Tag: created

by Julia Bruce

We know that in Genesis 1:1, the Bible opens up saying, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” My son memorized this verse in kindergarten. It is probably a verse every child learns, if they attend church. However, over in Colossians 1:16, we learn something else about the creation of the heavens and the earth. In this verse, Paul wrote to the church of Colossae, telling them that Christ is Lord of creation. He wrote, “For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Those last two words give us the why of creation…for Him. The all-powerful God of creation created the entire universe and every living thing, including you and me…for Him! The sad thing is that we tend to live our lives as if God is created for us…to do what we want him to (click to tweet) …to pour out his blessing on us….to take care of our every need….to save us from all the messes we get ourselves into. We treat Him like a genie in a bottle who will grant our every wish and we only call Him out when there is something He can do for us.

God doesn’t need us…not at all. God is not, will not, nor has He ever been lonely. Before he ever created us or the angels he had God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. When He chose to create us, the Bible records God saying, “Let us make man in our own image. (Genesis 1:26). Before creating us, God had all the angels in heaven worshiping him. In Revelation 19:6 the Apostle John wrote, “Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” The prophet Nehemiah wrote, “You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.”  Paul wrote over in Acts 17: 24-25, “The God who made the world and everything in it…is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.” He did not need to satisfy an ego craving to be worshiped. He has no low-self-esteem issue. He is totally secure in who he is. He is the I AM. (Click to tweet)

So if God doesn’t need us, then why did He bother creating us and why does He keep pursing us with an everlasting love instead of destroying us because of our sinful nature? It’s a question that has been asked countless of times throughout the ages. In fact, King David wrote in Psalm 8:3-4, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers…what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”

Even though he doesn’t need us, the simple truth is he chose to create us…for no other reason than out of Love. God tells us, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3). Because he is omniscient (all-knowing, 1 John 3:20), He knew before He ever created us that we would sin and our sin would cause Him to send Jesus to die for our sins. Titus 1:2 tells us that our hope of eternal life was promised by God before time began. Yet He created us anyway…and loves us with an everlasting love. A love so great that it cost His only Son His life just so God in all of his holiness could have a relationship with us.

Because of His great love for us, we should have a desire to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Because we have been loved with an everlasting love, even in our sinful state, we should be more than willing to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:30) As a result of God’s infinite love, grace and mercy toward us, we should recognize that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesian 2:10) and that we were created “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). However, it isn’t “good works” that get us in to heaven. Paul wrote, “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast.” The good works is a result of our faith lived out as we surrender our lives to God and His plans for us. God gives us a choice to accept Him by faith. He longs for everyone to come to Him by faith, repent of their sins, and surrender their lives to him. In 2 Peter 3:9, we read, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Yet, the choice is ours to make. We choose to accept Him or reject Him.

So while God may not need any one of us, we certainly need Him. We are dependent on Him and as we trust in his promises, we can know He has a perfect and specific plan for each one of us…plans that are for our absolute best…plans that will give us a hope and future (Jeremiah 29:11). If you have not already trusted Christ as Savior, would you be willing to surrender your life to Him right now and begin an exciting relationship with the God of creation who chose to create you and to love you with an everlasting love? If you have already made that decision and given your heart to Christ, do you need to cry out like the Psalmist and say, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6) Do you need to humble yourself before God and pray and seek His face and turn from your wicked ways, asking God to forgive you? (2 Chronicles 7:14) Maybe you’re still searching for God’s purpose for your life. Colossians 1:16 answers that question. You were created for Him. Maybe you just need to take a moment and praise him for His everlasting love towards you and worship Him.

We all know ourselves better than any other human being knows us and God knows us even better. I stand amazed in the presence of God, knowing all my own personal faults, mistakes, and sin and wonder how He could love me…with an everlasting love… a sinner condemned and unclean yet chose to create me anyway…even though I would be the cause of Him needing to send Jesus to die for me. He did the same for you.

#verseoftheday #madeforHim #WCM

If you would like to be a part of the God-sized dream we call Wellspring Christian Ministries, you can help with your one-time or monthly tax-deductible contribution. Now, with two ways to give, you can help us grow and expand our ministry. To donate to our general ministries, you can now make a contribution through our website. We are also seeking the perfect 200 (or more) acres of land on which we will build and do the various ministries God is leading us in. To make a donation towards Phase 1 of our Land and Building campaign, you can give at buymeacoffe.com. We like to think of ourselves as “Distributors of Living Water” …and for just the cost of a copy of coffee, you can be one too through your contribution that will have an eternal impact as we lead others to Christ, help Christians develop passionate relationships with God, and help couples connect and reignite their marriages. Who knew the cost of a cup of coffee could do so much? Donate today to become a Living Water Distributor

You can also make a contribution to our general ministries as we grow and expand our ministry as God leads through our website. To donate to our ministry expansion, click here.

• Every gift will be acknowledged on our “Donor Wall” on our website. Just  leave your name the way you wish it to appear in the message box as you make your gift.
• Every $50 will receive a free signed copy of Julia’s book, “God, Love & Marshmallow Wars”
• Every $500 or more gift will receive the “God, Love & Marshmallow Wars” Couple Event for their church with Julia’s speaker fees waived (host site is still responsible for travel expense and other costs of the event).

Wellspring Christian Ministries is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.
Thank you for helping us grow!

#growingintoourfuture #fundraiser #buymeacoffee #WCM

BOOKING NOW to be a host site for the NEW God, Love & Marshmallow Wars Book Tour & Couples Conference:

This event helps couples understand why the daily activities found in the book will equip them to build a stronger marriage and the book provides them with 365 intentional activities to take what they learn at the event and apply it on a daily basis. Through the event, couples will discover the Biblical “why” behind the categories of activities found in the book and the “how” these activities are important to building a stronger marriage. Focus points of the event includes :

• How memorizing scripture together and studying God’s Word together as they study, meditate and apply scriptures related to marriage and life issues will help them develop marriages that honor God.
• Why utilizing fun conversation starters that spark meaningful conversations will keep interest alive as they continually learn new things about each other.
• Why keeping romance alive is essential to intimacy and connectivity.
• How making memories and working together builds relationship investment bonds and how these investment bonds can become the knots that keeps them together through the tough times.
• How they can understand what they are or are not contributing to the marriage as well as how they might be contributing to problems or potential problems within the relationship through the use of targeted, intentional personal reflections
• Why it is important that couples never stop dating and how group dates with Christian friends can be both an encouragement and accountability to their own relationship.

During the event, couples will be given an activity from each focus point to do together, making this event an interactive, fun, and engaging event with practical, hands-on learning. Unlike other couple events that are over when the event ends, couples who attend the GLMW event will be able to apply what they learn when utilizing the book on a daily basis for a year. Since the book is not dated, couples are able to reuse the activities year after year to continue being intentional in strengthening their relationship with each other and with God as they strive to live out God’s design for marriage every day.

Learn more about hosting this event at your church or conference site by clicking here.

About the book: The GLMW book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble

#GLMWcouplesevent #GLMWbook #intentionalmarriage #Godlymarriage

T-shirt Fundraiser: We have a new product line of Christian apparel and accessories available in our Teespring Store and our new Spreadshop Store. You’ll find tee shirts, hoodies, tanks, socks, leggings, tote bags, mugs, iphone cases and more.

All proceeds go to the advancement of Wellspring Christian Ministries.
Thank you for helping us grow!

Click here to view the Teespring store. 

Click here to view the Spreadshop Store 

#fundraiser #tshirt #teespring #spreadshop

Looking for a speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.

Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants.

Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.

With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities, regardless of size.

To request more information or a booking, 
fill out the online form here.

Or call us at 904.524.8073

#JuliaBruce #speaker #keynote #author