He is not yet satisfied…

 

I listened the other day as a friend was in a deep depression over an incident in her life.

She was full of self hatred.

She was full of  self doubt

She was full of  moping and groaning.

Honestly she was very full… but not yet of Christ.

But HE was working. He has brought her to a place where the misstep she has just made was dredging up from the bottom of her life memories of when she had been the victim. 

When she had been hurt and reviled, and now she was re-living it, even though she was a grown woman, far from the hurts of childhood.

As she spoke to me I could tell that this part of her childhood was something she had never spoke of. She had never mentioned it to me or even her spouse. 

And because of that, the enemy had kept her captive to it for a lifetime. She had been it’s silent prisoner. And now her savior was setting her free.

But the trouble with being set free from such an old bond is that flesh and bone have begun to grow around those chains. And it hurts to have them removed. It tears at flesh, and it breaks through bone, and the infection must then be washed and healed. 

It hurts enough that we scarcely see how it’s helping. We beg for the chains to be left alone, and we cry something horrible.

Oh what a patient father he is! If it were me and my child I would consider keeping the chains there so as to not cause them any further pain… but our Lord knows better. 

He knows that the pain we feel now is but a small pinch compared to the pain of having our bondage remain.  

He loves us too much to be satisfied with us as we are… he is not yet satisfied until we are free, and healed, and dance in joy and shout our praises I AM FREE!!

So my dear friend who is in pain right now, if you read this know that I am praying for you… but I will not pray that it is taken away. 

I will pray that you will know and feel HIS grace, and HIS love, and HIS mercy through it all… and that you will yield to him, and allow him to remove it – though it is painful. Because the freedom you will know on the other side is worth it… it is WORTH IT!

Love you friend!  From a former prisoner in chains to another. 

Time is Short - So What Will You Do With It?

Time is Short. That is truth. God is coming back and the evidence and signs of that truth are everywhere. We are living the pages of prophecy in our world today. Between wars raging, financial crisis everywhere, natural calamities that wipe out thousands at a time, we can't be Christians in today's world without an understanding that Christ is coming soon. The timeline is wrapping up and people have very little time left to make that decision to accept the Grace of God. 

In other words, life is far too short to live it for anything other than him and the passion and purpose he has given YOU specifically to accomplish in this life, in this exact time in history. 

Don't let the enemy steal it from you. 

Don't let him! 

So what did God put YOU here to do? What did he create you to accomplish for him? What is your passion? 

If you knew when your last day on earth was going to be, what would you do right now with the short time you had left? Think about it. Journal about it. Pray about it.

The enemy lives to speak lies to our heart (let's not believe them!), he want's to immobilize us with those lies. He want's to paralyze us with fear, indecision, confusion... anything that will keep us from walking in the FULL, ABUNDANT, and FULFILLING life God has planned for us. 

Here is the truth...The enemy has no right to hinder you from the life God called you to!

So please hear me when I say this. YOU were created with a purpose. YOU are the one and only YOU that he created to accomplish the tasks and life purpose he gave you. Don't let the enemy steal it from you. If you are in Christ you are have been given the power to stand in victory! Use it. Dare to walk in it. 

Be filled with purpose today friends. He has made You for such a time as this!

"Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies." Psalm 107:2

"'You are my witnesses.' declares the LORD. 'and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD and apart from me there is no savior.'" Isaiah 43:10-11

Blessings

You Are Beautiful!

I have a beautiful 3 year old daughter. I love everything about her. She is smart, spunky, funny, caring, and so much more. I look at her and I see the grace of God on me. 

I am so overwhelmed that God would trust me (with all the horrible mistakes I've made in my life) to raise a girl-child -- one who will want to emulate her mother-- is nothing short of Gods grace. 

I take this very seriously, and think about her as she grows up. I am careful to show her how God loves her, how he thinks she is a treasure. How she is HIS princess. That he made her just the way she is for a reason, that she has purpose and meaning. 

My hope is to teach her to believe what God says about her rather than what the world says... so it hurt my heart to no end to hear these words come out of her mouth after watching a princess cartoon...

"Oh I wish I was as beautiful as she was... maybe if I had hair like her, or a dress like her I could be beautiful too" 

She's 3, and the poison of the world has already touched her! 

Oh Friends! What happens to us? Why do we believe the lies of this world rather than the truth of God?

Are you like me? Do you struggle with not feeling good enough? Or feeling that if you could just change that ONE thing then everything would be right?

What a lie! God is good. He loves us. He knows we are but dust, but he Chooses to call us his BRIDE, his Princess!

Oh Lord,  that we would stop looking at ourselves through the glasses of this world and instead look at who we are through the lens of who you say we are!

What power we would have. What defeat we would bring on the enemy of our souls. 

But the enemy knows that if we are locked in our prison of self-doubt and "not good enough" that we will be weak and ineffective. We must fight that with the word!

I encourage you to see yourselves... for me to see myself.... in the light of God's word! To stand up, believe it, and move forward in the confidence that God gives, not in the weakness that the world dishes. 

 

"How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh how beautiful!" Song of Songs 4:1