After delivering His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus concluded by emphasizing the importance of putting His teaching into practice. Those who witnessed Jesus noted the authority with which He spoke. When the leper and the centurion approached Him, they appealed to His ability, willingness, and authority (Matthew 8:1-13). Jesus is both willing and able to provide for us, but He demands that we leave behind all worldly things and commit ourselves to Him! Even the winds and the sea obey Him (Matthew 8:14-17). The decision to willingly obey Him now is left to us, but there will come a day when all will indeed obey His words (Philippians 2:10-11). For example: In the country of the Gergesenes, there were demons who begged Jesus for mercy, but He cast them into swine, which then violently ran down the steep place into the sea and perished in the water (Matthew 8:28-34).

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 

25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 

27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 

29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

~ Matthew 7:24-29

Holy God… You are too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard. Father, not everyone recognizes the need for a Savior. Some do, yet are unwilling to make Jesus their Lord! I understand that for me to receive healing, Jesus must be willing; I also understand the need for His being the Master of my life. May I properly submit to You, and may I truly be willing to sacrifice my own will, even the comforts of this life, to serve You more appropriately. I see that the winds and waves are obedient to You more than I have been in my own life, and for that I am ashamed. There will come a day when every knee bows before Jesus. I want to willingly make Him my Master, now! Please help me to properly understand Your words in Scripture and give me the courage to live by every word that comes from Your mouth! Amen.

The promise in Genesis 3:15 is very important as it shows the beginning of God’s plan of redemption. Appearing to refer to the enmity between humans and serpents, its deeper meaning is the conflict between the seed of woman, who is Christ, and Satan. Through His death, Jesus Christ defeated the power of Satan (Hebrews 2:14-15). Though the forces of evil killed Jesus, it was in accordance with God’s plan and foresight. Death was temporary as Christ rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). On the day Eve sinned, Satan appeared victorious. However, the promise was that a descendant of Eve would one day triumph over Satan, a battle Eve had lost that day.

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

~ Genesis 3:9-15

O God in heaven. I have disgraced myself due to the sins I have committed against You. There is no place where I can hide from You, as You know everything. I am confessing my wrongdoings and asking for Your mercy and grace. I am grateful for the people You have placed in my life and appreciate their companionship. That said, I want to be a good leader for my family and aim to do what is right despite my past mistakes. I am grateful that You’ve revealed Satan as a real threat to my fellowship with You; and that Your wisdom and foresight provide us with a chance for true redemption through Your Son. I pray that I may always be thankful for Jesus and look up to You with a grateful heart. Help me to see Christ more clearly in the prophecies of Scripture. And I pray that others will see Jesus in the way that I devote my life to You. Amen.

The image of God, and His likeness, both refer to the spiritual essence of God. God gave man a high level of intelligence, willpower, consciousness, and a soul – all of which distinguish man from other creatures. These characteristics also enable mankind the ability to worship God. However, people do not automatically resemble God in their lives and character. God has given us the POTENTIAL to be like Him, yet it is regrettable when people waste their gifts and live like animals.

24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 

25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 

30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 

31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

~ Genesis 1:24-31

Holy God and Father in heaven, I am grateful to You for blessing me with life, and for giving me the ability to experience all the wonderful things this world has to offer. I pray that You grant me the wisdom and strength to be a good steward of the things You have entrusted to me. Many in this world have rejected the knowledge of You as our Creator, and as a result, they live their lives like mere beasts. I don’t want that for myself! I want to emulate You in every possible way and appreciate You teaching us of our origin. I promise to seek You with my whole heart and strive to acceptably worship You. Amen!