Divine Design

On May 24, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Romans 12: 2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
We looked quite a bit last week at what God has to say about acceptance and in a nutshell it is that you are accepted in His sight. He said, Himself, that He has not rejected you. That is such an important truth for us to receive. Truly, we cannot give away what we have yet to receive. So, if you see a person who is critical and judgmental it may just be that they have yet to receive the acceptance and love of God for themselves.

There is a commercial running on television right now from Time-Warner cable where a motivational speaker challenges people about change. He tells them that they can change and asks if they want to, to which everyone resoundingly replies, “Yes!” Well, as I listened to the commercial I heard another message come right up out of my spirit. What I heard is that God has not called us to change. First of all, He loves you without you changing. Second, what He has given us is transformation. 

Transformation is not something we do; it is something we allow God to do within us by cooperating with His Spirit. We are transformed by God and the Holy Spirit through the renewal of our minds. We are not asked to change from who we are to someone else. No, we are only being transformed into the fullness of who we are in Christ. This transformation is more akin to the metamorphoses of a caterpillar into a butterfly. The essence of the butterfly was always in the caterpillar. He doesn’t have try not to be himself. He just grows up into the fullness of who he was always destined to be. 

Like the caterpillar, in every one of us is a butterfly. We have only to enter our chrysalis and allow the butterfly to emerge. This is the transformational process which our beloved Father has given us. We are not the authors of change, we are not transformational engineers. God has already put butterfly DNA in the caterpillar. He has created and put in the caterpillar the process for fulfilling its destiny. Truly, we are more important to Him that a butterfly. He wouldn’t abandon us and task us with the responsibility of change when He has so carefully designed the butterfly and it’s growth phases.

God has given us a chrysalis into which we can cocoon ourselves too. He has prepared a process by which He brings us into the fullness of our Divine Design. Through the renewal of our minds, we are transformed into the very likeness of Jesus. You will be the version of you which is so apparently a sibling to Jesus himself. I like to call this fulfilled you the Jesus you. So you may be Jesus Scott or Jesus Mary. You are of the same DNA as Jesus. When you took on the New Birth which is wrought in his blood and his glory, you became genetically tied to Jesus. There is a glorified you. This is who God sees every time He looks at you. Now, in order for you to live the fulfillment of who you are in Christ you must renew your mind to the Word of God. When you do, you will find that you think like God. You will begin to feel the things God feels and you will even react to events the way God does. The renewal of your mind washes out the worldly way of thinking that we were all indoctrinated in and replaces it with God thoughts and yes, you really can think the way God thinks. It is amazing and glorious and you were meant to live this way – to live an anointed life.

So, here is your part. Renew your mind by reading God’s Word. It really is that easy. Meditate on what you read. Let it seep into your own thoughts and consciousness. Allow God’s Word and God’s thoughts to become integrated with your own. You will find that as you do this you will begin to develop wings. You will emerge from your own chrysalis a glorified, emancipated child of the Most High with wings as eagles. Go soak in the glory of God’s Word, let Him pour his DNA into every cell of your being and then spread your wings and soar. You are His beautiful child, created in His image. Don’t try to change just be transformed, by the renewing of your mind.

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Lemonade

On May 23, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 8: 28

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

I call this the “Lemonade Scripture.” It says to me that God will take the lemons handed you and make lemonade from them. Whatever Satan means for harm in your life, God will find a way to turn it to good. God will not allow the devil just to rain bad things into your life. He is going to turn them around for you. Your part is to give the Lord that kind of authority over your life. When the devil hands you lemons, you just call up God and say, “Hey, there is a delivery here for you.” It is not your job to create the miracle or fight with the devil. You just know that God is Lord and tell the devil to get back under your feet where he belongs. In your prayers, tell God what you think you need or what you desire and then you can thank Him and let it go. Go enjoy a tall glass of iced lemonade, on Him.

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Rejection

On May 20, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 8: 34

And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; …

How do you expect this sentence to end? I expected the whole city to turn out, fall at his feet and praise him. I thought the next line might be “and they marveled at the wonders he performed in their midst.” That is not how this story ends though. The rest of the passage reads:

And when they saw Him, they entreated him to depart from their region.


Now isn’t that a kick in the teeth? This passage is the conclusion of the story of the Gadarene demoniacs. The introduction to this story says that these two men were so violent that no one could use that road. Jesus cast out the demons, restoring the men and the thoroughfare at the same time. Two of the town’s citizens were restored and a major problem rectified. Yet the people’s reaction was to reject Jesus. It sounds ludicrous with the advantage of 2000 years of hindsight. The same thing happens today though and if they did it to Jesus, of all people; people are going to do it to his followers as well.

This does not diminish the message though. Just understand that even when you do the work of God, even when you preach the message God has personally given you to preach, you are still going to encounter resistance. Some people are not going to be able to receive your message even though it is directly from God himself. But take heart. They did it to Jesus too so you are in very good company.

I do not say that it is always easy to preach the message you have been given but be of good heart knowing that your obedience to God will be much more pleasant than even the rejection and criticism you must sometimes endure. People need to hear the word that God has given you. Don’t let fear have the final say. Do what you need to do knowing that even Jesus ran into critics but the message did get through and at least two people in that town were set free.

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A Full Life

On May 19, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

3 John 2

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
This passage of scripture portrays the image of a victorious Christian. This is the picture of who we are all destined to be because of the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. First of all, our souls are to prosper. That encompasses our emotional life, social life, and our intellectual life. It is the transformation of the human soul through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this is best thought of as the intangibles. It is all of the things that make a life full. It is part of what Jesus meant when he said that he came into the world to give us abundant life (John 10: 10).

As we allow the Holy Spirit to work within our spirits, setting us free from every sort of bondage, we are supposed to also evidence physical well-being and financial prosperity. You see, to God and to Jesus, it is a package deal. We are supposed to have it all, not just one little portion. You are supposed to be well in your body and well in your finances. Your soul is supposed to be healed from any emotional scars and you are to be free. Jesus said that he was anointed to set the captives free (Luke 4: 18). So, his ministry and his word do free us from our former bondage so that we might live in abundance of every sort and pass that blessing on to others. 

It starts in your spirit and manifests in every part of your life. Do not let the devil steal any part of it from you because Jesus came to set you free.

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Rejoice

On May 18, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Chronicles 29: 9

Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

What a beautiful passage of scripture. These people experienced much joy because their hearts were in their giving to the Lord. Did you know that giving offerings to the Lord could fill you with joy? Really, most of us enjoy giving. We just do not like to feel obligated or coerced to give. When we give freely to the Lord with our whole heart, it does make the heart glad. It is a personal giving between the person and the Lord and that sort of giving lifts the heart and countenance. I think some of us are grumpy because we hold on so tightly to our money or gifts. When we let them go freely, we elevate our own spirits. And I know that the Lord is overjoyed when we give to him out of the abundance of our hearts. It doesn’t have to be a big gift, just a joyful one.

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Imitating Christ

On May 17, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 15: 7

Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.

Yesterday I shared Isaiah 41: 9 and we saw that our Father, God, accepts us and has not rejected us. Today we see from the New Testament that Jesus also accepts us. But look, Jesus also requires that we accept one another. That will sure put our judgmental and critical natures to the test. Apparently, God did not set us up in the position to be critical of our fellow human beings. Honestly, we just can’t see the things God does nor can we see the way He does. He has the ability to look at a person’s heart. We can only view their external appearance and behaviors.

You are accepted by God and by Jesus. Now you must learn to extend the grace and mercy that you have in them. Let this grace and the love of God fill you. As you receive God’s acceptance you will begin to overflow with the same merciful attitude towards others. If you find yourself critical and judgmental then make sure that you are fully receiving God’s love for yourself. When you come to understand God’s affection for you it becomes very difficult not to share it with others.

God loves you, accepts you and has not rejected you. Open your heart and arms to the rest of humanity allowing God’s love to flow from you . . . in Jesus’ name.

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Accepted

On May 16, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 9

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, “You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.”

I suppose most people have dealt with rejection or the sense of rejection at some time in their life. Many have felt insecure in their relationship with God too. The good news is that God has accepted you. No matter what the world may say about you; no matter what your negative brother-in-law says about you, God loves you and accepts you; even as you are.

I am not trying to say that most of us don’t need some transformation in our lives but we have been chosen by God. We really need to meditate on this scripture and let it sink down into our spirits. We need to have such a rock solid understanding and recognition of God’s favor over our lives such that nothing and no one can cause us to doubt our acceptance by God. 

This is a really big deal. There are books and books on the topic of rejection because so many of us have dealt with feelings of unacceptance and rejection. Sometimes we feel that we can never be what others want us to be but God is here shouting loudly that you do not have to change for Him to love you. Even before you were born He saw you and you were, and are, lovely in His sight. No matter how many mistakes you make, He still sees the beautiful you and He would say to you that you are wondrously made in His own image.

I feel like I could and should write much more on this so that you hear time and time again that God considers you lovely and worthy of His affection. However, He has said it best, “I have chosen you and not rejected you.” Hear the word of the Lord.

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