First I want to say to all who read this, I have been in a stuck place for about 2 years, emotionally not being able to go forward in my calling, but because of His great mercy and love for me I went anyway. Through the last 24 hours my heart has been broken for Him and my eyes have been opened. Sometimes I have been looking at myself so hard that I can't see anything or anyone or even Him. Perhaps some of you have done this at one time or another. All I know is He longs to reveal His Love to us and that it is amazing! When we simply believe He came to Love us away from the hurt and the past, even death has no power over His Love. There was a price to pay and He even paid that. All we have to do is believe and receive it. Stop right now and turn your heart to Him. Let Him Love you. Everything will pass away but His love will remain forever. There is a catch though. It is only through relationships, not rules, but through relationships with His people. Where are your relationships?Relationships are how He shows us His Love. Who loves you for you?What does that mean? Someone finding your good attributes. Are you able to see your good attributes or are you hard on yourself like me? The Bible says we should love God as well as ourselves so then we can love others. Sometimes we try to love others to get our needs met. This does not work very well at all.
Forgive me if this seems jumbled up, the Lord is breaking and mending me even as I write this. I am seeing that I have looked at the wrong things in myself and in others. However I am grateful for His grace that has allowed me to love even when I couldn't. You see, early on in my childhood I did not experience a foundation of love. I was born and put in an orphanage overseas. Most of my early memories are of being put in a clear tub and me crying for someone to hold me and love me. I experienced such loss so early on that it affected my development emotionally. I could not love others, not even God, but thanks to God for loving me first and reaching out to me, then sending people to love me where I was. It has taken 12 plus years for me to get the message and I'm still learning it. All I know is that it's the thing everyone needs and should have. Since God is Love perhaps we should go on a Love feast instead of fast.
For all who read this, may you forgive me for not loving and keeping in touch with you on a regular basis. My sin is not loving you where you were. So for this I ask forgiveness. I want this truth to go down in my innermost being so I can Love the way my King and Master Loves. May we all get a revelation of His Love. He poured His Love out into our hearts. Yet our hearts are corrupted with hurt, pain and unforgiveness. He came to heal our broken hearts. Will you let Him heal your soul and your heart today? Just ask Him to reveal His love for you. I say open your heart and receive Now! Ask Him to restore relationships that were lost due to whatever stopped love from flowing to you. Forgive those who have harmed or wronged you in any way. Love covers and forgives.
Life and Godliness
I believe that all life issues can be solved with giving and sharing Love. Love cares, gives, helps, nurtures, heals, forgives, feeds the poor, is compassionate, does not allow someone to stay under oppression. Love believes all things and endures forever. Can we live in peace without His love flowing through you and me? How many more messages must we hear before we realize that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to demonstrate it for all mankind? How will you share His Love? This is about you knowing the One who is Love and loving others. Love does bring truth, does not always strive wth another person, nor does it allow another human being to be trampled on, either by words or actions. You have the right to put boundaries up. You also have the right to forgive others who have wronged you so you can walk in His Love. I hope this helps you also, as I share with you how He is teaching me and growing me in love. May this year be about His Love and Grace in your life.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
He is the message, The message is Him
What messages have you been listening to? The message of hopelessness, despair, worrry, or fear, or perhaps the doom and gloom one? Nevertheless there is a message of hope and love. There is one who is called the Son of God, who laid down His life, so that you can have a better one. There must be a transaction that takes place. In order to receive His message, you have to be willing to give up the fear (or whatever you're carrying) and let Him replace it with His unconditional love.
The reason 'He is the message' is because He first loved us and never created us to be alone or worry about what was going to happen. When He came on the earth, He released a message, "You don't have to live that way anymore". We have been lied to that is was up to us to perform and follow all the rules. Hmm, it seems that's the way the world works. I do not believe that was His message at all. His message was that of freedom and healing and yes, prosperity. Why do I say that? Because one man took all sin, all diseases and sickness, and our punishment upon Himself. So why do I struggle to receive what was already paid for? Everything has a cost. What are you paying for? Are you carrying the weight of the World upon yourself, what burdens are you carrying? Do you know that He has forgiven you? Are you trying to live up to expectations either for yourself or for Him? Are you trying to prove yourself to Him or to others? You don't have to do that either. There is nothing you can do to get Him to love you more. Now some of you might say, "Brother, you don't know what I have been through. I am not sure He even hears my prayer." This is where faith and truth must come together. Either everything He said is true or it's all a lie. Either He is the Son of God and paid for everything or He did not. The choice is really yours. So pause, take a deep breath, and think about Him. You might say, "I don't know anything about Him except what I have been told."
Well, let me help you out with that. Whatever is good, kind, patient, gentle, slow to anger, full of compassion, merciful, and full of Love. Those are some of His qualities. So when He thinks about you all He has are good thoughts. Don't you want to know and learn to walk with somebody like this? Then just ask Him to show you who He really is personally, one on one, just you and Him. This will change your life. So repeat after me, "Jesus, I would really like to know what You really think about me, and I want to know You for who You really are. There are so many lies out there and I don't know what to believe. So I am going to trust You to reveal Yourself to me." It''s done! So now let's go to step two.
Start by keeping a journal and record the good things that happen to you, and thank Him. The first step is to become aware of His love and goodness toward you. He does not judge you by your past performance. He simply loves you because you are His and He wants to reveal Himself to you in many different ways. So let's start this journey together. Think about the most kind, gentle, loving, patient person in the whole wide world and you will be thinking of Him. So remember in my last blog we talked about creating gratefulness. So go ahead and reread that again.
Here's to a fresh start with Him! If you have messed up in the past, just ask Him to forgive you. Believe you are already forgiven and move on. Remember it was His love for us that He paid the whole price for you and me. He longed to have a deep and sincere relationship with His children. Yes, that's you.The reason 'He is the message' is because He first loved us and never created us to be alone or worry about what was going to happen. When He came on the earth, He released a message, "You don't have to live that way anymore". We have been lied to that is was up to us to perform and follow all the rules. Hmm, it seems that's the way the world works. I do not believe that was His message at all. His message was that of freedom and healing and yes, prosperity. Why do I say that? Because one man took all sin, all diseases and sickness, and our punishment upon Himself. So why do I struggle to receive what was already paid for? Everything has a cost. What are you paying for? Are you carrying the weight of the World upon yourself, what burdens are you carrying? Do you know that He has forgiven you? Are you trying to live up to expectations either for yourself or for Him? Are you trying to prove yourself to Him or to others? You don't have to do that either. There is nothing you can do to get Him to love you more. Now some of you might say, "Brother, you don't know what I have been through. I am not sure He even hears my prayer." This is where faith and truth must come together. Either everything He said is true or it's all a lie. Either He is the Son of God and paid for everything or He did not. The choice is really yours. So pause, take a deep breath, and think about Him. You might say, "I don't know anything about Him except what I have been told."
Well, let me help you out with that. Whatever is good, kind, patient, gentle, slow to anger, full of compassion, merciful, and full of Love. Those are some of His qualities. So when He thinks about you all He has are good thoughts. Don't you want to know and learn to walk with somebody like this? Then just ask Him to show you who He really is personally, one on one, just you and Him. This will change your life. So repeat after me, "Jesus, I would really like to know what You really think about me, and I want to know You for who You really are. There are so many lies out there and I don't know what to believe. So I am going to trust You to reveal Yourself to me." It''s done! So now let's go to step two.
Start by keeping a journal and record the good things that happen to you, and thank Him. The first step is to become aware of His love and goodness toward you. He does not judge you by your past performance. He simply loves you because you are His and He wants to reveal Himself to you in many different ways. So let's start this journey together. Think about the most kind, gentle, loving, patient person in the whole wide world and you will be thinking of Him. So remember in my last blog we talked about creating gratefulness. So go ahead and reread that again.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Gratefulness
In all things give thanks, yes, in all things give thanks. I believe one of the most important keys to faith is being grateful or thankful (whichever you prefer). I used to have such a victim mentality or a poverty spirit. As I allowed Him to work in the depths of my being, He taught me gratefulness. How do you cultivate gratefulness inside of you? First you have to be intentional about it. What do I mean by that?
I had to learn to teach my soul to be thankful. It may sound something like this, "Father, I thank you for my mother and father" (no matter if they were good or bad). Then I say, "Father, I thank you for the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky." I know you might say that sounds silly, but remember if you have never been taught how to be grateful then you have to start somewhere. So stick with me on this; I am telling you from my experience. I have always felt I had it rough; I was always on the bottom of the rung so to speak. As I allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to me in a still quite voice, I would listen and He would prompt me to say others things like, "Thank You for this day," or "Thank You that my car still runs, or that I am still here." The reality is we have many things to be thankful for. Not just one day in November but every day I am thankful for His grace on my life.
Two years ago I stepped out in faith to follow my heart's cry to help others know Him, with no job no security, no plan, just a leading by His spirit. Since then we have had many blessings come our way. The truth is I am still following my heart, still no plan, no security but Him and He has provided in a multitude of ways through many people believing in me and caring for me. I am forever grateful to Him for the ones He chose to assist me in my endeavors to follow Him. So I say thank you to all, and to all thank you. I am forever grateful that He loves me and believes in me enough to be absolutely reckless sometimes. I move like the wind and He has always been faithful to provide. Now, let me tell you in the beginning I wasn't sure He would always come through. I did not know that I had beliefs that were contrary to who He is and what His word had promised. The whole thing about faith is simply believing and being confident in the One who loves you and has called you do great things. So let's start today by thanking Him for the little things, the grass, the earth, friends, health, family but mostly His unending, unfailing , continuing love for you and me. May the next days be filled with extreme gratefulness toward Him. If you struggle like this ask Him to remind you of all the good things you have. For His word says every good and perfect gift comes from above. I feel so very close to Him when I start everyday thanking Him for this day, since He is the one who made it, then I continue on with other things. May this help you in your walk with Him. It does take practice though. So keep being grateful everyday.
I had to learn to teach my soul to be thankful. It may sound something like this, "Father, I thank you for my mother and father" (no matter if they were good or bad). Then I say, "Father, I thank you for the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky." I know you might say that sounds silly, but remember if you have never been taught how to be grateful then you have to start somewhere. So stick with me on this; I am telling you from my experience. I have always felt I had it rough; I was always on the bottom of the rung so to speak. As I allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to me in a still quite voice, I would listen and He would prompt me to say others things like, "Thank You for this day," or "Thank You that my car still runs, or that I am still here." The reality is we have many things to be thankful for. Not just one day in November but every day I am thankful for His grace on my life.
Two years ago I stepped out in faith to follow my heart's cry to help others know Him, with no job no security, no plan, just a leading by His spirit. Since then we have had many blessings come our way. The truth is I am still following my heart, still no plan, no security but Him and He has provided in a multitude of ways through many people believing in me and caring for me. I am forever grateful to Him for the ones He chose to assist me in my endeavors to follow Him. So I say thank you to all, and to all thank you. I am forever grateful that He loves me and believes in me enough to be absolutely reckless sometimes. I move like the wind and He has always been faithful to provide. Now, let me tell you in the beginning I wasn't sure He would always come through. I did not know that I had beliefs that were contrary to who He is and what His word had promised. The whole thing about faith is simply believing and being confident in the One who loves you and has called you do great things. So let's start today by thanking Him for the little things, the grass, the earth, friends, health, family but mostly His unending, unfailing , continuing love for you and me. May the next days be filled with extreme gratefulness toward Him. If you struggle like this ask Him to remind you of all the good things you have. For His word says every good and perfect gift comes from above. I feel so very close to Him when I start everyday thanking Him for this day, since He is the one who made it, then I continue on with other things. May this help you in your walk with Him. It does take practice though. So keep being grateful everyday.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
He is the Day
Have you ever looked at tomorrow and become worried, or looked back at yesterday and felt sad or depressed. Well me too, then I heard something that caused me to look at it differently. Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift, that why its called it the present. Actually this was brought back to my memory when I watched Kung Fu Panda. I know it's a kids movie, but Jesus always shows me things when I am watching a movie. I guess its because I am always looking for Him in everything. So embrace today, for tomorrow will have its own place. Jesus said this also. We can only deal what is in today and try and plan for tomorrow but tomorrow is not guaranteed to anybody. So look up and see that your future hope lies in Him. Remember He loves you with a continuous love that is never shaken by circumstances. If you are not sure of His Love for you ask Him to show you. He does not want you to have intellectual knowledge of His Love but an encounter with Him. So go and find a space, whether it is on a swing or in a park or lying on your carpet and take a deep breath and say Jesus, reveal your love to me now. Wait and be patient, allowing your mind and emotions to settle down. Wait, here the peace comes, yes thats Him; He is peace. Wait!, Wait!, until a flood of His presence comes over you. Now stay there and drink in the experience. He is better than we think and wants to invade every aspect of our lives. Remember the goal is to know Him. How can you know someone without being with them? Jesus longs to be with you today. Will you give Him an opportunity for Him to be with you, whether for a few minutes of your morning or to remove the stress at the end of the day. The choice is up to you! What will you do?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
To Fill the Void
Who is this man called Jesus, and what is the big deal anyway - isn't Christianity the same as any other religion? Well no, its not - all other religions depend on work and not a relationship with a Creator who loves you and has paid the whole price for the relationship to be established. There is not any other God who would go to the lengths that the one true God does; nor does any other God have the ability to change you from the inside out. Jesus came and said that it's what is in a man's heart that defines him not the outward appearance. How can a man say that he loves God whom he has never seen and hate his brother whom he has seen? See? A different standard all together. He is also the only one who can heal a broken heart of a man or woman.
I have been in some deep troubling places in my life. I was born overseas and then put in an orphanage till I was three; I never learned to attach to my adopted parents nor trust them inside my heart. To be perfectly honest I have trouble trusting any one but Him, and that's a learning process. Although He has been most gracious with visiting me, caressing me, loving me when I did not even know what His love was about. He kept sending people in my life who knew Him, and kept demonstrating His amazing grace and love. I am not talking about people who confessed Him with their mouths but their hearts were not in it. I mean committed people of God whose hearts were surrendered to the Lord. They did not always understand what God was doing in me or what I was doing as I was learning to follow Him. Let me catch you up on my story.
Thirteen years ago I started my walk with Him, Jesus. I knew that I was lost searching for something - I just did not know it was Him. He knows me so well. I have search the whole world looking for something to fill the void in my heart and nothing, not places, not people, not alcohol, nothing could fill it. I was lonely and empty even around people. I have traveled around the globe - nothing will ever fill the void in your heart either. They void is to be filled by Him. He completes you - not your wife, not your job, not your children. It a relationship with Him; the longing of your soul can only be satisfied by His Love and grace for you. There is no amount of good things you can do to get Him to Love you more than He does right now. So open your heart and ask Him for help to know His Love. I assure you from one who did it - it will change your life. Then find people who really know Him to walk with and encourage you. Jesus, I want to know you more and more each and every day!
I have been in some deep troubling places in my life. I was born overseas and then put in an orphanage till I was three; I never learned to attach to my adopted parents nor trust them inside my heart. To be perfectly honest I have trouble trusting any one but Him, and that's a learning process. Although He has been most gracious with visiting me, caressing me, loving me when I did not even know what His love was about. He kept sending people in my life who knew Him, and kept demonstrating His amazing grace and love. I am not talking about people who confessed Him with their mouths but their hearts were not in it. I mean committed people of God whose hearts were surrendered to the Lord. They did not always understand what God was doing in me or what I was doing as I was learning to follow Him. Let me catch you up on my story.
Thirteen years ago I started my walk with Him, Jesus. I knew that I was lost searching for something - I just did not know it was Him. He knows me so well. I have search the whole world looking for something to fill the void in my heart and nothing, not places, not people, not alcohol, nothing could fill it. I was lonely and empty even around people. I have traveled around the globe - nothing will ever fill the void in your heart either. They void is to be filled by Him. He completes you - not your wife, not your job, not your children. It a relationship with Him; the longing of your soul can only be satisfied by His Love and grace for you. There is no amount of good things you can do to get Him to Love you more than He does right now. So open your heart and ask Him for help to know His Love. I assure you from one who did it - it will change your life. Then find people who really know Him to walk with and encourage you. Jesus, I want to know you more and more each and every day!
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