God is who we draw our confidence and our feeling of invincibility from. When we know who we are. His kids. When we know who He has made us to be and what He’s called us to do. It gives us a firm foundation to stand on. To know that the creator of the universe has got our back.
Imagine if everywhere we went and everything we did, we had a fifty foot angel standing behind us backing us up. Giving us support and encouragement. That’s what it’s like when we trust God to lead us, but even better. Even a fifty foot angel fanes in comparison to God. And God is with us all the time.
We are never alone if we have Him by our side. If we look to Him for guidance. For the right words and for each step and each action each day. he will not fail us if we follow His lead. He created the universe. He can handle our daily schedule. And with Him, we can tackle what seems impossible, because nothing is impossible to him.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. –Proverbs 3:5-6
Whatever comes our way good or bad. We can trust God. We can look to him in every situation and he will bring us joy and peace. We may not understand why or how. But putting our faith in God is not about understanding. It’s about trust.
When we are children our parents give us instruction to protect us and take care of us. We may not understand why but we trust our parents to take care of us. It’s the same with God. He may ask us to do something or not to do something for our benefit whether we understand it or not, we can trust Him. We can trust that he knows the outcome even if we can’t see it at the time.
How many times in your life have looked back and realized your parents, mentor, leader or boss were right about something you didn’t understand at the time. Did the parting of the red sea make sense, or the walls of Jericho walling down from marching and praising God. Or Jesus raising from the dead. Did any of these make sense at the time. Did Moses or Joshua or the disciples truly know and understand exactly what God was doing to do. Or did they trust God.
God can see the bigger picture. He knows what it takes to get us where we need to go and what may harm us in the long end. Trust God to lead you and know that His heart is for you.
Light even in the darkest place will help you see, if you look for it.
Have you ever closed your eyes in a dark room and been able to see better when you opened them. If we stay in the dark, we will get used to it and think that this is how life is. But if we seek out the light and look for more, we will find the light and eventually leave the darkness behind.
God gave me a vision a long time ago of him walking in the woods at night with no path, but as he walked the footprints he left behind illuminated to guide me where he wanted me to follow.
We can find the light if we look for it. Jesus is always with us waiting to be our light; to guide us even in the darkest places.
Close your eyes and ask him to show you the light. To show you the steps he wants you to take.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” -John 8:12
We all search for and want someone who understands us, who gets us, and knows us to our very soul.
Jesus is that person. He knows us even better then we know ourselves. He knit us together in our mothers womb and He knows us to our very core.
We are the ones who put up the barriers and choose to separate ourselves from Him. We are the ones who surrender some of us, but still hang onto the most painful parts of our lives, to keep control.
I want to encourage you to surrender everything over to Him. Stop holding back and trust Him. I’ve never felt more myself then when I surrendered my life over to Jesus. I know it sounds strange, but He made us and He knows how to fulfill us.
When you’re close with someone, you trust them. Because you know their character. So how can you trust God if you don’t know him?
Of course big leaps of faith sound crazy if your trying to trust a God you barely know. But that’s why it’s so crucial to have a daily relationship with him. When you spend everyday with someone you know them. You know their quirks and their preferences. How they would react in different situations.
That’s why I trust God with the big decisions in my life. Because I spend time with him. This blog is one of those ways. I ask him to show himself to me and he speaks to me through his word, songs, movies, nature and often just a conversation.
When we make God a daily part of our lives. Trusting him with the big and the little decisions doesn’t seem scary; it just feels right. Because we know he wants nothing but the best for us.
The apostle Paul is in prison as he writes these words. What a bold prayer. He could of prayed for protection, but instead he prays that he will boldly continue to preach the gospel. The very thing that put him in prison. He offers up his life so that it may be used for God’s glory whether that be his life or death.
Where does this boldness come from?
He not only hands over his life, but he is rejoicing in his imprisonment.
How do you get to that point in your relationship with Jesus, where you are willing to sacrifice everything for him to be glorified?
It’s by knowing the character of God. When you know his character. You know you can depend on him because of who he is. God is always in our corner backing us up. Who would want to go against the God of the universe.
Some may say that was in the bible, try doing it now.
But there are people living this way now. A present day example of this is in the book Heavenly Man by Paul Hattaway. Heavenly Man is about Brother Yun, the Pastor of an underground church in China. This book will stretch and strengthen your faith more then you can believe. Brother Yun sacrifices everything to witness to those around him. He’s beaten, abused and imprisoned for preaching the gospel, but he rejoices in his suffering and preaches even to the guards and inmates that attack him.
What lengths are you willing to go to for sharing the gospel with others?
Adoption is a powerful way to impact the life of another. My husband is adopted and we plan to pass that blessing on by adopting in the future. We know that the child we adopt may have been through something traumatic or have been unwanted. And we also know we cannot be their whole solution to healing. We can love them as best we can. But only Jesus can repair the damage. He is the only one that truly fulfills us. He is the only one that can completely heal and fulfil them.
We all have damage in some way and have all felt unwanted at some point in our lives. But Jesus wants us. He loves us and wants us to be whole, healed and completed by him.
He adopted us all into his family when he choose to give up his life for us. He made a way for us to be a part of his family and there is always enough room for everyone in the family of God.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. – 1 John 3:16
We are bombarded everyday, all day, from every direction. By things that try to tell us who we are. What we should do. Or who we should be.
But our identity should be in Jesus. When we give our lives to him. We die to our old selves. We die to our selfish ways and we let Jesus live through us. He is the one who defines us and fulfills us. He knit us together in our mother’s womb.
This video is one of the most healing videos I have ever watched. It is filled with scripture of how God sees us. Listen to it and let God tell you who he made you to be. I hope it brings you as much hope and comfort as it has me.
Beauty is something we all seek. We seek it in others, in possessions or ourselves. But what is beauty?
Beauty comes from God. You need only look at his creation to see his beauty; the multitude and variety of flowers and trees alone shine his authorship on beauty.
So how do we attain this beauty? Is it through adornments? Or is it something else? You wouldn’t hang an earring on a flower and say you improved it. Nor do adornments make us truly more beautiful. No true beauty shines from within.
Beauty is Jesus shining from within us as he does through all his creation.
Some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met are not what society would deem beautiful outwardly, but they shine Jesus with all that they are, and that’s true beauty.
If we let fear control us we would never do anything. We would always be afraid of something going wrong, even if its the smallest detail. But when we put our faith into something it changes things.
We do it every day, we have faith that a bridge will stay up when we drive over it. We have faith that there will be water when we turn on the faucet. We do things everyday that require faith.
Faith is simply complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
So when we put our trust or our faith in God its because we are confident in him. We know him and know we can trust him.
God has never let me down and I know he never will. That’s why I put my faith in Him. So when we feel fear creeping in. We need to remember who’s with us and in us, the creator of the universe and He’s got this.
Our lives must become a fitting response to His love. ~Heidi Baker
You can never have enough of God. We need to make him part of everything, everyday. He created the universe. He can plan our day or show us the best way to handle life’s curveballs. He can fill us with all that we need and overflow us, so that when the hard times in life come all that pours out is Him.
The beauty of Jesus sacrifice is that we get a fresh start. We die to ourselves. Our past is dead, our mistakes are forgiven and we can start fresh and new. Its not in our own strength but in His strength. His wisdom. His words. His everything. The beauty of being made new in Jesus is that its not on us. Lets face it we screwed it up the first time, so why would we think we’d be the solution to our redo.
When we feel our past or our old selves creeping back in, our answer should be to say ‘No in Jesus name, that is not who I am anymore’ then fix our eyes back on Jesus. He is the solution to everything. I don’t have all the answers and neither do you, but he does.
How would you like someone to approach you about anything in life? With a stick ready to beat you into submission or with love and gentleness. I think we would all choose the later. No one wants to be beaten up. So why do we see gentleness and love as a weakness?
Its easy to let our emotions run away. But it takes self control to choose to be kind, loving and gentle.
Some of the strongest people I know are the ones that are the most willing to open up and share their mistakes and failures along with their victories.
Gentleness is being humble enough to focus on the needs of others instead of trying to boast or promote yourself; it takes strength to choose others above yourself.
We take for granted what Jesus provided. We complicate it with ‘Christianize.’ Saying phrases at salvation calls that someone raised outside of the faith would not know. And we wonder why more people don’t give their life to God. Sometimes we don’t explain enough or we use words you only learn in church.
The freedom that Jesus provides is simply this. Jesus paid the price for our mistakes. If we believe that he is the son of God and that he died to pay our debt for us. We can say that it’s paid for when we die. Jesus paid my debt. More than that when an old memories comes up we can say that’s paid for. I’m not the person anymore. Because when we accept Jesus sacrifice for us. The old us dies. Jesus makes us a new creation.
Accepting Jesus sacrifice for us is not for a get out of hell free card. God doesn’t want you to live out of fear. Because things done out of fear are not real commitments. Jesus paid the price for our mistakes because he loves us and he wants us to have a relationship with him, Father God and the Holy Spirit.
Before Jesus. We had to sacrifice an animal to pay for our mistakes. God only spoke through a few people mostly priests and prophets.
But now when we accept Jesus sacrifice in our stead. He provides freedom from guilt and shame. Freedom to have a relationship with God. Freedom to talk to God all day any time. Freedom to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Freedom from the pressures of this world. Because God is our provider in every way possible if we put our trust in him. He provides freedom from it all.
I spent years seeking the approval of others. Trying and striving to do everything on my own. “If I just work hard enough, I can do it.” But that is not God’s kingdom. His economy is backwards. The more we surrender our lives to him, the more we stop striving and trying. The more we trust him. Th more he provides.
When we surrender to God. He provides peace that surpasses understanding, joy in the storm and a love that no human can provide. True surrender is about growing closer to God. Not so he will do this or that. But so we can know him to the very depth of our souls. We don’t seek him for what he can do, but just for who he is.
Think of the person you love the most. Isn’t it just enough to be near them. You don’t even have to do anything just being in each others presence is enough. That is what God wants with us. He wans to be the one we love the most. He’ll take care of the rest. If we just seek him.
People can choose how they react. We choose either to be ruled by emotions or choose to be in charge of our emotions. We have the power to choose how we will react to others and whether we will allow their choice to affect us or not.
We may feel a certain way but that doesn’t mean it has to be how we make our decision. We can make our choice despite our feelings. Emotions are not bad. But if we allow our lives to be ruled by our emotions we would never forgive each other.
It hurt when someone wrongs us and we may never feel like you want to forgive them. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t forgive people. We are all human and we all make mistakes.
Jesus forgave us for all the wrong we have done. So in turn he asks that we forgive others.
Choosing to forgive does not make what the person did right. But it does build a bridge for restoration in the relationship. Forgiveness is a powerful thing and to not forgive is to give your emotions the right to rule you. Instead of you ruling your emotions. The forgiveness we extend is God’s forgiveness and he forgives us all. Who are we to deny someone God’s forgiveness.
Worrying about the future can cause so much unnecessary pain and frustration. But appreciating each moment for what it is can lead to a fuller life.
Enjoy moments of hope and joy to the fullest instead of being distracted by what’s next. If we live our life always looking for the worst to happen, it will happen and we will not find peace.
Being faithful in prayer is simply a reminder to stay in communication with God. Prayer is a two way conversation. By staying in communication with God all the time, he can change our perspective of our circumstances to see the hard times in a new light and to enjoy the times of hope even more.
No matter your current circumstances ask God to show it to you from his perspective. And he will give you HOPE.
Everyone represents something. Their friends, family, company, beliefs, theology. We all represent something, whether it be our own thought process or someone else’s. No matter what you do, who you are and what makes you that way, it will shine though eventually, even if you try to hide it.
God is like that in our lives. When we choose to follow him even if we try to hide it, he will shine through in our actions, our smile, the way we treat others.
We have to make a concise effort to hide his light. Even if we put it under a basket, light will shine out through the weaving or a bowl, light will shine out the edge.
There are many reason we hide our faith in God. Worry, fear, anxiety, safety. The first three can be combated by knowing God more, knowing who he made you to be and allowing him to give you the words, the confidence and the wisdom in shining his light.
Those that fear for there safety, literally for their lives, if they share their faith. These people are the ones who shine the brightest, like Brother Yun or David Hogan those that have had their life threatened multiple times and still shine for Jesus. They and others like them shine God’s light because they know who they are and the value, the power and the love of God and that gives them no fear.
Although I do not have to hide my faith daily, I have had moments on a mission trip when our teams life was threatened. And in that moment, not a single one of us wavered, we knew the risk of sharing about Jesus where we were going and God gave us the boldness to shine for him without a moments hesitation.
That’s who God is he shines through us in ways we may never have imagined. Shine bright for him by knowing him.
Our God is truly amazing. He can change our whole attitude and mindset with a few words. You can go from irritated, rushed, anxious and frustrated to complete peace without a single change of perspective about your circumstances, surroundings or workload.
God gives us peace by dwelling in us. When we bring God into the situation he changes our perspective or view of our circumstances so that we see things in a different light. Sometimes he even tells us a solution we never would of thought of on our own.
Trust in him in all things to bring peace to your heart and soul. Because when you know who he has made you to be and what his promises are, you can stand on those promises.
Like Peter walking on water when Jesus told him to. Peter did the impossible he walked on water and during a storm no less. Something that seems impossible, but he did it because he was focused on Jesus. It wasn’t until he changed his focus to the storm around him that he began to sink.
When you feel overwhelmed and like there is no end in sight. Look to Jesus and let his peace fill you. Trust him to provide and guide you through anything.
Nowhere here does it say we have to manufacture our own joy, peace and hope. Because it comes from trusting God. I don’t put my hope in myself because I will fail myself. I don’t find my peace from within. I find peace and hope in God and that gives me joy.
What a relief it is that we don’t have to find joy, hope or peace in ourselves but we can trust in the one that is bigger then us, stronger, kinder, more generous and loves us beyond our understanding. Our Heavenly Father. On our worst day and our best day, he will still always welcome us with a huge hug and a smile and provide all we need.
Do you think people knew who Jesus was as he grew up in front of them? Mary and Joseph knew and Mary’s cousin Elizabeth. But when did others notice that something was different about him?
Jesus choose to be born as a baby, to live as we live. He didn’t come to be worshiped and lifted up. He came to be a sacrifice for us.
He lived a normal life, he was born to normal people. He could of had whatever he wanted but he choose to be like the rest of us. He didn’t live an extravagant life or demand anything from anyone.
He came to serve, not be served. To show us love in his every word and action. He came to be an example of love.
Love is not about us but about how we care for and treat others. Jesus was never concerned about whether his needs would be met. His focus was always on the people around him. So why do we think being loved is about us? If we love others by being more concerned about them then ourselves our Heavenly Father will take care of all our needs and shower us with his love. Just as he did for Jesus!
What do we keep locked away in a cupboard? What is the one thing that we are holding back from God? Saying you can have everything, but this. This hurt or this pain I’m keeping it because it hurts too much to give it to you.
Because we are afraid of where it came from, why its there or what we’ll have to do to let it go.
Pain can control us if we let it.
But some pain is good, if we control it. Working out can be painful but it helps build muscle and burn fat. It makes us healthier and removes toxins from our bodies through sweat.
But if we say it hurts too much then we allow those same toxins in our bodies to sit and stay and pollute our bodies.
When we let old hurts and pains stay locked away we allow them to have control. But when we surrender them over to God and say we don’t want to live with that pain anymore we find freedom.
Isn’t freedom from pain better then keeping it locked inside us.
The pain of letting go is worth it if we truly want to be free.
On my drive to work I see lots of people walking on the side of the street to go to the bus stop or kids going to school. I get cut off by people and stuck behind buses. I could and have let this is get to me and frustrate me.
Until I started doing drive by blessings. Every time when I see a pedestrian instead of being upset that I have to stop for them to use the cross walk. I pray for them.
And when I get cut off or have to stop because the person in front of me is turning into one of the many business driveways that I pass. I pray for them.
When I get stuck behind the bus, I pray for the passengers getting on or off.
It’s not about being holier then thou. It’s about a perspective change.
Instead of seeing people as an annoyance we can see them as God sees them. As his kids. He loves each and every person on the planet, so we should too.
It’s easy to get distracted by other peoples ministry. To say my ministry isn’t as big as theirs or I wish I could do that. But you don’t know where they started.
Every ministry starts small. No one immediately has a mega church or crusades to millions, no they started out small. Even Jesus started out small. He saw each person as valuable and stopped crowds, just to focus on one person. Like Zacchaeus, or the cripple lowered though the roof or the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus focus was always on the individual.
Ministry is about reaching people. So whether it be big or small if you have reached a person you have ministered.
So rejoice for others in their blessing to reach the multitude and know that they started just like you, by reaching one person at a time.
When it rains the clouds come first and the sky turns grey. The plants are shaded from the sun while they get much needed nourishment. The grey clouds stay even after it rains to shield the plants from being burned by the sun while the water is still on their leaves.
Tears are like this for us. They mostly come during the dark gloomy times. But they give us a much needed release of all the emotions that are pent up inside. As the tears flow out our emotion release with them and bring some much needed healing.
Tears are healing. Tears help us to acknowledge the hurt or pain we’ve gone through, they cleanse us and wash away what we’ve held inside. They are a release of fear, sadness, anger, worry and frustration. But if they are kept bottled up they turn into paranoya, anxiety, depression, rage and bitterness. Even Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. He knew he would raise him back to life, yet he still felt the loss. It’s the same with us when we lose someone it’s good to cry, to mourn their lose in this world but we must remember that we will see them in heaven. Or if we won’t we mourn that loss and let it be motivation to bring everyone else to heaven with us.
So cry, let it all out. But remember to not let it overcome you. The sun will come out and there are still people to reach.
Worry accomplishes nothing but wasting time, aging you and ruining your day. When has worry ever stopped a crisis or improved your perspective?
If God can cloth and feed and take care of his creation then. Why do we think he won’t take care of us? He created us didn’t he. So aren’t we his creation too?
I have never regretted trusting God, but I have regretted worrying about something. It never solves anything and makes me edgy and irritable to others. So why worry.
We need to give our concerns over to God and let him take care of them. And trust that he will provide all we need and more.
Just because God doesn’t do what you want, when you and how you want. Does not mean he is not there for you.
God’s timing is better then ours.
If my husband and I had met sooner, before we each learned how to be in a healthy relationship, how to love and that God is the one who fulfills us, not the other person. We would have caused each other so much pain.
In the same respect as much as we have wanted kids over the past decade and have not been blessed with them yet. We know that having kids is God’s plan for them not ours. They will be a blessing for more than just us and his has a reason for his timing.
God’s timing is perfect.
He knows what we need, when we need it and when what we want would hurt us more then help us.
I asked God for a husband for seven years, but I wasn’t ready. My heart may have longed for the relationship of marriage, but it was for selfish reasons. And selfishness is never good for marriage.
It wasn’t until I surrendered my desire for spouse to God and asked him to pick my husband, that my husband came into my life. I never would of picked him on my own, but God knew what I needed and I couldn’t have asked for a better husband.
Trust God in his timing and ask him what he wants for you right now, instead of what you want.
God’s peace is not something you earn, but a gift he freely gives.
Jesus is always looking to bless us, to shower His love on us. We are the ones who hold Him back, by trying to keep control of our lives.
His blessings are peace of mind, peace in our heart and peace in our soul. By finding our confidence and identity in Him. He teaches us to be without fear or worry.
When you know who you are in Jesus, nothing can shake that and no one can take it.
When we have those moments that we don’t want to talk to God. Those are the moments we need him the most.
No matter what we are going though or what we’ve done. We can always surrender it over to God. When we put our trust in him. He will take care of it. We don’t even have to say anything. Just surrender whatever we are dealing with over to him. So we can be a crumbled mess on the floor. His presence is what we need most.
I’ve had those moments where I was such a mess that I couldn’t do anything but cry and I’ve been the crumpled mess on the floor feeling completely unworthy of God. But when I surrendered to him and gave him the mess. He surrounded me with his love and comfort. He will do the same for you.
Take a moment, listen to the song below, surrender whatever it is to Jesus and let him carry your worries away.
Mornings can be hard waking up thinking about all you have to do that day. It makes a lot of us want to go back to bed. What if we let God lead?
What if we let him direct our steps? And give us the energy, stamina, desire and plan for the day. He never intended for us to do life without him. So why do we keep trying?
Ask God his plan for your day? He created the universe. He can plan your day. You may think he doesn’t care about the little things, like brushing my teeth, but I beg to differ. He made you, he made your teeth, he cares about the small stuff too.
So ask him what his plan for your steps are today and let him lead. I think you’ll be surprised at how much more peaceful and productive your day is when you let him lead your steps.
When we feel inadequate or less than. We need more of the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said don’t do anything or go anywhere until you receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t do anything unless the Father did or said so through the Holy Spirit. So how can we expect do anything without the Holy Spirit either.
The Fruit of the Spirit IS…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. (Galatians 5)
That means that when we let the Holy Spirit fill us and work through us we have all of these characteristics. We don’t need more patience or more kindness. We need more Holy Spirit. All of the attributes of the Holy Spirit are exuded through him together.
When God asks us to do something he provides what we need. It’s not our works but his. His faith, His power, His love. He is what makes all the difference. We are just the willing vessel for him to work through.
So stop saying ‘I can’t do it,’ ‘I don’t know how,’ ‘I don’t want to.’ Because God will give you the will, the wisdom and the passion to do what he has called you to do. We must simple do one thing.
Seek Him. Spend time with Him, let Him fill us up. Let Him work in and thru us to accomplish what He has called us to.
Being a willing vessel is about God’s plan not ours, God’s power not ours, God’s words not ours.
So when he asks us to do something it’s his words, his plan and his power. So we don’t have to worry about our iniquities. Because it’s not about us it’s about him
Moses didn’t part the Red Sea with his own ability. Peter’s shadow didn’t heal people because of his ability. It was God’s work in and through them. That’s why he asks us to be a willing vessel, for him to work through us. Not for us to do the work on our own.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. -2 Corinthians 4:7
There is a story about a servant carrying two pots from the river each day to bring water to his master. One pot is broken and only brings half the water from the river that the other pot carries. But along the path the servant planted wildflowers for the broken pot to water as he carried it.
Jesus does the same in our lives he uses our brokenness to pour out his life giving water. He fills us up so that we can water the seeds in others that he has planted along our path.
How many times have you wished you could have a fresh start, a clean slate?
You can, when you accept Jesus sacrifice you get a clean slate. He wipes away all your past mistakes and starts you fresh and the best part is you an have a fresh start everyday.
From the moment you choose to follow Jesus, you can have a fresh start.
Jesus died so that we would not have to be bogged down by our past mistakes. So that we wouldn’t have to feel guilt, shame and condemnation.
He came to set us free.
Jesus makes us new in him. We die to our old ways, our old habits and our old mindset and take on his mind.
You don’t have to be what you used to be you don’t have to be restrained to your past you can be set free.
Something a friend of mine taught me is that we are all different parts of the body of Jesus.
You may have heard this many times.
But he explained it that since we are all different parts, different aspects of God expressed though all of us. God is so vast that it takes all of humanity to express Him. We each reveal Him in different ways.
Some show God’s relentless love and compassion for humanity. Some show His willingness to stop everything, to show love to the poorest soul on the planet, and some show unrelenting faith by forgiving endlessly.
All you need to do is look at the many varieties of flowers or trees to see just a small glimpse of how complex God is.
All of creation cries out to glorify God and we are part of that creation meant to express Him.
We as Christians are all the body of Jesus and we have all of Him but some characteristics of Him are stronger in you then they are in me. That’s why we need each other. To be the hands and feet of Jesus together!
In order to reach the mountain tops in life we need to be equipped to handle them. Experienced mountain climbers train for month to reach the peak of mountain tops and some make sacrifices to achieve their goals.
God is the same with us. He will led us up the mountain, but he must equip us to handle the conditions at the top first.
Ask him each day what he wants to teach you? And know that even if you don’t always understand it, trust that he’s preparing you for your next mountain top moment.
One of the greatest life lessons I’ve learned was that I’m not above anything or anyone.
Years ago I worked at the church I grew up in, as an administrative assistant. The senior pastor helped me learn this lesson by the way he led.
He always said that he was not above anything, even down to picking up a gum wrapper off of the ground. Yes there were janitorial staff, but he was there so why wouldn’t he.
Photo by Forest Simon on Unsplash
He modeled this everyday. He was always willing to stop whatever he was doing to help someone and he never shied away from helping set-up or tear down, he was always the last to leave and the last to eat.
I’ve applied this lesson everywhere in my life, by seeing myself as there to serve, in the workplace, in my home and in life. When I see an opportunity to help, I help. This has helped me to not become bitter or resentful more times then I can count.
Jesus considered himself a servant. So how can we consider ourselves above Jesus.
When you see opportunities to serve or help, look at them as opportunities to shine Jesus.
We can be in the worst mood with the worst outlook but if we shift our focus to him. He changes the atmosphere. We don’t have to try to change or try to be different, we simply have to let him live through us.
When we surrender everything to him, he show us his plan and his way. Which is always so much better then ours.
Let’s stop striving in life and let the one who created the entire universe direct our steps, our mood and our life.
God’s love is for everyone, rich, poor, sad, happy, angry or calm. You don’t have to fit a certain mold or criteria to be loved by Him. He made us each unique on purpose. He is the creator. You need only to look at the variety of plants or animals to see His love for diversity. What He asks of us is that we love Him back and love others.
That encompasses everything, if we accept His love, He shows us and gives us love overflowing to love ourselves and to love others.
Jesus had a habit of taking peoples biggest mistakes and using them to help others. Zacchaeus stole money and when he chose to change for Jesus he gave money away.
He took my mistakes and bad choices and gave me a heart for people who have done the same. He gave me a passion to see people find their worth and value in Jesus. Something I struggled with my whole life until I came to know Jesus personally.
Jesus is in the redemption business. He’s not looking for perfect people. He’s looking to love people right where they are, to pull them up out of their mess so they can help others find that same redemption.
He looks at us and sees our potential and we need to do the same with others and see their potential in him.
This world often teaches us to escape our problems. Have a drink, try this medication, I just need to veg or blow off steam. But none of these solve the issue. They mask or distract.
But God can. When we surrender our problems over to him he takes care of them for us. Some solutions may be as simple as a perspective change other solutions may be something we never considered. God created us. He knows how to care and provide and love us. But he can’t fix what we won’t give him.
So surrender whatever your dealing with over to God and let him be the solution. Let his peace that surpasses understanding wash over you and let his love be enough because it always more than we need.
Fear can control us, if we let it. But God does not desire for us to be ruled by fear.
Fear limits us and confines us to the familiar, fear keeps us locked in our comfort zone and keeps us from experiencing all that God has for us.
He made us to live in his love and his power, but how do we achieve that?
Self-control.
God loves us so much that he gave us choice, the freedom to choose his love or not. In choosing his love he gives us the power to conquer fear, to say that we will not be ruled it, but will choose to let his love define us.
It’s his love that says my God is bigger then my circumstances and I trust God to take care of all I need and more because I know who he is.
“We may feel small, weak, incapable, ill-equipped, lacking in articulation. None of this matters. Frequently, all the obedience God requires of us is simply showing up. He does the rest. When we see a need, we go to it, reach out a hand and wait. Father comes into that situation. He expresses Himself through us. All we needed to do was be there, because He has no physical hands or feet on the earth except yours and mine.” ~Heidi Baker
A lot of fear about telling people about Jesus is that we don’t know what to say or what to do. The beauty of a relationship with the Holy Spirit is that He tells us what to say, He tells us what to do.
The Holy Spirit knows each of us intimately, He knows what we need when we need it.
We simple need to be willing to be used by God to convey His words and His actions to them. To be a willing vessel.
Our eyes are naturally drawn to find light. We are meant to find light. If you close your eyes and then open them, your eyes will immediately go to the brightest thing. We seek out light, we add lamps to our homes and extra lights. Any good craftsmen will tell you they need good lighting to make their best product. We live our lives in light. Light helps us see where we are walking, where we are headed and where we’ve been. Light in some aspect is needed to do almost all things in life.
Why is there so much focus on the dark. We are meant to be creatures of light, not of darkness.
Things can be hidden in the dark, or misunderstood, but in the light they shine their true nature. Our eyes can be deceived easily in the dark, to see things that are not really there, or misinterpret things to be something other then what they are.
God knows us. He knows every single thing about us down to the number of hairs on our head.
And he loves us even knowing all our faults.
But that’s not how he sees us, he sees all that we could be, he sees what he intended us to be. He sees our full potential.
There is no reason to fear God knowing you because that is what makes him love you. He sees each of us a unique and special to him and we are all valuable.
So if you want to feel loved, valued, desired, cared for and known then seek God and let him show you all that he made you to be.
It’s amazing how one turn can change your whole path. One choice, one decision can change your direction and ultimately your destination. When driving one wrong turn can send us in a completely different direction. We may pass by things we would have never seen or known before just because of one turn.
Our life is the same, one wrong decision can lead us into things we never thought we would say or do. We may feel trapped like there is no where else to go, all because of one decision.
But there is always a choice to turn around.
It may be hard, an up hill battle, we may face opposition, but the end destination changes from bad to good.
My life changed when I turned my back on Jesus and tried to live my life without him. I made bad choice, after bad choice, that led me to do things I once said I never would. I made compromises to try to attain my goals, eventually hitting my rock bottom.
It wasn’t until I hit my rock bottom, that I realized I needed Jesus. So I turned my life back to him and he pulled me out of the pit I had dug; almost instantaneously. It took time for me to fully surrender different areas of my life before he could heal the damage I had inflicted on myself, but he was there and is still there continuing to heal me as I surrender more and more to him.
We have a choice.
If we made one wrong choice or dozens God is always there waiting to show us his love, grace and compassion. He is always ready to help us turn around.
Learning and knowing God’s voice and realizing that he wants a deep and loving relationship with us is essential. We can’t have the deep intimate relationship with him if we don’t know his voice.
God speaks to us in so many ways. Often it sound like us in our head but what is being said is something we know we wouldn’t say. He speaks to us to in many other ways. But this is the way I find the most intimate and essential. Because he is always with us and always there for us if we just turn our attention to him and ask him for what we are seeking. Everything can be taken away from us but the presence of God can’t. He is with us always as long a we seek him and listen for his voice.
It’s easy to become worried and anxious but does worrying or anxiety accomplish anything besides causing us stress. No.
We need to remember is there is a big difference between want and need but God always provides. As adults we all wish we could go back to a day before bills and responsibilities when all we needed was provided.
We can in a way. If we look to God to provide all our needs. He will. He is our heavenly father and he loves to care for his kids.
Don’t be discouraged about wants either. He loves to bless his kids. You’ll be amazed at the blessings he provides when we seek him and put him first instead of worrying.
Our focus should always be on him first before anything, he sets our mood and attitude if we let him. When we start our day with him and let him permeate our whole day, he provides all we need. Trust him and let him relieve all your stress. Don’t worry God’s got this.
When we get hangry (angry, because we’re hungry) we get irritable and edgy, we snap at people for the littlest thing and react in ways we would not normally act.
But we are the same when we are starved for God, if we don’t get enough of God we get irritable, edgy and snap at people for the littlest thing.
We all have different degrees of hanger for God and we all display it a little different, but we all have the same issue we need more Holy Spirit in our life.
When you notice you’re not yourself, realize that you just need more of God and make a point of making him priority in your life. Take a moment and ask for his help and surrender your self over to him.
In the same respect, when you encounter people that rub you the wrong way, look at them with a different perspective. Ask God to show you how he sees them, because they just need Jesus in their life too.
When we know God, who he’s made us to be and feel completely loved, accepted and valued by him, we don’t need others to show us our value because we know our value comes from him and its priceless.
I write a lot about God changing our perspective. But it’s truly life changing and I don’t want you to miss it. Years ago I received some new that really shook me. And a few weeks after. I heard the teaching posted below. It changed my perspective on everything. Brought me into a deeper relationship with God and gave me what I needed. Please check it out.
Seeing life from God’s perspective can change your whole view of life.
Whether you put yourself where you’re at or God put you there don’t forget to stop look up and enjoy what’s around you. Often we become so focused on the end goal that we forget to enjoy how we got there. The journey is just as important.
Raising kids is a perfect example. If you just focus on getting them to eighteen and out of the house you will miss everything. But if we enjoy each moment with them, every smile and laugh, watching them learn and truly cherishing them. We will have joy each day, just by watching them grow.
That doesn’t mean their won’t be hard times or they wont make mistakes, but its those moments of joy that get you through the hard times and make it worth fighting through them.
What if God took that approach? To just get it over and done with, we wouldn’t be here. We are all God’s children and he cherishes each moment with us. He’s always there ready to teach us, help us and love us through each moment of each day. We just have to learn to enjoy the journey with him.
When my grandma went to heaven to be with Jesus. I shed tears for how much I would miss her. But I found comfort in knowing that she is at peace and pain free in heaven. She’s having the best time of her life spending every moment with Jesus.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t do what she taught me to do.
Love people and show them Jesus.
She always had a smile on her face and she always knew how to make the mundane joyful. She taught me how to welcome everyone into my home as if they were family, how to be creative and how to put windshield wipers on, amongst other things.
There was always enough space for everyone in her home and at her table no matter who or how many showed up.
She taught me generosity and kindness in her heart and her actions. She always shined Jesus and I always want to do the same
She did what we are supposed to do. She welcomed everyone and shined Jesus to all. She had six daughters, three step children, nine grandchildren, six great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren and she always had room for more. She always treated everyone like family and had so many more adopted in Christ-children.
Just as she did we should too, teach our children, our grandchildren and all around us about who Jesus is and what He has done for us and how that makes us all family.
It’s so much more then words, it’s our actions, our demeaner, our attitude. Jesus should be reflected in every aspect of our lives. So even if we don’t say a word He still shines through.
