healing

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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Gothel

gothel

I can’t believe I am saying this, but “Tangled” has become one of my favorite Disney princess movies. However when I watch it, I am reminded of how damaged many of them were because of things that were told to them by those closest to them, which today would be easily called emotional abuse. Nonetheless, the last time I was watching it, I was again drawn to the character of Gothel, Rapunzel’s “mother.”

The story’s focus is on the sun and how a piece of it fell from the heavens and could bring healing and restoration. You may already see where I am going with this. Needless to say, that’s the exact thing that the Son did, he came down from the heavens and brought healing and restoration to whoever was in need, and that awesome power is still available today. The problem though, is that there are way too many Gothels, because if you remember the movie, she did everything she could to hide it and didn’t even consider the queen worthy enough to receive its gift. She wanted to keep it all to herself, like so many of us.

Too often those of us that know of the healing and saving power of the Rose of Sharon, just as the special golden flower in the movie, refuse to share it and instead hide Christ. We want Jesus all to ourselves or we falsely make judgments of who deserves his power and salvation, and as a result, the world around us suffers greatly. I mean just look around and listen to the news; it really is depressing. It’s as if people have truly lost their minds and it’s only getting worse. The world is in need of serious healing, and like the people in the movie, the world is searching for a miracle that only heaven can bring, because time in fact is running out. The world is desperately looking for a savior, and as a believer, we have what this sick land needs, but we hide it.

For some strange reason, like Gothel we hoard Christ and put him in this box of what he can and should do, limiting his expanse throughout the nations. Like Gothel, maybe we are afraid that someone will take our gift away and we will lose access to it, or the power will run out, or it will get in the wrong hands, or perhaps we are just greedy or prideful, let alone understand the greatness of what it is we possess. The awesome thing about the gift of the Son from the heavens is that his power stretches far beyond Rapunzel’s; he will never lose power and we will always have access to him no matter how much we share him with others. No one can separate us from his love or snatch us out of his hand. And all that he does is for our good, no one can misuse or manipulate him no matter how much they try. However, when we refuse to share the gift and the power that has been given to us, we in turn become powerless, because the more we pour out the more he will fill us up and the more we are able to see the awesome of the power of the Son. There is no reason to be stingy, hold out, contain it, or confine Jesus to one thing, like Gothel did in trying to stay young. Far too many are dying without the golden flower, the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley. Don’t let that blood be on your hands because you want things your way.

The world as I already said is in need of a drop of Son-light from Heaven; it’s crying out for a miracle, and we have it in our possession as followers of Christ.  So being you for a purpose is simply sharing the gift of Heaven however you can so that others can be healed and saved physically, mentally, emotionally, and especially spiritually. Being you for a purpose is realizing that you are the hope and the light the world is searching for, so let the Son use you to spread his power. After all, that is what we were commanded to do.