Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

James 3:8, 9 "But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God."

1 Peter 1:15, 16 "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Leviticus 11:44, 45 "For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."

Leviticus 19:2 "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy."

Leviticus 20:26 "And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine."

When God created man He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” He made man from the dust of the ground and, unlike the animals He had made before man, He then breathed His own breath into man and gave him a living soul. By doing that God made humans unique; He gave them material bodies but immaterial spirits. God made us with a certain intelligence, to be able to think and He gave us a freedom to choose between right and wrong. God also made another major difference between humans and the animals, He gave us the ability to commune with Him. Man was created innocent and righteous - a reflection of God’s holiness. The scriptures above tell us to be holy even as God is holy. Some say we can’t be holy because we are only human. But by accepting Jesus as our Savoir and allowing His blood to cleanse us from all sin we can become innocent and righteous. Once we have done that we will reflect the holiness of God. Only by turning our hearts and lives over to Him and striving to live our lives for His glory every day can we live in His image. You hear people say phrases like, “Walk in God’s footsteps,” or quote scriptures like, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect", and think, what exactly does that mean? We can’t possibly walk in God’s footsteps - after all, He’s God and we can’t be perfect, no one is perfect.

The above statement is correct, no one is perfect within themselves. We must take on the righteousness of God and HIS holiness, only then can we become perfect. I hear so many people put themselves down. Please don’t do that. God made you and He made you in His likeness, just the way He wanted you to be. He gave you certain gifts that He intended for you to develop and use for His glory. Everyone is different and everyone has different gifts. Maybe you think there is nothing you can do for God. That isn't true. There is always something you can do. You don’t have to preach, sing or teach to work for the Lord. Every day He allows you to live means He still has a reason for you to be here and something for you to do. He still wants you to work for Him. You should ask yourself what you did to glorify Him today.

God gave us each a body made in His image, after His likeness. He formed this body from the dust of the ground. Of course God is not made from dirt, so how, then, are we made in His image. God is not flesh and bone. If He were, Jesus would not have had to be born of woman to come to earth and live; He would already have been human. God had already made all the animals when He said, “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.” Therefore, we know we have to have some of the attributes of God. As already stated, man can reason and choose and man has a spirit and can commune with God. We do not use many of the attributes God has given us to their full potential. God gave us emotions and we allow them to run unchecked, many times controlling what we do and say. He gave us a brain but we only use about 10% of it's capacity. He gave us compassion which we suppress many times because it may not be convenient to show that compassion at the time. It's not our fault we have become so far distanced from what God intended for us to be in the beginning. Society has dictated for us to become something quite different than the Godly, Righteous, Holy, Separated and Priestly Nation God originally created us to be. If we really are interested in getting back to the image God intended for us in the beginning, we can look two places. The first is into His word and, of course, to Him. The scriptures at the beginning of this devotion tells us to be Holy as He is Holy. The only way we can do this is through prayer and by truly giving ourselves over to Him. We can't be Holy by ourselves. We can only be like Him by knowing Him. Through prayer and reading His word we can learn of Him and become more like Him. Once you give yourself to Him and really know Him, there's no going back to living the way you were.

And the second place we should look if we're interested in getting back to the image God intended for us in the beginning is inside ourselves. What kind of people have played a part in making up your image - just who are you? Do you like who you have turned out to be? Do you approve of your image so far? If not, remember what we discussed in IMAGE 1, you can always change your image if you don’t like it. Have you, like tiger, in IMAGE 3, tried to change your image to please others? Maybe you’ve been caught up in the fashion fads and have been trying to ‘fit in’ by buying new clothes every season because that’s what fashion dictates. What is YOUR style. Have you tried to develop your own style? If not, maybe it's time for you to become your own person. A person that, perhaps, you have been keeping hidden, afraid to let others see, afraid they won't like you if you reveal the real you. Or maybe your friends hold the wrong values but you are afraid to speak up - afraid they will make fun of you if you say anything about Christian values. If that is your situation, you only have two options: either witness to your old friends or find new friends!

As I said before, your image is not cast in stone. It is never too late to make changes, no matter what your age. We must always be striving to become more like the Master – we can never be close enough to Him! Life is a continuing journey and I hope you are finding it an interesting journey. One path is leading us inside ourselves where, if we are truthfully and diligently searching, we are always finding something new. The other path should be leading us toward our final destination. We should be searching the scriptures, praying and attending meetings at the church of our choice to learn new truths along this path as well. I wish you luck on your journey and hope this series of devotions has helped with your search for a better image!

I wrote a little poem back in January of 2002 that you might enjoy reading and I thought it would be good to end this series of devotions with. I actually wrote the poem and the devotion that went along with it many years before 2002. (Back when I still had a sense of humor about growing older and making life changes.) If you'd like to read the devotion it is Are You Happy Being You?

WHO AM I?

I am who I am
Tho' I'm not satisfied with me.
But if I'm not who I am,
Then who can I be?
I must be myself,
But, Dear Lord, I pray,
Make me wiser and better
With each passing day.

If you're not a child of God, will you give your life to Him?
You can't make anything of your life by yourself!
Only with His help can you ever hope to reach your full potential.
You were made in His image ... you know you want to be like Him.
Right now, why not just let go and let Jesus.
Click HERE for more help.

LOVE, MEME

MORE LIKE THE MASTER

More like the Master I would ever be,
More of His meekness, more humility;
More zeal to labor, more courage to be true,
More consecration for work He bids me do.

Refrain:,
Take Thou my heart, I would be Thine alone;
Take Thou my heart, and make it all Thine own.
Purge me from sin, O Lord, I now implore,
Wash me and keep me Thine forevermore.

More like the Master is my daily prayer;
More strength to carry crosses I must bear;
More earnest effort to bring His kingdom in;
More of His Spirit, the wanderer to win.,

More like the Master I would live and grow;
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be.

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