Red Thread Poets

Romans 8:30 - Loving You Part 7 Hi Everyone! God orders our steps, and those steps lead us to where He called us to be. Having the security of God's word in our hearts should make us secure in who we are as well. The word is "should", because not all of us will come to a sincere acceptance and admiration for who God created us to be, and those will live their lives in paralyzing doubt and disbelief. If we don't know who God is, then we can't begin to embrace who we are, becau...Continue reading

Romans 8:29 - Loving You Part 6a Hi Everyone! Part of understanding our God is understanding that before we were created, God already had the plan for our lives figured out. He knew us at creation, even before we were born. Every second of our lives moves according to God's plan, and we are skillfully crafted to perform that plan. Part of knowing ourselves is to know that God didn't just toss some spare parts together to create us, that He was very detailed in His design of u...s as individuals. Knowing ourselves is coming to understand the personal purpose God has for our lives, but loving ourselves is the happy acceptance for God's creation and purpose for our lives. When we love ourselves, we will stick as closely to God's unique design of us as humanly possible. Today, we will take a look at Romans 8:29, God's foreknowledge of us, which will hopefully give us more to understand about ourselves and therefore, more to love. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." The word "foreknow" is used of persons and means "to approve of beforehand". Please read this over again. God not only created us, but He APPROVED of us before we were created. In Genesis 1:31, the Bible says, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." God declared every thing He created and declared it VERY GOOD. What did God do next? In Genesis 2:1-3, the Bible says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." God rested, blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because there wouldn't be anything else added to it. Think about this. Everything God created us to be is already there within us, but we find ourselves trying to build a better identity outside of God's design because we haven't accepted who God has created us to be. God told us by approving of us that we are good enough, smart enough, and strong enough. It's our job to believe that. continued - see Part b below

Romans 8:29 - Loving You Part 6b "He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son" The word "predestinate" means "to limit in advance, to predetermine". This means that God set our boundaries, our potential on order for us to remain in His purpose for our lives. To predestinate something means to set the course for someone to be in places they were created to be in at the precise time they were set to be. In Ephesians 1:5, the Bible says, "Having predestinate...d us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." God even had to precise time set for our salvation, and every event leading up to it. The word "conformed" means "formed together with, fashioned like unto". God, once again knew the precise time that we would before "fashioned like unto" the image of His Son. Imagine a statue that looks exactly like the person it's reflecting. God has fashioned us to look like Christ at the precise time and place He designed for it to happen. In Philippians 3:21, the Bible says, "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." The word "image" means "reflection, representation, or similitude". God designed us to look like Christ, act like Christ, and project Christ in all we do. God already had this time and place figured out! So when I was face deep in the street life, God already knew before I was born that I would not only go through all of this, but I would live my life for Him, spreading the Word of God to any willing to listen. I didn't see it, but God did. I thought I was too far gone, that I did too much wrong, but God approved of me before I was born. Looking back, I see clearly that everything in my past was absolutely necessary to who I am today. How can I ever help pull people out of fires I've never been in myself? "That he might be the firstborn among many brethren" In 2 Timothy 2:21, the Bible says, "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." God's desire is for us to choose Him to be our God all while knowing that some won't. If we remove ourselves from what we think is valuable, and accept and appreciate what God deems valuable, we will become the "firstborn". The firstborn is always the chief one, the beneficiary of the inheritance of God. The firstborn are set apart, and so are we as believers! God didn't create us to be like everyone else. He created us to look like Christ. God loves us that much that He approved every detail of our identities. When will we? God Bless! Marshall

COVENANT I had fretted about the seeming over emphasis of term the ‘New Covenant’, because to me it is not new, yet it IS, but only in relation to the Old (Mosaic) Covenant, made at Mt Sinai (Ten Commandments etc). But it is not ‘new’ in relation to the ‘Abrahamic Covenant’ I write about here, which is clearly spelt out in the FIRST HEBREW word of the Bible: translated into: ‘in the beginning’. See the third poem under The Better Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). The fi...rst two are long poems it is a long story you will see. I am forever awe struck at Our Triune God’s design, foresight, creation, love, especially of us, and Their pre-planned rescue and restoration, and Their love Letter to each one of us The Holy Bible. They are Everything. THE BETTER COVENANT Apr 21, 2019 Written on the anniversary of anniversaries, Easter Sunday It’s about seven years ago Recorded in Genesis Fifteen That I got a mighty message About Abraham and his dream Our God was planning a covenant They had Abraham in their sights Including also all of us Creating new God-given rights An heifer, a goat and a ram Were brought forth as part of the deal God had instructed Abraham To prepare them well for the seal The seal has such a history It’s quite overwhelming tough stuff Our God and Our God made the deal With never the thought of a bluff I expect most know of the Bible Some don’t really care what it says It’s mostly dismissed by the culture It’s so rarely given much praise Hold up, this may knock your socks off, If you’re already on bare feet It’s time to put your best socks on And prepare for this ghastly treat ... not enough room here on Facebook ... to continue, brave reader! go to www.redthreadpoets.com/covenant/

Romans 8:17 - Loving You Part 5a Hi Everyone! Who God says we are is who we are. When His Spirit bears witness with our spirit, it is our job to come into agreement with the Word of God by faith. If God declares us His children, then it is our job to carry ourselves as such; and come against any thought or idea that is contrary to that truth. Feelings of inferiority can seep in, causing us to question who we are and our access to the kingdom of God as His children. One of the...Continue reading