economically--work on your own  I.G.P. (Individual God Plan)! Teach your daughter to accept God's plan for their lives.  They are ordained for greatness not in the eyes of the world perhaps but in God's eyes.  If what they do brings Him glory they are doing what He planned for them even before they were born! (Ephes. 2:10; Coloss. 3:23)!

ENDOWED WITH INDOMITABLE STRENGTH - The word empowerment is bantered about so loosely as if one can drink, join, or subscribe to some new age concoction for instant results!  Not so, the truth is that in Christ we have all the Power we will ever need to do what God wants you to do. (I John 4:4).  Teach your daughters not to give this Power away by allowing the emotions of anger, lust and other fleshly desires to override God's Word and common sense!  Teach them to exert this power in their voices, when NO MEANS NO and sticking to that decision! Teach them the Power to walk away from things that look good and sound right but the Spirit has already told them that it is wrong for them . (I Cor. 10:13).  THIS IS HOW WE RETURN THEM TO GOD'S GLORY, TO THEIR FIRST LOVE.  THE ONE THAT WILL NEVER LEAVE OR FORSAKE THEM!

Next Week:  OUR DAUGHTERS, Part Four: Respecting Yourself!

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