Category Archives: Your Relationship with God

Transformed by God!

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In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people were often disobedient to His Word. Sometimes they would get so off track that they would worship idol Gods. This was something that goes totally against the grain of God’s love. Our Heavenly Father has laws, statutes, and commandments that govern creation. He’s a Great Big Wonderful God, and He holds everything together with the glue of His love. In Exodus 20:3, He commanded His people that they shouldn’t worship other gods, or have any other gods before Him. He is the Creator, and He is also the Source and Supplier of our needs. Our trust in this truth builds our relationship with Him.

Much like today, when it came to their relationship with God, His chosen people in the Old Testament ran hot one day and cold the next. The thing that we have to remember is that even though they didn’t always stick by God, He still loved them and wanted a relationship with them. In Jeremiah 17:4, He warned that the wonderful possession He had for them would slip through their hands if they didn’t get it together and recognize not only who He is, but who they were through Him. This is what Heavenly Father desires so much from us, that we will see Him as a loving Father that wants to take care of us, and that we will also see the greatest vision of ourselves through the eyes of His love.

Why was this so hard to understand for people living in Old Testament times, and why is it hard for those of us living today? In Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT), God gives us incredible insight about the human heart. He said, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” The heart that God is talking about in this verse isn’t referring to the organ that pumps blood throughout our bodies. He’s talking about the heart of our souls. It pumps life or death into every aspect of our lives. This is why God warns us in Proverbs 4:23 (NLT), to “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”  God tells us to guard our hearts because in them contains the potential to bring about good or evil.

We are three-part beings; spirit, soul, and body. The heart and mind are parts of the soul. They are gateways, allowing the soul to receive and give out. The soul hungers. Therefore, you and I must also understand that it needs food. This is a fact of life. We determine the kind of diet it will be fed. Either we will feed it the good food of God’s Word, or we will feed it the stuff that comes from the world. The stuff that comes from the world is mostly toxic. God warns us in Romans 12:2 (NLT), “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

In this one verse in Romans 12:2, God gives us several juicy nuggets on which to feast. One of which is the reality that He will transform us as we change the way we think. God is not going to come inside our brains and begin throwing the bad stuff out and putting the good stuff in. No! He has told us to do this. And when He tells us to do something, He is not going to do it for us.  In Colossians 3:10(NLT), through the Apostle Paul, God tells us, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”

God wants to change our hearts so that we love each other, love ourselves, and love Him from a good place in our hearts; but we must desire this for ourselves. When we learn to love with the love of God, we can abide in His peace. Many of us like the sound of this, but in our hearts, we’re kinda hungering for the opposite of it. We have so much fear, and we tell ourselves that we’re not good enough to receive what Heavenly Father has for us. And some of us even tell ourselves that what God has for us isn’t going to meet our expectations. A lot of women secretly feel this way about their relationships. They hang on to the man when they’re not being treated well, because they convince themselves that they won’t find someone that is going to be truly loving towards them. Some of us just don’t like the idea of change. We want to continue as we have been.

Well life just doesn’t work that way. God designed it to be dynamic and ever changing. Life doesn’t flex and bend to us, we have to flex and bend to it. We must have the spiritual flexibility and strength to stand in the midst of life with the authority of Christ. This is when it becomes the thing of beauty that God intended it to be. But we’re stubborn, and we’ve got all kinds of excuses and reasons to remain that way. So, when life throws a monkey wrench at us, or more to the point, when the devil comes to steal our joy and reap havoc in our lives, we must have confidence that God’s given us a way to stand in victory, and it is to allow Him to transform us through Jesus Christ by changing the way we think.

Our minds and heart must come along for the ride, and go hand and hand with our desire to see the possibilities God has designed life to offer, but we must deal with the reality that we’ve got some baggage, and a lot of it is weighing us down. Sometimes we blame God for the things that happen to us, when we have blocked Him out. We need to change our appetites so that we hunger for the love that Jesus Christ offers. Heavenly Father knows the person we were meant to be, and He promises that He will transform us into this person—a person that will have unlimited capacity for good. Heavenly Father wants to show you what He can do for your life. He’s always wanted to show His people this, and when our faith in Him meets our desire to be transformed, we will be amazed by what He does.■

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Transformed by God!” written by Fran for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Behind the Veil

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If you’ve never known what it’s like to be so afraid that you hide underneath an abandoned car for safety, or to run for your life seeking help from anyone that would aid you; if you’ve never had to survive off ketch-up sandwiches because that’s the only thing in your frig, or you’ve never had to leave behind everything you own to start over again, then experiencing what it’s like to walk in the glorious light of Christ might not seem like  such a big deal to you. But if you know what living in bondage feels like, when every day you awaken with an ache in your heart that seems to resonate through everything else in your life, freedom becomes the greatest dream of your existence.

In John 8:36(NIV), Jesus Christ said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” As a little girl in Sunday School, I remember hearing this verse all the time. I didn’t understand it then, and even when I approached an age where I might have comprehended it on some level, I was too focused on the cares of life to digest it. Like most of us, as the years went by, my responsibilities increased. I was more consumed with keeping all the balls in the air than I had ever imagined. But instead of being occupied with things that made my life more meaningful and fulfilling, I was busy putting out fire after fire. I’d take one step forward and two steps backwards.

For a while, I managed to keep it going, but eventually some really bad choices caught up with me. I spiraled down to such a degree that I didn’t recognize myself anymore. I had so much shame about the condition I was living in, and I just couldn’t see my way out of it. There are so many people in this situation, and when everything you see looks dark, you can’t imagine what life will be when light shines through even the smallest crack. This is life behind the veil, and it’s not God’s best; not by a long shot.

In Romans 12:1, God warns us not to be conformed to the world, but to allow Him to transform us from the inside out as we read and study His Word. The world consists of those who do not yet know Jesus Christ as Lord! They haven’t accepted him as the Savior of the world, and because they don’t know him, they are blind to the life and wholeness that he gives. The Apostle Paul said in 2Corinthians 4:3-4 (NLT), “3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

One of the greatest manifestations of spiritual acumen that we can receive from God is discernment, the ability to recognize the difference between the truth and a lie. This is golden! It is priceless, and it will ultimately yield a life lived well. Jesus Christ said in John 8:32(NKJV), “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” We cannot be free by living a lie. That is impossible. Only the truth can make us free, and this is why the enemy blinds the hearts and minds of people; because he does not want them to walk in the liberty that Christ has made available.

Proverbs 14:12 (NLT) tells us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”  This verse scared me when I first read it. I was concerned that it was possible for a person to be on the wrong path and not know it. I was afraid because deep down, I knew that I wasn’t living my destiny. I was anxious and nervous all the time. Things had slipped so easily out of my hands. I had lost out big time more than once. So, if it happened to me before, I thought to myself, “what would stop it from happening to me again?” Nothing felt sure and solid. Everything was like a vapor that could evaporate before my next breath. I had lived like this for so long, that it had become my normal.

God tells us in 1John 4:18 (NLT), “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” I was fearful of being punished, and indeed I felt as though I had been. I was not living love. I was not living liberty. I was not living in the light. Jesus Christ is the truth! He is love, liberty, and light! But I was behind the veil, and you can’t walk in the destiny that God has preordained for your life if you can’t see the right path. Most of us think we’re seeing it. We think we’ve got it all figured out, even though we’re suffering inside.

One of the things that the devil doesn’t want us to know is that the moment light is introduced, darkness diminishes. In John 14:6, Jesus Christ told us that he is the way, the truth, and the life; no one can come to the Father unless they come through him. Jesus Christ is the Way-Maker! When we give room to the idea that we might NOT know what we NEED to know in order to see clearer, the veil is torn. And when we surrender in even the smallest way to the idea that Christ will lead us into the light, and teach us the truth, the veil is ripped apart.

Christ extended his hand of mercy to me many times before I reached out and took it. When I did, things became immediately clearer. There were still battles that I endured, but I was victorious through them all because of him. I didn’t lean on my own strength; it had failed me in the past. I decided not to expect a man to fill my cup, because I started to get it through my head that it wasn’t possible for another human being to do that. I leaned totally on God through the Lord Jesus Christ. I did it then, and I do it now. It is our prayer that you will do the same. You will discover, as I have, that He is all you need to rip the veil from your life and walk in the brilliance of the light of Christ. ■

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Behind the Veil” written by Fran for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Your Christ Identity

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In Matthew 16:13 (NLT), Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  This question that Jesus posed to the disciples was not to inquire about opinions of folks like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were always unsuccessfully trying to find loopholes in his truth. He wanted to know the opinions of the common people, those who were not considered by high society to be upper-crust, but just hard-working people who cared for their families and those they loved. These were the people that spoke freely about their opinions to the disciples, and it is not too farfetched to say that the opinions and thoughts of these folks might have rubbed off on them.

The disciples replied to the question Jesus asked them in verse 14. They said, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then, in verse 15 of this same chapter, Jesus Christ asked the disciples, “But who do you say I am?” The disciples had been with Jesus throughout his ministry. They had witnessed him heal the sick, restore sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf; they watched as he cast out demonic spirits from those oppressed by them. They saw some pretty miraculous stuff from the Master, yet when it came to his true identity, some of them were a little stumped.

In terms of a person’s identity, we like to label them with adjectives. Maybe they’re a nice, compassionate person like Jesus is, and this might be one way that we identify them. The truth is that a person will always be more than the adjectives we use to define them, and Jesus was and is more extraordinary than any words in our human vocabulary.

It is interesting to note that until this particular dialogue with them, Jesus had not said outright to the disciples who he was. He allowed His works to speak to his identity. What a wonderful concept. Of course, Jesus Christ knew what the people thought of him more than they knew it themselves. He didn’t need the disciples to tell him what the people were thinking, but he was on a mission. The truth was in the flesh before the disciples’ very eyes, and it was important to the Master that they confess the reality of it.

In verse 16 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus Christ was well pleased in Peter’s declaration, and he blessed him greatly. Peter had opened his heart to Heavenly Father and received a download that brought amazing truth and clarity to the moment. Praise God that this record is in His Word! Our Master Jesus teaches us here that it is important to #1 know our identity, and #2 have those we love know and respect it too.

When we don’t know who we are or why we’re here on this earth, life can be incredibly challenging. Things like confidence, self-love, and happiness are clothed in self-identity, and these attributes make life a thing of beauty. Some of us look to receive these goodies from another person. We look outside ourselves for something that can only be found within.

Jesus Christ gave his life so that we could be connected to God for an eternity. He wanted us to know that he pleased God and did so many wonderful things on earth because he was empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish those things. Jesus Christ made it possible for us to have the gift of the Holy Spirit as well. Ephesians 2:18(NLT) tells us that because of Christ, “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”

1John 2:27 tells us that we have received the Holy Spirit and he, the Spirit, lives inside of us. 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This verse also tells us that we don’t belong to ourselves, we belong to God. We gave ourselves to Him when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and asked him to live inside our hearts.

When the disciples understood that Christ was the Messiah, they understood that the Savior of the world was among them; that the purest and most powerful love in the universe was actually in a flesh and blood vessel, walking and talking with them daily. It’s a wonder they were able to contain themselves. In effect, Jesus told them, “Guess what guys, I’m here to do the work my Father sent me to do, so that you can have what I have and you can do the things that I do! I’m doing this for you because I love you so much, and I want you to love each other the way that I love you.”

The Holy Spirit isn’t in some abstract location saying to us, “Hey, you, I’m over here. I’ll be busy doing some other things, and when you need me come find me.”  God sent His Son to give his life so that we could have the gift of the Holy Spirit operating inside of us. The Word declares that he’s our Friend, Comforter, Teacher, Advocate, and Guide. He helps us in all the right and best ways because he has a ringside seat of exactly what we need, when we need it. He pours on the power, strength, and love; all we need to do is ask him, TRUST him, and move out of his way.

Knowing what an extraordinary gift from God the Holy Spirit is, you can see how strange it is to look outside of our temples when all the help, love, strength, comfort, and power we need is on the inside of our beings. As followers of Christ and lovers of Heavenly Father, we show our gratitude to God by acknowledging our faith and trust in His provision. The absolute best way to help ourselves is to trust in God in Christ, and trust in the power and gift of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is our example, and our identity can only be known through him. His life, ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection teaches us who God desires us to be. It also teaches us that it is possible to be a light in this dark world and to live fully, with the love of Christ in our hearts. God spared not His only begotten Son to come to earth and to show us what being human is all about. We had no clue, but because of Christ, we know the heart of God’s intention for us; we know God’s Will.

It is a beautiful thing to realize that our identity is in Christ. Galatians 2:20 (NLT) declares, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Our prayer for you is that you will begin to get excited about discovering your destiny in Christ. It is so much more than you imagined. The more you learn about Jesus Christ, the more you will learn about the real you. You will grow in confidence as you realize that his power truly is at work in your life, and he is willing to give you all the power, strength, and love that you need. ■

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“Your Christ Identity” written by Fran for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

Spirt-Soul-Body Connected

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I remember the first time I heard Janet Thompson say that she was saved. We were sitting in third period Math class, and she sat in the desk in front of me. Everyone knew that something about her had changed. Janet’s mother was an entrepreneur when it wasn’t all that common for a woman to be one. She sold cosmetics and jewelry. Janet and her two older sisters were notorious in school for having extremely long, beautifully manicured nails; adorned, no less, with two or three rings on each hand. It wasn’t the real stuff, but pretty just the same. They loved their jewelry, so when Janet came to class without any on, and no makeup, everyone took notice.

After three or four days without her usual embellishments, one of my classmates asked Janet if she had gotten saved. She responded, “Yes, I got saved.” I had been in church all my young life. Being born-again I knew, but ‘saved’ meant something different at that time. At fourteen, I had learned to do what I saw a lot of other people do. I had learned to compartmentalize. I placed my faith in one compartment, and pulled it out on Sunday’s. I put the rest of my life in a compartment that allowed me to pretty much do as I pleased the rest of the week. I always had a certain sense of do-rightness, and I didn’t stray too far from it, but on the occasions when I did, I felt that God would give me a pass. To be honest, I just didn’t think that He was concerned about small details.

We all have those awakening moments in life that call us to a higher level of consciousness, most of them brief and far between. They serve as markers, and measure how synchronized we are to the destiny God has called us to. My sisters and I had never missed Sunday School, so I knew about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I didn’t quite understand it, but the knowledge that he gave his life for us was etched in my mind. However, that he would require anything from me, or anyone for that matter, was foreign to my thinking. So, the visual of Janet’s sacrifice coupled with her confession, “I got saved”, rattled my senses.

Why was she giving up something she loved in order to be saved? This is a question facing many people that are in abusive relationships. Saved and born-again are synonymous, but Janet’s willingness to let go of something in order to gain something greater resonates with me to this day. Her example changed the trajectory of my life. It spoke to my higher self, and planted a seed that would lift me out of forgetfulness and cause me to remember a love that never hurts, never condemns, and never fails. The love of Christ is our rescue. Some of us learn this quicker than others, but it took me quite a while to learn that a love that is real and true never hurts.

1Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) tells us, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.” In this verse, Heavenly Father informs us that He is a God of peace, and He wants to make us holy in every way. He also gives us another very important piece of knowledge when He tells us that there are three parts to our total being; spirit, soul, and body.

In Genesis 1:26 (NLT), He lets us in on the dialogue that He’s having with His Son and the Holy Spirit. He said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” Heavenly Father created us in His image. The Godhead is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three persons, three functions, one God. He created us to be three parts as well, spirit, soul, and body.

When Jesus Christ was in the earth, one of the Holy Spirit’s functions was that of helping Christ stay connected to the Father. This is how Christ, as a human being, was constantly infused with power and received communication from on High. The Holy Spirit helped Jesus Christ to accomplish the mission that God appointed him to carry out. The Holy Spirit helps us in this same way. John 3:6 tells us that the Holy Spirit gives birth to our spiritual lives. Through the Spirit, God endows us with power, strength, and ability.

Our souls house our minds and hearts. Our souls allow us to respond to God and to one another. They also receive information from the Spirit. Your body is a house. It is the temple that God calls ‘home’. 1Corinthians 6:19(NLT) tells us, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,” So the Holy Spirit and our human spirit are constantly communing and communicating, and our human spirit gives the soul this information when the soul will allow it.  We can receive spiritual information in a way that will guide us in our choices and decisions and help us remain spiritually fortified. This is an incredibly precious and powerful connection, and God has given it to help us live the life of peace and love that He wants us to have.

Jesus Christ doesn’t require us to give up things that benefit us. It delights the Father to see us looking and feeling good, but the more we grow in Him, the more we will want to surrender the things that injure our souls and keep us from responding to the Father with faith, joy, and gratitude. The more we love ourselves through Christ, the more eager and ready we are to release anything that blocks the soul from receiving and giving out a Christ kind of love. It is a journey that we can begin at any time. The important thing is that we understand how overcrowded our souls become with internal and external noise. We need to make space for the love of God through Jesus Christ, and we can do it by getting quiet in prayer with the intention to perceive and receive what we need from the Spirit. ■

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Spirt-Soul-Body Connected” written by Fran for DomesticAbuseAwareness.Org ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!