let me hide myself in Thee

 Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Once in a while, the words of an old hymn will flood through my mind and soul. They are a deep reminder of the promises of God. When we face trials and just life in general, we need those reminders. The words of this old hymm rang in my soul this week. "Let me hide myself in Thee."  

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Psalms 17:8 KJV

We can be reassured that we find comfort and peace when we hide ourselves in the Rock Jesus. He is a firm foundation and our protector. He saved us and intends to keep us. He will never leave us or forsake us.  David wrote in Psalms about the safety of the Lord.

Deliver me, O Lord , from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.

Psalms 143:9 KJV

He is our deliverer and our hiding place. This world and our society is on uncertain ground. Many things cause alarm and fear. Anxiety and unrest can overwhelm us. We may be tempted to doubt and get our eyes off of Jesus and onto the storms around us. We cannot rely on the things around us. Our governments, our careers, insurance companies, entertainment  and even our homes and fail us and cause great stress. Friends and family may not be able to help or may not understand. Our society may even turn against Christianity. Our only true place of rest and safety is Jesus. We can find peace in his arms, under the shadow of his wings.  There are many stories of birds protecting their babies by covering them with their wings. One is when a fire raged through the barnyard. After the fire, the old hen was found burned and dead, but when she was moved, her little chicks were found unharmed safe under her wings. God is our protector.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Psalms 27:5 KJV

Be encouraged to know God is there when when we run to him for safety. He will uphold the righteous. He will be the rock we can stand on. When everything else may fail, we can stand without fear in Christ knowing he is our peace.  We can sing, "Rock of ages, Let me hide myself in Thee," and He will set us on the rock. His promises true and his faithfulness endures.

 

Created In His Image

 In Genesis, God created mankind in his image. We were created to be in his image for a purpose.

Genesis 1:26-27 

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

We are created to be in the image of God. He wanted us to be like him and reflect who He is. The original intent was we were to be able to fellowship and commune with God on a personal level. Sin entered and destroyed that plan. Sin separated us from the original intent God had for us. When we come to Jesus and accept his salvation through repentance, baptism and infilling of the Holy Ghost, we are returning to the original intent of man. We can have a personal relationship that allows us to fellowship with our creator. Part of that is to be his image.  An image is a visual representation or the likeness of an object or person. 

We are to be able to have the image of God about us. We are to demonstrate the mighty God who saved us and created us through our words, our actions, and our daily lives. We are to be his image reflected to others on this earth. When they look at us, they should see God. 

Colossians 3:10 

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 

We are made new in him. We are no longer to behave and function as we did before. We are new creatures in Christ. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

New actions, new thoughts, new motivation should flow from us. 

We are changed and no longer subject to previous sinful motivations. Our lives are to be transformed. 

Romans 12:2  

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Others should be able to identify and witness the transforming power of God operating in us. It would be evident that we are no longer motivated by sin, but by the power of the Holy Ghost operating in us. The fruit of his presence should overflow from our hearts and out of our mouths. 

Matthew 7:20 says, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."  The fruit of the Spirit should be evident and available to those around us. That is the image God is looking for. We should reflect his righteousness, his love, his peace, his longsuffering, and every attribute we know of God. There should not be bitter fruit among the fruit of the Spirit.  The image of God should be what we are when we are his children.  

If we do not reflect the image of God, we need to dig into his word and let his light shine deep into our hearts. Let the Holy Ghost dig  around and pull out the things in us that are not of him. He can transform us into the image he intended us to be. He can make us new and restore his intended purpose for us. We need to submit to his will and allow him to change us, mold us and make us in his image until we are in his likeness.