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Creation itself testifies about it's Creator. Psalm 19 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." ( Psalm 19:1 ) It is impossible to live and breath in this world without recognizing God. Just observing nature in itself is proof to that.

Psalm 19 goes on to say, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." ( Psalm 19:1-3 ) Creations voice goes out and translates into every known tongue. What it is declaring is the glory and majesty of God. By observing how specific and exact the interworking of all of creation, one can only come to the conclusion that there is a God.

God's glory is displayed by the things around us. God's invisible qualities, eternal power and divine nature are shown to us in how we are made, the world in which we live and the universe surrounding us. God has made himself clearly known to us. All of humankind is without an excuse before Him, because who He is has been revealed in creation.

Many people will reject this truth and search into human wisdom to make sense of this life. Whether through books and knowledge or vain pursuit of personal understanding. Many will ignore the tale tell signs of God, because of a hard heart. Today it is my prayer that you will take a moment to observe how unique and beautiful the fingerprint of God is on our lives. I pray that you take a moment to thank Him and praise Him for how wonderful He has made everything for us and how awesome it is that we can know about Him. And thank Him for how He revealed himself to us by creation.

Throughout my life I have heard many unbelievers express the question whether or not there is a God. They are constantly looking for the answer, so it seems, but in reality they are looking for an excuse for their unbelief. Many citing that if there was a God, then He would make himself known unto them.

However, Paul says, that what may be known about God is clear to see because God has indeed revealed himself to us. As the plan from the beginning God's desire was always to come into relationship with us and abide and fellowship with us. He choose us and in the same way, He wanted us to choose Him, therefore He unequivocally revealed Himself to us, so that we can know without a doubt that He exists.

On the other hand, countless times I have talked to believers and in sharing their testimony with me one theme rings loud and clear. Most every one I have talked to started with a desire as a very young child to know God. Many described how they knew from their youth that God was drawing them unto Himself and revealing Himself to them. They longed to know Him and fellowship with Him.

Some of them accepted God's invitation right away. Some did their own thing for a very long. But each one remembered back to that time when they knew that God existed and that He had made himself known to them. This bearing witness to what Paul declared, God has indeed made himself known unto all humankind.

It is God's desire that you know Him. Not just that He exists even though he has clearly revealed himself to us. His desire is to know you intimately and have relationship with you. He wants you to know Him intimately also. So much so, that He provided the way for you to come into fellowship with him, through His Son Jesus' dead on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Today, May you know without a doubt that God exists and that He loves you immensely.

God created a paradise and sin ruined it. Fortunately for us that is not the end of the story, creation is longing to be restored to the state it was created to be in, based on the promise of God. This promise was fulfilled in Jesus and now Paul describes the physical fulfillment of this promise as something creation is in anticipation for. He likens this waiting period to the labor pains of childbirth. The process might be hard and might take awhile but once started there is no way to stop it. And the end result makes the whole thing worth it.

Many people look around and make a judgment call based on what they see. They look at the state of our natural realm and see death and decay. Our news channels are filled with warnings of global warming ruining our environment. Many organizations rally the governments and it's citizens to save the planet. However, the Bible says that creation as already been saved.

After taking all of this in it would be easy to say that God hasn't fulfilled his promise to creation yet based on the natural evidence of this. However, when Jesus came, I John says, that he came to destroy the works of the devil ( I John 3:8 ). Since he has already come, Satan's power over creation has been destroyed. We know this because Jesus came the first time to reconcile us to the Father and he will come the second time to redeem us and take us home. Based on this we understand that creation has already received the first fruits of it's redemption because Jesus has sent to us the Holy Spirit to testify that we are his children. Paul said earlier in this chapter that this revelation of the sons of God is what creation has been waiting for ( Romans 8:19 ).

Paul uses the illustration of childbirth to illuminate this very truth and to help us understand that just because we cannot see it, doesn't mean it hasn't happened yet. Pregnancy is a sign that something already took place. When a child is conceived the evidence of this isn't apparent for a time, even to the women. A women doesn't become pregnant when there is evidence to support that she is bearing a child, a women becomes pregnant at conception of this child. This illustration helps us to understand that the physical evidence always follows the act. The spiritual always births the physical. Creations redemption is already complete in the spiritual realm and now it is experiencing the labor pains that have started announcing the physical manifestation of this.

The amazing thing about labor and childbirth is that afterward comes fullness of joy. The pains and hardship experienced are quickly forgotten once a baby is held in arms. Countless women cannot recall any details of their labor because the joy of motherhood is so great. Knowing what this type of suffering produces gives courage to all to endure it. The same is true with creation. Expectation of being restored to a perfect sinless existence is enough to endure hardship right now. Creation is waiting in anticipation for it's final redemption because it knows the One who promised is faithful. Today, I join with creation in praising our God, looking forward to that day when I will see him face to face. May you also join with us in celebration our full redemption through Christ Jesus, Amen!

Unlike Adam, creation didn't have a choice when it was brought into the bondage of the kingdom of darkness. That is because creation and all that was in it was given to Adam in the garden. In Genesis, God told Adam, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food." And it was so" ( Genesis 1:28-30 ). God created everything, but he gave authority for everything that he created to Adam. It was passed from God to Adam and Adam was the representative before God for mankind, the animals, the earth and all of creation.

Now when the serpent deceived Eve in the garden and she coerces Adam to partake, Adam was the one responsible before God not Eve. Because Adam was the one given authority for everything created with instructions by God. He disobeyed a direct command by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of it, Adam's authority and everything he ruled over legally passed over to Satan and the dominion of darkness. Since God gave it to Adam, he couldn't rightfully take it back from Satan when Adam gave it to him. Because of this transgression, he plunged mankind into sin and this became our new nature. Creation was also part of that transaction. Our world, created to be a paradise, experienced decay and death after the fall as well. Paul said in today's verse, that "creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope..." ( Romans 8:20 ). The hope it is referring to comes in the next verse, "that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God" ( Romans 8:21 ).Creation is waiting expectantly to be liberated when the children of God are revealed.

When all of this happened in the garden, God provided a way out for all of mankind and all of creation. Even as he deal with the situation at hand, he told the serpent, there is one coming who will crush your head ( Genesis 3:15 ). He knew from the very beginning that if he was going to go through with his plan to create a mankind that we would screw it up. So before he even started to do what he wanted to do, he had the plan in place. Jesus would be the One who would crush Satan's head. I Peter 1 tells us that Jesus was the lamb slain chosen before the foundation of the world ( I Peter 1:19-20 ). With the plan in place, with the sacrifice chosen, with the way to undo what would eventually happen, God went ahead and created everything he wanted out of his desire for a family.

Now Jesus came in human form, a hostage to Satan, under his rule, dominion and authority. Since Adam gave over mankind and creation to this kingdom in the garden, God had to take it back legally and rightfully. He did this by sending Jesus in the disguise of sinful man to fulfill the entire law. The law outline how to break free of the curse yet we were powerless to do it because of the sin nature that we were in bondage to. So when Jesus did it, he earned eternal life free from bondage of death which was part of the curse, stemming from the fall in the garden. In other words, by defeating death, he took back all authority, rule and power that Satan had got from Adam. He completely defeated and disarmed him on the cross. "having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" ( Colossians 2:15 ). So through Jesus living a perfect life, fulfilling the law, being our sin offering before God, dying for us and being raised to life, he took back all the authority that was stolen by Satan in the garden.

After he defeated them he did an amazing thing, II Corinthians 5 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" ( II Corinthians 5:21 ). He took his right standing with God and offered it to us free of charge. He took our sin, our shame and our weakness and traded it for his righteousness, his forgiveness and his love. He justified us before God, which literally means that he took us back to the state that mankind was in before the fall, as if there had never been that transgression in the first place. He did what he originally intended to do in the garden, that was to create a family. He chose us and through faith in Jesus, we choose him. Through this union we become children of God and he sends his Spirit into our hearts to testify to this very fact ( Romans 8:16 ). This is what creation is waiting for, because it knows that it's redemption is drawing neigh.

The amazing thing about all of this, after everything he went through, after getting all authority back under his control, Jesus then gave the authority back to His church. We are join heirs with Christ which means that everything he has, he shares with us. He is the head, but we are his body. We are his ambassadors on this earth to do the amazing things which he has called us to do. Paul said in Ephesians that he wants us to understand "... his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" ( Ephesians 1:19-23 ).

We are now called into a wonderful partnership with Christ. We have been given His authority on this earth to operate as he operated on this earth. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven he commissioned us, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well" ( Mark 16:15-18 ). He did this by saying in Matthew, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." ( Matthew 28:18-19 ). In all of these things we operate as his dear children whom he loves. Jesus undid everything that happened in the garden and we reap the benefits of it. Like creation we are waiting for our final redemption, knowing that time is short, but also knowing that while we are here we have a job to do.

Today I am so blessed to join with creation in hope that God's children will continue to be revealed upon this earth. Today, I pray that you know who you are in Christ Jesus and what he has provided for you so that you will go and make disciples for Jesus, all stemming from his love and authority. Amen!

So many people worship nature, but the Bible says that nature worships its creator. Isn't it interesting that creation knows what lots of people don't... that God designed and created it. Because of this knowledge, creation is waiting expectantly for sons of God to be revealed.

This is because our natural, created world already knows and testifies the evidence of God. His footprint is on everything that was created. Paul started out the book of Romans by exclaiming, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" ( Romans 1:20 ). Creation is God's handiwork so it is natural that creation longs for the same things that God desires, the final revelation of his love.

Why does nature wait longingly for the sons of God to be revealed? Verse 21 says that when this happens, nature will be set free from the decay it has been subjected to as a result of the fall of Adam ( Romans 8:21 ). Through Jesus' redemptive work on the cross, he didn't just reconcile mankind to himself, but he reconciled all things. I John 3:8 says that the reason Jesus came was to destroy the works of the devil. In other words, he came to completely undo everything that Satan did. Sin affected more than humankind at the fall. Sin also affected the natural world and the entire universe that God created, sin polluted His creation. The world was created as a paradise, but part of the curse of the fall was decay of the world ( Genesis 3:17-19 ).

In the same way that our spirits long to be with Christ and to be untied in bodily form with him, all of creation groans and longs to be liberated and brought into freedom as well. ( Romans 8:22 ). Creation is waiting expectantly for the sons and daughters of God to be reveled because this means that the promise spoken to Adam and Eve in the garden during the curse had come to pass. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." ( Genesis 3:15 ). Jesus came to get it all back! The revelation of his children shows that this has been accomplished because Jesus came and brought us peace with God and to destroy Satan and the affects of sin. He has reconciled us to God, which means that we are completely blameless before him and through faith we have be restored to the state that mankind was in before the fall. We are currently waiting for the redemption of our bodies from this world in the same way that creation is waiting for the redemption of its physical body. The revelation of God's children means that this is fast approaching. Paul say, "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" ( Romans 8:22 ). If the birth pains have started then it is just a matter of time until we receive our final bodily redemption. This is good news!

Today I am thankful that creation reminds us to wait expectantly for the Lord's return. I am thankful that we have a sweet precious promise to look forward to knowing that Jesus is coming back for us very soon! Today, may you join with creation in celebrating the revelation of sonship through Christ Jesus, Amen!

If faith comes from hearing the message of Christ, it only makes sense to ask the question whether or not Israel heard the message. Paul said not all of Israel has accepted the good news nor believed in it ( Romans 10:16 ). Was that because they hadn't heard the message of Christ?

In today's passage Paul stresses that they had in fact heard the message, he said, "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." The voice he is talking about is that of nature. It is bearing God's message and is proclaiming throughout the entire universe His existence. Romans 1 says, "what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse" ( Romans 1:19, Romans 1:20 ). Nature testifies to the evidence of God, but does it testify to Jesus and the message that Israel was supposed to hear? Paul said it did.

Jesus was responsible for Creation. John said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" ( John 1:1-3 ). Jesus was the one who made everything so the heaves declare the glory of God because of Jesus. The skies proclaim the work of his hands ( Psalms 19:1 ). We cannot look at the majesty of the world around us and deny the fact of Jesus. Hebrews says, "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word" ( Hebrews 1:1-3 ). Jesus is the exact representation of God, but was made manifest to us. He made the entire universe and holds everything together by his powerful word. If we know God then we have evidence of Jesus. We have heard this message proclaimed and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

So what about Israel, why did they not understand this message? They didn't understand it because they didn't know God in the first place. Jesus said in John 14, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" ( John 14:9 ). So in the same way, if they knew the Father, they would have recognized the Son. Nathanael was proof of this. "When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." ( John 1:47 ). Jesus recognized Nathanael and said here is a true descendant of Jacob according to the promise. What made him that way? It was because his heart was right with God. He knew God and it was evident in his lifestyle. In other words it was more than rules and regulations with Nathanael. So when he saw Jesus he said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel" ( John 1:49 ). He recognized him as the Messiah because God revealed it to him. This happened because his heart was right with God in the first place and he knew God. Remember, Jesus is the exact representation of the Father ( Hebrews 1:3 ). So the Israelites didn't receive the message of Jesus even though creation testified to him, on the basis of not knowing nor understanding God. They rejected God and followed the letter of the Law instead of the author of the Law.

This has implications for us today. We can miss heaven by eighteen inches. If what we know only remains in our head and doesn't penetrate into our heart then our entire life is in vain. Everything around us testifies to Jesus and understanding that he came from the Father to give us life and to bring us into relationship with him is too awesome to understand intellectually. We must understand this in faith and allow that to change our entire life. Faith comes by hearing and recognizing the message of Jesus.

Today I am so thankful for Jesus. I am thankful that he is the difference in my life. I am thankful that I can know and understand the Father through the Holy Spirit whom he's given me. Today, may you mix this message of grace with faith and be forever changed, amen.