GOD MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

When we look around this big old world, we see people with different talents, skills, and abilities. We see people of different skin pigmentations, sizes, and heights. Every one is different. Even identical twins are not exactly the same inside and out. They may look and sound just alike, but there is always at least one thing that makes one differ from the other. How amazing is that? All of these people in the world and each one is different. No two are exactly the same.

God made each one of us and he made each one of us unique, but he still knows each of us intimately and personally. The bible tells us in Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7 that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” That means every one of us, not just a certain group of people, but every person he created. It also shows He knows way more about us than we know about ourselves, because we don’t even know that.

He made us different so that each individual would have something to offer in the great mix of human life. Each talent or gift is beneficial to another living human being. In Ephesians 4:11-12, it is explained that “…He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelist, and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Of course, we know that many other talents and offices are within the church such as singers, ushers, deacons, musicians, etc.

However, it is still evident that there is so much talent outside of the body of Christ also. There are those with the gift of writing, singing, dancing, athletic abilities, marketing skills, business skills, organizational skills, and even the skill of just motivating and encouraging others.

My point in all of this is that we should appreciate our fellow man and their stamp of uniqueness. God made each of us different and He didn’t have to do that. He could have made all of us the same through and through with no variety or creativity. How boring would that be?

He made us to stand out from one another to show off his beautiful garden of love.

We can truly say that God makes the difference because he made us distinct and it takes God in us to appreciate it in each other.

Appreciate the beauty in everyone and enjoy being your very special you.

Yes, I Believe This Stuff

HOW DO I BELIEVE? (PART 3)

In part 2 of this series, we talked about how reading the word of God informs us about the nature of God and that it helps us get to know Him. You can’t have faith in someone you don’t know. Reading the word and praying are the first two steps in the process of establishing our faith.

The final step in this series is witnessing. When we share the good news of the Lord with others we are witnessing our faith in Him. We are giving our testimony, our experience about what He has done in our lives and convey the message of what he can do for others. The more we talk about Christ to others, the more it builds our faith.

Have you ever been having a not so good day and someone comes along that is not having a good day either and you start talking to them about the Lord? What happens? While talking to and encouraging them, you start to feel better. Your witnessing has strengthened you. It has reactivated your faith to make it a little further in your day. Now just imagine doing that every day. You will be constantly reminded of God’s goodness and continually strengthened. Your faith will build more and more each day.

Romans 10:8-10 tells us that the word of faith is in our mouth and that we are to confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth. “With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Although there are some that are given the gift of faith, for most of us great faith comes through the process of praying, reading the word, and witnessing. And guess what? Even then we still have those days where we may just feel a certain type of way about some of the things going on in our lives. But don’t ever give up. Keep hanging in there. Those moments will pass. God will renew you exactly when you need it the most. Be encouraged in the grace of the Lord that meets us right where we are.

HOW DO I BELIEVE? (PART 2)

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed prayer as a key element in developing our faith. It is our intimate communication system with God. Every day dialogue with Him builds our trust in Him.

The second step in the process of believing is reading the word of God. This is how we really get to know Him. He already knows us, but He enjoys that we talk to Him (prayer) and it elevates us. Reading the word gives us insight into what He likes, or doesn’t like. It tells us how to please Him, what moves Him, how much He knows about us, and how much He loves us. It also let’s us know what to expect from Him and, most importantly, what He expects from us. It is daily instruction on how to live a hope filled life here on earth until it is time to be reunited with Him in our eternal home of glory. Psalm 119:105 proclaims that God’s word is “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.”

The more we study the word, the more we get to know God and the more faith we will have in Him. It causes us to recognize His love for us and we can believe that He wants the best for us.

Talking to God and reading the word are very crucial to establishing our faith because you can’t believe in something or someone you don’t know.

It doesn’t matter if we are just starting this Christian journey or have been traveling the path for years, we all must strive to continue in fellowship with God, the author and finisher of our faith.

HOW DO I BELIEVE? (PART 1)

This discussion on how to believe was sparked by a young man in my teen bible study group. It prompted this three part series that I would like to share.

Seasoned Christians, I like to call the older, more experienced believers, talk about faith like it’s as easy as slicing butter. We’ll hear them say, “Oh, honey, just believe and have faith and everything will be alright.” Many times that is easier said than done.

Some people just have the gift of faith, but some, including myself, have to work a little harder to grasp that concept. It’s okay, though. God knows exactly where we are and will meet us right there. That brings us to our first step in the process of establishing our faith.

When we accept Jesus in our hearts, we believe that He has the power to and has forgiven us for our sins as stated in Romans 10:9-10. That is a portion of the first step in the process of believing.

Now that He is a part of our life, we have to establish a relationship with Him. It’s just like making a new friend. If you want the friendship to grow, then you talk to your friend on a regular basis. When you talk to them every day, you will become the best of friends, nearly inseparable. You get to know what they like, or don’t like. You learn their favorite thing to do, eat, or place to go. You learn everything about them, and they learn about you.

It’s the same thing with God. When we talk to Him every day, we form a bond with Him. We tell Him our fears, our concerns,our problems, our hopes, and our dreams. Yes, He already knows, but He loves the fact that we are talking to Him. This develops our prayer life. It doesn’t have to be formal or fancy, just regular old talk will do. In the books of Psalms, we see that David talked to God about everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. He talked to God all the time and he had a special place in God’s heart because of his relationship with him.

When we are talking to God every day, we establish a bond with him, which is trust. This is the beginning of our faith.

Instead of approaching God like He’s a tyrant ruler, let us approach Him like our Creator, who cares about us, wants the best for us, and most of all, that wants a personal relationship with each one of us.

MATTERS OF THE HEART

In the teen bible study group I teach, we were discussing truthfulness in relation to our hearts. We came up with some colorful scenarios of how truthfulness can catch you by surprise.

Three types of people will quickly give you brutal honesty: a drunk person, an angry person, and a person suffering with Alzheimer’s. Think about it. When a person is drunk, they lose all of their inhibitions and they will do and say things they would never do when sober. They will bring up things from years ago and tell you exactly what they’d been wanting to say for years.

An angry person will say what they really think of you because they don’t care about your feelings at that exact moment. Lastly, the Alzheimer’s person will reveal their true nature because that part of their brain that controls their sense of what is appropriate and what is not is deteriorating.

Although these are three different circumstances, they all stem from what is really in their hearts. Luke 6:45 tells us that, “…for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Our hearts hold the truth. Everything that is true about us comes from our hearts. Whether it’s good or bad, it originates in our hearts. We can think many things, but it will not be enforced or acted upon until it enters our heart.

What lies within our hearts is powerful and it is what leads us in life. If we have Jesus in our hearts, then we’ll lead a spirit-led life; if we don’t have Him, then we’ll just be led by everything else.

Our emotions: love, hate, jealousy, grief, envy, lust, pride, envy, insecurities, and every other emotion come from the heart. Proverbs 4:23 sums it up very well by stating, “Above all else, guard thy heart, for out of it flows the issues of life.” This is where everything about us lives.

It is about the heart that God is most concerned. It is the real, true, genuine character of us all. David beseeched God in Psalm 51 to, “create in me a clean heart.” It’s that important. Matthew 5:8 states, “…the pure in heart shall see God. It’s that important.

We have to guard our hearts against thoughts and emotions that may not be pleasing to God. We do that through prayer, asking God to help us , and by reading the word of God because it is a cleanser. Jesus said, “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.”

Let us be diligent about evaluating and searching our hearts to make sure our motives are pleasing to God. Make sure we are walking in integrity to the best of our ability. Stay before God concerning the matters of our heart because our heart does matter.

INNER BEAUTY

There are times we look in the mirror and we are not impressed with what we see. Some of us wish our nose, eyes, chin, lips, or teeth were different. Others may wish to change their type of hair or color of their skin. That’s just our face and head. When we’re naked some of us may be near tears wanting to change so much we wouldn’t even be recognizable anymore. It is not often that one looks in the mirror and just love everything about the person staring back at them, myself included.

Even though we say that we do, most of the time we’re trying to convince ourselves as well as others. If that wasn’t true, then we wouldn’t be so gung ho to try every new fad that comes our way to make us thinner or better looking. We all tend to be very sensitive about what others see when they look at us.

In today’s society, it is easy to look at TV and magazines and see all the thin bodies and beautiful faces and feel somehow inadequate. We sometimes forget that God told us in Psalm 139:14 that we are, ” fearfully and wonderfully made,” but continue to focus on what we perceive to be wrong with us.

Outer beauty is great, but it doesn’t last. Outer beauty ages and develops wrinkles and liver spots. Outer beauty loses the battle against gravity and all of our bodies are slowly pulled toward the earth.

However, inner beauty grows more and more each day. That’s what God sees when He looks at us, as Christians, inner beauty. Our inner beauty is our heart and our spirit. He sees our inner man and to Him it reflects Jesus. That is real beauty. It doesn’t fade away, but becomes brighter and fuller.

In 1 Peter 3: 3-4, we are reminded that our beauty does not come from things worn or how we look on the outside, but the heart and gentle, quiet spirit is of great worth in God’s sight.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being beautiful on the outside, but let’s make sure it is a reflection of the radiating glow of the inner man that makes God proud.

SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE

Have you ever been going through something traumatic in your life and the people closest to you tried to encourage you by preaching the word of God to you?

Is that a bad thing? No. The word of God is never a bad thing, but we do have to respond to people through the power of discernment.  When we are led by the Holy Spirit, the word will never fall on unprepared soil.

Sometimes people are seriously overwhelmed and just need us to listen to them. They need to vent to someone in the flesh. Empathize with their human emotions in a very real life situation. Do we know that God is in control? Do we know that He’s able to give them strength to go through whatever is happening? Do we know that He’ll put no more on them than they can bear? The answer is yes to all of the above, and guess what? They know it too.

While we’re trying to be deep and profound, offering every scripture we know, all that is really needed is a listening ear, or perhaps a shoulder to cry on. They want to hear us say, “I understand. I’ve been there and I know how you feel.”  Or, ” I can imagine your pain.”

Romans 12:15 tells us we are to, “Rejoice with those that rejoice and mourn with those that mourn.” That is called compassion, and it will go much further than a sermon that they are unable to accept at the time. However, the love of God shown through us will mean more. Let us not make someone’s situation an opportunity to boost our egos by testing our scripture knowledge.

The word of God is right all the time and showing it can be just as effective, if not more, than speaking it.

Sometimes less really is more.

BLESS ME INDEED

I grew up in a very strict church environment and we were taught that, “You don’t question God,” and, ” You don’t need a lot of money because Jesus is all you need.” It was instilled in us that material things, especially money, would bring about evil of some sort or at the very least be a distraction from God. So, when you went to God in prayer, you were to pray for others and not pray selfish prayers for yourself and your needs simply because God knows of what you have need.

It’s true. God is our source and resource. He is our ultimate provider. Without him, we can do nothing. There is no doubting that.

However, praying for yourself and making your petitions known to God is also a part of your prayer life. The bible tells us in Philippians 4:6 to, “Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God.” God does know what we need and want, but He still wants us to talk to him about it. That’s called communication and that forms a relationship.

Now, I’m not saying that every time we go before the Lord that we are to be asking for things for ourselves. What I’m saying is that it’s okay to include ourselves in our petitions.

In 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabez prayed a simple prayer to the Lord saying, “Oh that thou would bless me indeed, and enlarge my coasts, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested.”

If you read the entire chapter, you will see that out of all of those names listed in that chapter, Jabez was the only one to call out to God and when he did, he asked God to bless him and enlarge his territory. He asked God to protect him and keep him from doing wrong when he received all of this so that it wouldn’t grieve him to have it. God gave him exactly what he asked.

Yes, we are supposed to pray for others: our family, friends, sisters and brothers in Christ and our communities, but don’t leave yourself out. It’s okay to ask God for what you want, but go the step further and ask God to keep you kingdom minded when you receive it. God will do it. He will bless you indeed.

BEWARE OF THE THIEF

I was faced with a situation recently that reminded me how easily it is to allow our peace and joy to be disrupted by the darts thrown at us by the enemy.

Now we don’t always recognize it’s from Satan because he’ll shoot them from inside the people closest to us, but that should be the first indication that he is the culprit.

When we are constantly faced with things that would otherwise destroy us, yet, we stand firm in God, the enemy is confused and mad. He has thrown everything at us that he thought would take us out, but we are still standing. So, now what he does is come at us from a different angle. See, the attacks he originally launched were larger and we triumphed, now he’s thinking if he starts smaller it will weaken us and then he can hit harder and destroy us.

That’s how our family, children, and friends are drawn into the fight. He’ll use them to sneak attack us because we were expecting him, but not them. We weren’t expecting our best friend to turn their back and treat us like a stranger. We weren’t expecting our children to attack us verbally or morally or to walk away. We weren’t expecting our spouse to act out or leave. We weren’t expecting our sisters and brothers in Christ to talk about us or lie on us. These things hit us at heart and can set us back permanently if we let it.

We must remember that God has warned us over and over about Satan, our enemy, and told us how to withstand his shenanigans. Jesus enlightened us of his agenda in John 10:10, ” that the thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to kill, steal and destroy….” That is his only mission and he is on it at all times. He is always looking for a way to bring us down and keep us from what God has designed and prepared for us.

In Ephesians 6:13-17, God explains to us how to survive the attacks of the enemy whether big or small. He told us to cover ourselves with honesty and truth and the righteousness of God, to fill ourselves with the word of God and walk in faith carrying peace wherever we go as a sign of our salvation.

Yes, the thief will continue to try to steal away our joy, our peace, and our happiness. He’ll try to destroy relationships with our family, children, and friends. His aim is to kill everything in us that Jesus took care of on the cross for us.

We have to be encouraged and remember that it is not really the people close to us that we get upset with or allow to disrupt our peace and calm. We must recognize the tactic of the enemy and treat it as such by continuing to love, pray when we’ve been hurt, and forgive.

Always remember the enemy is real, but he is not the winner. We already know how the story ends for those of us living in the Lord. We are victorious in Christ Jesus.