"...Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." (1 Corinthians 12:14 NIV)
When you think of church, what do you see in your mind? What does the word "church" make you think of? For as many people reading this, there will be that many different explanations of what "church" means.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about his vision of the church. Many people living in community together with all things in common as the body of Christ. He compares this body of Christ to the human body...made up of many different parts with many different purposes all working together to cause the body to live, breathe and work. All the parts have to work together, but they are not all doing the same thing.
I believe that we forget that part...that we don't all have to be doing the same thing. We want everyone to be doing what we are doing...or better still...we want to be doing what others are doing so we don't feel different or left out. We get angry, frustrated and bitter when other members of the body need or want to do something different than what we are doing. That anger, frustration and bitterness comes from our wounded hearts.
We have all been wounded. Every one of us has had our heart broken to some degree, and we carry that brokenness around with us wherever we go.
When Jesus begins his ministry, he quotes Isaiah.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)
Jesus is offering freedom, healing, comfort and joy to all who need it, including you and me. He is knocking on the door of our hearts...all we have to do is open the door and let him in. The problem is, many times our wounds are locked up tight in the deep chambers of our heart and we don't even know they are there. But, Jesus does know. He knows where, why, and how to heal us, we just have to ask him to.
How do we learn how to ask him? How do we learn there is a Savior named Jesus who is there waiting and willing to heal our wounded hearts? By turning to the body of Christ...the church.
THAT is why it is so important for us, as the church, to constantly be in prayer, keeping our own hearts healed through Christ. So many different people with different talents, gifts and yes, hurts, make up that body of Christ. If we do not keep asking God to allow Christ to heal and re-heal our hearts, those wounds get deeper. Anger, frustration and bitterness set in and we are no longer able to show others the way to Christ's healing love.
When many people think of the word "church" they think of judgement, bigotry and hypocrites. Many people have gone to church looking for healing and have left more hurt than when they came in. I bet this makes God very sad. Our churches, whatever denomination or affiliation, should be loving, caring, open places...showing each person walking through the door the way to allow Jesus to heal their wounded hearts.
"But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way"
(Casting Crowns song)
My sun porch
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
What's in your hand?
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32 NIV)
I have busy hands. In one day's time, my hand has held MANY things...a coffee mug, a steering wheel, a phone, keys, a computer mouse, books, a friend's hand, my debit card, a greasy hamburger, a dog leash, laundry, a dish towel, soap, my daughter's face as I kissed her before school. There's a wealth of things my hands have held in the last 24 hours...I have very wealthy hands!
I am the steward of all those things while they are in my hands, meaning it's my responsibility to take care of them while I have them. What I do with them while I am holding them in my hand is up to me. With some of those things, I serve myself...with some I serve others...some of them seem to have no purpose at all. But they all have been held by me...I have touched them.
The verse from Acts above and verses like it make me think of communes in the 60's. As John Lennon said, "Imagine no possessions." But we get ouchy when it comes to our stuff, don't we? It's MINE! Most of those things I held in my hand belonged to me...I don't want someone else holding my phone, my debit card, my car.
We are the wealthiest generation ever, and yet people are starving all over the world and right in our own back yards. What if we DID share more of our stuff??? I WANT to help others, but what can I do? I complain about not having enough money myself, and yet have no problem at all eating (and paying for!) fast food twice on a busy Sunday!!! There are MANY MANY ways I can get involved and help others and share my resources...I just have to act!
I think the key to the Acts verse above is the very first sentence..."all the believers were in one heart and mind..." Their hearts and minds were all focused on the same thing...Is it possible for a group of people from different walks of life, different socio-economic levels, with different likes and dislikes, to be focused enough to share their all their resources? I believe whole-heartedly YES...when God is the one they are focused on! Each person must have an open and like heart and mind.
How about you? How many things have you held in your hand in the last 24 hours? If you look to God, opening your mind and your heart to his wishes instead of your own, how might God want you to use those resources you held in your hands differently? You are the steward of them...could you be serving others more and yourself less? How might using those resources to help others benefit you in the long run?
What are you holding in your hand right now?
I have busy hands. In one day's time, my hand has held MANY things...a coffee mug, a steering wheel, a phone, keys, a computer mouse, books, a friend's hand, my debit card, a greasy hamburger, a dog leash, laundry, a dish towel, soap, my daughter's face as I kissed her before school. There's a wealth of things my hands have held in the last 24 hours...I have very wealthy hands!
I am the steward of all those things while they are in my hands, meaning it's my responsibility to take care of them while I have them. What I do with them while I am holding them in my hand is up to me. With some of those things, I serve myself...with some I serve others...some of them seem to have no purpose at all. But they all have been held by me...I have touched them.
The verse from Acts above and verses like it make me think of communes in the 60's. As John Lennon said, "Imagine no possessions." But we get ouchy when it comes to our stuff, don't we? It's MINE! Most of those things I held in my hand belonged to me...I don't want someone else holding my phone, my debit card, my car.
We are the wealthiest generation ever, and yet people are starving all over the world and right in our own back yards. What if we DID share more of our stuff??? I WANT to help others, but what can I do? I complain about not having enough money myself, and yet have no problem at all eating (and paying for!) fast food twice on a busy Sunday!!! There are MANY MANY ways I can get involved and help others and share my resources...I just have to act!
I think the key to the Acts verse above is the very first sentence..."all the believers were in one heart and mind..." Their hearts and minds were all focused on the same thing...Is it possible for a group of people from different walks of life, different socio-economic levels, with different likes and dislikes, to be focused enough to share their all their resources? I believe whole-heartedly YES...when God is the one they are focused on! Each person must have an open and like heart and mind.
How about you? How many things have you held in your hand in the last 24 hours? If you look to God, opening your mind and your heart to his wishes instead of your own, how might God want you to use those resources you held in your hands differently? You are the steward of them...could you be serving others more and yourself less? How might using those resources to help others benefit you in the long run?
What are you holding in your hand right now?
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
"Give me your eyes so I can see..."
"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that." -- Galatians 6:4 MSG
At the end of yesterday's blog post, I suggested taking a look at yourself, your past hurts and how they shaped who you are today. One reason I think that is an important thing to do is that it helps you understand who you are and helps you get past your hurts to see who God designed you to be. "God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well." (Romans 12:6) But sometimes it takes time to figure out what those gifts are. When you realize what you are good at, and you want to be obedient to God, you start looking for ways to use those talents and gifts to help others.
There is so much pain, hurt, and need in the world today. Everywhere you look, you see people struggling to survive in one way or another. When you can get past your own pain, you see how who you are can help someone else. One problem I have though, is that I get overwhelmed by the AMOUNT of need in my community and in the world, and wonder what difference I can make. There is an old Jewish proverb that says "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." We CAN make a difference...one person at a time!
Read Acts 3:10. The lame man was begging for money. He probably needed money to survive. But instead of money, Peter and John healed him in the name of Jesus and he got up and walked. We sometimes ask God for one thing but He would like to give us something much better. The same could be true for the needy around us. Consider some ways to give more than the bare minimum to others and to instead bless them with more than they asked for or imagined.
Peter and John didn't turn their eyes away from the man begging in the street. They looked right at him, and then told him to look at them. So many times, we look past the need that is right in front of us...for many reasons, but mostly because it's painful to see someone else's pain and we just don't know what to do. But, I believe God doesn't want us to always turn a blind eye.
Try this...the next time you see someone in need, maybe it's someone begging for money or the girl crying in the school bathroom...try looking them in the eye. Let your kind eyes meet the desperate ones. This will take courage...it might be hard. But think about how it could make a difference to them and to you.
There is a good quote from Max Lucado - "Our society is set up for isolation. We wear our earbuds when we exercise. We communicate via email and text messages. We enter our houses with gates and garage door openers. Our mantra: 'I'll leave you alone. You leave me alone.' Yet God wants his people to be an exception."
Many times, when you help someone else, you end up helping yourself more. Look inside yourself...find the gifts God gave you and make someone's day today! You'll be blessed more than you could ever imagine!
At the end of yesterday's blog post, I suggested taking a look at yourself, your past hurts and how they shaped who you are today. One reason I think that is an important thing to do is that it helps you understand who you are and helps you get past your hurts to see who God designed you to be. "God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well." (Romans 12:6) But sometimes it takes time to figure out what those gifts are. When you realize what you are good at, and you want to be obedient to God, you start looking for ways to use those talents and gifts to help others.
There is so much pain, hurt, and need in the world today. Everywhere you look, you see people struggling to survive in one way or another. When you can get past your own pain, you see how who you are can help someone else. One problem I have though, is that I get overwhelmed by the AMOUNT of need in my community and in the world, and wonder what difference I can make. There is an old Jewish proverb that says "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire." We CAN make a difference...one person at a time!
Read Acts 3:10. The lame man was begging for money. He probably needed money to survive. But instead of money, Peter and John healed him in the name of Jesus and he got up and walked. We sometimes ask God for one thing but He would like to give us something much better. The same could be true for the needy around us. Consider some ways to give more than the bare minimum to others and to instead bless them with more than they asked for or imagined.
Peter and John didn't turn their eyes away from the man begging in the street. They looked right at him, and then told him to look at them. So many times, we look past the need that is right in front of us...for many reasons, but mostly because it's painful to see someone else's pain and we just don't know what to do. But, I believe God doesn't want us to always turn a blind eye.
Try this...the next time you see someone in need, maybe it's someone begging for money or the girl crying in the school bathroom...try looking them in the eye. Let your kind eyes meet the desperate ones. This will take courage...it might be hard. But think about how it could make a difference to them and to you.
There is a good quote from Max Lucado - "Our society is set up for isolation. We wear our earbuds when we exercise. We communicate via email and text messages. We enter our houses with gates and garage door openers. Our mantra: 'I'll leave you alone. You leave me alone.' Yet God wants his people to be an exception."
Many times, when you help someone else, you end up helping yourself more. Look inside yourself...find the gifts God gave you and make someone's day today! You'll be blessed more than you could ever imagine!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Hiding with modern day idols
"You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3 NIV)
When learning about the 10 commandments as a child and even as an adult, I thought I was ok with the one about no other gods...I am a Christian...I believe in one God...no statues, no sun gods or moon gods for me. But I am discovering that I break this commandment every day. ANYTHING that you put ahead of or before God is an idol. Work, family, friends, busyness, Facebook...I make time (sometimes TOO much time!!) for these things, and God seems to go to the back of my mind and the back of the line.
If in our hearts we know that God will provide, that God won't give us more than we can handle, that Jesus carries us when we are weak...why oh why do we push God aside and try to run our lives on our own???
I think we like to think that God is in control, but our hearts just don't REALLY trust that fact. We think God is holding out on us...we feel pain of everyday hurts and problems and don't immediately feel comfort from God and so then we think he's not there or that he isn't working with our best interests in mind. If you are a Bible reader like me, you KNOW that isn't true, but down deep, it's easier to believe in our own power than it is a God we can't see.
We are fallen people...we make mistakes...we compare our lives to others, we feel like our lives don't matter....we KNOW we are wrong, but we can't seem to help it so we HIDE!
We hide our true selves, our true desires behind those idols that we use to replace the God who in our minds has let is down, or the God we feel WILL let us down someday. We hide in our busyness...we hide in our jobs/careers...we hide in our friendships and families...we hide. Some of us become controlling and manipulative...we will MAKE our lives and the lives around us the way we want them. Some of us become desolate and meek and just let our lives float around us. Some of us are a combination of those two. But sure enough...we hide our true selves out of fear that God can't possibly love us enough to protect us from hurt.
We're going to be hurt in this life. Solomon, the wisest man in history, says "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"— (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV) There is GOING to be trouble...there is going to be hurt. It's how we handle the hurts in our lives that matters. We can't hide and bury our hurts...they will surface later on.
So...we need to take a long look at ourselves...we need to look at the hurts in our lives and how we have allowed those hurts to give us permission to hide in the modern day idols that have taken the place of God's power in our lives. If you are younger, you have a great opportunity to NOT follow in the footsteps of previous generations. Learn how to give your hurts to God...learn how to recognize when you are letting your life be filled with idols instead of God.
Think about a time in your past when you were hurt. What did you come to believe about yourself through this event?
Ask God to reveal to you the ways that believing those things has shaped your life. Has it shaped your style of relating to others? Has it caused you to have fear or mistrust about certain things?
What if the messages delivered with your hurts simply weren't true? IT'S NOT TRUE!!! Just because you were told something or experienced something painful...it doesn't have to have negative effects on the rest of your life. God DOES care for you...he thinks you are beautiful and wonderful. Jesus came to heal the broken hearted and to set the captives free!
I always look to heaven with anticipation...think of it...no pain...no tears...happiness! But...we don't have to wait for heaven to experience some of that kind of joy! When we learn to let go of our hurts instead of using it as an excuse to hide from God, we learn to let God heal us. That is hope...that is life. God has more planned for you when you put him first! Put away your idols...ok, you can't put away your job or your friends and family...but you can allow God to be first and stop trying to run your life! THAT'S what I am trying to do!
When learning about the 10 commandments as a child and even as an adult, I thought I was ok with the one about no other gods...I am a Christian...I believe in one God...no statues, no sun gods or moon gods for me. But I am discovering that I break this commandment every day. ANYTHING that you put ahead of or before God is an idol. Work, family, friends, busyness, Facebook...I make time (sometimes TOO much time!!) for these things, and God seems to go to the back of my mind and the back of the line.
If in our hearts we know that God will provide, that God won't give us more than we can handle, that Jesus carries us when we are weak...why oh why do we push God aside and try to run our lives on our own???
I think we like to think that God is in control, but our hearts just don't REALLY trust that fact. We think God is holding out on us...we feel pain of everyday hurts and problems and don't immediately feel comfort from God and so then we think he's not there or that he isn't working with our best interests in mind. If you are a Bible reader like me, you KNOW that isn't true, but down deep, it's easier to believe in our own power than it is a God we can't see.
We are fallen people...we make mistakes...we compare our lives to others, we feel like our lives don't matter....we KNOW we are wrong, but we can't seem to help it so we HIDE!
We hide our true selves, our true desires behind those idols that we use to replace the God who in our minds has let is down, or the God we feel WILL let us down someday. We hide in our busyness...we hide in our jobs/careers...we hide in our friendships and families...we hide. Some of us become controlling and manipulative...we will MAKE our lives and the lives around us the way we want them. Some of us become desolate and meek and just let our lives float around us. Some of us are a combination of those two. But sure enough...we hide our true selves out of fear that God can't possibly love us enough to protect us from hurt.
We're going to be hurt in this life. Solomon, the wisest man in history, says "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"— (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NIV) There is GOING to be trouble...there is going to be hurt. It's how we handle the hurts in our lives that matters. We can't hide and bury our hurts...they will surface later on.
So...we need to take a long look at ourselves...we need to look at the hurts in our lives and how we have allowed those hurts to give us permission to hide in the modern day idols that have taken the place of God's power in our lives. If you are younger, you have a great opportunity to NOT follow in the footsteps of previous generations. Learn how to give your hurts to God...learn how to recognize when you are letting your life be filled with idols instead of God.
Think about a time in your past when you were hurt. What did you come to believe about yourself through this event?
Ask God to reveal to you the ways that believing those things has shaped your life. Has it shaped your style of relating to others? Has it caused you to have fear or mistrust about certain things?
What if the messages delivered with your hurts simply weren't true? IT'S NOT TRUE!!! Just because you were told something or experienced something painful...it doesn't have to have negative effects on the rest of your life. God DOES care for you...he thinks you are beautiful and wonderful. Jesus came to heal the broken hearted and to set the captives free!
I always look to heaven with anticipation...think of it...no pain...no tears...happiness! But...we don't have to wait for heaven to experience some of that kind of joy! When we learn to let go of our hurts instead of using it as an excuse to hide from God, we learn to let God heal us. That is hope...that is life. God has more planned for you when you put him first! Put away your idols...ok, you can't put away your job or your friends and family...but you can allow God to be first and stop trying to run your life! THAT'S what I am trying to do!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Out live your life...
"David had done the will of God in his own generation..." -- Acts 13:36 NLT
This week I have been talking about understanding your own beauty...understanding who you are, how God made you who you are...learning to love yourself, understand yourself, and your own motivation will help you be a happier, healthier person.
But...then what???
What good is all this self-study and understanding when we keep it to ourselves?
My First Place group recently did a "time study" where we recorded our activities every hour for a week. My goal for this exercise was to get us to see that even though we are VERY BUSY with school, work and other things, we DO have enough time in our day for Bible study and exercise.
What I saw when I looked at the charts was a lot of time focused on myself...Facebook surfing...Words with Friends...TV time...listening or reading books... and even a bit of exercise fitted in there. While I do spend a lot of time at work and church, I spend a lot of time on MY wants and desires. I may not have time to be involved in community theater as I dream of, or go out with friend's enough, but I think I do spend a lot of "me time." Wasn't that the whole idea behind the "Happiness Project?" Find things you enjoy doing...do them and you'll be happy, right?
Then how come I still have times when I feel discontent and even boredom with my life?
Do you want to be remembered when you are gone? We don't like to think about our own mortality, especially when we are young. But I think we all would like to think we made SOME kind of difference in this world. There just seems to be SO MUCH pain, suffering and need in our communities, our county and our world...we don't even know where to start.
You will be hearing more from me in the near future about "Outliving our lives..." but for now...if you are looking for ways to serve in your community...if you are looking for ways to get connected with people in need...if you are looking for ways to use your time, treasures and talents to help others...I applaud you and encourage you to get connected!
In Muskingum County Ohio, there is an organization that wants to help you do just that. Go to www.wesearveseo.org.
We Serve has lists of organizations in southeastern Ohio that need volunteers...they might be looking for you!!!
Know that you are beautiful and created in God's image and that God wants you to make a difference in the world he crested!
This week I have been talking about understanding your own beauty...understanding who you are, how God made you who you are...learning to love yourself, understand yourself, and your own motivation will help you be a happier, healthier person.
But...then what???
What good is all this self-study and understanding when we keep it to ourselves?
My First Place group recently did a "time study" where we recorded our activities every hour for a week. My goal for this exercise was to get us to see that even though we are VERY BUSY with school, work and other things, we DO have enough time in our day for Bible study and exercise.
What I saw when I looked at the charts was a lot of time focused on myself...Facebook surfing...Words with Friends...TV time...listening or reading books... and even a bit of exercise fitted in there. While I do spend a lot of time at work and church, I spend a lot of time on MY wants and desires. I may not have time to be involved in community theater as I dream of, or go out with friend's enough, but I think I do spend a lot of "me time." Wasn't that the whole idea behind the "Happiness Project?" Find things you enjoy doing...do them and you'll be happy, right?
Then how come I still have times when I feel discontent and even boredom with my life?
Do you want to be remembered when you are gone? We don't like to think about our own mortality, especially when we are young. But I think we all would like to think we made SOME kind of difference in this world. There just seems to be SO MUCH pain, suffering and need in our communities, our county and our world...we don't even know where to start.
You will be hearing more from me in the near future about "Outliving our lives..." but for now...if you are looking for ways to serve in your community...if you are looking for ways to get connected with people in need...if you are looking for ways to use your time, treasures and talents to help others...I applaud you and encourage you to get connected!
In Muskingum County Ohio, there is an organization that wants to help you do just that. Go to www.wesearveseo.org.
We Serve has lists of organizations in southeastern Ohio that need volunteers...they might be looking for you!!!
Know that you are beautiful and created in God's image and that God wants you to make a difference in the world he crested!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Eden relationship with God
We've been talking a lot about beauty this week. Beauty on the outside, beauty on the inside, the beauty of nature...even in the most ugly of circumstances, if you look hard enough, you will probably find some element of beauty within.
Beauty...the desire to BE beautiful and the desire to HAVE or POSSESS beauty can cause us great pleasure and great pain.
Adam and Eve had everything they could ever want...MUCH beauty around them, plenty of good food AND a personal relationship with God. They got to walk and talk with God...in person...seeing his face! It was God's original, perfect plan for his people.
So, if they had everything, why oh why did Eve eat that forbidden fruit??? It was partially because of the serpent's tempting words, but he didn't MAKE her take that bite.
* Hunger...the devil usually shows up when we are at our weakest...her tummy was growling and the fruit looked like it would satisfy her hunger.
* The tree and the fruit were BEAUTIFUL! they were inviting...they looked SO GOOD!
* She was promised wisdom and life if she ate it.
Eve knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. She liked it and wanted to share it with Adam. He also knew it was wrong, but did it anyway, probably for similar reasons as Eve.
Genesis 3:10 - "He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." Adam knew he had done wrong...he was afraid of God's punishment. The fruit did reveal the knowledge to him that he was naked and that was wrong. He hid from God to hide his nakedness and his shame.
Before the fruit...Adam and Eve were blessedly ignorant of shame...what a life not to know sin and shame! But, because they chose the fruit instead of obedience, we can understand the human condition.
Every person breathing is to some extent afraid and hiding. We are afraid of God's reaction to our sins...Even those of us who don't believe in God or sin deal with this issue down deep somewhere. Some of us try control our tendency to sin and try to control everyone else too...some of us are so depressed and desolate because we can't seem to get rid of our bad habits and sins that we just give up. Many of us fall somewhere in the middle between controlling and desolate about sins. Which way do you tend to go? Controlling and driven or desolate and needy?
Deep in our hearts, we long for the perfect Eden relationship with God again...we long to walk and talk with God again...we long to get rid of the fear, guilt and shame that our sins leave us with.
God knows why we do the things we do. He understand us. He longs for that Eden relationship too. It may not be perfect like Eden, but we can lean on God...talk to him...give our sins over to him...we can have a beautiful relationship with our creator and He will heal our fear and shame and help us learn to trust him down deep in our soul. All we have to do is ask and keep pursuing Him. He wants us to choose him and love him. He does and WILL return that love!
Beauty...the desire to BE beautiful and the desire to HAVE or POSSESS beauty can cause us great pleasure and great pain.
Adam and Eve had everything they could ever want...MUCH beauty around them, plenty of good food AND a personal relationship with God. They got to walk and talk with God...in person...seeing his face! It was God's original, perfect plan for his people.
So, if they had everything, why oh why did Eve eat that forbidden fruit??? It was partially because of the serpent's tempting words, but he didn't MAKE her take that bite.
* Hunger...the devil usually shows up when we are at our weakest...her tummy was growling and the fruit looked like it would satisfy her hunger.
* The tree and the fruit were BEAUTIFUL! they were inviting...they looked SO GOOD!
* She was promised wisdom and life if she ate it.
Eve knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. She liked it and wanted to share it with Adam. He also knew it was wrong, but did it anyway, probably for similar reasons as Eve.
Genesis 3:10 - "He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." Adam knew he had done wrong...he was afraid of God's punishment. The fruit did reveal the knowledge to him that he was naked and that was wrong. He hid from God to hide his nakedness and his shame.
Before the fruit...Adam and Eve were blessedly ignorant of shame...what a life not to know sin and shame! But, because they chose the fruit instead of obedience, we can understand the human condition.
Every person breathing is to some extent afraid and hiding. We are afraid of God's reaction to our sins...Even those of us who don't believe in God or sin deal with this issue down deep somewhere. Some of us try control our tendency to sin and try to control everyone else too...some of us are so depressed and desolate because we can't seem to get rid of our bad habits and sins that we just give up. Many of us fall somewhere in the middle between controlling and desolate about sins. Which way do you tend to go? Controlling and driven or desolate and needy?
Deep in our hearts, we long for the perfect Eden relationship with God again...we long to walk and talk with God again...we long to get rid of the fear, guilt and shame that our sins leave us with.
God knows why we do the things we do. He understand us. He longs for that Eden relationship too. It may not be perfect like Eden, but we can lean on God...talk to him...give our sins over to him...we can have a beautiful relationship with our creator and He will heal our fear and shame and help us learn to trust him down deep in our soul. All we have to do is ask and keep pursuing Him. He wants us to choose him and love him. He does and WILL return that love!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
A "beautiful" message for my women friends today...
God's world would be incomplete without you...
Think about how God began this world...it was a work of art and a labor of love. The heavens, the earth and all the creatures on the earth...a masterpiece! And humans were special...made in His image.
"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7 NIV)
"So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." (Genesis 2:21-23 NIV)
Be honest...have you ever thought that because God made woman AFTER man that women are second in God's heart to men? I mean...I know there are men who think of women as second class citizens...an afterthought to keep man company...but did you think that?
The authors of "Captivating" look at it a little bit differently...woman was the LAST thing God created before he rested from his great labor. She was the "crown of his creation!" Eve was God's finishing touch...she was breathtaking! The earth and God's grand creations would be incomplete without woman. How does that make your heart feel, to know that you are the "crown of creation?"
Eve was beautiful... Beauty can come in many forms. In people or in nature, what is it about beauty that moves people?
We'll talk more about Adam and Eve tomorrow. For today...remember that as a woman, you are God's "crown of creation!" You ARE beautiful! See yourself through God's eyes today instead of your own critical eyes. If you could see how beautiful you really are...doesn't that make you want to take care of that beautiful body God gave you? When I think of my body, I don't think "beautiful." but...I think God does! Just for today...love every inch of yourself and vow to love yourself enough to eat healthy today and get at least a little bit of movement and exercise into your day! When you catch a glimpse of the beauty inside yourself, you find you want to help others find it too! Compliment someone you meet today...a friend, a stranger...it doesn't matter. Let your beauty shine through to brighten someone else's day!
Have a BEAUTIFUL day!
Think about how God began this world...it was a work of art and a labor of love. The heavens, the earth and all the creatures on the earth...a masterpiece! And humans were special...made in His image.
"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7 NIV)
"So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." (Genesis 2:21-23 NIV)
Be honest...have you ever thought that because God made woman AFTER man that women are second in God's heart to men? I mean...I know there are men who think of women as second class citizens...an afterthought to keep man company...but did you think that?
The authors of "Captivating" look at it a little bit differently...woman was the LAST thing God created before he rested from his great labor. She was the "crown of his creation!" Eve was God's finishing touch...she was breathtaking! The earth and God's grand creations would be incomplete without woman. How does that make your heart feel, to know that you are the "crown of creation?"
Eve was beautiful... Beauty can come in many forms. In people or in nature, what is it about beauty that moves people?
We'll talk more about Adam and Eve tomorrow. For today...remember that as a woman, you are God's "crown of creation!" You ARE beautiful! See yourself through God's eyes today instead of your own critical eyes. If you could see how beautiful you really are...doesn't that make you want to take care of that beautiful body God gave you? When I think of my body, I don't think "beautiful." but...I think God does! Just for today...love every inch of yourself and vow to love yourself enough to eat healthy today and get at least a little bit of movement and exercise into your day! When you catch a glimpse of the beauty inside yourself, you find you want to help others find it too! Compliment someone you meet today...a friend, a stranger...it doesn't matter. Let your beauty shine through to brighten someone else's day!
Have a BEAUTIFUL day!
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