Imago Dei (The Image of God) - Part Two: Restoring Human Identity and Purpose

<p>Psalm 19:7 NAS, The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.</p> <p>Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. </p> <p>Psalm 86:10, For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. 11] Teach me Your way, O LORD;   I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.  12] I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. </p> <p>In today’s culture, people believe in a “God” who is made in their own image. He is a God who changes, adapts to whims and customs and permits whatever the majority of people want to believe. Their god has many names, multiple personalities, no exclusive holy book and cannot be grieved by any act of sin except “intolerance.” Evil has become a non-category. It is like a farmer who plants crops but cannot admit to the existence of weeds and insects. He thinks the solution is to pour on more fertilizer. Today, education is the fertilizer.</p> <p>There are two Gods. There is the God that people generally believe in—A God who has to serve them. This God does not exist. But the God who people forget—the God whom we all have to serve—exists, and is the prime cause of our existence and of all that we perceive. God being God offends human pride. “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18) When the light of God is absent, the intellect become dysfunctional, trying to devise a truth that will be compatible with the basic falsehood that man is god. (Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines)</p> <p>C. Indicators of the True God:</p> <ol><li>Is from everlasting to everlasting</li> <li>Known to Adam, Abraham, Moses and the pagans of every generation</li> <li>Has the power to create, destroy, heal and reform </li> <li>Passes final judgment</li> <li>Knows the hearts of people</li> <li>Knows the motivations of the heart</li> <li>Has purpose that transcends the lifetime or sensual interests of people</li> <li>Manifests His presence in the earth through th