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Lacey Rabalais

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Faith

All Are Made In His Image

October 7, 2020

When you read the story of creation, what stands out to you? The power of God. The ability to speak and worlds are created. The fact that God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit created man and woman “in his image.” As a lover of nature and scripture, this is the part that I’m most excited by. Out of all the things that God created, man and woman were created in his image. A reflection of who God is.

If you’ve looked around the world, in person or images, you’d notice that the varieties of man and woman are vast. If we are each created in his image, what a greatly vast God must have created us. Oh yeah, He is vast. Outside of time, all-knowing, all-powerful. We can’t even begin to comprehend how big He really is.

When does the “made” begin? Are we born in his image or are we made in his image? Yes, that’s what we’re going to discuss. When does life begin?

In an article for Sciencing, Shailynn Krow writes “All living organisms — from small to big — share characteristics that separate them from the divisions in nature that do not exhibit life, like rocks or soil. Living creatures have cells, DNA, the ability to convert food into energy, grow, reproduce, respire and move. These characteristics become the criteria for scientists to separate the living elements in nature from the non-living ones.”

At conception, cells are reproducing and an embryo has a unique set of DNA. Food from the mother is used to to give energy to cells to replicate. (Hello ATP cycle!). Reproducing cells, reproduction organs, respiration, and movement all happen BEFORE BIRTH.

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“In these first few weeks, a primitive face will take form with large dark circles for eyes. The mouth, lower jaw, and throat are developing. Blood cells are taking shape, and circulation will begin. The tiny “heart” tube will beat 65 times a minute by the end of the fourth week.” (Source)

“Your baby’s arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes are fully formed. At this stage, your baby is starting to explore a bit by doing things like opening and closing its fists and mouth. Fingernails and toenails are beginning to develop and the external ears are formed. The beginnings of teeth are forming under the gums. Your baby’s reproductive organs also develop, but the baby’s gender is difficult to distinguish on ultrasound.

By the end of the third month, your baby is fully formed. All the organs and limbs (extremities) are present and will continue to develop in order to become functional. The baby’s circulatory and urinary systems are also working and the liver produces bile.” (Source)

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So at what point did God create in his image? At what point in a pregnancy is a baby, enough of a living organism to be a reflection of God’s image?

As someone who has carried two children until birth and a third to almost 15 weeks, I can tell you that the creating of a human is nothing short of a miracle. Who’s in the business of miracles? Oh yeah, the God of the universe. The author, perfector, and sustainer of all life. Yes. But somehow some people think they deserve the privilege to override something that a miracle-making God decided was for our good and His glory.

That moment in the Garden of Eden when Satan asked Eve, “is that really what God said?” It’s the same twist of God’s word that the enemy continues to do today. He has zero new tricks, yet for some reason we keep falling for them. Do I think God causes bad things to happen? No. Do I think He allows bad things to happen? Yes. But for us to even argue this stance we would have to assume that we know what God considers good vs bad for us. He’s outside of time, knows everything about everyone…wouldn’t we have to submit to the fact that He is not only in control but has it all under control?

The argument for abortion among believers quickly turns into but what about rape, incest, trauma. Yes, what about them? Was God not there in that moment? Did God somehow decide he knows everything but thought that trauma wouldn’t be somehow, someway, some time be beneficial for our good and His glory?

Five years ago, I laid in a bathtub. I was in pain, violently shaking. My body was trying to birth our dead baby. Did I ask God why? Well yeah. Do I know exactly why this side of heaven? Kind of. For some reason, God knew that losing a baby at the beginning of my second trimester was for our good and His glory. That baby was His before it was mine. My earthly children…they are his first. If he takes them today, I just have to trust that it’s for His glory.

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

Psalm 100:3 ESV

Eve wanted to be like God. The God of the world who rules over life and death. When we start taking decisions like life and death into our own hands, no matter the case, are we no better than Eve? Are we falling for the lie that says we can be like God?

I can recall an ethics class in college in which we had to argue sides. One of my best friends stood with conviction and told me abortion went against God’s design for life. I argued but what about in cases of …x,y,z. This friend, a male, the son of a pastor, understood God’s sovereignty differently than I did at the time. So believers shouldn’t be shocked when people that deny God even exists don’t comprehend how we can look to our Heavenly Father in the most difficult times and know that whatever is going on is for our good and His glory.

I cannot begin to understand what goes into the decision to have an abortion. From the friends I have that have gone through the process, it’s not one they champion. Recently a friend told me that the abortion industry promised her freedom. That she could be successful and conquer the things of life without the shackle of a child. Instead of a child holding her down, she got a different set of chains. Shame, regret, confusion. Do you know who is in the business of shame, regret, and confusion? Satan himself. Surely, not God. After we cried, she told me that the freedom she has now is because she’s free in Christ. She’s successful. She’s a mother. She’s a wife. She’s no longer weighed down by the lies of the enemy and this world.

Motherhood isn’t a prison sentence. Is it hard? You bet. It is sanctifying and selfless and tiring and joyful and hilarious and bittersweet and loving. The good far outweighs the bad. Scripture says that “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.” (Psalm 127:3 NLT) This world doesn’t see them as gifts. We need to change the narrative. We need the world to witness what joy children really are.

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What a gift motherhood is. Sanctifying, challengin What a gift motherhood is. Sanctifying, challenging, and a gift.
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The world tells us that we’ve lost ourselves, we’re oppressed messes, and that we must rely on coffee in the morning and alcohol in the evenings.
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No wonder people want the “freedom” to have abortions. The world has made motherhood seem worse than prison.
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But that’s not what God has said of mothers. And what God says overrides what the world says.
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Mama, you don’t need coffee, alcohol, mascara, and anything else provided by the world. You only need what God can supply and that is honestly more than enough.
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May I never look at these kiddos as anything less than gifts. Little boys, one day men, to borrow from the Creator Himself and steward until He calls them back. May they be part of sanctifying me to be more like Christ until He calls me home.
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Grateful. For every second. Even when I want to scream and rip my hair out. May my flesh die over and over as I love them more than myself, as I serve them humbly, all as I glorify God.
“Dear women of God, You are capable of reading, “Dear women of God,
You are capable of reading, learning, and comprehending the full scope of the Bible. Why? Because the Holy Spirit gives knowledge and understanding. It’s not our job to know everything, God doesn’t give us that burden. God is the only one who is omniscient. What a gift that He would gift us knowledge to know more about him. 
Your bible study doesn’t need to just be about women, topical, nor identity. You should enjoy learning about the full story from Genesis to Revelation and how Christ is in it all. The bible isn’t a book for you to learn about yourself. It’s a book of redemption and how God saves the world. It’s a book to learn about God. You cannot learn who you are until you learn whose you are. He is the only One that can define you. Because He’s the one who created you.”

Full post on blog. Link in bio. 

Don’t waver on truth to be popular. Stand firm no matter what God allows your way.
Don’t bend to culture and fame. Stand firm on the truths that God has put forth.

You can’t stand on the truths without knowing them. So study them well. Love them. Live them. Share them.

“God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.” - Elisabeth Elliot
Last week I had the opportunity to sit among women Last week I had the opportunity to sit among women who said they want to learn more about God and His word.
Because I volunteered to lead a study and because I never want to go light in leading a provided study, here I sit.

Seven reference books stacked on the floor, a few lectures listened to, and now I get to write a list of questions. I’m good at asking questions that stretch the mind. I do it all day to myself.

So for lunch, I grabbed a BLT from my fav spot and worshiped. Because other than wife, mom, and homemaker....this is the coolest thing God’s ever had me do. And because it’s the coolest, I refuse to do it mediocre.

Theology matters - because God matters.
For our good & His glory. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For our good & His glory.
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It’s hard to say that what the world deems as bad, God can say it’s good.
I say this from the stance that I think loss is bad. Grief is hard. Miscarriage shouldn’t be good.
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Today is a hard day. Not a bad day. Hard because it’s the due date of the child we lost. Five years of empty should-be-birthdays.
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But God.
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Instead of sitting in the what-ifs, I’ll bask in His glory. Maybe this can help me understand a fraction of God’s grief over the cross. I can’t fathom that at all.
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Hope. 
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My hope isn’t in this world, nor answering why, nor is my hope in the children that I have.
My hope is in an eternity with God. Where I’ll one day meet my child and spend an eternity of days with them at the feet of Jesus. Because of God’s mercies, I can say that hope in an eternity like that beats out all the what-ifs and should-bes here.
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My children are His first. Each day with them is merely an extension of His grace and we live at the mercy and pleasure of a mighty God.
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Do I want to say that my loss and grief is good? No I don’t want to but I trust God that it is. It’s good that because of trials, I’ve been sanctified more. It’s good that because of grief I’ve had to learn to depend more on Him than myself or my husband. It’s good because when I surrender and believe that it’s all His, I’m obedient and He gets the glory.
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It’s good.....because God said so.
It’s good.....because He is sovereign. 
It’s good.....because God is good.
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It is good. It is good. It is good.
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For me, it helps with searching for scriptures. I For me, it helps with searching for scriptures. I might not know the exact location of a book but this has helped with my overall knowledge and understanding of the Bible. I now can ask myself, what category does this book fall into, and then search that way. I love bible tabs but this makes it more based on my knowledge and understanding.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This is how it's broken down...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Pentateuch // First 5 books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
History // Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Ester⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Poetry // Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Major Prophets // Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Minor Prophets // Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Gospels // Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
History // Acts⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Letters // Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Prophecy // Revelation⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#bibletabs #biblestudy #homegrowntheologian #washitapebible #biblejournaling #theologianalways #everyonesatheologian #esvbible #crosswaybooks #theologian #biblestudent
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