Here is an excerpt from the eleventh chapter of my new release, "The Signature of God":

"When God made the world, he knew already that we would need His grace and mercy. He accounted for it because that’s how much He loves us. And even though He understood that humanity—we—would sin and rebel from Him, He created us anyway and included a plan to rescue us, essentially to save us from ourselves. He knew, in the fallen state of the world, that we would let Him down, turn away from Him, betray Him, not even notice Him. But He wanted us to have a chance to know Him anyway, bringing us to life and going so far as to call us His masterpieces. (The New Living Translation of the Bible describes it like this in Ephesians 2:10: 'For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.')

God’s signature in the world can be seen through His grace and mercy. In fact, I believe the entire universe exists to demonstrate God’s goodness, gloriousness, and grace. When we know Him and follow Him, we are changed, and His goodness, gloriousness, and grace can then be seen in us. When we know Him, even as imperfect as we still are, our life and our priorities look different, and we are defined not by what we do (or have done) but by how God sees us. When we decide to trust and follow Jesus, God frees us from the trappings of sin and tells us we are now His own sons and daughters, fully adopted. And all this is because of His grace and mercy."

The Space

What is in the space?
That separates God from the human race
Is it life in Heaven juxtaposed to life on earth?
Never to be closed until time’s end
When new earth begins renews us again

What is the space?
Is it the permanent separation from God of sin
What blocks entry to Heaven not letting us in
That we turn to each and every day
When we fall and lose our way

What is in the space?
Our humanness spilling over through centuries and years
Imperfections, failings, emotions, fears
Only angels tread lithely traverse this gap
For the empty callous there is no guide or map

What is in the space?
Our lack of faith and disbelief
Our hardened hearts filled with grief
No trust in the invisible eternal unseen
Minds laughing mocking at this pretend dream

What closes the space?
That joins God with the human race, our hearts aim
Our yearning, longing for our permanent domain Man’s search for meaning and connection
Our desire for unending love, attachment, and affection

What closes the space?
God who breathed life into all nature and creation
Who created man as a wonder filled with knowledge and so many sensations
In the beginning was just Him, the Three in One This love surely is manifest through the Son

What closes the space?
The Christ child who became man
Who brought healing and faith to all lands
Who died for us on a cross
He sacrificed for us so we would not be lost

What closes the space?
The Holy Spirit as He who was left
He is the one who now safely keeps us kept
Man seeking God Him waiting to be found
Jesus bridges this space He wears the glory and the crown

-Dr. Rhonda Milner