Today has been a difficult day for me. I have to decide whether or not I can do ministry anymore. My time and family are being strained, and I have several time sensitive situations that need an answer soon. I have to decide if I am going back to school full time, working full time, working part-time, or staying my current course. I've been struggling with feeling sorry for myself and angry that nothing seems to be working like I expected or wanted. I have been edgy anyway because I haven't been getting my Word like I need it lately. I feel like a beached whale waiting to be gutted. Thank God that I have hope in Jesus. I was reading a Joyce Meyer book and she reminded me that in order to change my situation all I have to do is change my mind. The Word puts it like this "and be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2.
I love how whenever I have a problem the solutions come to me! God showed me that I needed to start working out more rigorously in every part of my wellness. I am attacking this lethargy physically as well as psychologically and spiritually to get every part of me going in the right direction. To get your body going in the right direction after your devotion (or during it if you've got those type of skills) try this great and intense work out regime Click Here! . When I exercise I can think more clearly and focus much better. When I am renewing my thinking and working my body, I feel great! The main thing that I remind myself of is the love that God has for me.
Do you realize how much God loves all of us? Romans 8:38-39 says " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." If you think that nothing is going right for you, think again. When you think that all hope is gone, think again, and this time institute the positive truth's of the word of God into your life. If you think that I am staying in this funk for any amount of time, think again. I've got too much to smile about to allow any situation to take my vitality away.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Get Naked and Get Covered
I had a wonderful moment this morning that made me cry. The Lord created feelings in me that I didn't know I could understand. The first was the feeling that I was covered and the second was the desire for me to get naked. I will address the nakedness first.
The second great story in the Bible is that of Adam and Eve, two perfectly matched beings who were naked and not ashamed. I imagined myself in the garden with the Lord and realized the blessing in that. They had nothing to hide. When I speak of getting naked, I am talking about being honest. It is not necessary to be honest with God because he already knows everything, but it is imperative that we get honest with ourselves. This honestly frees us from the facade of perfection and the chains of pride. If we are to be who God intended us to be then we have to be honest about who we are right now. In this way we can have real communion with God about where he wants to take us. When we bring who we are to God knowing that we are unworthy, God can and will work with amazing things with that. It is also a relief to us because we don't have to duck or dodge anyone else who wants to see the real us. We can walk unashamed because we have nothing to hide. Adam and Eve were like this before they disobeyed God, but when they ate the fruit they realized that they were naked and were ashamed. I want to know who they thought would see them besides God who created them? It seems to make no sense at all, but in a way in does because for the first time they realized that they had something to hide. Sin causes us to go from naked to uncovered, and the difference is much greater than you think.
This brings us to the discussion on being covered. I will approach this from the understanding of being uncovered. Uncovered in many instances means unprotected and exposed. This is the opposite side of the coin to naked which means unhindered for this discussion's sake. The state of being uncovered or exposed brings with it shame. This is what Adam and Eve felt after they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree in Genesis. Ever since their grave error in judgement humanity has been born exposed spiritually. We are all born exposed to evil in this world and in ourselves. We are left open to the harsh realities of a world in opposition of its creator. We are unprotected. Imagine an orphaned child wandering in the street, that's each of us. You may be thinking that you or your children aren't this way, but any parents are like children raising children if they do not get covered first. Thank God for Jesus who was sent to cover us and remove our shame. While Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves with leaves, it did nothing to change the state of their souls. They chose to disobey God and believe the lie of another being. They couldn't have found enough leaves to cover their mess, and it was their attempts to cover themselves that became a display of their shame. We can't cover ourselves no matter how much make-up we put on or how many awards we receive. Jesus is the only one that can cover us because he not only covers us but wipes out our shameful sin.
Jesus isn't just a Band-Aid that hides the wound like old testament sacrificing, he is a balm that heals the wound forever. The greatest blessing of getting covered is that it only takes allowing Jesus to see us just as we are and receiving him for who he is. My Bible says that he will remove our sin and clothe us with righteousness. Jesus will cover us with his own identity, and redeem us. Jesus is our new beginning. When we are covered we are free from the fake coverings that only make things worse for us over time. We can get naked and healed. We begin to live instead of simply survive. We stop looking over our shoulders and start hoping for our futures. Christ removes the poison from our lives. We are at liberty to be our best selves, unashamed and unafraid. We don't have to worry about our nakedness because we have nothing to hide, and we don't have to worry about anything that happens in this world because we are covered by Jesus Christ. Fellow Journeymen get naked and get covered.
The second great story in the Bible is that of Adam and Eve, two perfectly matched beings who were naked and not ashamed. I imagined myself in the garden with the Lord and realized the blessing in that. They had nothing to hide. When I speak of getting naked, I am talking about being honest. It is not necessary to be honest with God because he already knows everything, but it is imperative that we get honest with ourselves. This honestly frees us from the facade of perfection and the chains of pride. If we are to be who God intended us to be then we have to be honest about who we are right now. In this way we can have real communion with God about where he wants to take us. When we bring who we are to God knowing that we are unworthy, God can and will work with amazing things with that. It is also a relief to us because we don't have to duck or dodge anyone else who wants to see the real us. We can walk unashamed because we have nothing to hide. Adam and Eve were like this before they disobeyed God, but when they ate the fruit they realized that they were naked and were ashamed. I want to know who they thought would see them besides God who created them? It seems to make no sense at all, but in a way in does because for the first time they realized that they had something to hide. Sin causes us to go from naked to uncovered, and the difference is much greater than you think.
This brings us to the discussion on being covered. I will approach this from the understanding of being uncovered. Uncovered in many instances means unprotected and exposed. This is the opposite side of the coin to naked which means unhindered for this discussion's sake. The state of being uncovered or exposed brings with it shame. This is what Adam and Eve felt after they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree in Genesis. Ever since their grave error in judgement humanity has been born exposed spiritually. We are all born exposed to evil in this world and in ourselves. We are left open to the harsh realities of a world in opposition of its creator. We are unprotected. Imagine an orphaned child wandering in the street, that's each of us. You may be thinking that you or your children aren't this way, but any parents are like children raising children if they do not get covered first. Thank God for Jesus who was sent to cover us and remove our shame. While Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves with leaves, it did nothing to change the state of their souls. They chose to disobey God and believe the lie of another being. They couldn't have found enough leaves to cover their mess, and it was their attempts to cover themselves that became a display of their shame. We can't cover ourselves no matter how much make-up we put on or how many awards we receive. Jesus is the only one that can cover us because he not only covers us but wipes out our shameful sin.
Jesus isn't just a Band-Aid that hides the wound like old testament sacrificing, he is a balm that heals the wound forever. The greatest blessing of getting covered is that it only takes allowing Jesus to see us just as we are and receiving him for who he is. My Bible says that he will remove our sin and clothe us with righteousness. Jesus will cover us with his own identity, and redeem us. Jesus is our new beginning. When we are covered we are free from the fake coverings that only make things worse for us over time. We can get naked and healed. We begin to live instead of simply survive. We stop looking over our shoulders and start hoping for our futures. Christ removes the poison from our lives. We are at liberty to be our best selves, unashamed and unafraid. We don't have to worry about our nakedness because we have nothing to hide, and we don't have to worry about anything that happens in this world because we are covered by Jesus Christ. Fellow Journeymen get naked and get covered.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Make a Wish!
Have you ever had someone break their promises to you or have you broken promises that you've made? It is a simple but not always easy thing to keep a promise. In seeing so many promises broken, it became hard for me to depend on anyone's words including my own, and this is what has been challenged most recently in my life. I have kids and adults ask sometimes how I know that God is real. One of my answers of late is simply that I have tried his promises and they stick!
My pastor this month challenged me to the promise of John 15:7 which says,"If ye abide in my, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." What a powerful promise! These are the words of Jesus, and he is saying here that if we stick with him and his words stay with us then we can ask for what we desire and it will be done! That is not much of an investment with a monumental return. If it seems too good to be true then I challenge you to TRY IT! I have never followed the word of God and not gotten the results. It does require that I stretch my faith, but I like that part. This is after all a journey of faith.
So what do you wish?! I was doing my devotion this morning and I felt the question come up, "what do you hope for, what do you expect, and what do you desire?" These are very important questions for me because I have to know what I want in order to ask for it. These are also important questions to me because they inform me as to why I am taking a certain path in my journey of faith. Even my business mentors tell me the most important thing to establish in my business is my "WHY" Every person who makes a decision to cultivate a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is looking for something out of that relationship. Be honest with yourself about what you desire from your relationship with God and what you are willing to put into your journey with him. The ultimately goal is oneness with God, but we have little goals too. What do you dream about?
God already knows your dreams so you might as well speak it and ask for it. There is one thing about wishing that I saw in a movie called "The Wishing Well". There were 2 rules to the wishing well
The first is it has to be the right wish. My pastor said that our relationship with God will inform our requests which I also agree with. The second rule is, you have to believe. The word says in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." With all of this in mind I am making my requests known unto God and I have high expectation. How about you?
Here are the 4 steps of the promise again
1. Stay/abide in Jesus
2. The Word must abide/stay in you
3. Ask what you will
4. It will be done
If you are looking for some good words to speak over your life or request. Start by clicking
Click Here!
Be blessed!!!
My pastor this month challenged me to the promise of John 15:7 which says,"If ye abide in my, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." What a powerful promise! These are the words of Jesus, and he is saying here that if we stick with him and his words stay with us then we can ask for what we desire and it will be done! That is not much of an investment with a monumental return. If it seems too good to be true then I challenge you to TRY IT! I have never followed the word of God and not gotten the results. It does require that I stretch my faith, but I like that part. This is after all a journey of faith.
So what do you wish?! I was doing my devotion this morning and I felt the question come up, "what do you hope for, what do you expect, and what do you desire?" These are very important questions for me because I have to know what I want in order to ask for it. These are also important questions to me because they inform me as to why I am taking a certain path in my journey of faith. Even my business mentors tell me the most important thing to establish in my business is my "WHY" Every person who makes a decision to cultivate a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is looking for something out of that relationship. Be honest with yourself about what you desire from your relationship with God and what you are willing to put into your journey with him. The ultimately goal is oneness with God, but we have little goals too. What do you dream about?
God already knows your dreams so you might as well speak it and ask for it. There is one thing about wishing that I saw in a movie called "The Wishing Well". There were 2 rules to the wishing well
The first is it has to be the right wish. My pastor said that our relationship with God will inform our requests which I also agree with. The second rule is, you have to believe. The word says in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." With all of this in mind I am making my requests known unto God and I have high expectation. How about you?
Here are the 4 steps of the promise again
1. Stay/abide in Jesus
2. The Word must abide/stay in you
3. Ask what you will
4. It will be done
If you are looking for some good words to speak over your life or request. Start by clicking
Click Here!
Be blessed!!!
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