6I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7You shall have no other gods before Me or besides Me.
8You shall not make for yourself [to worship] a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.
5For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime or in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.(A)
Today’s Mary music message comes from her great single “Just Fine”. This song is so powerful and inspirational for men and women of all ages, races and backgrounds. It’s a song about choosing to live life to the fullest no matter what it throws at you.
The funny about this blog is that I had already knew I would be using this song for today. What I didn’t know was that 24 hours before I wrote it I would be hit with a blow so hard, it almost took my breathe away. How do you wake up and move on when you discover everything you’d been living for the last 2 years of your life has been a lie- - -AGAIN? How do you keep on going when the one person you gave your everything to, was only lying and using you? How do you begin to pick and start over when you feel like you’ve lost a vital organ in your body?
The answer is simple……………with God. My heart had been broken by my ex-husband a few years back and then I was blessed with the man of my dreams. In my eyes he could do no wrong. He showed me that I could trust again. That although every man since my biological father had deserted or hurted me, that someone out there wanted to love me. Well, that all just blew up in my face overnight. He did the exact thing my ex-husband did, but you know what was different this time. ME.
I am JUST FINE. I am hurt and broke but not broken. I turned it over to God, because He is the somebody who will and has always loved me. Because of God’s love and spirit dwelling in me, I have no hatred in my heart and no desire for retaliation. I wish nothing ill on him and nor do I wish God not continue to prosper him. I pray for him though because you do reap what you sow. He may not feel it now, or in a two years or even ten, but one day it will come back and when it does it will be God’s doing- - -and that’s so much worse than anything I could think of on my own. My victory would cause minimal damage and a temporary moment of pleasure, but God’s wrath leaves a legacy behind and follows you for a lifetime.
See I’ve learned that man can hurt you, but God will always heal you. I’ve learned that man will use and abuse you, but God will use it to His glory. I’ve learned that man will let you down even when it’s not his intentions, but that God will lift you up.
Life is full of surprises- - -good and bad- - -and its our choice to choose how we accept them. We can let the actions of others cause us to doubt who we are or what our value is. Or we can let our actions show God, that for Him we will live and die. No matter how much pain I feel in this moment right now, I know that God still has a plan for me and my daughter. I know that He still is God and that He is a good God. I have no intentions on letting this break me. In the song Mary says “So I like what I see, when I’m looking at me, when I’m walking past the mirror”. It’s so much more that the outside apperarance- - - -the make-up, outfit and the shoes. It’s about the soul of the woman looking back at her.
May today you determine to live so that the image you see in the mirror is one that you and God can be proud of. Today let us all purpose in our hearts, that come hell or high water, with Christ we will choose to be JUST FINE. When life decides to throw a pile of bricks at you, don’t get buried underneath them, stand and use them to build your bigger and better house!!!!!!!!!!!
6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
4God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
So Nice………
Today’s Message in the Music comes from Lyfe Jennings song “Must Be Nice”. The first set of lines that I want to focus on is “Must be nice. Having someone who loves you despite your faults. Must be nice. Having someone who talks the talk but also walks the walk”.
I can remember many times in my past where people have walked out on me in the times I needed them the most because of a mistake I’d made. I can also remember many times in my life that I’ve walked out on people for the same thing. As Christians sometimes we forget that we are all human. We forget that we are not perfect although the perfect one can dwell within us. I love that the song is about loving inspite of self . Even though Lyfe is referring to a female in the song, universally this is how God loves us. He loves us when we don’t pray, when we don’t tithe, and even when we don’t love Him back.
God’s love is not measured out each morning based upon what He will be able to get out of us. He doesn’t love the bishop more than He loves the bum. He doesn’t give the married woman more keys to the kingdom than the single mother. He gives us all the same opportunity to receive His love and He does exactly what He says He will do. He doesn’t force himself on us, and He lets us choose to invite Him in. He is a God who can not lie, so if He makes a promise to you, He has no other choice but to fulfill it.
The second set of lines I want to focus on is “Must be nice. Having someone who trusts you despite what they've heard. Someone as mighty as a lion but still as gentle as a bluebird”. I remember my first few days at work and all my co-workers giving me the scoop on each other. I remember not liking two or three co-workers before I had even set eyes on them. I had let the words of others determine how I would treat and receive complete and innocent strangers to me. Praise God, that He is not moved by people. His love doesn’t shift because of the whispers from other saints or non-believers. He sees us for who we are and He judges us according to our own actions and nothing more.
One thing that is so amazing about God is that He is the Lion of Judah and at the same time He is the Prince of Peace. He can send a flood, a tornado, or a plague in one breath but in the next He can be the Lamb, the Dove, or the soft wind. With a blink of the eye He can cause the waves to crash upon the shore, but with another blink He can calm the raging seas. Everyone wants someone in their corner to love them and be gentle, but we also need them to be a soldier when the battle comes.
It is nice to have all of these things and more………….and the best part is that we all can and should have this. God is available 24/7/365. He doesn’t get tired, frustrated, doubtful, occupied, or fed up. He desires to spend quality time with us. He wants to be our everything, in everyway………..everyday. So as you prepare to go into the weekend, take a moment to hang with the One who will treat you like majesty. Don’t settle for the jester when you can dine with the King……………………………….Must Be Nice!!!
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
Dirty Windshield
Today’s Message in the Music is from Johnny Nash’s song “I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone”. The chorus of the song says “I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way”. I love the fact that he doesn’t say the obstacles are gone because the rain has stopped, but he says he can see ALL the obstacles in his way.
I still remember the moment the Lord dropped this Word in my spirit. I was driving to work the morning of my baby girl’s birthday party. I remember my car was completely covered in pollen, but I especially remembered how hard it was to see out of my windshield. In an effort to clear up my view I turned on my wipers but didn’t push the button to release some cleaner fluid. I noticed that all I did was swear the dirt and pollen. So then I pushed the button to release the water, but hadn’t realized I had turned the off wipers off. This time the water just ran up and right back down.
I was laughing so hard at myself on the inside, but pulled it together long enough to activate the wipers and water at the same time. The end result was a clear picture of the road ahead. Not that any road blocks, obstacles or potential hazard spots had been removed, but my view of them was in plain sight and crystal clear………its a lot easier to fight an enemy you can recognize as a foe.
Well, a few moments later, God used this crazy car moment to minister to me. He told me to look at the wipers as Faith and Prayer and the water as Christ Jesus. To have Faith and Prayer without Jesus is a waste of a great gift. Just going through the motions of praying and speaking (but not walking) by faith is useless as well as dangerous. Playing with spiritual fire will cause you to get burned. You keep speaking you believe in Christ and have no true foundation and watch what happens. The enemy- - -listening to your empty confessions- - -sends an illness your way to test you and it kills you, because although you claim Jesus is your healer, deep down you don’t have a relationship with Him to believe that by His stripes you are healed.
Then God had me look at having Jesus but no faith or prayer. The Bible says that faith without works is dead. So accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is great but it doesn’t stop there. You have to believe in your heart everything in His Word. You have to pray to get direction and insight into the things He has just for you. You can throw the name of Jesus up into the atmosphere, but without faith behind it, the mountain won’t move.
The next time you’re in your vehicle of life on the highway to your destiny. Know that obstacles are always going to come, and different things will try to stick to your windshield- - -kids, family, job, church, commitments, disappointments, set backs and the list goes on…... Detours, road blocks, and pot holes will always be there, but if you have poop, pollen and dirt covering your windshield it will just make it harder to see them. God didn’t promise the road to our future would be easy but he did promise He would never leave us. So the next time you feel your view slipping from you, spray some water, activate your wipers and watch your life come into focus.
28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but
You Don’t Know My Name…………
Today’s Message in the Music comes strictly from the title of Alicia Keys’ “You Don’t Know My Name”. It’s amazing how much faster change comes from hands on experience than from learning. One moment in time, one word spoken or not spoken, even one missed opportunity, can cause you to change your entire outlook on a situation, a circumstance and even your life.
This past month I have went through a transformation- - - -a shedding of another layer of “snake skin”. It has been very hard, but not as hard as it had been in the past. This time I choose to let God do the shedding. There was no more self-soothing or quick and temporary fixes for the pain. This time I let God begin the healing process in and through me. I asked God for a permanent break of my old self………..an extreme home make-over.
Saturday morning as I was running errands, I thought of Simon and how he use to cuss like a sailor and was quick to anger, but how spending time with Jesus on a daily basis helped tone him down…………..so much that Jesus changed his name to Peter. Then on Sunday the scripture reading was when Jacob wrestled the angel, and the angel changed his name to
The funny thing about change is that the people you expect to notice it- -- - are normally the last ones to see it. And the people who you never thought would notice, are the ones who pick up on it the fastest. It’s like when you losing weight. People around you see it last because to them it’s a gradual change in your appearance. But let the fat kid from high school show up at the class reunion looking tight and right in all the places that count………..the whole room will take notice.
The hardest part of change is getting the people that matter the most to see it. They have gotten use to you being the liar, the last one to show up, the cheater, the alcoholic, the abuser and the disappointment- - - - they can’t see you any other way. For some people in our lives, it doesn’t matter how cleaned up and changed we’ve become, they will always see us the way we were. If we’re not careful and rooted in God, that very thing could cause us to digress. When people around you can’t or won’t accept your “new name” then its time to cut them loose. If they can’t forgive you and trust the God in you, you don’t need them in your life.
13For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for [a]selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.
What About Your Friends?
Today’s Message in the Music comes from “What About Your Friends” by the group TLC. The chorus of the song says “What about your friends. Will they stand their ground. Will they let you down again……………
Talking to Lisa about things that have transpired in my life, I realize I don’t have has many “true” friends as I thought I did. Looking back at relationships we’ve been involved in over the years, we remembered how many times without fail, we opened up our hearts to people who cherished us as long as we benefited them. We recalled relationships were we had forgiven wrong after wrong after wrong, but when we needed forgiveness it was returned with abandonment and judgment. It’s such a relief to know that when we ask God for forgiveness, He doesn’t make us beg for it or drag it out; He forgives us and keeps it moving. It’s also a great thing that He doesn’t love us based on our behaviors, because if He did, we would never see another blessing this side of heaven.
I told Lisa that I just didn’t understand it. I feel like I wasted so much time on one particular friendship and for what? For one incident to completely change the entire course of the world. I was hurt and very upset, but Lisa spoke life and peace into me. She helped me see the situation from a whole new viewpoint as well as my fault in the whole matter. That’s what a real friend does. They don’t sugar coat it or dress it up to make you feel better. They tell it to you straight up so you can learn from it, change and grow into a better person.
A lot of times in life when we go through things we seek out advice from people who are not qualified to give it. So many times in life we receive advice from people whose motives are all wrong, or who do not have all the facts. Some times we take advice from people - - - - - - - - who would not follow their own course of action if they were in the same situation. A good friend of mine once told me “You have to do what makes you happy and gives you peace at the end of the night”.
In life I’ve had to learn that everybody who whispers in my ear, does not have my best interest at heart. Some people speak out of jealousy, spite, and their own situations. At the end of the day I have to do what’s best for me because when the sun goes down, everybody goes home to the life they have created and then I’m left alone to figure out what to do next, because I listened to a “friend” who really wasn’t looking out for me. It’s like the co-worker who hates their job as much as you, tells you to quit but (unknown to you) they are applying for a promotion within the same company. You quit and now they are vice president of the company. You’re on the verge of losing your house, family, car, and sanity and their life hasn’t skipped one beat. They are home every night reading bedtime stories to the kids and watching an episode of CSI with their spouse before bed.
Like the word love, we use the word friend too loosely. A true friend is always there for you. They don’t give up on you or walk out you when stop living up to their standards. They pray for you, even after you hurt them. They believe in you and stand in your corner when the rest of the world has written you off. A friend loves you for who you are, and not for what you can do for them. I so glad that Jesus is our friend and that He was not ashamed to tell the world. The Bible says that no greater love is there than to lay down your life for another. Well, we all know that Jesus did that, and then some. So today when you look at your circle of friends, are you surrounded by those who are willing to lay down their lives for you, or are you surrounded by those who are just laying down on you……………………
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[a] and take delight in honoring each other.
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
EVERYTHING.
Today starts the beginning of another Message in the Music Marathon. Today’s message is not from the lyrics of the song, but simply the title. Tina Turner’s hit record “What’s Love Got to Do with It? asks a very profound question.
Yesterday morning in church our dance team did a reenactment of the crucifixion, and it was so powerful to watch Jesus take on the sins of the world. When it was all over my pastor said “That was all for you”. Every lashing on his back. Every nail hammered through his flesh. Every kick and spit in the face. Every cuss word and lie. Every punch and pull. Every stab and bruise. Every single blow was “All for Me”. Whoa. What a level of sacrifice, especially when He did absolutely nothing wrong.
The reason God sent His one and only begotten son was for no other reason than His love for us. The reason that Jesus didn’t just walk around from the cross, was for no other reason than His love for us. The song asks who needs a heart, when it’s only going to be broken. The answer is, we all do. We all need love, and I’m so thankful that God is love. We all need God. If we are fortunate enough to find love with another human being, that’s a great bonus, but all we need to survive is God’s love.
I know so many people who claim to have loved someone when in reality they didn’t. Love doesn’t give up on you when things get hard. Love doesn’t walk out on you when you are already down on yourself. Love doesn’t judge you by a different set of rules than the rules it lives by. Love doesn’t stop loving you because you don’t fit into its perfect little box of expectations and demands.
Love fights for you. Love gives up itself for you. Love puts itself in your shoes. Love stands in front of the bullet for you. Love protects, provides and shields you. Love comforts you and forgives you. Love stands by you and stands up for you. Love believes in you, even when you can’t believe in yourself. Love sees past where you are right now, and it will push you to reach your destiny. Love has no limits, no set conditions, and no pre-conceived notions about you. Love lays down its life for you. Love bleeds for you. Love died for you on
So if you find yourself “loving” someone, or someone claims to be “loving” you, check the criteria and make sure it’s a qualified source. The greatest lover of all times carried the weight of the world on His shoulder to prove His love. Anybody can love you when you’re doing everything right, their way, or in their favor. But true love is when the test and trails of life come up against you and you have to choose to stand and fight. Love was not in the resurrection, love was in the crucifixion……………………………
15But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God. [I Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2.]
Opinions, much like noses come in many different varieties and come in a variant of shapes, colors and sizes. I have spoken with many individuals through out my life who hate the hypocrisy that is aligned with being a Christian. We often kill our own witness by the way we judge others, the way we act on the job or by the way we treat or do not treat others whether our family members or outsiders. Judgement is a major issue that is often a destructive entity in our lives. We judge everyone from our spouses and children to our co-workers and friends. Often times never realizing that as we release these words, that we have cast labels and opinions into the air that can and often will cause individuals to walk away from God and us too. It will cause people to lose focus and purpose and to begin to travel a road of despair and unforgiveness. Do we really have the right to judge, especially when we are a work in progress, ourselves. Or did we consider for one minute if God judged us where would we be?
I was watching a movie over the weekend and a woman was being judged because she did not look the part of a minister's wife, she still possessed what was labeled as a worldly look. Instead of being embraced and loved into the kingdom, she was scorned and ridiculed because she did not live up to a standard. A standard not outlined by God, but by man, who is imperfect themselves and broken at best on a good day. But as the story went on, the bottom line was the most important thing was not the judgement of others but the thoughts of God, when He looked at her. God's heart is filled with a desire to be reconciled with His creation, His love. He said He loves us with an everlasting love. He looks beyond our faults to the cross and sees the blood deposited on our behalf. God sees love and forgiveness, care and mercy. What is it that we are seeing beyond our own selfishness. We see every wrong ever done to us, ever word spoken that did not line up with our trend of thinking, we feel the sting of disappointment and the pain of betrayal. What if God began to react and feel as we do, you see these are all things we do to Him and continue to do to Him with our choices and our lifestyle, and if he began to judge us or offer an opinion based upon what we deserved, where would we be?
Think for one minute if God gave you what you give others in the are of judgement, forgiveness, opinion, mercy, love and care, how would that work out for you? For most of us we would not be here today. Our life would have ended some time ago. For others of us, we would be broke, busted and disgusted, and for others still our minds would be lost forever, turned over to a reprobate place never to be redeemed. It is time to apply what God applies to you when He looks at you...His MERCY, LOVE and His PROTECTION! Remember sin is sin, wrong is wrong, there is no greater sin in the eyes of God...
20My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings.
21Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart.
22For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.
23Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.
24Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you.
25Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you.
When we were stationed in Okinawa Japan, we attended Torii Chapel, ( which is now God's Way Ministries) and one of the Praise and Worship songs we use to frequently sing was entitled, "I've Got A River Of Life," it spoke of a well that sprung from our soul, that made the lame to walk and the blind to see. It has the capability to open up prison doors and set the captives free. The chorus invoked the well to spring up and make us whole, and give us life abundantly. When you speak is it a Charlie Brown cartoon where all people hear is wah, wah,wah, wah, wah, or is it like an E F Hutton commercial where everyone stops to listen. When we are around, are we the light that enters the room or are we the cloud that darkness the lives of those we encounter?
I have a friend that is in the midst of a season of transition, it has proven to be a tough time for her, and she has been struggling with being hurt by those she had been loyal to. Today, she fell on my heart and I sent her an e-mail. As I read her response I could sense the hurt and anger that she had become trapped in. I prayed for her and wrote her back, I was lead to encourage her that no matter what, God was in control and that she could not let people or circumstance change the awesome person God had made her. The next reply was unexpected and a pleasant surprise. She told of the days that had gone by that she had been struggling and how she missed her friends from work, but she then said the message she had received from me was a reminder, not to let people take her down and that I had always been to her a constant source of uplifting and light. My eyes filled up with tears, because I knew in that instant that it was not me, but the God in me that provided that comfort and that light. For without God's love shining through, my words would prove to be nothing but empty and my attempts at comfort nothing but failed. I meet people daily and the consistent word is that there is something about me, or that I am different. That difference is the God that lives within, that river of God's love, His mercy and His saving Grace, that is flowing from me. No it is far from perfection that I profess, because I am a work in progress, but don't we owe it to our Savior to give what He has freely given us?
Can it be said that there is something that flows from us that enhances the lives of those we encounter, or are we the ones being enhanced with little benefit to others. When people encounter us who do they see, just someone they assume is good, or nice, or are we ones to effect change with our words and does our very existence lead the way to the one who brought us? Is the river that flows from you, the mud of unforgiveness and the contamination of pride or does it flow with the pure, crystal clear love that God gave to us on Calvary's Cross, and His redemptive power, that forever changes, delivers and saves? What's flowing out of you? Is it Jesus or something else?
2They will put you out of (expel you from) the synagogues; but an hour is coming when whoever kills you will think and claim that he has offered service to God.
3And they will do this because they have not known the Father or Me.
I have heard people call me things that are so far away from my character and personality it was almost funny to hear, them attach those particular characteristics to me. I have also heard people say things that made me cry at the thought that they could think so little of me, to paint me into such a small and stagnant place. I have listened to people berate and belittle others based upon their own selfishness or their own insecurities. As I meditated today on some events in my life where I had thought something specific about someone I love and treasure, only to find out it was furthest from the truth and they like I had been, had become a victim of labeling. I began to feel myself slip into a place of feeling guilty and that I had done a disservice to them. As I began to pray I could could hear God speak into my spirit and say, it is easy to miss something you did not know. It was easy to because you did not see. At that moment I felt that there was a huge lesson in these incident. How many times had we boxed God in because we did not know Him in the way that we should have or found it hard to see beyond the natural set of events because had placed the same limitations on God that we do on each other and on ourselves?
We find ourselves frightened by what we do not know or understand. But instead of taking the time to gain the understanding and knowledge it would take to understand the person, situation or event, we wrap these things into a nice neat package that we can handle or that we can maneuver and manipulate to our liking. We do God the same way. Because God's ways and thoughts are so far above ours we have a tendency to pull Him down and package him up to our level of understanding just like we do people. We should not do that with people, but we definitively should not do that with God. I believe that we do not understand that we stunt the potential for growth, maturity and progression, when we label people and say that is all that they can be, or that they are incapable of change. We do the same thing with God, when we lack the fortitude and strength to yield to Him and to have faith enough to see Him outside of human means and standards, we limit God's capability in our lives. It is not that He is not able , but we tie His hands and in some cases His feet too, by saying He can but not for me, or by believing for someone else , but not for ourselves.
If only we can begin to remember that God is no respecter of persons. What He has done for one He surely can do for us. God wants to free us in mind body and spirit , if we would only let Him. God is limitless and is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. Just like we do not like it when people limit us and box us in, we should be careful not to do the same to them and especially not to God, for He is so much bigger and so much more capable than we could ever think to imagine. Let's take Him out of the box and and really get to know who He is and "give Him Free!"
7Now He told a parable to those who were invited, [when] He noticed how they were selecting the places of honor, saying to them,
8When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not recline on the chief seat [in the place of honor], lest a more distinguished person than you has been invited by him,
9And he who invited both of you will come to you and say, Let this man have the place [you have taken]. Then, with humiliation and a guilty sense of impropriety, you will begin to take the lowest place.
10But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when your host comes in, he may say to you, Friend, go up higher! Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit [at table] with you.
11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled (ranked below others who are honored or rewarded), and he who humbles himself (keeps a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly) will be exalted (elevated in rank).
Recently as I watch different events unfolding at work, I realize that it is so much better to willingly be in God's will all the time than to be in our own will. Often times we see opportunity and we seize it because we want it, not because it is God's divine will for us, but because we desire status or to be elevated. Our Pastor made a statement some months back that I took note of and have revisited in prayer and meditation, he said "if we exalt ourselves we do not know how long we can stay. But when God exalts us, God is the only one that can move me from where He has placed me." It made me think of of people who have made themselves out to be giants, who have used people, methodology, manipulation and tactics to get ahead and how they are falling down and they are falling hard. We are seeing a shifting of the guard and how God's people are replacing the unjust, as they are being moved. I am seeing God expose the unrighteousness of man to elevate His chosen people.
For so many of us we are choosing our ways over God's ways, our thoughts, over His thoughts, our behaviors over His behaviors. We have put ourselves in a place of honor, in a place that exalts itself against the knowledge and will of God. We have chosen to crown ourselves Lord and Master and have told God by our actions and our choices that we choose to be in the place of honor and in the place of authority. But how long can this last? It is not we who made us, we did not sacrifice ourselves for the sins of the world, but yet we feel as if the place of elevation, honor and lordship should be ours. I remember taking a class on leadership, and one of the foremost principles is that you can never become a great leader without first being a great follower, one who can humble themselves to the lessons of one appointed over them, and learn to follow and adhere. When we pave a path it is paved by mortal hands, but when God paves the path He does it by His power, His authority and by His love that last throughout all eternity. It gives whatever He does staying power.
We should humble ourselves to God's position of authority, so that He can place us where He sees fit to. You see when God does a work He does it completely, when we do a work we do not have the capability to to do anything but completely make it a mess. When we do the elevating, we are building our foundation on sand, but when God elevates us He builds His elevation on a foundation of the Himself, who is the ROCK, so no matter who or what comes nothing can move us from that place until God says otherwise. Let God raise you up, it will be worth the trip and He is like Allstate you are in good hands with Him. Our rise to the top is recession proof and the bottom will never drop out as Long as God is at the Head of our lives!
When Two Minds + Two Bodies = One Heartbeat
Jeremiah 9:24 (New Living Translation)
24 But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Today’s message in the music comes from song ”If You Don’t Know Me By Now”, originally written by Kenny Gamble. The song is about being so connected to a person that you get to know them at the core of who they really are- - - -good, bad, and ugly. The beginning of the song starts with “All the things. That we've been through, You should understand me. Like I understand you”.
In my life I have been blessed with several relationships where I have become so entwined with another human being that our spirits have actually become intertwined with each other. This weekend was a great example. I have been out of town since last week with someone who is very near and dear to my heart. And although I met this person in Dec 2006, it wasn’t until this weekend that I realized how much we had REALLY grown to know each other. We were finishing each other’s sentences, having the same thoughts at the time and even predicting each others needs. It was a very unique situation given the circumstances of our relationship, but it also brought a lot of clarity and security to me. He has grown to a point where I can no longer mask my feelings. I can no longer say “I’m okay”, and he not know the I’m not.
Another relationship in my life that has taken me to this level of love, is my relationship with Lisa. She and I have been through so much in our lives that sometimes I don’t know where she ends and I begin. We learn so much from each other and we have figured out how to love through our disagreements, faults and personalities. I tell her that we are twin souls sometimes. There are days that I’m walking around smiling and lifting up the spirits of those around me and my world is crashing on the inside. It’s in these moments, when no one can see my pain, that Lisa will text me a word of encouragement. I’m in her heart to a degree where the Lord will show her what’s going on behind the outer shell the world and strangers to me can see.
In the same way I experience this in my natural life, I can’t put it into words how wonderful it is to experience in my spiritual life. God knows us inside and out. No amount of make-up, clothes, or lack of clothes can fool him. He sees right to the heart of each and every one of us. He knows what makes us ticks, what makes us smile, and the true make up of our DNA. He loves us in spite of ourselves. In spite of our opinions and attitudes. He knows what we are thinking and what we are feeling despite the words that we may be speaking or the story we may be trying to sell to others.
When we take the time to get to know God the same way that He knows us, we will be able to share His heartbeat. We will be able to predict His needs. We will be able to discern when His spirit is grieving or His heart is hurting. God is God, but if we were made in His image that means He feels just as we do. He gets angry, He gets hurt, and personally I believe He gets lonely. Not in the sense that He is insecure and needs to have someone in his life, but in the sense that He desires us to be apart of His world.
In the second verse of the song there is this line “Just trust in me like I trust in you. As long as we've been together, It should be so easy to do”. God has been with us since before we were in our mother’s womb, and no matter how we have treated Him, He has always been there for us. If after everything He has blessed you with up to this point in your life, you still don’t KNOW Him, you may never get to KNOW Him. God proves to us daily how much he loves us, now it’s our turn. It’s our turn to make the effort to touch the hem of his garment. When you’re resting with your heart on His chest, how many heartbeats do you hear? Is your heart beating to a tune of its own, or is it in tune with the heartbeat of the king…………………..
