I've been honored with the opportunity to join the Laced With Grace devotional blog team. Today is my first post, I hope you'll stop by.
Jul 30, 2007
Friend of God...?
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I've been honored with the opportunity to join the Laced With Grace devotional blog team. Today is my first post, I hope you'll stop by.
I've been honored with the opportunity to join the Laced With Grace devotional blog team. Today is my first post, I hope you'll stop by.
Jul 27, 2007
Becoming the you, that you were meant to be Part 2
Read part one here
Young people, who are you? I see the handsome faces, the beautiful smiles, the stylish hairdos but really, who are you? Do you even know? Do you know you were created for a purpose? Are you the you God meant you to be?
When the angel of God met Gideon he said to him in verse 12 The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. At that moment Gideon felt nothing like a warrior, in fact he felt defeated, like a nobody. He felt forsaken by God and he said so. He wanted to know, if God was with them then why was all of these things happening to them.
Isn’t it amazing how we question God doing the bad times? Why is it that we think he’s like our fair weather friends who are only with us doing the highs in our lives and leaves us during the lows? Why is it that when everything is going well we have no doubt whatsoever that God is with us but the moment something bad happens we think he’s forsaken us?
God didn’t promise us sunshine always. He didn’t say that nothing would ever go wrong in our lives. However, we know that through the storms of our lives he is only a prayer away.
At Gideon’s point of greatest weakness, of darkest despair God called him to save his people. Isn’t it just like God to wait until we feel like we’re at a moment of weakness to call us to do something that takes a whole lot of strength?
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. Judges 6:15
At this point Gideon couldn’t see in himself what God saw in him. God saw a mighty warrior but Gideon saw himself as the runt of the litter. How do you see yourself? What is it that is hindering you from becoming the person that you were meant to be? Do you believe in yourself? Do you know that God has called you to be more than you are at this very moment?
You may be broken, you may be wounded, you may be scarred. Your self esteem may be in pieces. It may seem to your parents, your family, your friends that all is well with you but inside you know that you are hurting. You are still hurting from some hurtful comment that your parents made. You may be still smarting from some careless remark that your teacher made. You may be one that is picked on at school, you may be under some intense pressure or dealing with something that we know nothing about. Even your best friend may have left some scars on your heart. All of these things have come together to form the concept that you now have of yourself. The concept that has stunted your growth as a young man, a young lady, a mature man a mature woman.
But God is saying today, in spite of all of this I still see the you that you were meant to be. I still have a future planned for you and I still want you to become the person that you are meant to be. All you have to do is believe in me. Accept as your reality the picture I have of you.
Youth's Sunday
May 15, 2005
Young people, who are you? I see the handsome faces, the beautiful smiles, the stylish hairdos but really, who are you? Do you even know? Do you know you were created for a purpose? Are you the you God meant you to be?
When the angel of God met Gideon he said to him in verse 12 The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. At that moment Gideon felt nothing like a warrior, in fact he felt defeated, like a nobody. He felt forsaken by God and he said so. He wanted to know, if God was with them then why was all of these things happening to them.
Isn’t it amazing how we question God doing the bad times? Why is it that we think he’s like our fair weather friends who are only with us doing the highs in our lives and leaves us during the lows? Why is it that when everything is going well we have no doubt whatsoever that God is with us but the moment something bad happens we think he’s forsaken us?
God didn’t promise us sunshine always. He didn’t say that nothing would ever go wrong in our lives. However, we know that through the storms of our lives he is only a prayer away.
At Gideon’s point of greatest weakness, of darkest despair God called him to save his people. Isn’t it just like God to wait until we feel like we’re at a moment of weakness to call us to do something that takes a whole lot of strength?
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. Judges 6:15
At this point Gideon couldn’t see in himself what God saw in him. God saw a mighty warrior but Gideon saw himself as the runt of the litter. How do you see yourself? What is it that is hindering you from becoming the person that you were meant to be? Do you believe in yourself? Do you know that God has called you to be more than you are at this very moment?
You may be broken, you may be wounded, you may be scarred. Your self esteem may be in pieces. It may seem to your parents, your family, your friends that all is well with you but inside you know that you are hurting. You are still hurting from some hurtful comment that your parents made. You may be still smarting from some careless remark that your teacher made. You may be one that is picked on at school, you may be under some intense pressure or dealing with something that we know nothing about. Even your best friend may have left some scars on your heart. All of these things have come together to form the concept that you now have of yourself. The concept that has stunted your growth as a young man, a young lady, a mature man a mature woman.
But God is saying today, in spite of all of this I still see the you that you were meant to be. I still have a future planned for you and I still want you to become the person that you are meant to be. All you have to do is believe in me. Accept as your reality the picture I have of you.
Youth's Sunday
May 15, 2005
Jul 25, 2007
Becoming the you, that you were meant to be
Part 1
Judges: 6:1-16
12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
Do you ever take a moment out of your day to try and figure out why you are here, or are you just drifting through life? Have you ever sat and thought about the future? If you have where do you fit in to the future? Do you play a leading or a supporting role? How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as less than God sees you? Do you see yourself as less than you are? Do you see yourself through the eyes of God?
The way we view ourselves is very important. It can make or break our future. You are really only as strong, as smart, as powerful, as beautiful, as handsome as you think you are. People can tell you how smart you are, how beautiful you are… they can compliment you from sunup until sundown however, if you don’t believe it then it’s still of no consequence. Hence you can hinder your own dreams your own future because of your self concept.
When we meet Gideon for the first time he is living a defeated life. He has a low self-concept. He has been beat down by the Midianites, the Amalekites and others. It had gotten so bad that he had to hide to thresh wheat. Here he was one of God’s chosen people and he had come to this. He wondered where was God while he was going through all of his situations. Where was God when they had to hide out in caves because of their oppressors? Where was God when they planted their fields and before they could even reap the harvest the Amalakites and Midianites came and stole it away from them. Where was God as he watched some of his people starve to death because their oppressors didn’t even leave them with enough to feed their families.
Anyone ever been there? Ever been in a situation where you wondered where God was? Is He here? Is he listening? Can he hear you when you cry? As children of God it is difficult to understand why God seem furthest away when we’re going through troubles, why the times we feel the most hurt, the most pain we feel most separated from him.
In response to the angel's greetings in verse 12, Gideon responded like many of us today...
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
We have the concept that as Christians we are not supposed to experience hardships everything is supposed to be smooth sailing. It’s in these dark seasons in our lives that we began to doubt God. We begin to doubt his plans for our lives we begin to question our very existence. But if at our moment of hardship, of pain of disappointment we would begin to see ourselves as God sees us then we would know that everything is going to be alright. If at that moment we would see our future selves thorough the eyes of God then we would do whatever it takes to get us to that place.
Youth's Sunday
May 15, 2005
Judges: 6:1-16
12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
Do you ever take a moment out of your day to try and figure out why you are here, or are you just drifting through life? Have you ever sat and thought about the future? If you have where do you fit in to the future? Do you play a leading or a supporting role? How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as less than God sees you? Do you see yourself as less than you are? Do you see yourself through the eyes of God?
The way we view ourselves is very important. It can make or break our future. You are really only as strong, as smart, as powerful, as beautiful, as handsome as you think you are. People can tell you how smart you are, how beautiful you are… they can compliment you from sunup until sundown however, if you don’t believe it then it’s still of no consequence. Hence you can hinder your own dreams your own future because of your self concept.
When we meet Gideon for the first time he is living a defeated life. He has a low self-concept. He has been beat down by the Midianites, the Amalekites and others. It had gotten so bad that he had to hide to thresh wheat. Here he was one of God’s chosen people and he had come to this. He wondered where was God while he was going through all of his situations. Where was God when they had to hide out in caves because of their oppressors? Where was God when they planted their fields and before they could even reap the harvest the Amalakites and Midianites came and stole it away from them. Where was God as he watched some of his people starve to death because their oppressors didn’t even leave them with enough to feed their families.
Anyone ever been there? Ever been in a situation where you wondered where God was? Is He here? Is he listening? Can he hear you when you cry? As children of God it is difficult to understand why God seem furthest away when we’re going through troubles, why the times we feel the most hurt, the most pain we feel most separated from him.
In response to the angel's greetings in verse 12, Gideon responded like many of us today...
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
We have the concept that as Christians we are not supposed to experience hardships everything is supposed to be smooth sailing. It’s in these dark seasons in our lives that we began to doubt God. We begin to doubt his plans for our lives we begin to question our very existence. But if at our moment of hardship, of pain of disappointment we would begin to see ourselves as God sees us then we would know that everything is going to be alright. If at that moment we would see our future selves thorough the eyes of God then we would do whatever it takes to get us to that place.
Youth's Sunday
May 15, 2005
Jul 23, 2007
Letting go…
Today I spent most of the day going through some old papers getting rid of the ones that there was absolutely no likelihood I was ever going to need again and organizing the ones that I wanted to keep. The job turned out to be a bigger one than I thought it would be and I’m still not quite finished yet. The reason why it’s so difficult is that I find it so hard to let go.
Do I really need my visa receipts from four years ago? Do I need to keep every birthday card I’ve ever received? Do I need to keep all the cute little notes my students gave me some dating back to my first year of teaching? Probably not but letting go was still very difficult…
Isn’t it just like life in a way? There are some things in our lives that serves no useful purpose except to clutter up our lives but yet it’s difficult to give it up. These things can take the form of friendships, sports, hobbies even doing good works. Many times we hold these things dear to our heart but they sometimes cause us to spend less time developing our relationship and walk with God.
What do you need to let go off today?
Do I really need my visa receipts from four years ago? Do I need to keep every birthday card I’ve ever received? Do I need to keep all the cute little notes my students gave me some dating back to my first year of teaching? Probably not but letting go was still very difficult…
Isn’t it just like life in a way? There are some things in our lives that serves no useful purpose except to clutter up our lives but yet it’s difficult to give it up. These things can take the form of friendships, sports, hobbies even doing good works. Many times we hold these things dear to our heart but they sometimes cause us to spend less time developing our relationship and walk with God.
What do you need to let go off today?
Jul 18, 2007
Summer Wedding
On Saturday July 14, 2007 I had the honor of standing up beside my cousin Melvina as her maid of honor as she committed her life to the man of her dreams. Their wedding ceremony truly honored God and his place in both of their lives. As their pastors performed the ceremony both of them spoke about the characters of Mellie and her groom Julien. They spoke about how both of them had dedicated themselves to service to God and community as singles and God enriched both of their lives by bring them together. (Yes there were tears but since my job was to mop up the bride's tears I couldn't let them fall.)
Jul 4, 2007
An Invitation...
My daughter,
How can I say it to make you believe it…
I love you!
I have great plans in mind for you.
I have your life all planned out.
I have blessings in store for you that you will not believe.
I have people whose lives you must affect.
I have places your feet must trod,
But this can only happen if you accept me.
Invite me into your heart.
I want to fellowship with you.
I want you to know me in the fullness of my resurrection.
I want to be your best friend.
I want to be your confidant.
When you’re sad, blue and in need of someone to talk too,
I want to be the first person that comes to your mind.
When you’re bubbling over with laughter and joy
I want to be the first friend that you tell about your good tidings.
I love you!
I only want good things for you.
I want to make your life richer, fuller, complete.
But you have to want me.
I cannot force you to accept me but, I wait in hope that you soon will.
However, don’t wait too long.
Remember, now is the acceptable time.
Behold now is the day of salvation.
I love you my child,
Jesus
How can I say it to make you believe it…
I love you!
I have great plans in mind for you.
I have your life all planned out.
I have blessings in store for you that you will not believe.
I have people whose lives you must affect.
I have places your feet must trod,
But this can only happen if you accept me.
Invite me into your heart.
I want to fellowship with you.
I want you to know me in the fullness of my resurrection.
I want to be your best friend.
I want to be your confidant.
When you’re sad, blue and in need of someone to talk too,
I want to be the first person that comes to your mind.
When you’re bubbling over with laughter and joy
I want to be the first friend that you tell about your good tidings.
I love you!
I only want good things for you.
I want to make your life richer, fuller, complete.
But you have to want me.
I cannot force you to accept me but, I wait in hope that you soon will.
However, don’t wait too long.
Remember, now is the acceptable time.
Behold now is the day of salvation.
I love you my child,
Jesus
Jul 1, 2007
A word for the discouraged
Through out time God has watched
And listened to his children as they
Came to him with tear streaked faces
And questioning eyes
He has watched sadly and sometimes
Quietly as they left his presence
With heavy hearts and shoulders slumped
Thinking he hadn’t heard their petitions
He has closed his eves in quiet pain
As yet another whispered, why Lord?
Why? Reached his ear. He’s listened sadly
To the cries of when? Lord when will it all end
The night has been long and hard
The enemy has used the covering of darkness
To bring confusion fear, anger and depression
In the darkness it seems as if you have nothing
In the darkness it is easy to doubt God.
It is human to doubt in the darkness because
With the physical eyes you can’t see any way out
But God has seen, He’s listened and now
He’s saying to someone, Morning has broken
He is saying I am with you even in the darkness
When all seem bleak I am here. I will never leave you
nor forsake you. Trust in me my child. Morning has broken.
And listened to his children as they
Came to him with tear streaked faces
And questioning eyes
He has watched sadly and sometimes
Quietly as they left his presence
With heavy hearts and shoulders slumped
Thinking he hadn’t heard their petitions
He has closed his eves in quiet pain
As yet another whispered, why Lord?
Why? Reached his ear. He’s listened sadly
To the cries of when? Lord when will it all end
The night has been long and hard
The enemy has used the covering of darkness
To bring confusion fear, anger and depression
In the darkness it seems as if you have nothing
In the darkness it is easy to doubt God.
It is human to doubt in the darkness because
With the physical eyes you can’t see any way out
But God has seen, He’s listened and now
He’s saying to someone, Morning has broken
He is saying I am with you even in the darkness
When all seem bleak I am here. I will never leave you
nor forsake you. Trust in me my child. Morning has broken.
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