Isaiah 30:15 (AMP) For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said this, “In returning [to Me] and rest you shall be saved, in quietness and confident trust is your strength.” But you were not willing
Are you willing? That is always the question. Every time I have said ‘yes’ to God He has brought me to a place I would never have imagined for myself. In a world that tells us to “just do you,” can we find the true meaning of rest? Rest is a position, not an action. Did you see where the rest was found in the above verse? It says to return to Him. This is my position of rest, it is found in Him. Secondly, quietness and confident trust will be found and become my strength.
Isaiah 32:17 (AMP) And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever.
Thirteen years ago I made a decision to receive this confident trust. I remember where I was. I remember that conversation and the outpouring of His love. Prior, I had allowed fear to be the reason that I could not speak. I was a student of the Word, and will never not be. There was a moment that I told God that I was giving it up to Him. I was going to position myself in His trust. Confidence began to arise. When I get anxious, as I have done at a solo speaking event, I realized that I am more focused on people. I can know all the right words, but I stand outside of righteousness. So let us define righteousness because it has a lot to do with our rest, peace and confidence.
Romans 1:17 (AMP) For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”
Romans 3:22 (AMP) This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all those [Jew or Gentile] who believe [and trust in Him and acknowledge Him as God’s Son]. There is no distinction
Why are we still looking for a promised land, as believers? All through the Word it points to Jesus. It comes down to a faith issue. My rest is a faith issue. My righteousness is a faith issue. My confidence is a faith issue. My confident trust is a faith issue. Faith is rooted in love. When I know my position then all of these areas that I have striven for become satisfied.
1 John 5:3 (AMP) For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey].
Are you willing to say ‘yes’ to all that Jesus has to offer you? Are you willing to put your trust in God and not in your own understanding? Are you willing to lay down what you believe to be your limitations and settle into His rest? Are you willing?
Hebrews 3:19 (AMP) So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest—the promised land] because of unbelief and an unwillingness to trust in God.
Ephesians 3:17 (AMP) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love
About seven years ago I found myself really drawn to this part of Ephesians. Ephesians 3:16-20 began to come alive to me during a part of my life when I was going through something really difficult. I had been fired from my job, and my character had been tarnished. I was made out to look like a villain. What did I do? I went to the Word. I surrounded myself in the Word every day. I sat in the Word as much as I could. It was not about God changing their minds about me, it was about God who I am to You. I was going to be better than fine.
Ephesians 3:17 (MSG) that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in. And I ask Him with both feet planted firmly on love
Ephesians 3:17 (TPT) Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life.
I had a faith growing moment. I had to decide if Christ really had residence. This became a moment of deeper surrender in my life. I explained it this way on Sunday. A guest gets a room and we have prepared a place for them, but we have the expectation that they stay within the boundaries that we have set, because they are our guest. A resident has the ability to move around furniture and to make our place comfortable for living to them. They have unlimited access to the home. When I asked Christ to dwell, He was not there to keep things looking the way they were when He arrived. I gave Him governing authority. It is not me making sure that everything stays clean, we reside together, so we are doing the chores of maintenance together. It is now our home. If I see something that needs to be cleaned up, in my maturity, I know what needs to be done and I do it. I am not saying I am waiting on Christ to do this in my life, He has empowered me when He took up residence in my home (my life).
Which means that I do not have to set a particular place for Him. I have a spot that I like to do my studies and read. My dog knows when I am at my spot and it is her favorite time of day. I will put my worship music on and she will come running. However, that is not the only place that I meet with God. As I am riding in the car I can be meditating on a scripture or a moment and talk to God about it. While I am at the gym I can be meditating on something and receive this amazing revelation, and cannot wait to get back to my Bible to confirm it in His Word. While I am on the walking track and I have someone catch up with me and we start talking. There is always a moment to encourage them to keep going and to point them to Jesus, the Word.
I do not have a prayer closet. I do not pray a certain way every day. I do not have an altar in my home. I can meet with Him anywhere because He has residence. I do pray (in my personal time and corporately). I do speak words of thanksgiving throughout the day. I do turn my thoughts to what the Word says on a situation. I am mindful of my own thoughts. I am mindful of others needs and not just my own. This is what it looks like when He has taken residence. I am rooted in love, which is a result of surrendering to Christ. I love that we have the ability to have the Word at our fingertips with the You Version App. Download it on your phone. You can now carry your Bible with you every where you go.
Hebrews 4:16 (AMP) Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
There is no certain place or person I have to go through to meet with God. I can come boldly right where I am into His Presence. I do this through my faith in Christ. I do this with reverence and not with religious rituals (man made ideals). We have been given these wonderful imaginations and can create ideals on how God wants us to meet with Him. He just wants us to meet with Him. He has prepared a place for us, so that we do not have to. He wants residence so that our hearts and minds are prepared. That is my altar.
Abba, my Father, You are Marvelous and Holy. Thank You for Your Son to create a home within me. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit as our Teacher as the Word becomes more and more of a revelation of who You are. We repent for trying to create ways to meet with You when all You desire is a heart of surrender. Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Thank You for drawing near to us as we draw near to You. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Matthew 5:6 (AMP) Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.
What is it that we hunger and thirst for? That is what I was praying about the other day. I was praying that we hunger and thirst for the right things. What we hunger and thirst for we begin to crave. My husband and I are foodies. We like finding new restaurants for the most unique dishes to try. I like cooking different types of cuisines and will often make my own twists on dishes. This year I had asked God to take away all my cravings and only crave Him. I looked up ‘what is the biblical definition of righteousness’ through Google and this was I found from Christianity.com:
In Its deeper spiritual meaning, righteousness is the quality of being right in the eyes of God, including character (nature), conscience (attitude), conduct (action), and command (word). Righteousness is, therefore, based upon God’s standard because He is the ultimate Lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22).
I have often heard the term that ‘I am now in right standing with God’ and that ‘through Christ I have been made righteous’, but those words out of context can tell us that we can live our lives any way we want to. There is still a standard. Since it was Jesus who spoke the words about hungering and thirsting after righteousness I searched for other times to hunger and thirst.
John 6:35 (AMP) Jesus replied to them, “I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually].”
There was a time in the desert that the devil tempted Jesus to satisfy His hunger by turning a stone into bread (Matthew 4:3). Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” What was this bread they were referring to. Putting that quote into context, Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He humbled you and allowed you to be hungry and fed you with manna, [a substance] which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, so that He might make you understand [by personal experience] that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” Manna was a substance that man could not make on their own. There is no recipe for it. If I wanted to show you what manna tasted like I could not recreate it. The ingredients do not exist here. God was showing us that our dependence on His Word would satisfy us.
John 1:1 (AMP) In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.
Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life (the Word at the beginning), when we come to Him we will never be hungry again. The Word and Christ are one, just as the Father and Son are one. How can we wrap our understanding around such? Let me ask you a question, how can God feed a whole nation with something that man could never make for themselves? Faith. Faith in His Word (Christ).
Joshua 1:8 (AMP) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful.
Now that I have hit on hunger, let us dive into some scripture about thirst. Jesus told the woman at the well that she would never thirst again from the water that He would give her (John 4:10).
Psalms 1:1-3 (AMP) Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example], nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers). But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].
One of my favorite verses to cling onto is that I am rooted and grounded in the Love of Christ (Ephesians 3:17). I cannot be rooted and grounded into someone that I have no relationship with. If Christ is the Word, then I need to have a relationship with the Word. This is what I have begun to hunger and thirst after. My roots are searching for nourishment. Everything that I need is found in His Word. My right standing, my righteousness, is found in Him. What happens when I try doing something else. God said that it was to bring the people of Israel to humility that He had them to hunger. Do you think He would allow us to thirtst?
Jeremiah 2:13 (AMP) For My people have committed two evils: they have abandoned (rejected) Me, the fountain of living water, and they have carved out their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Due to long times of drought, cisterns were dug to hold water. When a cistern was broken the water became contaminated. It is when we place our trust in anything other than God, that our cisterns are broken. It is when we say the Word does not work. It is when we say Christ might have done that for you, but He did not do that for me. When we do not trust in God and try to make out own way. He is the fountain of Living Water. He is the Bread of Life.
As Lysa TerKeurst writes in her books Made to Crave, we were made to crave after God. How? In the beginning was the Word. Christ being the Bread of Life (the Word made flesh). He being the fountain of Living Waters. I was made to crave after the righteousness of God. I am to hunger and thirst after Him. I am to be rooted and grounded in Him. There is a standard. My right standing cannot be defined by man, it must be Word defined. My righteousness in Christ is not the same as my self-righteousness. Today choose to hunger and thirst after righteousness (the God way).
Abba, Father, Lord and Creator, we honor Your Holy name today. We want to honor You in everything we say and do. Thank You for Your Son, the Word made flesh, the Fountain of Life and the Bread of Life. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, that empowers us to seek after You. We repent for the times we have tried to fill our hunger and thirst with anything that does not line up with Your Word. You tell us to be Holy as You are Holy. You tell us to seek after righteousness, that is Your way of doing things. We are aligning our thoughts with the Word today. We are thankful that we are rooted and grounded in Your Love. We choose to forgive those that we may have blamed for being a root of our depression, our anxiety or even our rejection. We know that we do not have to take root in anything other than You. We are allowing the Holy Spirit to dig up areas that do not reflect Your nourishment. We choose love today. We choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Psalms 1:3 (AMP) And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].
I was in prayer the other day and was sitting with something that I had read in a book recently. The author was talking about how sometimes that we go through times in our lives and we feel like a stump. We were once a beautiful tree and now we have been cut down through the storms of life. The question was asked if we could ever bear fruit again. The answer was as long as we have roots we can still grow. Then the thought came to me that people often identify as stumps and stay there. So that is where I started to intercede.
Matthew 17:16-20 (AMP) By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].
Why would I want to identify with something that cannot bear good fruit? I say this because I have made statements of “feeling like a stump” or “I am broken.” We can say that God allowed us to do what was wrong to get us to the place He called us to be. Why do we say things that contradict His Word? Job did it. He said it was better to have never been born so that He would not have to go through the affliction. How many of us have said we are biding our time waiting for heaven? How about us just doing a little sin, because it’s not hurting anyone?
Where is the deception? It all surrounded a tree. Genesis 2:15-17 (AMP) So the Lord God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].” God gave us purpose from the beginning. It is up to us to cultivate and keep it. Here God is literally talking about trees. Cultivating was mankind’s job. We could touch the trees, and eat of all trees…but one.
Genesis 3:1-3 (AMP) Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’”
God never said that they could not touch it. How often do we misinterpret what God says? Who was suppose to clarify the Word of the Lord? Adam. Did He take his rightful place? Nope. He was given a task to cultivate and to keep, just as we are. What are we suppose to cultivate and keep?
God gave Adam a commandment in the garden, we also have commandments we are suppose to be keeping. Mark 12:30-31 (AMP) and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” John 13:34 (AMP) I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.
Love is going to bear fruit. What fruit is is going to bear? Galatians 5:22-23 (AMP) But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Now if I am identifying as a stump, then the focus has become on getting me. A place that I can grow and bear fruit. However, if I am remaining to be a stump, then I have made an excuse to not be fruitful. I have dug in my feet to not grow and I have made an excuse. However, we could NOT say that is where God would want me to be. Why? It contradicts His Word on where good fruit comes from. To say such would be to identify with the bad fruit (look back at Matthew 17:16-20). We have done just like Eve and misinterpreted God. Now we have opened up the door to the enemy for deception.
How can we correct such a thing? Get into a church that is going to teach the Word and point you to Christ. Submit yourself to spiritual authority as ordained by Christ in Ephesians 4:10-11. Get into relationships that challenge your view and will bring you back to the Word of God. We have too long tolerated warped interpretations in order to be accepting of others, especially when it comes to the character and nature of God. God does not need us to defend Him. He does need us to be bold and intercede. If you cannot walk along someone to disciple them, then you do not need to correct them. You are still instructed to intercede for them.
John 15:1-2 (AMP) I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit].
He prunes, not cuts away, so that we may bear fruit. Stop identifying with the cut off parts. Stop identifying with the things put in darkness. He says He dispels darkness. He is the Light, and if we are in Him, then we are empowered by the Light. We have identified with things that do not line up with the Truth of His Word. Like Eve, we misinterpreted it and opened ourselves up for deception. I am not a stump. I am a tree planted by the Living Water. I am rooted and grounded in His Love. I bear good fruit!
Elohim, our Creator, we honor You with a prayer of thanksgiving. We see the importance of why You sent Your Son. The first sin had to do with a tree and the Restorer had to be hung on one. We know that He completed the work on the cross. We know that He rose from the grave and now resides at Your right hand ever interceding for us. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Even though the Light of the World does not reside here with us, His power resides in us through the Holy Spirit. We repent for identifying with anything that does not bear fruit nor brings light. We are sorry for the pity parties we through for ourselves and invite others to. We should be celebrating Your Kingdom. Thank You for forgiving us in our moments. Thank You for not wanting us to stay there. We choose joy today. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Revelations 4:11 (AMP) “Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they exist, and were created and brought into being.”
Worship the Creator not the created. Focus on the Creator not the created. Easier said than done right! Especially when it comes to maintaining what He has placed in our midst. How can we not help but think on His created. One thing I do know is that when I focus on people too much, my mind goes into dark places. I bring harm on myself. Even thinking of me too much will do that.
In my prayer time I pray for those who are battling depression. Depression does not show itself in staying in bed all the time. It can show itself with mood swings. We can be full of energy and make everyone feel welcomed, yet battle depression. We can be snappy and push people away, yet battle depression. There is no one way to define it, yet many people are being diagnosed with it.
When it hit me I had to go into battle mode. My flesh wanted me to focus on the problem. Our minds will tell us that it is the people we are associated with or the environment we are in. If I focus on the created and pray against the created it does not take me out of the dark place. It is when I change my perspective to the Creator.
1 Chronicles 16:27 (AMP) Splendor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His place (sanctuary).
Psalms 16:11 (AMP) You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
Psalms 1:1-3 (AMP) Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example], nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers). But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season; its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].
These are the three verses He gave me when I was praying a couple of weeks ago and the word to focus on was joy. The opposite of depression is joy. It is the one of the attributions of the fruit of the spirit rooted in love. In Psalms 1:1-3, we see the contrast on our focus. When we focus on the created as a problem in our lives we will start to slander. We will talk unhealthy about people and even give into gossip or criticism. This does not bring relief as we hope, but it brings us deeper into depression.
Isaiah 26:3 (AMP) You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].
Romans 7:25 (AMP) Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve] the law of sin.
Romans 12:16 (AMP) Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself.
This week He gave me three more verse with the focus being on the mind. When we are in depression, we are not at peace in our minds. When we focus on ourselves as the most important thing to take care of, we cannot live in harmony with each other. Then we battle in our minds again. It is a battle we cannot win without Christ. Who is our deliverer? Jesus! Why do we try to go at life without Him. I have been guilty of doing this myself. Thinking it would make my life better. Self-care is not bad, but taking care of ourselves so much that we forget about hospitality is not. There is a balance to it. What is the litmus? The thought…how have I estimated myself? Do I think of myself as better than, greater than, more important? I am wrong. Do I think of myself as lowly? I am still wrong. I need to think of myself from a place of loved, not by people, but rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (Ephesians 3:16-19). Joy and peace will become what I am clothed by. Do I still have battles and depression will stand at the doorway? Yes. This is what I have learned from going deeper and desiring more, I now know how to fight those battles. How? Because of Jesus!
John 1:1 (AMP) In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.
Elohim Kadem (God of the Beginning), our Creator, our King of Kings, we worship you with praise and thanksgiving. Thank You for sending Your Son to live a life of hospitality, bringing deliverance and restorations through His death. Thank You for the Holy Spirit that now dwells within us. Thank You, that when we read Your Word, that Holy Spirit and us commune ; fresh revelation about Your character and nature comes forth. You desire for us to know You more. We desire to know You more. We desire Your Presence. We repent for the things we have made about our lives. We repent for focusing on the created more than You. We repent for pointing at Your created as the source of our problems. We are turning our worship back to You. Search our hearts Lord. Lead us to the way our thoughts should go. We surrender to You. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose peace today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
John 3:16-18 (MSG) This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
The most quoted verse, John 3:16. We see people holding poster boards with “John 3:16” written at different events. Our athletes have it written on their face or on their clothing somewhere when they go into a game. It is the most well known of all the verse, other than the shortest verse…Jesus wept.
Have you heard something so many times and the meaning of it gets watered down? I think that is how we get about the “So Loved” part of this scripture. The KJV says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I was thinking on this verse on how Jesus told us to love. Can we love as big as He did? We often look at the word “so” and say His love is so great, that He gave. What if we see the word “so” as how He loves, not why He loves? Does God really need a why? Love is in His DNA, it is His character and nature. He did not need a reason, so why should we?
This time of year can be really difficult for some people. Think of the mother and father that no longer have the structured family they had in previous years. My thoughts are with an individual who will be spending their first Christmas without their children waking up in their home, because of divorce. Those parents who are empty-nesters for the first time and not all the kids could come home or Christmas. Those that have been home bound since COVID and never got back out to doing life like it was before.
Ephesians 3:16-19 (AMP) May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality],so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
“Having been deeply rooted and securely grounded in love,” that is what we must hold onto when those around us do not make us feel loved. I have been deeply rooted and securely grounded in love. Past tense, it has already been done, I do not have to wait for it to be done.
1 John 4:10-11 (AMP) In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God’s requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath].Beloved, if God so loved us [in this incredible way], we also ought to love one another.
Beloved, give love regardless of what others have done. God so loved, that He gave first. Be known for your love (unselfishly seeking the best for others). That is what the joy of this season is all about. Remembering that He SO LOVED! God is a giver and so should we be too. Why? Because we have been deeply rooted and securely grounded in love. We have everything we will ever need when Jesus came. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior our DNA was changed to love. Show your SO LOVED today!
Father, thank you for sending your Son and planting the seed of SO LOVED. You are so wonderful. You are so glorious. You are worthy of our honor and praise. Thank you for deeply rooting me and securely grounding me in your love. I desire to be a giver and thank you that you have given me the tools in your love to give. I will never be alone because of your love. May I be an encouragement to others that do not feel loved during this season. Let me see them. Anoint my tongue and my hands, lead me to minister reconciliation to them, as we are all called to do. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Philippians 4:8 (AMP) Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
This week I had a discussion with a friend and they were talking about how they desired to speak in a way that people would receive them. Like me, they feel like people do not receive them because they come off too harsh (just blunt). Their heart (and mine) is to say these things out of love and to point others towards Christ. There is no ill intent, just to make it plain.
Here is what I stated, and what I have to put in front of myself, we are all responsible for how we receive. Why is Paul making these statements on how to think? Paul has sent harsh letters of rebuke. He has sent letters of encouragement. He wrote the most quoted verses on love. Preceding the verses above he talks to the church about being anxious and worrying. He encourages them to live a life of thanksgiving to God. He tells us that we need to guard our hearts.
God created us with the personality that we have. When we draw close to Him we should grow in integrity and character. My character (moral nature) will align with His. My personality, the parts that make me unique to me, He loves. I do not need to try to be like someone else.
A few years ago I was going through a hard time with someone in the work place. I had led a meeting with our group about seeing value in each other, using the above verse. A couple of weeks later tension rose up again and one of the employees confronted me that she just did not like me. I asked her if she could see me through Philippians 4:8 and her response was that she could not. Being a Christians non-profit, this was not a good environment and I should have put in my notice, but I loved the organization. At that moment I realized that because of my personality she did not like me. Nothing I did was wrong. Now I could have done one of two things, I could beat myself up and sulk about not being a likable person or I could walk in confidence and knowing who I am in Christ and that the love walk means that although they may not like me I have value and so do they. I would like to say that I did the later, but the next six months were miserable there.
This is what I told my friend the other day, and what I wish someone would have said to me, are you speaking out of genuine love and and a desire to see them grow? If yes, then it is up to the one receiving to think on what is true, what is of value and what brings peace (especially if they are a brother and sister in Christ). We should be thinking of each other with the expectation that we want to see each other grow. We should challenge and encourage each other. It is the challenging part that we may not like, but we really do need.
Paul was not always liked, but he was what the people needed. You are too. You make an impact because of Christ in you. I am thankful for you and that God created you just the way you are.
Father, I thank you for creating me just the way that I am. I thank you that you put people in my life to challenge me and to encourage me to grow. I am rooted and grounded in the love of your Son, Jesus. I choose today to see the statements made to me, that encourage me to grow, as true, as honorable and worthy of respect I choose to confirm them by your word. I choose to see my bothers and sisters in Christ as pure and wholesome I choose to think on whatever is lovely and brings peace. Those that you have placed in my life are admirable and of good repute. There is excellence, there are areas worthy of praise and I will think continually on these things. You have implanted love in my heart and I thank you for opportunities to implant them into others.
Psalms 119:165 (MEV) Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing shall cause them to stumble.
As I was reading Psalms 119 yesterday this verse jumped up at me. There are many verses in that section that I highlighted, but this one I meditated on a little more. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). What does that really mean? In Matthew 10:34, Jesus tells us that He did not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword. What! Then there is this block of verses that can be taken way out of context: “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].” (verses 35-36 AMP)
What is it about us that we are attracted to drama? The first place that our minds go to is that they just do not like me or they just do not want me. It stems from our root nature to judge the situation for ourselves. That is why we have to renew our minds daily. This is why we need to mediate on the Word daily. That is why the psalmist wrote, “those who love Your law have great peace.” The law here is the precepts or the first five books of the Bible that we have today. When the disciples led others to Christ, they did so by showing how Christ fulfilled the law (which means they knew it). When the thoughts of destruction or fear rise up that others are against us, we need to be grounded in the One who knows us.
John 14:27 (AMP) Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
How can I not allow my heart to be troubled? I need to be rooted and grounded in His love (Ephesians 3:16-19). The hardest part of entering peace is first accepting that you are loved. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 AMP). I read this yesterday and it really calmed the storm of what others perceive of me: “He does not love you with the hope that you will be like someone else,” Lisa Bevere. He does not love me hoping that I will become anything more than He has created me to be. I was created to be His daughter.
I am here to tell you that you may battle rejection. You may fight the urge to hide because you feel like you do not measure up. Our hiding place is in Him. We can walk boldly into that throne room of grace because of Jesus and His great love. When we do not walk in His love, we walk in fear. We will walk in the mindset that we are not accepted. We will focus on other things that will not line up with the purpose for our lives, that is to glorify Him. When we choose anything else we will stumble.
Philippians 4:8 (AMP) Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
His Word is good and that is why we should implant them in our hearts. Direct your mind back to the Word. I cannot get focused on anything other than His Word. Yes, there are demonic spirits out there that want to tear down every ounce of peace that we have. However, we do not fight against people. We should never put our mouths against people. People are not trying to indoctrinate us or our children, the enemy is. When we know the Word, when we spend time in relationship with Him, we will know His voice. All those other voices can speak, scream or yell, but they will not have access to my peace. Why? Because I am rooted and grounded in His love. It is not a passive love. It is an aggressive and passionate love. A love that I will pursue after.
Father, I thank you for sending your Son to be the Prince of Peace. Thank you for changing my mindset of what Your peace is. Peace is not the absence of trouble, it is knowing that we are grounded in love. You are my hiding place and my fortress of peace. I love your Word and it will not depart from my heart. Thank you for the ability to renew my mind. I choose to focus on You today. I choose to walk in love today. Show me opportunities to glorify You today. Lead me through the still waters. I choose to listen to Your voice today. I am loved because You are love. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Galatians 5:1 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
It has been a few years since I have flown and will be boarding a plane this week to attend Icing in Dallas, TX. I am both nervous and excited. Excited to see a friend and spend a few days with her, nervous about the meet and greet part. As I have said before, I am a recovering extreme introvert. I still get overwhelmed when walking into a room with a bunch of people. For example, a couple of years ago I walked in late for a birthday party for one of my friends and the entire rooms attention got brought on me. My reaction was to go in (with my head down to not make eye contact with anyone) and tell her happy birthday, then I quickly made my exit.
Back to the point of this blog…when I started flying you could check one bag with the cost of your ticket at no additional charge. Now you can check a bag your first bag for $30 and an additional charge for anymore. Or the other option is carry on. Which means you have to keep up with it before your flight. Carry it as your find your seat. Find a place for it during your flight. Carry it as you disembark the plane. We have done pretty good at masking our emotional baggage, by checking it. When we are triggered is when it shows up again.
I fully believe in getting to the root issues of areas. Like why rejection keeps attaching itself to me. There is a root there. It does not belong there. I have to do the work to remove it, but not without the help of the Holy Spirit. Unpacking the baggage of rejection, betrayal, hurts, disappointments is like checking your baggage at the gate. You can walk around freely and not have to worry about until the end of the flight. Just because you checked it somewhere, does not mean it is gone. When it shows up, the weight of it tries to know us down. So here we are at baggage claim to get to the root once again, because even though it is not carry on, we still need to deal with the root issues. Can I help you with it?
Unforgiveness:
Unforgiveness because of unfilled expectations. The participation trophy. I was not recognized because I showed up.
Unforgiveness because of untreated pain. Trying to act like it never hurt in the first place. You ever stumped your toe in public and played off like that did not hurt!
Unforgiveness because of unsolved conflicts. Unresolved conflicts can turn into resentment. Resentment can turn into bitterness.
Unforgiveness because of an unhealthy view of ourselves. You think everyone’s thinking about you…they aren’t thinking about you.
Matthew 6: 7-15 (AMP) “And when you pray, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. ‘Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.“
I do believe we are responsible for dealing with our baggage and unforgiveness. I do believe our lives can be miserable because of our choices. You and I can walk around with weights that slow us or stop us from walking in the life that God intended for us. That is why I chose this verse to focus on today: Galatians 5:1 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Freedom is what God intends for you. If baggage is in our life, let’s identify it, then allow the Holy Spirit to help you get rid of it. A pastor, therapist, life coach, mentor, are all very helpful to lead you through the unpacking of baggage. Make sure they are filled with the Word and have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, if not, the humanistic approach is to put the problem in people. Even the issues that happened in my childhood are not to be blamed on people. I have to forgive, not to be abused again, but forgive, love and grow. I am no longer burdened by my past, I am free! I want that for you too.
Father, I thank you for each and every person that is reading this today. I thank you that you desire us to be rooted and grounded in the love of your Son (Eph. 3:16-19). We are choosing right now to throw off these weights that have kept us from walking in the fullness of that love. We ask the Holy Spirit for the help with the unforgiveness in our hearts and minds. We know to forget is not necessarily not remember, it is the act of not letting it affect the outcome. Our past hurts and the baggage we allowed can no longer affect the outcome of our lives. We are free in you and cast that yoke of bondage away. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP) And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
Progressive is an adjective (a describing word) meaning: happening or developing gradually or in stages; proceeding step by step. I am progressively being transformed. What am I transforming into? His image. By glory to glory.
We were created in His image. What image? His glory! When He breathed His Spirit into man (Genesis 2:7) we took on His likeness. This is part of the restored purpose that Christ came for.
Genesis 1:26 (AMP) Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness.]
You were created for more than just to exist. You were designed to take on His spiritual personality. John 15:4-5 tells me that I am nothing in myself, but in Christ, I am everything I need to be. My self image matters.
Ruth, often preached as a love story, is a story of perseverance. Ruth was a brave woman. Being a Moabite, Noami’s sons were not supposed to marry them, but they did anyways. Why? Moabites are from Moab, the son of Lot and his oldest daughter. They worshiped idols. In Ezra we see the Levites disowning their wives and children from those unions because they were told not to marry them. However, Ruth set out to change her destiny. Do you know what the future held for a woman that was widowed and had no children? They were either to become a beggar or a prostitute. Ruth did not have to follow Naomi, she chose to. Ruth did not have the right to glean in the field, that is why she went behind everyone else. Everything was set against her. Her race, her culture, her status.
Ruth 1:16 (AMP) Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.
According to the US Census Bureau data released in 2015, the poverty rates for women are substantially higher than the rates for men. The overall poverty rate is 3.8 percentage points higher for women than for men, and difference in the poverty rate among those over the age of sixty-five is even higher, with nearly one in five women who are over sixty-five and live alone in poverty. (nwlc.org/resources/national-snapshot-poverty-among-women-families-2014)
Ruth is in the lineage of the direct descents of Jesus. Do you think that your past, or what you went through, can keep you from wholeness?
Break the generational bondage in your family. Break the poverty spirit. Break the orphan spirit. Break the spirit of anger. Break the spirit of not being able to accept love. Break the abandonment spirit. Break the spirit of rejection.
What holds you in bondage has control over you. Often we do not understand why we react a certain way is, it is because there is a form of bondage that has been attached to you. It is time to break free.
For me, I battle with not feeling accepted or wanted. There are many women in my family that struggle with the same thing. Where did this root come from? Where did it start? I have no idea. It started to take root in my oldest son and then I became aware that it was generational. What made me feel rejection was starting to show in him.
Ephesians 3:17-19 (AMP) So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love,be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
I was created to present His glory. He came to make me whole so that I could fulfill that purpose. We were given the Holy Spirit so that we can fulfill that purpose. I am not the result of my past. I am the result of the Holy Spirit taking root in me. I am rooted and grounded in Love!! Do those thought still come up? Yes, I have to choose to put them aside and think on what is true, honorable, confirmed by His Word, what brings peace, and anything worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). It takes practice. We can choose different because we were created to reflect His glory.
Desiring for More 