Throughout the Bible human beings were always fascinated with the experience of seeing God. This may have been one of the reasons for manmade gods. I suppose that the people who made these idols wanted to be able to see and touch the beings they worshiped. When all along, God Almighty had given man a picture of Himself—man was the image of God. All that needed to be done to see God was to see a human being. In Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Despite this fact being rehearsed through generations, Jesus disciples still wanted to see the Lord.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

—John 14:6-11

OK, so how can you not love this passage of Scripture! Focus on the way Jesus spoke. The surety of His words is so powerful. He had no doubt about who He was or what He was saying. We are supposed to behave the same way. The first blessing God ever gave us was to create us in His image! Why? So we could do the same works and greater! I am excited as I write this—it’s a true revelation. Jesus told the disciples that by seeing Him they had seen the Father. And as a part of the Acts generation, not only are we made in the image of God, we also have the Christ in us! Are you feeling me?! This is why I can say that everyday I see the Lord. Jesus lives in me and my physical body is in the likeness of the Father.

This is another reason why we cannot focus on what we see on the outside of people. No matter what they may be doing with their bodies, they were not originally created for or by evil. Psalm 100:3 tells us, “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” And in Psalm 139:13-16 David continues, “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

People were created by God. So whenever we look at someone, we should be looking through the eyes of God. By giving you and me His image, He was able to give us His power. The Blessing can flow through us because we’ve been made the righteousness of God in Christ. We were made a little lower than Elohim! You have to get this. Let’s close with Hebrews.

“You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

—Hebrews 2:7-11 NIV

You look just like your Father. You have His eyes and you possess His power. You’ve been blessed in His image. Don’t go around wishing you could see God or touch Him. As you read His word and pray, you will see more of Him in you and all around you. You will be just as confident as Jesus was when He told the disciples that they had seen the Father by seeing Him. When you witness and work for the Lord you will be able to tell others, “When you look at me, you are looking at the Lord.”

Be blessed friends, and have the perfect day everyday!

Psalm 138:8

—Shontta

1. Fully Obey God
2. Carefully Follow ALL His Commands

Blessings for Obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14 NIV)
If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Then, I thought, okay, so you get wealthy, couldn’t you just give it away?

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38

So, it seems that even if you give it away, it will keep coming back to you. I’m not sure why you would want to refuse God’s desire to bless you. Although many Christians say they don’t want to be rich, I don’t understand this thinking especially in light of why we get blessed materially. The reason God blesses us is so that we can be a blessing thereby bringing thanks to God.

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. – 2 Corinthians 9:11

It all comes back to being willing and obedient. If we are willing and obedient, God promises to bless us. So, the question is, are you fully obeying God and carefully following ALL of His commands?