Tag: love

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It’s how you see it

My current job is in insurance.  I take policies and ensure they are completed accurately following the laws and regulations before booking and then in the actual paper policy that is sent to the insured.  Sounds fun, huh?  

It’s not all that bad.  The one part that is the most stressful is a checking system set up to grade our quality.  This process ensures that everything set up either in the pricing or in the paper has no error.  If one is found, then you get a bad score.  You can only get 10% incorrect.  That’s not a lot when some policies are 200+ pages.  We strive for perfection, but even my company knows that humans cannot be perfect – we will fail at some point.

When we fail, there are two choices we make at how we deal with the failure.  We either choose to look at it from a conviction standpoint or a condemnation standpoint.  One is of God and one is of the Devil.  

I just completed reading the book – Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick.  Great book about how our thought patterns can really get messed up and how we can fix that problem.  Pastor Steven spends some time talking about the difference between condemnation versus conviction.  I’d like to share with you what I learned.

 Let’s look at two people who both made the same mistake: Peter and Judas.  Both were Jesus’ disciples and both betrayed Jesus.  One chose to deal with this failure through condemnation and the other through conviction.

Judas betrayed Jesus by working with the Pharisees to get Jesus killed.   (Luke 22:3-6)  For 30 pieces of silver, Christ was betrayed.  After his eyes were opened to the severity of the situation, Judas gave the money back and hung himself. (Matthew 27:5)

Peter’s betrayal did not send Christ to his death, but it was hurtful for another reason.  Peter was essentially Jesus’ best friend, His closest friend among the 12.  When Christ told Peter that he would deny Him, Peter refused to believe it (Mark 14:26-31).  But, in the heat of the moment, Christ’s prediction was fulfilled and Peter denied that he knew Christ three times as Jesus was on trial.  After he realizes what he did, Peter ran off and wept. (Matthew‬ ‭26:69-75‬) After Christ’s resurrection, Peter ended up leading the early Christian church in it’s infancy. 

You see the difference?  Where one desided he no longer was good and ended his life, the other was able to step into his purpose.  Was it because Jesus loved Peter more?  Personally, I don’t think so.  I believe it is because Judas saw his betrayal through condemnation (you are no longer good) and Peter saw his betrayal through conviction (you are better than that).  

God operates in conviction- showing us our mistakes and telling us we are too good to do what we did and should hold ourselves to a higher standard.  The Devil uses condemnation to tell us we are no longer good and therefore no longer worthy, keeping us locked up in personal disdain.  

I encourage you to recognize the difference next time you mess up.  Know that, regardless of the sin, God loves you and still has a plan for you.  Don’t ever give up.  

“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Be blessed, dear readers!!  Remember whose you are.

  

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Seen vs Unseen

Remember that our lives are eternal and our God has it all worked out.  Never allow your temporary circumstances to cause you to be in despair about your long term future.

  

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Strength Training

I must confess something to you, readers: I’m not that physically strong.  My upper body strength is almost non-existent.  Once at the gym, I saw a barbell with no extra weights on it (about 35 pounds by itself) and almost didn’t get it past my chest.  My legs are a little stronger, but not by much.  It’s sad and I am working on correcting it.  Haha!

But in seriousness, strength is a genuine necessity in this life.  Yes, physical strength is important, but so is emotional, mental, and spiritual.  If we lived our lives without strength, then we wouldn’t live very long.

When life gets tough, that strength is what helps us continue on this journey of life.  Whether it is a physical illness, a relationship gone wrong, or financial instability – where and in whom your strength comes from determines how well you will weather the storm.

Proverbs 18:10 says: “The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.”  When we put our trust in the unmovable God who created us, we know that we will make it out okay.

All too often, though, we are like the disciples in Mark 4:38-39. We doubt that God sees our situation or even cares.  So we panic and cry out in despair.  But quickly, as Jesus awoke and calmed the storm, they realized that He knew that they would be okay all along. (Mark 4:40-41)

“Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!””

Place your trust in the unmovable, unconditionally loving God who has your best interest at heart.  Remember that God sees the whole picture and not just what you see.  Run to Him in times of trouble and you will be safe.

Blessings to you dear reader.  Remember where your help comes from!

  

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His Love Doesn’t Fail

There is a misconception that Christianity is easy, simple, and those who follow Christ have no problems.  This is so wrong.  Matthew 5:45 says it rains on the just and the unjust.  We all deal with problems.  We all have to deal with this life and all it holds.

I had a chance to participate in a virtual conference the past few weeks and I wanted to share with you some great takeaways from the wisdom provided by some amazing ministers.  Here are the awesome tidbits:

Have you ever found yourself in a place of trouble?  Whether it was at your hand or someone else’s – I’m sure you have.  Many times, these troubles bring hurt.  In this hurt, God has promised to give us a crown of beauty for ashes and joy instead of mourning.

All will be worked out in His time and for His glory. Don’t lose hope or trust in Him.  Understand that you have to go through the ugly in order to get to the great.  

God has not forgotten or forsaken you.  Just hold on.

Take this scripture to heart:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.

You will be called priests of the LORD, ministers of our God. You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-4, 6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Much love and blessings to you in whatever season you find yourself in.  God’s love never will fail you!

  

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It’s never too late

Have you ever messed up?  I mean really did something stupid?  I think we all can say yes to that for at least one moment in our lives.  We all know the feeling of being awakened to the reality of our humanity.

I can remember driving one day and as the light turned green and we all started to move forward -I looked down for a split second and BANG!  I totaled my car because the car in front of me slammed on their brakes & I didn’t see it.  That was such a stupid mistake!  I felt that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that we all get when we do those kinds of irresponsible things.

There is a guy named Samson who I am sure knows what that “pit-in-your-stomach” feeling is all too well.  In chapter 16 of the book of Judges, we see how Samson meets Delilah and falls in love.  After lying to her about what makes him so strong three times, he finally tells her the truth.  This is after her repeated attempt to take away his strength and send him off as the Philistines’ prisoner.

The moment his hair is cut, God leaves him and takes the mighty strength with Him.  How awful is that?  I don’t want to ever know that feeling.  When his strength is gone, the Philistines gorge his eyes out and send him to grind grain in prison.  This was one of those really stupid, irreversabke things, right?  Wrong.

Judges 16:22 says: “But before long his hair began to grow back.” Samson prayed for his strength back and God honored the humility in that prayer and gave Samson back what he had lost.  In that gift of grace, Samson killed more Philistines (Israel’s enemy) than ever before.

When we do something wrong, even when it is really wrong, we cannot say that we can never be as good as we once were.  Yes, we have to deal with the consequences of our actions, but God honors those who humble themselves.  Our God – Jesus Christ – understands what it is like  to overcome adversity.  He overcame the world’s adversity on the cross.

Never disqualify yourself just because you messed up.  Take a note from Samson’s life: even when you mess up majorly, your life can still have meaning.  Just humble yourself and go to God.  Great things happen when we do that.

Be blessed, dear friends.  No one can go too far for the love of our father to reach!

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139:7-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your grace and your unconditional love! Thank you for loving me even when I sin. Help me, Lord, understand and overcome any adversity I’ve allowed in my life. I humbly come before you because I cannot overcome it by myself.  I don’t want the mistakes of my past to define my future.  I thank you for giving your Son as a sacrifice so that I may live in this amazing grace.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

  

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Do It On Purpose

Purpose – the reason something is done or the reason something (or someone) exists.  It is the intention or objective for an action. God had a purpose for bringing us and the rest of creation into existence.  There are reasons why we do things – the things we do are done on purpose to bring about a result.

I can admit to you that I have not always done things for a specific purpose.  I do not watch hours of TV for a specific, thought out purpose.  The ultimate purpose of that action is laziness.  I am breaking that habit along with others that result in less than favorable purposes.

2016 I am declaring my year of purpose for myself.  Not only amI going to see the purpose God put me on Earth walked out (at least the beginning of this walk), but also I am going to ensure at least most of my actions are for a known purpose.  Meaning, I am going to ensure that I am no longer lazy, careless, and thoughtless in my actions toward others, toward my spiritual life, toward myself  or toward my work life.

I am going to start taking action, being real, and being present.  I do not want to live my life in a way that would cause me to lose all that God has for me.  I want to walk in wisdom and walk in a deeper relationship with Him.  Will you join me on this journey?  Will you start to consciously make decisions to achieve a certain purpose?  Will you start walking out who God made you to be?

I am excited and ready to take on this challenge!

Be blessed everyone.  Live & love on purpose.

“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  

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Road to you accepting you Pt 3

After we humble ourselves and admit our worst faults to God (alimg with asking Him for forgiveness) & killing the lies that we have heard either from others, society and even ourselves – it is time to start seeing who we are in Christ.

I used to be baffled at the notion that I could have a significance in the Kingdom.  I had no idea how much purpose I had inside me.  Purpose the Father designed for me when in my mother’s belly. You, dear reader, have great purpose as well- designed just for you.  You were created with a plan, a reason, and for this time.  You are not a mistake.  

I challenge you, dear reader, some time this week or even tonight to stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and ask God –  the creator of the universe – how He sees you.  Ask Him what qualities does He love and, if you’re brave, what qualities He doesn’t.  Ask Him to reveal what your true purpose on this Earth is.  Ask Him to show you who you truly are.  And then, you wait for His response.  I am sure that you will be surprised and I am sure there will be some chains falling.  Because most of us do not know who we truly are.

Our Father loves us.  There is no doubt.  Let’s see what He says about those who call themselves Children of God:

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” ) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:35-37‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Let the truth of who you are in Him rest in your heart and mind.  Once you understand whose you are- the lies the enemy tells us are harder to believe.

Be blessed, friends.  Remember whose you are!!

 

Prayer: Lord, there are times I have so much doubt about who I am and why I am here on Earth.  Help me understand who I am in You and how you see me.  In understanding my true self, help me walk out the calling on my life to fulfill the purpose placed inside me.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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Hand Crafted

Never for get this – you were made on purpose for a purpose!

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

  

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Road to You Accepting You, Pt. 1

In 30 years of life, I’ve struggled quite a bit with self worth.  I know I am not alone.  In fact,  I am pretty sure you are someone or you know someone who are struggling/has struggled with it.  It is a hard thing to overcome, but to live a bold life in the Kingdom, we must overcome.  We must understand who we are in Him.

No, not being prideful or boasting about how you are better than everyone.  But understanding the power God has placed in and on your life.  Understanding that He has a purpose and a plan that no one can take from you.  YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

To do this, to accept yourself as a worthy son or daughter of God, one must go on a journey.  It isn’t something you can just do one day because you are bored.  There are steps to this that may take time and effort. Change never happens overnight.

The first step may not be what you think it is.  It may not be what the world says is the right way to accept yourself.  But this must be your first step in any journey in the Kingdom.  Be humble before God and acknowledge that you are not perfect and in desperate need of Him.

Have you ever tried to be perfect?  Ever tried to never get anything wrong?  It’s hard and discouraging.  But why is it that way?  It’s simple – because we are sinful creatures, being born into sin and have to fight our flesh on a daily basis.  God is our source, our savior, our keeper.  He is the one who is perfect. We need His presence everyday to combat this awful flesh of ours.

As we all know, Lucifer believed that He was perfect and, subsequently, was sent to Hell.  As humans, created in His image, we have the wonderful Grace that God provided through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, we can now live a new life if we are born again.  But we must practice humility.

1 John 1:8-9 says: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

He is faithful and He is all we need!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says: ” Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

When we are weak, then we are strong!  Be humble before God and confess you need Him daily!  How do you start this journey – designating a time to pray every day, reading His word every day, fasting, cutting the things of the world out of your life.  In doing this, great things will happen.

Live boldly, dear friends.  Many blessings!

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Lay it down

A new year is quickly approaching!  It is always an exciting season of new things awaiting us.  In preparation – many decide to make goals, resolutions, and plans for great things in the new year. It is a great practice that I plan on participating in.  But that is not what is on my heart right now.  

There are only a few more days left in 2015 and in these next few days, I am starting to prepare my heart for the things God has for me in 2016.  This entailes laying some thoughts, insecurities, and doubts down.  I don’t want the things I plan for my new year to fall by the wayside because I held onto my old insecurities.

It’s time to kill off some adverse things that I allowed in my mind and heart that I know will not allow me to go on to new, better things.  Just as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Old things must pass before new things can come.  I encourage you to search your heart & pray that God not only reveals the thoughts, doubts, and insecurities that have held you back, but that He takes those things away.  That will require you to lay those things down.

Prepare & guard your heart for a great & wonderful new season!  Great things are ahead of us all.  God is so very faithful!

“Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭24:27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Be blessed, dear friends.  Our best is yet to come!  

 Prayer: Lord, help me to lay down the thoughts, doubts, and insecurities that I have held onto for too long.  The things that hinder growth and keep me from better things.  Take these things from me and heal my brokenness so they will not come back.  Thank you for always being faithful. In Jesus’ precious name, amen!