Foundations Jan 25, 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Zechariah 7-10 and Revelation 20-21

SCRIPTURE READING

Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to
preach good tidings to the poor…to give them beauty for ashes…
 

Ashes are good for absolutely nothing. What does it mean to have ashes and why is it
that we have them? Ashes are the by-product and result of burning our passions on wrong
things. Some believer’s lives are like ash heaps even after they have known the Lord for
many years. Most people don’t realize how much they have lost by making sinful choices.
They find themselves halfway through life with nothing to show for it, or even worse, having
accumulated a jumbled mess of wrecked relationships, disappointment and debt. Nobody
wants our ashes. Nobody, that is, except God. And when He takes them, He will trade
them for His beauty.
God will take the mess that we have made of our lives and He will give us the beauty of
God. When you became a believer, you weren’t just saved from Hell; you were made to be
beautiful and to show God’s beauty to the rest of creation.
Psalm 149:4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with
salvation.
Psalm 45:11 The King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship
Him.
God takes pleasure in you. He takes great joy in beatifying you. Feeling beauty is not
natural for most people. When instead of feeling ugly, you feel beautiful before God,
something powerful is released. You become free of your self-imposed shackles; you
become a Bride of the Holy One because He surrounds Himself with beauty. Being desired
by God mandates that we are truly beautiful!

PRAYER and MEDITATION

1. Are you convinced that God sees you as beautiful? Why or why not?
2. Ask God to tell you truth of how He feels about you, ask Him to give you a work, thought
    or picture about how beautiful you are to Him. Thanks Him for what He shows you.