Keep hope alive...Chose life

CHRIST IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE...

In Christ we have life.

The first will be last and the last will receive a crown...a crown of Life!

Today begins Advent.

This Sunday represents Hope...

We have many ways of isolating and protecting ourselves. We live in a world that is not always kind and we get hurt. Most of everything in our lives that is worth anything is out of our control. Faith can be not what is seen but what is unseen. Love can be risky. But it is so worth the risk.

I have learned that life is beautiful. My friend Penny use to say life is a gift and it is.  It is not as animated as psychosis.  It is true to its own.  It is real.  It is lovely.  It is Gods joy and delight to help us rely on Him to love Him and others through the Spirit.  We cannot do this on our own.  We are to weak.  To fearful.  To self centered.  We need the love of Jesus to make our lives worth living.

I visited my friend Martha Newton during the holidays.  While there I visited with my friends relative.  She shared with me her view of life. She said we are all cogs. I didn't understand what she meant. She said we are cogs on a wheel that keep the clock turning. When one of us removes ourselves, as we do, the clock does not run smoothly.  She said no matter what our calling we are all the same.  It does not matter if you are a mom of little children or have no children at all.  Whether you are a bible teacher or have a blog with hundreds of followers...in Gods eyes we are all the same. Beautiful, delighted in and rejoiced over.

 Remember it is God that gives the grace to accomplish what you are called to do.  So no glory goes to any of us.  But the joy of being used by God is shared among us and with Him.   We are unique people, in various giftedness in different roles of life.  It is so beautiful the body of Christ.  

When one of us is suffering we all suffer with him.  When one of us rejoices we all rejoice to.  We are to carry each others burdens.  Teach each others to rely on Christ alone.  Ask for the help of the Spirit.  May we suffer well...when we don't and we fail.  It is Christ suffering and His joy that we experience.   It is His life that is ours.  It is insanity to keep doing the same things and expect a different results.  So we may need to change our way of thinking to experience life as God has intended.

We cannot experience this beautiful life if we are isolated or have the illusion that our addictions will protect us.  Only by moving out of my psychosis and my safe places have I experienced how beautiful this life can be.  We have a choice.,,,

WE CAN CHOSE LIFE

LIFE LIVES WITHIN US...

We can dabble in choosing life and we do.  We experience a little joy.  We may be with friends and even help others then we return to our safe place and the cycle repeats itself.  Jesus wants us free.  Free to love others and to experience life. The more we surrender our days, our lives to Jesus the more He frees us from clinging to ourselves and our false securities.

When we connect with others lives, as Jesus did through incarnation, we experience Him.  Be creative.  Try something new.  Let go of yourself and focus on Jesus.  Receive the gifts and blessings that God has for us in Christ.  Just live. Hold your plans loosely this Christmas seasons.  Commit them to the Lord. Enjoy creation.  As for the grace to be thankful how God will keep His promises in all situations.  Ask the Spirit to bring your life, a life of praise.  Pray for the poor, the lost and those you love.  Remember your Savior is always praying for you.

Do not let fear or satan rob you of life this holiday season.  Face your giants with the courage of Daniel, David.  Be Ester.  Know you are here for such a time as this.  Be with me and learn to live as a little child.  Recently I ask my Father to give me a song.  How great thou Arn't came to mind.  I remembered when I was a young girl in a small Methodist Church and I sang in front of that small congregation, this very song.  I was beyond joy, when that beautiful song later came on the radio.  Jesus and the Father has used music to be a way of grace to me.  We can continue to do the same song and dance.   Or we can join in the dance of the Spirit.  We can hear the beautiful music of the Gospel.

We can join Jesus in this beautiful dance of Life.

Time alone with God is beautiful or it maybe grueling at times.  But there is freedom in casting your cares on the cross of Christ.  Confessing your sins before a holy God.  Desperation and need are sometimes when life begins with Jesus.

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So I challenge you to join me in choosing life... this holiday season. Life brings pain but so much joy and beauty. This is an imperfect world that we live in. It is not our home. But while we are here on this earth we can live life to the fullest.  We can pray for Gods kingdom to come on earth.   Chose to see the good in others and open our hearts to the beautiful plan God has for us in a fallen world. Just let it unfold.  Just be held...It is the very life of Jesus that we live.  We are so safe in Him.

Encourage and give joy away. People need a kind word, a helping hand and love. It can be a wonderful holiday, remembering the birth of our Savior. 

LOVE CAME DOWN FOR YOU AND ME

Use your gifts, to love  those hard to love, those in pain, those who have less that we do. If we just take the time to pass the love of Jesus to the world around us, there will be something so magical happen within your very soul and the world around you. Joy is contagious. Hope is found. People are amazingly unique. 

The Lord loves a generous giver. What better gift to give others this season than yourself! Just as our Lord did. He risk it all to come to rescue us. He did it for the joy. We can to!

LOVE CAME DOWN

MAY WE SPREAD THIS LOVE AMONG OURSELVES AND OTHERS.

This is my story, this is my song.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

There is a battle for our hearts and minds.

The world tells us we are not good enough.  We are shamed and guilted by others.  Even those who love us are in the same battle.  They hurt us and we hurt them.  We manipulate, control and shame others to get what we want.  This is a sad state but it is the effects of a fallen world.  Sinful parents who love us dearly can and do fail us.  But not God.  Marriage partners, friends, even our own children we hurt and they hurt us.  At some point in our lives we all deal with false guilt, shame and a loss of our true identity.

We respond negatively to the negativity in our lives at times.  We all have been wounded by sinners and a fallen world.  It is a reason for our behavior and our negative beliefs but not an excuse to stay in these fallen conditions.  Jesus came to rescue us.  To heal us.  To renew our minds and show us His great love for us through His precious Son.

Satan will use these lies to tell us we are not enough.  We are to fear no evil for God is with us.  The doubt that Gods does not love us.  That we do not love God.  These lies can be used to beat us up mentally, especially those with mental illness.

God wants to deliver us from the bondage of sin and slavery.  The gospel is the answer.  Christ came to give us a new identity

We are loved by God

His love is placed within us

We are forgiven

God does not hold our sin against us ever

He delights in us.
God is never angry with us.
His very righteousness is ours.

There is nothing we can do, as Gods children, to make Him love us more or cause Him to love us less.

God does not leave us as orphans but chooses us to be His children.  We are in the very family of God. How astounding is this.   We are forever secure.  What higher honor is there in this world that to be dearly loved by the perfect Father, God Himself.  

 In a perfect world, God wants us in safe homes, safe families and safe friends.  This is not always the case.  It is important to know that we all are sinners but any abuse is wrong and should be avoided.  Our children need to always be safe.  We need to be with safe people that love and accept us.

 When God looks at us He sees the perfection of Jesus. We have His perfect obedience, His mind.  His desires become ours.  Even His surrender becomes ours.  We become His feet, His hands and His love for others.

 Our Father never grows weary.  He does not sleep.  He is always caring and loving for His children. He can deliver us from evil.  He can pull us out of our deepest pains and sorrows. We are loved as much as He loves His very own son Jesus.  He is never disappointed or discouraged.  He is never angry nor does He ever leave us.  He holds on to us.  Nothing, not us or any spiritual being can separate us from His love.  We are so secure and safe in Christ.  He is bringing us all to trust in Him alone as our Savior, Lord, Rescuer and Redeemer.  His loves to give us mercy and we never are lacking of His grace.

As we become more safe in Gods love... Remembering there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus our guilt and shame is swallowed up by His love and forgiveness.  We become more bold and loving. Our self centeredness fades away as we accept our true value and identity of who we are in Christ.   Our hearts begin to know, who we truly are and Gods great love for us in sending Jesus to shine through our broken lives and hearts.  Our false guilt and shame, we are all born with and that has been placed on our shoulders by this fallen world also fades and is swallowed up, as our true worth and value began to take hold.  We rest more in our true identity.  In our true worth.  In our Saviors work for us in the cross.  Loving others is a natural outpouring of Gods love, realized, in our lives.

Letting yourself go maybe difficult as it is for me.  Focusing on Jesus instead of our failures and our successes can be a scary thing.  This can be a spiraling down as we evaluate ourselves instead of interesting ourselves to the one who loves us.  Living life to the fullest is His glory and His desire to bring us to this freedom and love.

Our loving Father has a wonderful plan for our lives.  To rescue and redeem us through the precious blood of Jesus.  We forgive others and know we also need forgiveness from those we have hurt.  Reconciliation becomes possible.  Rest and peace of mind comes into the life of the redeemed.  Greater is He who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it.  

This does not mean that life is perfect nor is our contentment in Jesus. We cannot always see what God is doing in our suffering but we can rest in the promise that it is always used for good.  

Once we taste that the Lord is Good, our hearts desire is for this life in the Spirit more and more.  This life of love and no condemnation.

The freedom of knowing you are a child of God and His goodness fills your heart more and more than the fear and the lies.  He has recused me and held on to me in my darkest times of despair.  He will you to.  His love never fails.  He is always for His child...

We are not alone.  We have a helper to help us with everything we need as a follower of Jesus. The beautiful Holy Spirit.   The Father is continually working to renew our minds.  Jesus is working in our hearts, in our circumstances and the relationships, even difficulties to bring us to a true trust in Him alone. We are a new creation.  Created in the very image of God.   Jesus is working out the Masters plan in our lives.  It is not always the life we would have chosen.  This is the part of picking up your cross and following Him.    Christ finished work for us on the cross is irreversible.  We cannot mess up Gods plan.  This may lead you into the valley of the shadow of death.  It did me,  but Jesus will never leave you nor leave you alone, ever.

There are many ways we try to feel safe in this unsafe world.  I have thought if I could just figure things out.  Know enough, understand enough, I would be safe.  There is no knowledge, addictions, relationships, fame, success, nothing of this world that is safe enough to rescue you.  We are going to be hurt.  We are going to fail.  We are going to experience fear and sin. We do not have to be controlled by anyone or any fear.  As we surrender, with Jesus surrender the pain may increase but the joy is sure to come.  It is in His timing not ours.  We can learn to live in the promises of God, as a beloved child of God.  Safe, Secure, and Loved.

It maybe that just when you think things are getting better your faith is tested and it may fail. But God's love never fails.  His promises are true.  There is no love greater and more faithful than Jesus and the Father through Christ in the precious Spirit.  So thinking you have got to hang on is good but the truth is... if you struggle and it seems the pain does not stop, it maybe that Jesus is the one that truly hangs on to you.  He is always working for our relationship with Him.  He brings us to a deeper, richer, more glorious place of His presence and who He is than ever before.  

It may seem like three steps forward and two backward at times, but remember your life, your maturity, you faith, even your relationship when tested, is all up to Him.  It is He who began a good work in you and He who will complete it.  You can go to Him with everything.  He will fight to keep you.  So may your fears, anger, doubt, unforgiveness and discontentment drive you to the loving arms of God.

He WILL see you through.