Who does the earth belong too?
Focus on the Creator, not the creation.
The earth belongs to God, and we belong to God, our Creator.
“Genesis 1:1”
What is the first thing God told us in His Holy Word, the Holy Bible? “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.” One can argue with this statement all day long, but at the end of the day, it’s still truth. God created the earth, and it belongs to Him. Questions? Scripture tells us to test everything we hear and line it up with His Word. (1Thessalonians 5:21) Keep what is good/Bible truth/God’s truth, and toss out the rest.
So let’s look at a few scriptures
“A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,” Psalms 24:1
“Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.” Deuteronomy 10:14
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16
All that to say, when you hear anyone at any level of society make a statement of “fact” about what God has created or who He is or what He has said, don’t take their word for it. Go to your Bible and see if their statement lines up with God’s truth; if it does, great! If it doesn’t, toss it out and keep moving. Staying in God’s Word will keep you out of a lot of trouble. It keeps you from believing the lies of this world. Hold fast to God’s truth; it is your lifeline.
God’s miracles
How about let’s clear up some other thoughts and questions that are swirling around about who God is? Your salvation and eternity are at risk and time is running out for us all. We are living in the end-times; make sure you are on the right path with those who are looking up and listening for Jesus to sound His trumpet. Let’s visit the book of Exodus today to help give perspective on a few things.
When God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites and sojourners from Egypt He performed many miracles. These miracles were specific and intentional with great meaning. Did you know that each miracle represented a pagan god that was worshipped in Egypt? God was trying to show them that their gods have no power but He does. It’s interesting research should you take the time to dig deeper there.
God also wanted to show the Israelites His power. He showed them His glory and He wanted them to come to realize they were no longer slaves to Egypt but children of God. He would be their God now, their Heavenly Father, and their teacher. Once they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, one of the amazing miracles where He showed His power to them and the Egyptians, they were only a few days journey from the Promised land, Canaan. Due to their 400 years of slavery, their habits and mindset had to be broken and tested to prepare them for what God had promised. So rather than take them straight to the Promised land, He sent them into the wilderness. Not too long into their journey God had Moses send spies to check out the Promised land. One, He wanted to show them how beautiful and plentiful it was, and two, He wanted to test their faith to see if they would trust Him to fight with them to receive this gift from Him. It would entail going to war and driving out the people who currently lived there. Ten of the twelve came back and spread fear to the masses so that they would be consumed with fear and not go towards the Promised land. With the people still doubting God, His power, and His love for them, He sent them further into the wilderness for forty years.
It’s important to note here that when God shows you a promise He has for you, He rarely fulfills that promise at the same time He makes you aware of it. He shows you, then He prepares you for it; otherwise, you wouldn’t know how to properly handle what He gives you nor be ready to handle the worldly challenges that come with receiving the gift.
It wasn’t about the water
The many many miracles God allowed the Israelites to witness that were meant to grow their faith and relationship with Him, sadly only reached a remnant. The prideful ones were only temporarily drawn to Him in the moment. As soon as their need was met they looked for another need and quickly found reason to complain.
It’s important to note here that this is not being shared to speak ill of the Israelites. This story depicts every human walk and journey with God. No one is exempt from sin, rebellion, pride, and being humbled and broken at some point by our loving Heavenly Father, who loves us so much and saves us from ourselves. If it were not for His love, grace and mercy, we would have no hope.
In this story, one of the many complaints in the wilderness was they didn’t have water. They were thirsty and were blaming Moses for bringing them to the desert to die of thirst. God was allowing this to happen to break them and get them to focus on building their faith in Him. He had already shown them what He could do for them and was giving them the opportunity to trust that He would do what He said He would do. God didn’t hold back the water to punish them, He was testing their faith to believe He could provide for them in any condition. They chose not to trust Him. He provided the water anyway. Then He sent them further into the wilderness. They were going to learn the lesson one way or another. Sadly many never saw the Promised land because of their stubbornness and unbelief.
This story applies to your salvation as well. You must choose Him and have faith in Him to do what He promised in His Word that He would do for you. (You have to read the whole Word, the whole Bible to know what He wants to tell you). You must believe He sent His son to die for your sins so that you can spend eternity with Him in glory. There will be many who will continue to choose to focus on their needs and not their Heavenly Father and His promises. These ones will never see the Promised land, Heaven.
The entire forty years they were wandering in the desert as God was shaping and teaching them, He provided for them. Did you know their shoes never wore out? He fed them manna from Heaven every day until they reached the Promised land forty years later. He never left them; He never stopped providing for their needs, even though they were rebellious and suffered the consequences of their rebellion.
He does the same with all of His children. He loves His creation and wants to spend eternity with each of us. All we need to do is choose Him over this world and turn to Him. If you turn to Him, He will turn to you.
All He asks is for us to turn our attention from creation to the Creator, the one and only living God. We must be willing to live by faith and not by our senses.
The bitter water lesson
The Israelites find they are thirsty believing they were sure to die (Exodus 15:24-26) and are complaining to Moses as if it’s his fault. They were told from the beginning that God sent Moses; that this was all God’s plan. They chose to “shoot the messenger” since they could see him, plus they didn’t fear or respect Moses, so it made it easier to complain to him as if it was his fault. They loved him when things were going good, and hated him when they weren’t.
In this particular place in the wilderness, God brought them to a place with water, but it was bitter. Who do you think made it bitter? Could there be a reason and a lesson from God here? Absolutely! Even though the majority chose not to trust God to provide for them, God still loved them and chose to show them a miracle that only God could do. He is the God of “giving you another chance,” the God of grace and mercy.
God had Moses go to a specific tree and throw it into the water. When he did, the water became sweet and clear for everyone to drink. He proved to them that He is God. He also told them at that place, that if they would listen and obey Him and do what is right in His sight and obey His commands and statutes, that He would not allow any of the diseases on them that He had placed on Egypt. He is the Great Physician; the Lord that heals us. He has the power to heal, and the power to destroy.
What a promise! That’s all you have to do to receive His protection:
- Listen to Him
- Do what is right in His sight
- Obey His commands and statutes
He loves us, He is before us, behind us, above us, and around us. Those who choose Him find such peace resting in His protecting arms. (Exodus 14:19-20) He provides for all our needs.
His followers still have wilderness moments; we will continue to learn til we die. It’s in those “tough” moments that we cling to Him tightly, right where He loves us to be. So when His followers experience tough “in the valley” moments, He is still with us protecting us through the storm. Sometimes there is reason for disease in your life. Trust Him. There are times when He heals us to continue life on earth spreading His love to others, while other times He chooses to heal us by taking us out of this world and home with Him. He hears your prayers. Trust His process. He knows best.
Thirst for living water; the only water that satisfies, Jesus.
“A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Psalms 63:1
That is the state of mind that He wants His followers to live in; to thirst for more of Him.
The cloud and the pillar of fire
Look up at the cloud. It’s your protection. God is in the cloud; He guides you and protects you. (Exodus 14:19-20) He is always with you.
In this same story, from the time the Israelites left Egypt, God provided for them. He did not lead them to the wilderness to punish or kill them; He has great plans for them, to take them to a land they could call their own; a land flowing with milk and honey.
These people had received a promise from Joseph, Jacob’s beloved son, many years before, when he was Governor of the land. He told them before he died, that God would deliver them out of bondage in Egypt. Did they believe him? Had they forgotten? Joseph said that God would deliver them and to be sure to take his bones out of Egypt and bury them with his family. (Exodus 13:19) Moses took his bones, as promised.
When they left Egypt, God not only fed and clothed them; for forty years He gave them a cloud for shade during the day to protect them from the hot son. He also provided a pillar of fire at night so that they could see, and keep warm. They were completely protected. (Exodus 13:22)
This same God that Joseph spoke of sent Moses, performed miracles, and delivered His people out of the hands of Pharoah and out of bondage to the Egyptians. He made this promise, not just to the Israelites all those years ago, but for all His children, all who follow Him, call on Him, and obey Him. He will deliver His followers out of the bondage of this world where we will get to spend eternity with Him. What a promise! What a promised land we have to look forward to!
This should give you hope and make you want to cry with joy.
What is God’s?
Let’s visit a few more scriptures to wrap up this blog and make sure we are all clear on what belongs to God.
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:8
“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” Psalms 50:10
“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.” Psalms 50:12
“Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.” Job 41:11
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;” Exodus 19:5
“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” Hebrews 2:10
This scripture in Hebrews speaks of God’s son, Jesus, our Messiah. He is telling how He sent His son to suffer for us so that we could be saved. Read that again and let the Holy Spirit sink that deep into your heart. That is a major show of God’s love for you.
Now that the lies have been dispelled about who this earth belongs to and who we belong too, and how much we are loved, let’s make sure you are ready to spend eternity with Jesus.
First step!
Before you embark on your path to helping spread God’s love and truth to others, let’s make sure your heart is right with Jesus. Just to be safe, let’s complete these steps. Your eternity depends on it. Get right with Jesus today and stand on His promises to get you through these next steps for you.
Don’t complicate the process for salvation. Keep it simple.
Do the ABC’s and repent today.
- A: Admit that you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)
- B: Believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. (John 3:16-18, 1Corinthians 15:1-4)
- C: Call on Jesus and repent of your sins and turn back to Him and ask Jesus to show you the way. (Romans 10:9-13, John 14:6)
May God bless you and keep you.
Join me on:
Telegram: https://t.me/chosencrownedone
Instagram: ChosenandCrowned & Grace Reacher Books
Podcastle: Chosen & Crowned – Coming soon