Puzzle Reformed and Expanded

It’s amazing how we think we know what God wants for us and where He is leading us, but as I have been learning, the deeper you go, the Lord will fill in the in-between. Needless the say, the vision is still the same or rather the end result, but it has expanded. The Lord has given me new passions, developed others, and revived pasts interest or ideas, so that now I have no idea how it will all come together. I thought I had all the pieces to the puzzle picture that my calling would create, but I was missing quite a few, and I am still unsure as we whether or not I have all the pieces or if there is more that aren’t in my puzzle box yet.Image result for random puzzle pieces

I am still growing, still learning, still discovering my gifts and who I am. The Lord is doing the same for you. The closer you become to your Creator the more you learn you who are and who were created to be. It’s truly a humbling thing, when the Lord shows you even the smallest of what He has in store for your life and how He wants to use you. I often question if I am worthy enough to be used as such, but one thing for certain, I look forward to what is in store. On the other hand, I am scared out of my mind, because with great power comes great responsibility and I am certain that the Enemy will go toe-to-toe with me to get me off track or force me to forfeit God’s plan for my life.

My verse for the year has become Luke 12:48, which tells me that because I have been given much, much will be required of me. More than ever, I am focused on my spiritual compatibility for the work ahead, that is prayer, studying Scripture, and operating and depending on the Holy Spirit. This journey has become even more incredible and I am so excited about what the Lord is doing, but not only in my life but in your life as well. I am more than certain that there are so many who the Lord is quietly bringing out of the shadows, whom He will vindicate, restore, and show off to the world.

Now more than ever, there is such a need for the people of God to access and function in the power of the God through the Holy Spirit. The devil is busy and is trying to bring as many people to Hell with him as he can, so we need to fight with all that is within us without fear truly believing that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. It’s time for us to step up our game and truly fight for the souls of the lost, by go deeper and being intentional about what the Lord has created each of us to do.

You may think that what God has in store for you is no big deal or is less important or significant than others’. But I am writing this to let you know that the more you trust Him, the more you believe in Him, the more you abandon and surrender your will to His, the more you will realize how incredibly needed you are. Nevertheless, you may think you know everything the Lord wants to do or you may still be trying to understand how all the pieces of the puzzle of your life will come together or even if you have all the pieces necessary for you to fulfill your purpose or even make sense of it. I am a witness that if you keep your focus on God, you may get surprises and be thrown curve balls that will make you question everything you thought, trust the Spirit that is within you that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be and that He knows your future and will not lead you the wrong way.

The completed puzzle of my own life has more details and has more pieces that at this point in my life I am honest enough to say I don’t know how or when they will all fit together, and I often get overwhelmed trying to make sense of things that I have put on hold and or understand what I need to do or focus on next, but simply put, I trust God and find myself praying things that scare me. At some point it will all come together in such an awesome way that only God can get the glory. I beg you to believe the same for your life. One day it will all make sense.

 

Tattoo or Testimony??

Wow. How long has it been?? Here we are again, and I must say, tattoos are like testimonies of saying “yes” to the Lord. Let me explain. And for
starters, yes, I have tattoos, four to be exact. Who would have thought?

There are times you know exactly end goal of where Lord desire for you, so as you would a tattoo, when you already know what t should look like, you let the Artist go for the gold. In other cases, the plan of God is not always clear and you may just have a bunch of pieces floating in your head, so you go to the parlor and talk with the artist and it can take time before the final art piece is finished and everyone knows what will happen. This is often what happens with us in our walk, most times we juggle the pieces of our lives, believing they will be a part of a great testimony, but Image result for tattoo ink and needlesit’s not until we bring them before God and spend time that it all makes sense and He creates something beautiful. We build a trust in His judgment and that He knows what He is doing.

But it doesn’t end there. It’s a process.

The best part of this story though is that it’s already paid for, Jesus paid for your story on Calvary. Nevertheless, God had to prepare you, as an tattooist has to do. Clean, shave even, and get the color and needles and equipment together, and it’s all to protect you. Still, there is pain, sometimes a lot other times not so much, but any time the Lord is moving us there is discomfort because your whole being is being changed, but it doesn’t last long.

But it doesn’t end there. You have to heal.

When you first get the tattoo it looks great, but the artist will tell you that you have to take care of it so that it doesn’t get messed up. The calling on your life is now real, but you have to protect it and nurture it. And it can take a while. But in the process, you have to be disciplined to follow instructions you were given when you left, and it still may feel raw. You are a new person. But, whether it’s prayer, studying, taking a break, or whatever the Lord instructs us to do to protect anointing, we have to oblige. We have to trust the Artist and His expertise. Now in this healing time it will itch, and peel, and it must be cleaned, just like we have to be purged and remove all the excess that is not in line with the masterpiece the Lord is working on, whether habits, people, dreams, your past, emotions, mental and spiritual growth, etc. And their still will be some discomfort. And truth be told, you may even start to reconsider or question why you said “yes,” and if it is really worth all the extra.

Image result for tattoo ink and needles

But it doesn’t end there. The glory will be revealed.

When it’s all said and done, the dead skin is done, no more itching or discomfort, and you can put the scented lotion on again lol, when you have healed and have been cleansed and or purged, the beauty of that piece of will look better than you expected and you will want to tell you story. And even better, people notice the change and ask you about your new beauty marks, or calling and you get to tell them all about the Artist that created it, and if you stayed faithful and obedience, it will turn out to be far above your expectations.

The next time you see a person living a blessed and abundant life in Christ, it’s a result of intentional efforts. The time, the discomfort, the healing, the purging, it’s all worth it. God is creating a masterpiece for eternity’s sake.

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No Bones Broken

Wow! It’s been far too long since I have written or posted anything, so I am so glad to be here with you in this moment as you are read this. Thus, my prayer is that you are encouraged and likewise challenged by this blog.

Side note: A great portion of what I write comes from something I read in devotional, recreational, or educational books or texts, where I have taken a point and added my own twist or expounded on it. So, I just want to encourage you to read as much as you can, because there is so much out there to be consumed that you will inevitably grow, be stretched, mature, develop, and become a better person.

Nevertheless, this particular writing is based on a short conversation I had with a co-worker of mine. In a nutshell, she has been having issues with others on the job, almost to the point where she is ready to reach back and awaken the woman she was before she met Christ. As she was dropping me at the train station she told me that she was at her breaking point. And like clock work as I was getting out the car, I said to her, “if Jesus didn’t break any bones, you don’t have to break your temper.” I know for a fact that was nothing but God, because God tends to speak to me when I am speaking and or ministering or encouraging someone else; kind of like the after effects of devotions and readings I guess.

Extra side note: I have mentioned it before, but again, recognize and learn how the Lord tends to speak to you, whether to comfort, challenge, confirm, compel, or convict, that way it becomes easier to know and discern when He is speaking or otherwise. But of course, God speaks to us in various ways in different times and situations, so the worst thing you can do is put Him in a box, so just be sensitive to His voice.

Back to the point of this post. As I considered what I had said, it was so very humbling. Thinking of all that Jesus went through on our behalf, the ripping, tearing of skin, profuse bleeding, bruising, swelling, mocking, and spitting, yet he never broke. Old Testament prophesy told us none of his bones would be broken (Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20), but I believe that it goes deeper than the physical. I mean think about it. Jesus had every right and reason to be angry, yet he never responded to the insults hurled against him, let alone did he try to get himself out of being crucified. He didn’t break emotionally, mentally, or spiritually in that the purpose, promises, or love of God through his only son would be compromised. He saw his work completed all the way through and never said a word of rebuttal.

Wow.

As we live to be ourselves for a purpose, what an awesome reminder that despite the trials, storms, and persecutions we will experience, we don’t have to crack or break under pressure assuming the power and strength of the same active Holy Spirit that carried Jesus all the way to the cross. Yes, we will be scratched, bent, bruised, mocked, lied on, persecuted, made fun of, bet against, pained, pierced, and cut – mainly metaphorical but possibly literal – but because Jesus experienced it like us, if not exceedingly more, it doesn’t have to break us. None of those things should have the ability to break the formation of what God is calling us to be, but rather empower and compel us to fully carry out the plan that God has for our lives with the work of His Spirit in us.

No bones broken. Because Jesus didn’t break, and the same resurrection power that raised him up is inside of us, though we might bend, may we never break, less the full, rich, favored, and abundant life God wants to give us be forfeited or disrupted.

From the Other Side of Town

Jesus was a special man. The more you look into his earthly ministry, the more you recognize the type of people he used to make his case. The outcast. The unwanted. The disliked. The discriminated. The unlikely. These are the people he used greatly to further his kingdom, whether it was Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the Syrophoenician woman, or the disciples. I mean just consider the make up of the 12, a thief, stinky fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, a young buck.

Nevertheless, there was a group of people that we see in the gospels that often put even the disciples to shame, the Samaritans. They were from the other side of the city, despised and resented by Jesus’ people, yet God elevated them and used them to teach Heaven’s most glorious principles, and even though their feelings were mutual, God’s mercy on them was unparalleled even when Jesus’ friends wanted to cast down fire.

Anyway, some key people from the other part of town were the good Samaritan, who teaches us love in a pure and selfless form; the Samaritan woman (two additional strikes against her being a woman and an adulteress), who demonstrates the power of the gospel and evangelism; the Samaritan leper (one additional strike against him as a leper), who exemplifies the heart of thankfulness.

When you really dissect these stories, we see the heart of Christ for every one; even those no one else wanted to be bothered with, God used for His glory. The same applies to us. No matter how insignificant, out of touch, outcast, overlooked, or cast down you may feel, you are right in line to be used mightily by the King of all creation. There’s a quote that says God has a way of using those the world calls “nobodies,” which is true. For it’s the most unlikely, the despised, the lowly whom God says will shake up the world (1 Cor 1:26-28).

God can use whoever He wants to do whatever He pleases for His kingdom business. So let the Lord use you no matter what streets or people or crazy background you come from. Be you for a purpose, because you just may be the one to turn the hearts of those around you that no one else can [and beyond] back to God.

Goats and Sheep

Like any great piece of literature, as you read, it raises questions and makes you want to learn about the information that is not written to understand why it was written, that’s why we take classes, have book clubs, and participate in Bible studies. We are drawn to what is not there, not so much of secret or subliminal messages, but understanding what was said and why in its respective contexts, adding to the beauty and color, as well as deeper significance and meaning. On the other hand it opens up mysteries that the author wanted to hide,  demanding the reader or listener to seek out, which is often what we see in the parables Jesus told. Now there are many, but there is one in Matthew that has always baffled me.

Apart from the parable itself, I’ve heard it referenced in other settings and wondered what the difference is between goats and sheep. So I got the bright idea to look it up after reading it fairly recently in my devotion. If you aren’t familiar, long story short sheep go to Heaven and goats burn in Hell, but why? From the outside looking in, they are very similar in how they look and operate, maksheep-and-goatse similar sounds, and even move well together, but as you move past the surface you begin to see that they are quite opposite animals indeed. As I learned, it comes down to this one thing, sheep are dependent and goats are independent.

If you notice Christians are likened to sheep, just as much as Jesus to a lamb. Why? Because we follow. Every move a sheep makes is based on that of the shepherd, on whom it depends for everything. For example, the sheep rely on the shepherd fully for food and protection, and even if the destination is the slaughterhouse, the sheep will still follow to the end, just as Christ did for us. Thus, because sheep, Christ-followers, have made the choice to puSheep_and_goatt their dependence in God, placing their very life in the Shepherd’s hand, they receive Heaven’s reward. Okay, so what about the goat?

Generally speaking, goats can move with the sheep herd, but they aren’t followers. Instead, they tend to be stubborn at times and do whatever they want when they want, and we see people like this every day who have not surrendered their life [totally] to Christ for whatever reason, and desire to live how they choose and do what they want, good or bad. In the parable, the goats are the ones that burn. Whoa!

In our culture, the focus is often independence and doing what we feel, but the life of Christian is about dying to self daily. Still, even as a Christian we lose sight of that and fall into goat-like behaviors, depending on our own abilities, resources, talents, money, education, etc., when truthfully we should be living as if our very next breathe depends solely on God, because it does. Being you for a purpose means that every word, thought, and deed is guided and directed by the great Shepherd, the only one who is really worth following into a place of infinite possibilities, and the only way to Heaven.