Laced With Grace...."Jehovah"

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace site entitled “Jehovah”. 

Some claim that Jesus Christ was fabricated by the human mind; simply produced by the imagination and nothing more.  If, in fact He was invented by man then why has man not been able to improve on Christ over the years?  Improvements have been made continuously over the years on everything that man has made.  No one can deny that we don’t continuously improve on everything that we can get our hands on.  

It’s nothing out of the ordinary to see improvement at every turn.

On television we see commercials advertising the newest improved gadget that is better, faster, smoother, lighter, and more convenient than ever before.   

“The Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power Razor is Gillette’s most advanced blade ever.  Thinner, finer blades with a low-resistance coating glide effortlessly through hair for less tug and pull, providing incredible comfort, even if you shave every day.”

Gillette’s website advertisement clearly makes my point; this product is one of the many products that are continually being improved and I doubt the production of ideas will stop flowing.  In the 18^th century the first razor invented was a “straight razor”, years later you can see substantial improvement.

Years ago…

Now…

Compare the automobiles produced in the 20^th century to the 21^st century; you are bound to see a major improvement.  The progress that man has made on the appearance, assembly, versatility and the wide ranges of makes, models and color options are vast improvements from where automobiles first began.

Years ago…

Now…

Architectural structures began to mature and flourish hundreds of years before Christ was born.  Buildings were sturdier and more permanent than before.   Structures in the 21^st century have dramatically improved with endurance, stability, beauty, design and manufacture.

Years ago…



Now…

Jesus Christ claimed deity; He applied to Himself the
statement of Jehovah, “I am”.  

John 8:24 “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

John 8:24 “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said “I am the light of the world.  If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 10:9 “Yes, I am the gate.  Those who come in through me will be saved.  They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.”

John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No on e can come to the Father except through me.”

This truth of the revelation of Jesus Christ is revealed in Scripture and proves that Jesus Christ is deity and not man-made. 

We are merely humans and are unable to…..

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Prayer

Have you been doing all the talking?

The Artist At Work

Today I want to share my heart with you, something that the Lord has been tugging on my heart to change.  The past few months I have been convicted of something that I have never been convicted of before and it all started when I opened up my mouth and uttered a phrase that I haven’t forgotten since. 

Like any other morning, I was driving to work and turned into the parking lot to park my car and noticed this person who wasn’t very attractive and like most people’s reaction I said to myself “ugh, that person is so ugly.”  As the words left my lips Jesus spoke into my heart and said, “That is my creation you are talking about; my work of art”, and I felt so terrible that I had said something so awful and basically criticized God’s creativity and capabilities.

From that moment on I decided to never speak of God’s creation in a negative way ever again.  That person shouldn’t be judged or criticized by us; all that matters is that God thinks they are beautiful because He created them.  We are all uniquely made inside and out, and we are His pride and joy…His work of art.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of His hands.”

This scripture says the heavens are proudly announcing and showing their appreciation of His marvelous art work (His creation) and the skies are giving their approval and making it known.  He is our Artist and we are all His work of art.  He loves us.  He’s proud of what He has created and we should be too.

God is our Creator; He is The Artist!!! 

We should have an appreciation of His art and beauty; not just the mountains, waterfalls, sunsets, stars in the night sky, Grand Canyon, but the people He created too.  We are His work of art!!

Laced with Grace....I Don’t Buy That Lie

Today I shared a devotion over at Laced with Grace entitled “I Don’t Buy That Lie”.

Satan doesn’t just temp us on the obvious things like to tell a lie, smoke cigarettes, talk bad about someone, or cheat on a test.  He tempts us with less obvious things like when you are facing difficulty in life and everything seems to be falling apart.  He comes along and whispers lies into your ear to lure you out onto his slippery pathways with one objective in mind…..for you to fall.  Yes, he plays dirty.  He kicks you while you’re down. 

In those moments in life, that is when Satan runs as fast as he can to get to your ear and fill it with lies and deception.  He tries to convince you that God has abandon you and no longer loves you.  He tries to convince you that your situation is hopeless and will never change and never get better.  He tries to discourage you when you need encouragement the most.  He pushes you down, right at that moment you need a helping hand.  He tries his best to drag you down as low as he can drag you so you are discouraged and hopeless of your situation. 

Satan will drag you as far as you let him!

Yes trials are hard, no doubt, but the Lord has shown me something different in this scripture today.  I’ve never thought about it like this before, but the reason we feel so weak, hopeless, fearful, discouraged and faithless........

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Safe and Sound

The record breaking storms have passed and the sun is shining.  We have made it through the storms this week.  Our town was blessed.  We are all safe and sound right?

Yes we are safe, but what about sound? 

Throughout the Mid-South area we experienced severe thunderstorms and twisters with minor damage compared to other cities in the U.S. leaving us safe, but maybe not so sound. 

The enemy can torment your mind leaving you with fear.  He can get you worrying and imaging the worse-case scenarios and all the “what if’s” you can thing of….  But remember what 2 Timothy 1:7 says….

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Not worry, but peace!!  Not fear, but power!! 

Dear Lord,

Please help us to not listen to the enemy’s lies and focus our minds on You. Give our hearts peace and a sound mind.  Amen!

My Painted Heart

I have faced a lot of difficulty, pain, and heartache in my 26 years.  The pain I have suffered has made me who I am today and I wouldn’t take that back for the world.  God can turn any bad situation into beauty.  I was completely broken up inside with nothing left.  God knows exactly what he is doing and has allowed everything that has happened to me with a great purpose in mind.  Just think, we are his pride and joy…the apple of this eye…the most precious thing that belongs to him…he proved that when he sent His one and only son to die on the cross for payment of our sins in order to purchase us!!

We are so precious to Him!

What is the MOST PRECIOUS thing that belongs to you?  Something you have purchased?  Something that has been given to you?  Let’s say a small glass vase has been passed down in your family for many generations and it now belongs to you.  It’s precious to you…your whole entire family line for generations has owned and cherished this small glass vase which tells a story that runs all of the way back to the latest your family were able to trace on your family tree.  It is now in your hands to take care of, watch over and protect.  It is precious to you and you are in charge of it…it’s YOURS!!  I’m sure you would make sure that you knew exactly where it was at all times and if you decide to take it into another room and place it another spot in your house you would make sure that it would be safe there in that new spot.  Whatever you decide to do with it or wherever you decide to place it, you will have its best interest in mind ALWAYS.

That’s the way I like to think of it.  God’s ALWAYS aware of where we are and what is happening in our lives.  If something will help us build character or help us grow stronger in him, then he will allow the stormy winds to swirl in our lives.  He is there and never leaves during the storm, but is smiling inside seeing the end results which is his ultimate plan.  Of course at the same time he is hurting that we have to go through such pain but is very understanding and has compassion as we face that storm.

I have deep scars from past wounds (experiences) but that is what keeps me desperate for Jesus!!  Never a day goes by that I am not constantly reminded that I NEED him desperately EVERYDAY!!!

James 1:2-3 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

There was a time in my life that God wasn’t apart of it like he is now, only because I didn’t allow him.  Those were lonely, dark days that you couldn’t pay me enough money to relive.  If it weren’t for those experiences in my life I wouldn’t be who I am today. 

That’s what we are…God’s creation!!  We are like a painting that he is working on. 

He has got all his paint colors out, jar of water, paper towels, brushes and the grand idea of what picture he wants to paint. 

He has got this apron on and is all ready to go!!  With excitement he takes his first stroke on the blank solid white canvas and thinks to himself “This is going to be a good one!” 

Time passed and the canvas now has beautiful shades of color.  When he begins to mark the color black into the picture we start to wonder what is going on and why is this happening?  I don’t like the color black!!!  Who likes the color black??  It’s ugly!!  I don’t want that in my life!!!  It’s not even a pretty color!!! 

We must have the color black painted in our hearts.

 No it’s not a pretty color, but it is necessary…all together it makes the picture!!  Adding black to the painting is what makes it become beautiful.  What would the Mona Lisa be without black?  It wouldn’t be the beautiful famous painting as we know it…that’s for sure!

When I look at my past hurts I see pain, but when I look at the whole picture I see Gods fingerprints all over this beautiful story he is writing in my life. 

What a beautiful story God has written!!  He is not finished yet!!

This song “Before the Morning” by Josh Wilson says it all….click here to listen!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for all that you have done in my life and are still doing today. You are the reason my heart sings!!  Once there was only brokenness in my life, but you have mended me back whole.  I am now healed and even better than before.  I am thankful for the scares I have in my life because they are simply reminders of what you can make into beauty.  I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the painful experiences that I have faced.  I look forward to more beauty that you bring into my life each and every day. Amen!

Laced with Grace...Choose Joy

Today I shared a devotion over at the Laced with Grace entitled “Choose Joy”.

Don’t forget to Choose Joy during the difficult times in life. 

It’s so easy to forget that we have a place to go and gather peace, strength, and everlasting joy during the trials of this life.  It’s so easy to sit and sulk over all that has gone wrong and walk around with your head down. 

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Choose joy.

When everything seems to come crashing down all at once and you don’t think it could get worse.  Everything seems to be going all wrong and all your plans fall through.......

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Thankful Thursday - Refreshed

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Sin is a lot like a match. 

When we participate in sin it’s like striking a match!

Once it is lit in your life it starts a fire that spreads and destroys everything.  Just that little tiny spark can be more destructive than you think. 

God is like a firefighter.  He comes in and cleans up the damage the fire caused.  But unlike any firefighter we know, this firefighter miraculously rebuilds and restores what was lost during the fire and makes everything new and whole again! 

Now that’s POWER!!  That’s OUR GOD!!

This Thankful Thursday I’m so thankful that we serve a God that rebuilds us and restores us after we sin.  Sometimes we can mess up so bad and wonder where do I go from here?  He repairs our heart from the pain and renews our souls from the damage.  Praise the Lord for His mighty and powerful miraculous touch!!

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