This week we have been looking at God as “ELOHIM” as the Creator God.  We have seen that God is a creative being and desires for us to be like Him.  In Exodus there is a passage that talks about the arts and creative work. Take a look.

Exodus 35:30-35

³⁰ Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³¹ and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— ³² to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ³³ to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. ³⁴ And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. ³⁵ He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.

What is interesting to see in this paragraph is that God “ELOHIM”  the Creator God has called people to the work of creating. 

He has called people to:
make artistic designs
work in gold, silver and bronze
cut and set stones
work in wood
engage in all kinds of artistic crafts
work as engravers
work designers
work as embroiders
work as weavers

Not only did God call people to pursue the arts…..it says they were skilled workers and designers.

Now imagine today if God were here and he was building a church.  He would need architects, interior designers, graphic designers, photographers, video producers, web designers etc…

God has always been about calling people into the arts from the very beginning although the mediums have changed.

When I discovered this paragraph in college God began to open my eyes that maybe I could create video in a church and maybe I could be skilled doing it.

Application
Have you ever thought about what God has called you to do as a vocation?  Have you ever considering going into the arts?  Have you ever considered that you might be able to use your artistic ability in the church….even maybe as a volunteer? 

Every Wednesday Night our lyf drama/media team meets.  These students have recognized that they have a creative ability to act or make videos and our using that ability to reach others. It excites me every week to see these students recognize this gift and be used by God.

 Prayer
God I prayer that you would show me areas in my life where I can use my creative ability to magnify you.

Content

We all know the story of Noah’s Ark. God tells Noah to build an ark to hold all the animals before he floods it.

Genesis 7:16
The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

In this verse the word “God” can be translated to mean “Creator God” As the creator of life and the universe, God has power that is associated with his name. He is the originator of life and like all originators, there is power and respect associated with his title.

In college I went to Film school were I learned how to make films and studied famous film directors. I took a class once that was dedicated to the films of just one film director Martin Scorsese. This was one of my favorite classes because we studied the common threads in all of his films and at least once a week we would sit down and watch one of these films in class. In film school we were taught to look up to directors with a certain respect or awe. It’s funny if you think about it….films are rarely associated with the sound guy or the makeup person….its 9 times out of 10 associated with the Director. The Director is the one who takes all the glory for the film.

God in many ways (not entirely) is like a director. He is the one who has caused everything to be and to exist. He gets all the glory because he is the Creator.

Application

Often times we can have a certain awe or respect associated with famous people (including directors). God wants this awe and respect from you right here right now. The way we respect the Creator God is by treating him as if he is omnipresent (which he is) and by living as if we could see him.

Imagine a famous person comes to stay at your house for the weekend. How do you act? How do you live? God wants that same type of reverence from each of us only he doesn’t want you to depend on yourself. He wants you to depend on the holy spirit to give you wisdom and love and power.

Prayer

God give me a renewed awe and respect for you today. Help me to live each day as if you were there right in front of me.

Content

In Psalm 139:14-16 the psalmist writes
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

The phrase “Fearfully and wonderfully made” can be translated to mean “I am an awesome wonder”

Have you ever thought of yourself as an awesome wonder, right along with the grand canyon, dinosaurs and the moon?

Think about how complex your body is. You have eyebrows that prevent sweat from running down into your eyes, you have hundreds of taste-buds that allow you to taste various foods and you are made up of tiny dna that is so complex….scientist are still trying to understand it.

Sometimes we forget how intricate we are, that we focus on a negative aspect we may have. Maybe you are over-weight, have trouble talking in front of groups, horrible at a sport or game, have a learning disability etc…..

In Exodus 4 Moses had a speech impediment that made him very nervous of doing what God had called him to do.

10 Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

Even though we are a masterpiece, sometimes we have things about us that make us weak or imperfect. God is saying to Moses and to us…..yes I have created you as a masterpiece, but I will also be there for you in your weakness.

God was calling Moses to creatively lead the people out of Egypt and Moses was focusing on his weakness, not God’s creative ability or power.

Application

What has God called you to do that you are afraid to carry out because of fears you may have about yourself? Take these to God and ask him to step in where you are weak like he did for Moses.

Prayer

God “ELOHIM” the Creator God. I pray that you would help me in _______________ area of my life where I feel inadequate to do what you have called me to do.

I love to be in nature. There is something about unplugging from my iphone, radio, computer and walking through a trail in the woods somewhere that energizes me. Sometimes we get caught up in so many things we have to do, that we fail at experiencing what we have in this present moment. There is something about nature that is good for us. It reminds us of how small we are and how big God is. Nature points to God. It screams see how BIG God is and complex and intricate. Nature points to a God that is the Creator God or “Elohim.”

In Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

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

In these verses God is creating something special. God is creating humans……not just like everything else but in His very own image he is creating.

In Math you might be pressed to solve an equation. A+B =C. This is called an equation.

In this Genesis account God is hinting at an equation for us to solve… Think about it.

If God is a Creator God “ELOHIM” and he creates things
If God created us in His image and his image includes the idea that He is “ELOHIM” Creator God
then we were created with the ability, the power, the knowledge to create…

Application
As you go about your day today look for ways that you can see God as the creator as ELOHIM. Look for things he created and thank him for His creation. Then look for something you can create in response to God’s creation. Maybe you can write a poem, make a drawing or take a picture outdoors of a piece of God’s creation.

Prayer

God I pray that you would help me to see you as a Creator God and to see your creation as special and something from you.
Lord help me to be creative today in my work and in the way I love and serve others.

At Sugar Creek, Pastor Mark Hartman will be going through a 10-week journey on the names of God.  Our LYF staff has decided to provide daily devotions that will appear right here on the website monday-friday that will correspond with that week’s message. We hope this will help you to grow in your understanding of God and who he is.