Conclusion - The Character of Creatures

This is a chapter from the book The Character of Creatures: What the Animal Kingdom Teaches Us About God and His Word.

Conclusion

Thank you, dear reader, for taking this journey with me as we looked at the character of creatures. Which was your favorite? Which will you put into action? I hope you said all of them! God does not want you to be a hearer only, but a doer. Share these with your friends, pray about them, live them out, and see how God will bless you as he prepares you to bear fruit abundantly!

We only looked at some of the animals in God’s kingdom; consider how other animals teach you amazing things about God’s Word and his will for your life. God has given his creation to illustrate his attributes to you.

Always remember, only Jesus Christ can fully show you who God is, because while no one has ever seen God, God the only Son, who is at the Father’s right side, he has made him known (John 1:18)! If you truly want to know who God is, it is good to go to church and hear your pastor preach from the Word, it is good to read books like this, and it is good to ask your parents questions, but the best place to know who God is, how he can save you, and his will for your life, is from the Bible.

If you do not know where to start, I would like to encourage you to start in the Gospel of John, it was written by one of Jesus’ closest friends, and it will tell you who Jesus is, why he came, and why it is important to you.

Put God’s Word into practice until Christ returns or calls you home.

In the perfection of God’s New Creation we will have all sorts of new lessons to learn about his creatures, I hope we can discuss passages like this one together!

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. ~ Isaiah 11:6–9

and

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. ~ Isaiah 65:25

Go now and serve God in the strength and wisdom he has given you!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! ~ Psalm 150:6

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Look Like Jesus - The Human - The Character of Creatures

This is a chapter from the book The Character of Creatures: What the Animal Kingdom Teaches Us About God and His Word.

Look Like Jesus – The Human

Humans are different from the animals (1 Corinthians 15:39). But God still created humans for a purpose. We are created in his image. God sees so he gave us eyes. God hears so he gave us ears. God moves so he gave us feet. God works so he gave us hands. God thinks so he gave us brains. God cares so he gave us feelings in the pit of our stomach. God loves so he gave us a desire for community. God speaks so he gave us a mouth and vocal cords.

Man was created at the end of the creation week so we can’t say we had anything to do with God’s creation. Now he is recreating every one of us who trusts in Jesus:

Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ~ Romans 8:29

Discussion:

1. Jesus asked the Pharisees whose likeness was on a coin; they responded, “Caesar’s.” Jesus told them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). If we are created in God’s image, how do we give our lives to him? Romans 12:1 tells us to be a living sacrifice. If he died for you, will you live for him?

2. People sometimes ask, “What would Jesus do?” but a better question is “What did Jesus do?” We have the whole Bible telling us who God is and how he has responded; it’s our job now to know what he did and do likewise! If you don’t know what to do, don’t be afraid to ask him (James 1:5)!

3. Everything that happens to a believer is being used by God for good (Romans 8:28). What are some hard things that have happened in your life that God used for good? Christ suffered in our place; our suffering teaches us to look more like him!

You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read, and your life is under scrutiny every day. What do others learn from you? Do they see an accurate picture of your God? ~ John MacArthur

Bear Fruit - The Bear - The Character of Creatures

This is a chapter from the book The Character of Creatures: What the Animal Kingdom Teaches Us About God and His Word.

Bear Fruit – The Bear

All animals prove what species they are because they bring forth after their own kind. Bears make bears, rabbits make rabbits, birds make birds. Christians are called to make disciples and bear fruit.

All of God’s animals are designed to teach you that he is a creative, loving, artistic God, and he has created you for a purpose:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide… ~ John 15:16

Discussion:

1.      Do you know what the fruit of the Spirit is? Take a moment to read Galatians 5:22–23 and 2 Peter 1:5–8. Are you bearing that fruit? How can you increase?

2.     We like to substitute busyness for fruit, saying “I’m doing a lot, it must be good!” But God is the ultimate fruit inspector, he approves or rejects our works. Is your fruit acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, or are you just calling your bad works good (Isaiah 5:20, 1 Corinthians 3:12–15)?

3.     What sort of fruit do you expect to grow on an apple tree? Orange tree? Pine tree? The fruit will match the tree, right? What sort of fruit are you bearing? If it is not goodness, then ask a parent or pastor to talk to you about Jesus Christ and how he can transform you into a new creation that brings forth good fruit. If they do not know then dive into your Bible until you find the answer: nothing else is as important as knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent!

The fruit is not the work of the branch, but the result of the life flowing from the vine through the branch. If we are full of the Spirit, the fruit will inevitably appear; if we are not, no amount of struggling or effort can produce a single grape. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon