Jeremiah 1:5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
You are unique.
There is no other person in the world who is exactly like you.
God treasures us as individuals. He has a specific purpose and plan for each of our lives which may be different from others. I read this and thought it was pretty amazing so I'd like to share.. enjoy :)
Imagine that you're a student in art class. You and dozens of classmates are learning from a master painter. One day your teacher displays a painting of his own. It's an incredible work of art, and he wants each of you to copy it.
You're about to begin working when you turn to look at the person next to you. You're surprised to note that he has a larger brush than yours and a differently shaped canvas. You look around at the rest of the class. Some students have acrylic paint, others watercolor, still others oil-- and everyone has different colors. Though you all have the same assignment, you each have completely different materials.
This frustrates you. Some students have materials you would prefer for yourself. Why should they get them? You're not the only student to notice the disparity. A hand goes up. A girl to your left with only a ragged brush and three pale shades of blue on her palette is noticeably agitated. "This isn't fair," she tells the teacher. "How do you expect me to duplicate your painting when the people around me have so many more colors to choose from?"
The teacher smiles. "Don't worry about the other students," he says. "I've carefully chosen the brushes and paints that each of you has. Trust me. You have what you need to complete the assignment. Remember, your goal is not to create a painting that mirrors the person next to you, but to do your best with the materials I've given you to create a picture faithful to my painting."
God isn't asking us to copy each other, but to fix our eyes on our Lord and Master Jesus Christ and to give all to our romance in a way that's faithful to His character and motivated by a passion to bring Him glory. Our circumstances don't always seem fair, do they?
In moments like these we need to trust the Master. We can each rest in the knowledge that GOd is sovereign over our life's situation. No matter where we are today or what mistakes we've made in the past, He has given us everything we need to glorify Him right now.
Ephesians 3:19 "May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
What is Love?
I was sitting in my room listening to worship music, and this song came on. I listened to the whole thing and it gave me chills. The beginning of the song asks the question, "What does love look like?" As human beings, we often search for love in all the wrong places, and then end up empty and confused in the end. We keep searching for something or someone that will make us feel treasured and desired. But the problem is, it DOESN'T happen. It might for a little bit, and we may be satisfied for awhile, but then we always crave more. It's an ongoing circle that will never bring true fulfillment.
The thing is, God placed that passion within us to feel loved. It's natural. But He placed it there for a reason -- to wholeheartedly seek after Him, because He loved us first.
The song then goes,
"And then I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me
I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me."
He had arms wide open, a heart exposed
Arms wide open; He was bleeding, bleeding"
I think the reason why some people aren't on fire for God is because they just simply don't REALIZE how much He loves them. My favorite chapter of the Bible is Psalm 119 where it talks about how God formed us in our mothers wombs, and how his love out-numbers the grains of sand. I mean, what blows MY mind, is that His love is so deep and so strong, even after all of the things I have done wrong. It took me awhile to discover this. I always used to almost feel.. well, ashamed to come to God.. because I didn't deserve it. But then I realized that He is not against me, but FOR me.. pushing me forward and on my side. It's like He's our coach saying, "It's okay that you messed up; You are my treasure; I will always love you."
Then my FAVORITE part of the song goes,
"You were made for abandonment, wholeheartedness
You were made for someone greater, someone bigger, so follow Me
And You’ll come alive when you learn to die"
We were created for total abandonment and wholeheartedness. The thing is... so many people say that they "love" God, but what are they doing for Him? I don't think God even cares about our half-hearted efforts at all... It's probably better to not do anything for God then to give Him only a portion and call it "good enough." Now I know we aren't perfect, and we aren't supposed to be.. but even an imperfect person can surrender completely to God and be changed. And I'm telling you, the time you put into God will NOT BE WASTED. What else on this earth is going to matter anyway in the end? It says "You'll come alive when you learn to die." This is what the Christian walk is... dying to yourself DAILY. The only way we are going to experience true joy is when we give Him our ALL; everything we desire; all of our hopes, and dreams. Once we finally learn this, then God can fill us with His over-pouring love. And I'm telling you, once you have a love-experience with God, it will change you forever. :)
Misty Edwards - Arms Wide Open
“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been pondering “What does love look like?” “What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been asking of You
I once believed that love was romance, just a chance I even thought that love was for the lucky and the beautiful I once believed that love was a momentary bliss But love is more than this All You ever wanted was my attention All You ever wanted was love from me All You ever wanted was my affections, to sit here at Your feet Then tell me
“What does love look like?” is the question I’ve been pondering “What does love look like?”
Then I sat down, a little frustrated and confused If all of life comes down to love Then love has to be more than sentiment More than selfishness and selfish gain
And then I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me I saw Him there, hanging on a tree, looking at me He was looking at me, looking at Him, staring through me I could not escape those beautiful eyes And I began to weep and weep
He had arms wide open, a heart exposed Arms wide open; He was bleeding, bleeding
Love’s definition, love’s definition was looking at me Looking at Him, hanging on a tree I began to weep and weep and weep and weep
This is how I know what love is, this is how I know what love is
And as I sat there weeping, crying Those beautiful eyes, full of desire and love He said to me:
“You shall love Me, You shall love Me You shall love Me, You shall love Me”
With arms wide open, a heart exposed With arms wide open, bleeding, sometimes bleeding
If anybody’s looking for love in all the wrong places If you’ve been searching for love, come to Me, come to Me Take up your cross, deny yourself Forget your father’s house and run, run with Me You were made for abandonment, wholeheartedness You were made for someone greater, someone bigger, so follow Me And You’ll come alive when you learn to die
To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
For my first blog I wanted to share a little bit of what I believe God has been speaking to me lately..
As I was doing my devotions and reading the word I came upon this scripture in Ecclesiastes. I think many of us struggle with "timing" and being patient. I know I do, BIG TIME, and God has really been teaching me about patience lately. When I pray for things, I get into the habit of wanting to see INSTANT change, and that just simply isn't the way God works sometimes. I have big hopes and dreams for my life and sometimes it feels as though I am at kind of a "stand-still", and then I get discouraged when I don't see instant results or my life moving forward. But I really do believe that God puts us through these periods of "waiting" to test us and make us stronger. He uses struggles and hardships to bring us back to our knees so He can humble us once again. God will change us, but it takes time. We need times in our lives where our focus is on God alone, nothing else. His love is so strong, and I honestly think that He will do whatever it takes to spend time with us. So He will even put us through desperate circumstances so we will learn to rely fully on Him. Our lives are like the seasons, constantly changing. So don't give up, don't lose heart, God will show up just like He promised, it'll just take a little patience. :)
This is a page from the book, From our Father's Heart by Jim & Merry Corbett, and I think it fits perfectly..
Do not despair or lose heart when I am taking you through a hard time.
Do not despise or turn away from Me, but rather run to me with open arms
and know that I will hold you close to Me.
In such times as these, please understand My purpose for you and My plans for you.
(Jer. 29:11)
I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.
Plans to give you a hope and a future.
Just learn to trust in Me.
Depend on Me.
Rest in Me
and know that I am in control of every situation of your life.
There is nothing that happens in your life that I don't know about first
(Matt. 10:29-31.)
Put your trust fully in Me and not in the things of this world.
Imagine that you're a student in art class. You and dozens of classmates are learning from a master painter. One day your teacher displays a painting of his own. It's an incredible work of art, and he wants each of you to copy it.
