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Crosswalk.com's Spiritual Life Channel at: http://spiritual.crosswalk.com ----------- N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L from Freedom in Christ Ministries January 15 OUR ESSENTIAL IDENTITY Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). Adam was created physically and spiritually alive. He possessed eternal life from his first breath and enjoyed God's abiding presence in the Garden of Eden. Furthermore, unlike the animal kingdom that operated by divine instinct, Adam was created in the likeness of God with a mind, emotions and will, giving him the ability to think, feel and choose. No other created being can make that claim. After creating Adam, God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). So He created a suitable helper for him: Eve. They both enjoyed a sense of belonging to God and each other. Not only that, God gave them a purpose: to "rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth" (Genesis 1:26). Adam and Eve didn't have to search for significance; they had it in their relationship with God. And because God was present with them, they lived in perpetual safety and security. Eternal life, identity, purpose, significance, security and a sense of belonging are all attributes of mankind created in the image of God. Adam and Eve experienced these attributes in full measure, and we were destined to enjoy them too. But when Adam sinned, he died spiritually and forfeited everything God had provided. Being separated from God, Adam's glowing attributes became glaring needs. As children of Adam born separated from God, we come into the world with these same glaring needs. We wander though life striving to make a name of ourselves, looking for security in temporal things, and searching for significance apart from God. Is it a hopeless quest? No! We are able to fulfill these needs by establishing a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Everything Adam enjoyed in the garden before he sinned is now at our disposal. Loving heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to die for my sin so I may have eternal life. And thank You that in Christ my need for identity, significance, security and a sense of belonging can be met. ----------- This daily devotional is published and distributed by Crosswalk.com. It is written by Neil Anderson at < http://www.ficm.org <. You can purchase "Daily in Christ" and other titles by Neil Anderson at christianbook.com (Christian Book Distributors - CBD). < http://shopping.crosswalk.com/bye/devo_na < Additional devotionals are available from Crosswalk.com: < http://devotionals.crosswalk.com <. ----------- To read the Current Feature Story from ReligionToday, go to http://religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentFeatureStory/ For today's complete News Summary from ReligionToday, go to http://religiontoday.crosswalk.com/CurrentNewsSummary/ ----------- For Copyright Terms go to http://www.crosswalk.com/info/copyright ____________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______________________ * You subscribed to Neil Anderson as: < jeff.king@enron.com < * To unsubscribe from this newsletter immediately, click here: < http://link.crosswalk.com/UM/U.ASP?A3.14.261895 < If that link is not clickable, simply copy and paste it into your browser window. * To change your address: unsubscribe your old address and then subscribe your new address. * To subscribe, send an email to: < SUBSCRIBE-neilanderson@lists.crosswalk.com < or go to < http://www.crosswalk.com/lists < for a complete list of our newsletters. * Copyright ? 2001 Crosswalk.com, Inc. and its Content Providers. All rights reserved. ____________________________________________________________
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