There are times when I can feel so guilty for things that I've done that are not pleasing to God that I begin to condemn myself. Sometimes it gets to the point where I feel that I am unworthy of the love that Christ has for me. When this happens I want to just curl up in a corner and beat myself up. I was a victim of doing this for a very long time and sometimes I find myself doing this presently, but it's important to remember what the scriptures say in Romans 8:1: "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." I know how frustrating it can be to mess up and fall out of God's will, but DO NOT PUT YOURSELF DOWN BECAUSE OF IT!!! Christ is doing a complete work in us currently. We are not perfect and even the word of God says that we all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So to condemn ourselves is pointless! Christ is not concerned about us falling or stepping out of his will. Yes this will grieve him for a moment, but he is more concerned with your resilience. He wants to see if you will be able to withstand your adversity and worship him through it all.
If we truly understand the love that Christ has for us, we wouldn't be caught up in beating ourselves every time we fall. We wouldn't waste time complaining on how messed up we are. Christ does not delight in self-pity! He delights in your resilience!!! I love what the scripture says in Jeremiah 31:3-4. It says "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I'll start over with you and build you up again, dear virgin Israel."(Jeremiah 31:3-4MSG). God is saying this to you! He loves you with a love that's unconditional. He loves you and will never quit loving you! What I love most about this scripture is that He tells us that He will start over with us and build us up again. This is why we must not condemn ourselves. God has so much faith, patience, and love for us that every time we fall short, He starts over with us, building us up again. We need to stop looking at God as one who only chastises us, but we need to also look at him as a God who gives us grace to become who we are already in his eyes.
I believe that as we begin to truly see God as a God who loves us unconditionally despite our wrongdoings, we will move away from a mindset of condemnation and into a lifestyle of resilience. Today I pray Ephesians 3:19 over your life. I pray that you will experience the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, so that you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. I pray that you will begin to perceive yourself the way that God perceives you! He is more proud of you than you think He is! Continue to be resilient knowing your Father loves you more and more each day!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours!
Written On December 04, 2012
Indifferent.
I looked up this word in the dictionary and its defined as:
1. Without interest or concern; not caring; apathetic
2. Not making a difference, or mattering, one way or the other
Hmmm...I think about us Christians and how some of us fit this definition. How many of us are indifferent to those who are in need? How many of us are indifferent to the cries of spirits, who are searching for the truth, which is Christ; the one who dwells in our hearts? I think of those who are only concerned of themselves and not interested in the lives of people who are spiritually dead because of their lack of knowledge.
I read a passage in Mark 6 that made me think of this topic and it literally brought me to tears. It writes:
"So they [Jesus and the apostles] got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves. Someone saw them going and the word got around. From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them." (Mark 6:32-34 MSG)
We see here that Jesus had compassion for these groups of people because they were lost. The scripture states that they were like sheep with no shepherd. At the sight of them, Christ's heart BROKE!!!! And the result of this broken heart was Christ going straight to work teaching them!!!
WOW! We have become so used to seeing unbelievers walk around without the truth that we are indifferent to it. We've become so used to just making sure that the salvation of ourselves and our inner circle are right with Christ, that we are nonchalant to those who are captive in spirit. The question I want to ask you now is when was the last time your heart broke when you saw an individual lost with no guidance? When is the last time you had compassion for individuals who think they are living, but are just merely existing, for they do not have the truth within them? You see, we need to get back to the place where our heart LITERALLY breaks every time we see an individual lost without the truth, without Christ! It's only through these broken hearts that we can go out and minister to those who will hear. In the scripture you can see that Christ evangelism resulted from his Broken heart for the people. We ALL, including myself, need to move from a place of indifference to those who are lost to a place of brokenness for them. It's through this type of heart that we can go and minister to the lost sheep letting them know that there is a Shepherd who can guide them and his name is Jesus Christ.
God has an assignment for us all and that's for us to go make disciples of all nations, but understand this cannot be done unless we change our attitudes towards people. Let us move away from our selfish thinking and concerns and let us move to a place of servitude and compassion for others. In your prayers tell God "Break my heart for what breaks yours!" In doing this you will have a greater desire to help others, to minister to them, and to love them through the power that's within you!
Today i declare that you are no longer indifferent to the lost sheep. Today you have a broken heart to help those in NEED of the Christ that's within YOU!
Indifferent.
I looked up this word in the dictionary and its defined as:
1. Without interest or concern; not caring; apathetic
2. Not making a difference, or mattering, one way or the other
Hmmm...I think about us Christians and how some of us fit this definition. How many of us are indifferent to those who are in need? How many of us are indifferent to the cries of spirits, who are searching for the truth, which is Christ; the one who dwells in our hearts? I think of those who are only concerned of themselves and not interested in the lives of people who are spiritually dead because of their lack of knowledge.
I read a passage in Mark 6 that made me think of this topic and it literally brought me to tears. It writes:
"So they [Jesus and the apostles] got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves. Someone saw them going and the word got around. From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them." (Mark 6:32-34 MSG)
We see here that Jesus had compassion for these groups of people because they were lost. The scripture states that they were like sheep with no shepherd. At the sight of them, Christ's heart BROKE!!!! And the result of this broken heart was Christ going straight to work teaching them!!!
WOW! We have become so used to seeing unbelievers walk around without the truth that we are indifferent to it. We've become so used to just making sure that the salvation of ourselves and our inner circle are right with Christ, that we are nonchalant to those who are captive in spirit. The question I want to ask you now is when was the last time your heart broke when you saw an individual lost with no guidance? When is the last time you had compassion for individuals who think they are living, but are just merely existing, for they do not have the truth within them? You see, we need to get back to the place where our heart LITERALLY breaks every time we see an individual lost without the truth, without Christ! It's only through these broken hearts that we can go out and minister to those who will hear. In the scripture you can see that Christ evangelism resulted from his Broken heart for the people. We ALL, including myself, need to move from a place of indifference to those who are lost to a place of brokenness for them. It's through this type of heart that we can go and minister to the lost sheep letting them know that there is a Shepherd who can guide them and his name is Jesus Christ.
God has an assignment for us all and that's for us to go make disciples of all nations, but understand this cannot be done unless we change our attitudes towards people. Let us move away from our selfish thinking and concerns and let us move to a place of servitude and compassion for others. In your prayers tell God "Break my heart for what breaks yours!" In doing this you will have a greater desire to help others, to minister to them, and to love them through the power that's within you!
Today i declare that you are no longer indifferent to the lost sheep. Today you have a broken heart to help those in NEED of the Christ that's within YOU!
Friday, December 7, 2012
You. Are. His. Pearl.
So you wake up, get out of bed,
look in the mirror, and your disgusted! Disgusted with the body your in,
disgusted with how life has turned out with you thus far! Yup, this was me back
in 2011and years before then. I'll be real transparent in this blog....I HATED
MYSELF! I woke up EVERYDAY looking in the mirror disgusted with the body I was "trapped"
in because I didn't feel I was beautiful, but most of all because I was TALL! I
was this 6'0 teen who seemed to always sky over everyone. I always felt like I
was the person to stare at because I was so tall. So you want to know what I
did? I used to create a place to escape in my mind! Sounds crazy
right?! EVERY NIGHT if I didn't go to bed crying, I created a safe
haven in my mind, creating a false image of who I wanted to be and who I
thought I needed to be in order to be "beautiful". In this "world",
I was about 5'5, "perfect" weight, and I had the most beautiful
clothes. I imagined myself being loved by everyone and being so
popular. I would fall asleep as this would bring me comfort...until I woke up
realizing that "world" was not a reality!!! I struggled with this for
years as well as comparing my physical appearance with others. I
would always think thoughts of wishing to look like someone else or just
wishing to be them period.
But
here's the good news! I can honestly say that I do not struggle with
this ANYMORE! As I re-dedicated my life back to Christ in 2011, I
started to discover who I was and that's when I started to love myself.
It was a process and I'm still on that journey to being completely
healed from low self-esteem, but I have come a LONG WAY! I never want to
change who I am or compare myself with anyone else because I now
understand what Psalms 139:14 means. It's says: I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Isn't
it beautiful to know that God has made us Wonderfully and Marvelously?!
We are his beautiful creation no matter what your race, size, or height
may be! As you spend more time with Christ, you begin to receive
clarity of who you are! That's what happened to me! I started to
understand that Christ lives within me, so that right there told me that
I was beautiful and that I should love me for me because Christ
does!
I
was praying for my best friend over the summer and the Lord told me to
tell her that she's a pearl in His eyes. Now at first I was a bit
confused! I'm so used to hearing the beauty in diamonds that I was
shocked that The Lord specifically told me to tell her that she was a
pearl. So I googled the word pearl and found a quote that explained
exactly why God told me to tell her this. It says:
"The pearl owes nothing to man. It is absolutely a gift of nature on which man cannot improve."
-quoted from the great gemologist of the late 19th century, George Fredrick Kunz.
So listen! You, a pearl, owe NOTHING TO ANYONE! You do not have to change who you are to fit in or to be a part of what you think will make you feel complete! You are a gift that absolutely NO ONE can improve! Love yourself, embrace your uniqueness! It's what makes you YOU! In Mark 7:6, Jesus tells us not to cast our pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet. Do not just give your beauty away to those who won't appreciate it! It's too precious and YOUR too precious!
It's
a long journey. Trust me I know, I'm still on it; but begin to
understand how your viewed in God's eyes, not the world's. I may not see
you face to face but I do know that YOU, the person reading this blog, are beautiful. You my dear, are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are a
Marvelous work!
You. Are. His. Pearl.
Yes! These pearls all look different, but they are still pearls! Same goes for us! We may not look like the person standing right next to us, but we ALL are still pearls in the eyes of our Father!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Embrace the Now!
Written on November 5, 2012
Ever feel like you know what your purpose is for God, but every time you take a step forward it seems like you’re going nowhere? STORY OF MY LIFE!!! I thought this was the story of my life, until I realized this was a lie from the enemy!
Last night I was crying to God because I couldn’t understand why my life is in the season that it’s in now. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy, I love my life and everyone in it, but I just couldn’t understand exactly what God was doing in my life currently. Everything seems like a blur. I hear people always say “Jan, you’re a great woman of God, you’re going to do this, and go here and be that” but when I look at myself now, it seems totally opposite! I started to get discouraged until I read Zechariah 4:10 which says Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. I read this and had the biggest smile ever. Sometimes we’re so quick to do the work of the Lord that we don’t realize that small beginnings are just as important as the very last work we’ll do here on earth. So many times we think that the Lord is only proud of us when we’re doing great things and being seen by many, but here it says that He rejoices to see the work begin! Want to know why? It’s because God already knows who we are in the future. He delights in seeing the transformation of our old creature to the new creature. He delights in seeing the start of us being transformed from glory to glory.
1 Corinthians 13:12 says now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. I love this scripture because Paul expresses that sometimes life can seem puzzling because we don’t have the entire picture of our lives painted in front of us. All we have are bits and pieces that God allows us to see. But Paul encourages us by letting us know that one day we will all know everything completely! The enemy always tries to discourage us, reminding us of how slow things may come or reminding us of the things we desire that we don’t have yet;but DO NOT BELIEVE HIS LIES! Be encouraged knowing that one day you will know everything completely, just as God knows you completely. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says to everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven. God is not a God of confusion! When the season is right for you to know what the next step is in life, whether it be for your ministry, marriage, school, etc., HE WILL TELL YOU AND GUIDE YOU BY HIS PEACE! God will never reveal something to us when we are not in that season to receive! He knows how much we can handle and he knows when it’s the right time to handle it! Luke 16:10 says if you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. Many times God only shows us a portion of our purpose to see if we will still be faithful to it. If we prove ourselves trustworthy in these small beginnings, he will be certain to trust us when he reveals it to us inits entirety.
To sum everything up, after God revealed this to me, I asked him what do you want me to do? He simply told me to EMBRACE THE NOW! He said embrace knowing that you are on yourjourney to what I have in store for you, embrace these small beginnings because it will lead you to the plans I have for you in the future! God is saying the same thing to YOU! Embrace the NOW! Do not let the enemy deceive you for he knows the beginning is just as crucial to your purpose as the ending is! Embrace the fact that you will know your complete story in its season, embrace knowing that you are moving forward, but most importantly EMBRACE YOUR NOW!
Standing Still
Written on September 20, 2012
Today we live in a society where everything and everyone is always on the go. Think of a normal day in the city. It’s full of people practically speed walking to get to a place where their probably not even late to. Or if you’re driving, the driver behind you already honks you to go before the light is able to turn green. We live in a society where the quicker things are the better. Because of this, when things are slow to come, we become frustrated and angry.
Today I was reading Numbers 9:15-23 and it spoke of the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai and the cloud above the Tabernacle. God gave the Israelites clear direction that whenever the cloud was above the tabernacle they must stand still and whenever the cloud lifted they were able to go. I placed myself in the shoes of the Israelites to see how they probably felt about this command. They were in a desert! I’m sure it was hot;they were probably always thirsty and a bit agitated. I know I would be! However, the scripture says as long as the cloud was above them, they would wait. It mentions that at times it stayed for only two days and sometimes for as long as a year. No matter what, they obeyed the command of God.
Now some of us, including myself, are probably in a season of standing still. In this season we are the modern day Israelites who are under the tabernacle with the cloud right above us. We know we have to stand still although we are in the middle of a desert! It may feel discomforting and frustrating in the natural but I have great news…it’s through this time of standing still where God is able to do the greatest work within us! Although it seems like nothing is being done as we’re still, it’s through this time that God is able to do a great work. A lot of times God has us still so that he can perform a great surgery on us before he sends us out. Christ will never send us out to a new season before its time!
Just because Christ requires you to be still for a season does not mean the promises he gave you are void! Remember Abraham stood still for25 years before he received his promise! In Romans 4:20-21 it says “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” The key point is that Abraham did not waver as he stood still waiting for God, instead he was strengthened! As we are standing still, our faith is not only being tested, but we are being strengthened, we are mounting up with wings as eagles,running and not being weary, walking and not being faint (Isaiah 430:31).
So whether Christ is asking you to stand still when it comes to owning a home, dating, pursuing your career or anything in general, know that it’s for your good. When God asks you to stand still, it’s because he’s completing you, strengthening you, and preparing you for what’s to come!
God bless!
Today we live in a society where everything and everyone is always on the go. Think of a normal day in the city. It’s full of people practically speed walking to get to a place where their probably not even late to. Or if you’re driving, the driver behind you already honks you to go before the light is able to turn green. We live in a society where the quicker things are the better. Because of this, when things are slow to come, we become frustrated and angry.
Today I was reading Numbers 9:15-23 and it spoke of the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai and the cloud above the Tabernacle. God gave the Israelites clear direction that whenever the cloud was above the tabernacle they must stand still and whenever the cloud lifted they were able to go. I placed myself in the shoes of the Israelites to see how they probably felt about this command. They were in a desert! I’m sure it was hot;they were probably always thirsty and a bit agitated. I know I would be! However, the scripture says as long as the cloud was above them, they would wait. It mentions that at times it stayed for only two days and sometimes for as long as a year. No matter what, they obeyed the command of God.
Now some of us, including myself, are probably in a season of standing still. In this season we are the modern day Israelites who are under the tabernacle with the cloud right above us. We know we have to stand still although we are in the middle of a desert! It may feel discomforting and frustrating in the natural but I have great news…it’s through this time of standing still where God is able to do the greatest work within us! Although it seems like nothing is being done as we’re still, it’s through this time that God is able to do a great work. A lot of times God has us still so that he can perform a great surgery on us before he sends us out. Christ will never send us out to a new season before its time!
Just because Christ requires you to be still for a season does not mean the promises he gave you are void! Remember Abraham stood still for25 years before he received his promise! In Romans 4:20-21 it says “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” The key point is that Abraham did not waver as he stood still waiting for God, instead he was strengthened! As we are standing still, our faith is not only being tested, but we are being strengthened, we are mounting up with wings as eagles,running and not being weary, walking and not being faint (Isaiah 430:31).
So whether Christ is asking you to stand still when it comes to owning a home, dating, pursuing your career or anything in general, know that it’s for your good. When God asks you to stand still, it’s because he’s completing you, strengthening you, and preparing you for what’s to come!
God bless!
Did you clothe yourself this morning?
Written on September 18, 2012
I know after reading this title you’re probably asking yourself “what is she talking about?” lol well during my prayer and devotion time this is what God asked me. Usually our day to day routine in the morning is to get up,shower, and then get dressed. That’s exactly what I did, so I actually did clothed myself. However, when God proposed this question to me, he meant it in the spiritual and not the natural.
In Romans 13:14 it says “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” I read this and it resonated something in me. I’m always concerned about what I should wear whenever I go out to an event, to school, or just to hang; but do I ever take as much time to clothe myself with an attire that is worth more than any name brand we can think of, Jesus Christ?
As I continued meditating on this scripture, I began to realize the importance of clothing ourselves with Christ, but I wanted to get a clear understanding of what that meant. The Holy Spirit then led me to Colossians 3:12-14 which says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love,which binds them all together in perfect unity.” After reading this scripture, it made so much sense as to what Paul meant in Romans about us clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Colossians, Paul explains that clothing ourselves means to put on compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness, forgiveness, and lastly love which ties it all together.
Now let’s take it back to the natural. Imagine if you were walking down the street and you saw someone walking with a shirt on but had no pants or you saw someone with a full suit or dress but were walking around barefoot. Wouldn’t we find something wrong with that? Wouldn’t it look weird? As this thought came to mind after reading this scripture, I realized that’s exactly how I look in the spiritual! I’M NOT FULLY CLOTHED! I re-read every virtue needed in order to be fully clothed with Christ and saw that I don’t have them all. It’s so important for us to work on having these virtues. Just how we would never dare to leave our homes not fully dressed, we should never walk around half clothed inspirit. Let's all take the time to work on building these virtues so we can walk around in the best attire anyone can ever have!
So the next time you get dressed in the morning, ask yourself if you’re entirely clothed with Jesus Christ!
God bless you!
I know after reading this title you’re probably asking yourself “what is she talking about?” lol well during my prayer and devotion time this is what God asked me. Usually our day to day routine in the morning is to get up,shower, and then get dressed. That’s exactly what I did, so I actually did clothed myself. However, when God proposed this question to me, he meant it in the spiritual and not the natural.
In Romans 13:14 it says “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” I read this and it resonated something in me. I’m always concerned about what I should wear whenever I go out to an event, to school, or just to hang; but do I ever take as much time to clothe myself with an attire that is worth more than any name brand we can think of, Jesus Christ?
As I continued meditating on this scripture, I began to realize the importance of clothing ourselves with Christ, but I wanted to get a clear understanding of what that meant. The Holy Spirit then led me to Colossians 3:12-14 which says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love,which binds them all together in perfect unity.” After reading this scripture, it made so much sense as to what Paul meant in Romans about us clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Colossians, Paul explains that clothing ourselves means to put on compassion, kindness,humility, gentleness, forgiveness, and lastly love which ties it all together.
Now let’s take it back to the natural. Imagine if you were walking down the street and you saw someone walking with a shirt on but had no pants or you saw someone with a full suit or dress but were walking around barefoot. Wouldn’t we find something wrong with that? Wouldn’t it look weird? As this thought came to mind after reading this scripture, I realized that’s exactly how I look in the spiritual! I’M NOT FULLY CLOTHED! I re-read every virtue needed in order to be fully clothed with Christ and saw that I don’t have them all. It’s so important for us to work on having these virtues. Just how we would never dare to leave our homes not fully dressed, we should never walk around half clothed inspirit. Let's all take the time to work on building these virtues so we can walk around in the best attire anyone can ever have!
So the next time you get dressed in the morning, ask yourself if you’re entirely clothed with Jesus Christ!
God bless you!
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