Rom. 12:1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
I like to go hiking. Sometimes I wear my sport sandals instead of my hiking boots because they are cooler. But as I’ve hiked many times in very expensive, intentional sandals made for hiking; I have come to realize two things: it’s easier to get a pebble caught in your sandal, and though they are sturdy, the support is not as prominent as it is when I wear my hiking boots.
What happens when you get a pebble in your shoe? It’s very small and you would think it wouldn’t bother you too much, but as you take a step forward, you know it’s there. Depending on how you walk, it may slide around some irritating your foot all over. Or it may simply lodge itself in one specific place constantly rubbing against that part of your foot.
If you don’t stop, and take the time to remove it, the irritation grows. I’ve tried to press through, keeping up with the hiking party, only to find the discomfort growing so painfully that by the time I actually did stop to remove it, I couldn’t go any further. Now I'm five miles into the hike and cannot take another step forward. My only option is to go back and every step of the way will be painful. The further we go with the irritation growing, the longer it will take to recover; and we may never be the same.
It reminds me of the Christian walk, no pun intended. Sometimes we make a bad decision where we must stop, take the pebble out of our shoe, and strap our sandal back on before we can move forward. If we make a bad decision based on our irritation, we have to approach it the same way. Stop, repent (remove the pebble), and strap our sandal back on so we can move forward without the underlying irritation. We won’t get very far if we choose to let the irritation rule our everyday lives. And the people around us will become irritated as well because of our unwillingness to take care of the problem at hand.
Don’t let irritation take root and grow into something it was never intended to be in your life. Stay on the right path with God knowing that He is guiding you one step at a time. If an irritation comes (God bringing something to your attention that you need to properly deal with), stop and let God help you remove it. Don’t stay irritated; respond to His leading so that you can move forward on the path.
Daily Declaration- I AM UNHINDERED
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1(NLT)
"Come”, "go", "be", "stand", "do”, these are all action verbs that normally don't cause any form of apprehension, until placed in front of a seemingly impossible task or threatening circumstance. It is easy to SAY you have faith when it’s just words coming out of your mouth but what happens when your faith requires action?
God is calling me to "come", "go", "be", "stand", "do", and it looks scary.
Fear does not come from God. However, God understood that it would come to us at different times in our lives. Have you ever noticed how many times in the Bible God told people "fear not"; well He said it a lot. Sometimes He told them not to fear before He revealed their task to them, as if to say, “I know this is gonna be a bit scary, but don't worry.” Other times He told them afterwards, to reassure them of His presence with them and His ability working in and around them despite what the situation looked like.
F.E.A.R.
False, evidence, appearing, real. I'm not sure if I agree with this statement 100% and let me explain why. Suppose you were on your way to the mall and as you're approaching you notice a fight. The fight is between about eleven gang members. You quickly turn your car in the opposite direction to avoid witnessing any part of the violence. As you turn the steering wheel you glance over and see one of the boys lying on the ground while others are kicking and stomping him. Compassion fills your heart and you start to cry. Then you hear the Lord say, "Go-pick up the boy, put him in your car and rush him to the hospital". As quickly as compassion comes, fear rushes to its side and says, "the boys are still surrounding him, they have guns, they are gang members, they are angry and they're gonna hurt you for interfering."
I don't know if you would consider this being false evidence. When it’s truly a reality as you hear gun shots and shouts coming from the disputing rival gangs. Fear is a real emotion that tries to grip us with its many scary faces, but faith says I am not going to let you paralyze me from obeying God. Fear is sent to distract us. Its goal is to get us to look at the task and see impossibility, failure, inadequacy or utter death. Your perception is very important! How you see the task, how you see yourself and how you see God, determines if you will move in faith.
Our focus must not be on the faces of fear but on trusting that we can do what God has told us. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When we receive a Word from the Lord it challenges us to see past our reality and act on His Word. This means though we live in the world (our reality), we must operate in the supernatural. Doing this will change our reality.
I know as Christians we are not to confess fear and I'm not suggesting we do. I am suggesting that we be honest. We are not always so ready and willing to do obey God. Every person in the Bible that God used mightily had to face their fears in order to accomplish His will and so will you. The giants are real, the fiery furnace is too. The lion’s den is full of hungry lions yet, we are told to walk by faith and not by sight.
If He has told you to "COME-walk on the water, GO-to a place that He will show you, BE-strong and very courage, STAND-still and see His salvation, DO-this or that. Whatever it is, don't be afraid. Know that God is with you, and since He is with you you have nothing to fear.
When faith is scary, look to Jesus!
Daily Declaration-I AM BOLD
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1 (NASB)
In the past weeks we have been discussing different subjects from the series, "Who I AM". Some of you have expressed how each blog has been informative and enlightening. I want to thank you for being faithful in reading them. I am grateful to the Lord for giving me the grace to facilitate such a weighty conversation. I was going to go deeper with this dialog but then I began to think just how simple this subject really is.
From the previous blogs we determined that the only one who can truly tell us who we are is God. I believe that the more time we spend communing with Him, not only in prayer and worship, and studying His Word, the more He reveals about Himself. The more we know about Him the more we will know about us. The closer we are to Him, the brighter His light shines on us and everything becomes clearer. Not only do things become clearer but the light can be so bright that it literally transforms us. Whatever was darkness in our life can no longer remain dark because the light over takes it. Apostle Paul declares, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
I want to use 1 John 3:1-3 as a reference for what I am about to say; therefore, let's read it together. "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure".
We are children of God, becoming like our Father! If you noticed the scripture said, "now are we the sons of God but it has not yet appeared". How is it possible to be something NOW but it can't be seen? It is possible through God because He sees who I am now and who I am becoming.
Let me give you an example of what this means. A rose is inside a seed but you can't see it until it blooms. It is a rose though it looks like a seed. God sees the end from the beginning, even when neither you nor the others around you can see it. Remember, it is the "I" part of you that God sees.
If “I” am becoming, that means “I” am not who “I” was a month ago, a week ago or even five minutes ago. So as a son of God I need not be consumed with knowing who I am but rather, who I am becoming. My desire should be to look earnestly into the mirror of the glory of God with expectation of becoming like His image.
This however is much easier to read about than to walk out amidst the things that suggest the contrary. For this reason we must be sure of our existence in Him. When we look in the natural mirror, we must look beyond our fleshly appearance to the one we are becoming no matter what our natural eyes see.
We can spend our entire lives studying scripture and praying for hours. We can even throw in some fasting, but if we do not truly BELIEVE what God says about us -we will be on a frustrating quest to know who we are instead of enjoying the journey of becoming who God has predestined us to be.
That being said, with many of you the issue is not that you don't know who you are. It is your struggle to believe it. Everyday our minds are bombarded with the voice of the world, the flesh and the devil. All of them are trying to win space in our heart in order to choke out our belief in what God said. "If you be the son of God...do this or do that. If you be the son of God...you should have this or have that. If you be the son of God...” This “if you be the son of God” is an assault on who you believe God says you are. God says we are sons and what He says supersedes any other opinion. You have nothing to prove to yourself or anyone else. Just remain steadfast and allow yourself to become. It will all be revealed in time; His time that is.
I'll end this series with this statement-YOU ARE…who you believe YOU ARE BECOMING!
Maybe you are a new believer and you don't know what God has said. Maybe you try to read the Bible and honestly don't understand it. No worries, we have all been there. On the homepage of this website, in the bottom left hand corner, I have compiled a list of scriptures you can download and study. Let Father God speak to you. His desire is that we all know Him just as He knows us.
Daily Declaration-I AM A SON OF GOD
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7 NASB)
O LORD, You have searched me and known me. Psalm 139:1
Every person, at some point in their life has asked the "Who am I" question. It’s the “who am I bone”, connected to the “where do I belong” bone and the “where do I belong” bone connected to the, “what's my purpose” bone, then the “what’s my purpose” bone, is connected to the “how do I do it” bone...and so on and so on.
In an effort to attain the answer, we engage in all sorts of relationships, join all kinds of clubs, online communities, church groups and yes, we even get married. Please don't misunderstand me, as I have nothing against people joining clubs, online communities or any of the above mentioned. I believe the Lord created us to be social beings and fellowship is not the problem. Issues develop when we use these outward sources to define our inward state of existence.
We are way too complex to shovel onto another person the responsibility of telling us who we are. People only know the YOU that YOU allow them to see, so their information is limited. At times, the Lord may reveal something about you, but whatever knowledge they may have, comes from One greater than that person. So where do we turn for answers?
G-O-D
This may seem like "stating the obvious", but to find out about "YOU", you must go to the ONE who created you. You would be surprised to know how many people believe that after God created Adam and Eve He no longer had a hand in creating anyone else. The task was handed over to man. You see the natural process is-Mom's egg and Daddy's sperm met and next came baby me. When I came out the womb, I featured my parents; I had their DNA and other similarities. All of this seemed sufficient evidence to prove that I was created by my parents.
Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life." Colossians 1:16 says, "For by Him all things were created..." The psalmist, King David put it like this in Psalm 139:13, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." This leaves me with the conclusion that, though we were birthed though Mommy, you and I were created by God. He allowed our parents to share in the creation process by letting us have some of their traits, while maintaining our own. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out." (Romans 11:33)
Although we are created beings, there is something different about us as believers, and the difference is position. We are more than just created beings; we are the sons of God. The created man has no relationship with God as Father; however the son can come boldly into his Father's presence. This is a right given to us through our belief in His Son, Jesus, which causes us to be born again into the family of God. We are seated in an elevated place of authority as heirs to a royal priesthood, and being a son of God is great; however, being a son of God in RELATIONSHIP with his Father is quite different and far greater.
You are not your name and you were not created by your parents, but by God. The answer to your existence is hidden within the mind and heart of Father God. In order to understand who you are you have to know who He is. No created being can tell you who you are. As a son of God you must go to your Father. There is so much He wants you to know about His traits in your life. The term “like father - like son” comes to mind as I think about who we are in Him.
Then the next logical step for us is to dig into the Word of God, to find out who He is and who He says we are!
See you next week.
Daily Declaration- I AM A SON OF GOD
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12, 13 (NASB)
