Made in God's Image

 Greetings Ladies,

 

This is Jo Allis writing to you this week. Sharon asked if I would do so as her daughter and family from Utah are here visiting. 

 

I had a couple of frustrating experiences this week.  I messed up the membership application on our website. Messed up doesn't sound very professional but there is just no other way to say it. I also somehow uninstalled my printer at home. I did not know how to fix either problem. Well my son fixed our home printer and he was nice about it.  I reached out to Pastor Jen about the membership application and she was gracious. She said it sounded like I was having an “I love Lucy kind of day”. Yes, indeed I was. I felt like I just could not do anything right. After, I beat myself up and cried. I prayed and called on God for comfort.

 

He reminded me of a word He gave me about comparing myself to other people a few years ago. He led me to Psalm 139:13,14 “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well". When we think of the word fearfully, we often think of being afraid. I looked up the word fearfully in the Strong’s and my Merriam Webster dictionaries. The word in Hebrew is Strong’s number 3372, Yare. One of the definitions of Yare is awe and reverence. This is also one of the definitions of our English word, fearfully. I believe this means that God made us with great care and reverence. He made us to be in awe of Him and revere Him. A footnote in the New Spirit Filled Life Bible says that the use of the words fearfully and wonderfully expressed David’s awe of God’s handiwork. 

 

The word wonderfully in the Strong’s is number 6395, Palah. It means separated or distinct. In our modern English dictionary, it means exciting, marvelous, astonishing, admirable.  I believe it means that He made us to separate ourselves from the world and to belong to the body of Christ. However,  He made us each with distinctly different personalities and abilities. 

 

In my flesh, I do not like to have to admit that I do not know how to do something and that I need help. It is a sin of pride that I often need to repent of.  The Holy Spirit led me to 1Cor 12: 12-27.   Verse 14 says “For the body is not one member, but many”.  We need to be in unity with each other and recognize each other’s uniqueness and abilities. 

 

I hope you will remember that you are loved by God and that you were fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. 

 

God Bless you all,              

JoAllis Grove

Monroe Foothills Foursquare Secretary/Bible Study Leader