The Power In Relationship

(2 Peter 1:3-4) His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

This morning I was feeling so down and my allergies were definitely not helping. But...the moment, the very moment, I said a prayer and opened up my Bible God's truth flooded my heart and renewed my thinking. King Solomon was right when he wrote that the end of a matter was better than it's beginning. You might start off pretty sucky or just plain terrible but how will you decide to end the matter? What the Holy Spirit spoke to me this morning was that He could care less about how I was feeling: He wanted to know what I planned to do about it. In order to mature in Christ's nature, that overcame this world, we are asked to believe God's promises that were born out of His glory that transforms us and His goodness that molds us. When His glory fills a room and encounters me I can never be the same, and likewise, when the simplicity of His goodness is revealed to me my heart has no where else to run except toward Him. The verses I'm sharing immediately shifted my focus and brought me into God's heart and way of thinking. According the the first portion of this verse, The more I pursue knowing Jesus and doing life with Him the more power I have to overcome the situation I'm facing. The truth of Jesus sets us free. There is power in relationship with Jesus and we need that. I don't know about you, but I want to turn those sucky days around and prove the enemy wrong. I want to be so much fuller of His truth each day that it overflows into every single nook and cranny of my life. 

(2 Peter 1:5-8) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 To believe what God has spoken is faith. So God is saying, you believe what I say which is awesome but I want more from you. There's always more to learn about God and because there's always more to learn, there's always more to give. You believe? Now reflect His goodness that makes Him who He is. And now that truth has filled you go ahead and experience Him and learn what He desires. And because the truth of Jesus has set you free now go ahead and start diciplining yourself and striking blows to your flesh so you can walk in the spirit. And now don't give up and keep moving forward and maturing. Oh and at this point, your showing Jesus to the point that others are taking notice...learn to live in peace with those around you and above all now show the love that Jesus showed you. Action. Doing these things will keep our relationship with Jesus living and breathing. Relationship changes everything. Truly getting to know someone bonds us and true loyalty and love are born. And where there is love there is a force to be reckoned with. After all, it is Christ's love that covered multitudes of sins and that still does. Because he did it, we can do it too.

Embracing The Unexpected

 

I haven't written anything in a long while but life has continued and I know it's the perfect time to return. I've missed this. The whole morning and hours to follow I could feel my Lord calling me to approach Him, to spend time with Him, to soak up His presence. Last night I grabbed a hold of my Bible, ran downstairs with Cody (our new puppy), found my pencil pouch that contains my highlighter and pen collection, and finally got to sit down on the living room couch. As I hugged my Bible tightly, I said a quick prayer (too excited and expectant I guess) and asked the Lord to speak whatever He wanted me to know. Without even thinking about it, the Holy Spirit brought to me one name: Joseph. I was like, huh? And again I felt it in my spirit. By then I was already flipping through pages and finding my way to the first chapter in the Book of Matthew. There I began to read about Joseph. 

This young man who loved God so much fell in love one day with a young God-fearing woman named Mary. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her so he asked for her hand in marriage and the pledge was made and they were happily married. Before they even got to come together as newlyweds, Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant. I can only imagine the heart-ache, fear, and anger that was eating him alive. He loved Mary so much that He was even willing to divorce her secretly so that they both wouldn't have to suffer public humiliation and ultimately so that she would not be stoned to death. What Mary alledged was proposterous because it had never happened before...someone being impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Joseph's world was crumbling down and he thought Mary was crazy. Right when he was thinking about backing out he had a dream, a God moment, that changed everything. God's message to Joseph was to "not be afraid to take Mary home as [his] wife, because what [was] conceived in her [was] from the Holy Spirit." God was telling Joseph to not abort his God-given assignment because this blessing in disguise was going to change the world. 

God clearly spoke to me and said, Deya, do not be afraid to accept the challenge, this blessing in disguise, that I am giving you just because it doesn't look like what you envisioned. Because just like verse 22 reads: "all this (the public humiliation, doubt, and heart-ache) [is taking] place to fulfill what I the Lord [have] said." There have been things that we as God's children will have to face, challenging and hurtful, that are not meant to hurt us. These things are meant to give us a hope and a future. For me it's my relationship and my family but for you it might be something else. The love is there but times are tough and the enemy does not give the past any rest. Don't you dare give up (I am definitely preaching to myself here). What will come out of this hard thing is a blessing beyond measure. If you know God has spoken something to you and He has confirmed it then keep moving forward with your eyes fixed on Jesus, knowing that you are carrying something or someone that is near and dear to God. It's important. It won't always be easy and we might stumble but God is with us. God is with us!

(Psalm 73:26) 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Springs in the Struggle

(Psalm 84:4-7) Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

There are so many times where I've just gotten a super quick reply from God. I'm talking in the blink of an eye type of fast. But other times it feels like forever. I had been praying for the Lord to speak to me. Now I know this sounds so under decorated but why not be real, right? I prayed. Days past. I opened my Bible. God spoke. As I began to read through Psalm 84 my spirit leaped inside and I just knew that this word was for me. What I've gone through in the past few months did change me. It changed me for the better. God made me stronger. The way I think, the way I talk, and the way I see life has changed. I've learned that "the struggle" is inevitable so one can either be obliterated by it or empowered by it. There is a true and beautiful promise in this scripture and it is that when we maintain a close relationship with God He gives us the strength and power to even bring forth blessings in the midst of every battle and valley of tears we walk through. What He showed me was that if I set my heart on, if I focus on, continuing and pursuing through the journey that he has mapped out for me then when I go through tough times He will be right there with me showing me that it is possible to have His joy that isn't all smiles and giggles, yet powerful and fulfilling. Not only will I dig and create a dry land a place of springs but He will also send his rain to overflow the season that I am going through. What does that look like? For me it was discovering true friends that prayed with me and encouraged me, to be able to finish two semesters victoriously when the odds were against me, and to receive the answer to my prayers. I continue my journey and I still face many struggles and I know that there are future struggles but I also know that God gave me the power by His Holy Spirit to dig until a spring comes gushing forth to bring life to what was dead. Hang in there folks. Our God is right beside us.