How God Sees Us

I think it's about time that we as God's people catch up with Him in how He sees us. The Lord has given me incredible insight into this in the past year, and I praise Him because it's nothing I would have thought of or believed without Him. Understanding how God sees us is not a bottom line, it is the beginning of how we should in turn see ourselves.

Before going into God's and our own view of ourselves, I want to acknowledge first the fact that we have an enemy and we live in a broken world. The two go hand-in-hand and are the sole reason we believe wrongly about ourselves. As God's people, we often walk afraid, unsure, and lacking confidence. We believe lies that we are not good enough or that we must prove ourselves to others each day; if we don't, our world may come crashing down. It's quite remarkable that even in churches there is a lack of conviction, not that we are sinners saved by grace, but that we are the righteous called into holiness: God's royalty. I believe firmly that the devil's stronghold is keeping God's people in a place of false identity and humility. Again, I am acknowledging this because it's important to first acknowledge why so many do not know how God really sees them and who they really are.

Now the fun part. Did you know that God sees you as wonderful? Did you know that His will for you is really good stuff, and that He believes you can do anything because He knows who your God is? Did you know that the instant you proclaimed Christ as your Savior and received the Holy Spirit, God marked you as His beloved who reflects Christ's holiness?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). And everything He created, He claimed as good. He delighted in every single thing that He made (He knows how good He is!), and I would argue that God's greatest creation is mankind. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26). Through simply reading this I would say that God was proud of the people He had made and wanted them to have dominion over everything. God has a heart and His heart for His people has always been greatness.

So, why do we live as if this is not true? The previous paragraph about the enemy's schemes gives good insight, but it's important to also state that his power is extremely limited, especially against the power of Christ that lives in us. We are not unaware of his schemes. We know that we are beloved children, created for great things and a close relationship with God. Even when we were deceived and messed up, God sent His Son Jesus Christ as the ultimate answer to all of our problems. And through Him, we are redeemed to God completely. That means that God now sees us the way that He saw us in the very beginning before shame existed among us.  Colossians 1:20-22 says, "And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him."  We are holy, blameless and above reproach before the God of the universe. That, my friends, is real truth and is what we need to understand and let settle into our hearts.

During this season of remembrance and celebration of Christ's death and resurrection, let us also remember that through Him we are not only saved, but we are completely accepted by Him, and He thinks we are great. We were created in His awesome image for Pete's sake! So, let us thank God again and again and again for providing the Way for us to be His beloved kids again. And next time we think little of ourselves, remember that the Lord thinks highly of us, and who are we to challenge what the Lord thinks. It is the truth. He thinks we're wonderful because we are. He calls us royalty because we are. He says that He loves us because He really does. And this is what our identity must flow out of. Let us go forward being who we really are, and thinking as Christ does about us and others. Amen!

Incomprehensible Love

I like to ask God what He wants me to write about when I write. It's important because I want to be His hands, His voice, His feet in this world. When I do ask, I'm expecting God to say something specific or "super spiritual", He usually just says, "My love". I think that's because God really wants us to know who He is and what He's like.

A very well-known and popular verse in the Bible is 1 John 4:18, which states that God is love. This Greek word for love is "agape". Agape is a different type of love; different from other translations that mean brotherly love or close friendship. This love means self-sacrifice. One writer defines it as the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of increased good of another. It is the act of exalting others no matter what; no matter if they seem to deserve it or not. No matter if they screw up or don't appreciate you. It is an act of exalting them and counting them worthy of sacrifice and service. That is the kind of love that describes God: the essence of who He is.  

What if we lived like we knew this was true? What if, having been restored to God, we truly lived life like God is love; like He loves us in a sacrificial, unearned way? I bet we wouldn't walk around like He doesn't exist, or worse, that He does but that He could never truly love us. I bet our deepest longings would be stilled. I bet we would be more loving with others because we're so dang loved ourselves. I bet we would feel more inclined to go sit before God and talk to Him in a real and authentic way. 

I challenge us now to make the truth that God is love and that He truly loves us in a sacrificial way to be the center of our being. Let's not make our lives about trying harder because that is somehow going to make God love us more. Rather, let's slow down and talk to Him because He loves talking back to us. Let's spend time with Him. He is not above that -- He created us for that.

And now let's allow His word to do the rest of the talking:

"All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish,
Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob,
O little Israel,
For I myself will help you," declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:11-14

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8

True Love

But now, this is what the LORD says- 

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel;

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom, 

Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you,

and people in exchange for your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'

and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'

Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made."

Isaiah 43:1-7

I don't really think I could possibly add to the richness and beauty of this text. It is the most beautiful love song, the most beautiful love poem that's ever been written. And it is addressed from the God of the heavens and the earth to His chosen people Israel: you and me. 

Since today is notably acclaimed to be the day of love, Valentine's Day, I wanted to meditate on what God's love for us looks like. According to the above text, if God were to shower down on us little candy hearts, they would say such things as 'you are mine', 'precious', 'honored', 'I love you', 'I'm with you', 'My glory'. 

The most amazing thing is that God really does speak to us like that every day, not just on the 14th of February. It may be through other's words and actions, seeing His beautiful creation when we wake up, experiencing the abundance of His favor and protection, or His strong, peaceful voice that we hear when we slow down to listen. He really loves us.

Read these verses a few times; let them soak into your spirit. Because God cannot lie and everything He speaks is truth (Hebrews 6:18), we can know and trust them to be true. And remember, the thing about truth is that it can never change. No matter how we're feeling or what's happening around us, it's real and it stands, never to be shaken, never to be skewed. So, delight in this love; for we are part of God's great nation Israel, and we are His.

Identity: Who and what defines you?

Identity has become an important word for me over the past six months. After returning back from being a missionary in the D.R. and finding myself very confused about where I stood in life and what I was doing, I began to discover the most amazing truth I will ever learn. The discovery and unfolding of this truth continues today, and is the most powerful and freeing truth I've ever known.

My identity, and yours too, who we truly are, is the sons and daughters of the living God. I have a feeling that for some that may be offensive, for others it may sound silly, and to others quite trivial or boring. However, if you know who God really is and what His Word really says, this truth is anything but trivial, boring, or simple; it is the most amazing reality in the world. And if we let it settle into our bones, becoming the truth that we stand on every day, I do believe that our worlds will change more than they ever have.

As I stated previously, I've thought a lot about identity over the past several months. Before, I don't think I gave the word a lot of thought; I certainly didn't analyze what it meant and how it completely affects the way people live. The truth is, it does. The identity someone decides to undertake in life completely controls the way that they live. I do realize that there are things about us that we cannot control. For example, I am a white, 27 year old female. I cannot control that; however, I can control whether those words simply describe my physical appearance, or become my identity. I have noticed that some people allow a description of themselves or what they do to define the core of who they are, and that seems very dangerous.

To me, identity is what you stand on, it's what defines you. In our North American culture, we typically use what we do, have, or like as as a term for identity. "I'm a real estate agent; I'm a stay at home mom; I'm a pastor; I'm a home owner; I'm a husband; I'm a singer; I'm a cook; I'm a dog lover."  No matter what people believe, no matter what their background is, they typically refer to these types of labels to define their identity. As I said previously, this can be very dangerous because each one of the previous things can change. They are not something to stand on because they may not always be there. When the things that you base your entire identity on change, what happens? Maybe you've experienced that yourself; I know I have.

The greatest beauty about being God's sons and daughters isn't that this truth will never change, although it won't. The greatest beauty about this identity is that we get to walk through life knowing that our Father is the most loving, perfect, and powerful being in the universe. We get to wake up every day knowing that this perfect, powerful love He has for us will never change, and that it doesn't depend on us at all; it totally depends on Him. We get to believe that He has chosen us, that He wants us, that He would, and did, give up everything for us. I don't know about you, but being God's daughter sounds much more exciting to me than a 27 year old single female who likes to sing and is trying to learn how to cook. That sort of describes me in part, but is nothing compared to the truth and unwavering reality that I belong to God, and that He is a perfect Father.

This is a beautiful description of our reality as stated by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:4-7:

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Again, Paul talks about our sonship and what God has given us in Romans 8:16-17:

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

I don't know which is more exciting- that we are God's children or that we are His heirs! It doesn't really matter because both are true! I cannot think of anything more wonderful. God's will, what He desires, is that we are His children and that we reign with Christ in His kingdom forever. My prayer is that God reveals this to us more and more, and that it becomes even more of a daily reality.

So, let's rejoice in the fact that we are God's children! Let us not say it oh so casually because it is something we have heard a lot in our lives. Let this powerful truth rule every part of us; may it become realer than our job title, race, age, talent or hobby. Those things will never bring us to life; they will never satisfy. What is life-giving is the utter truth that we belong to the most perfect and powerful Father whose pure existence is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is who He is and we are His; that is who we are.

And now to close, listen to your Father's words to you:

"Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise."

You are loved... Merry Christmas!

As Christmas Day approaches, and we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ, we have every reason to rejoice in the fact that we are loved. We should never be unsure of this. Something happened, over 2,000 years ago, that showed mankind just how much God loved it. This Jesus, who has always existed, came to earth as a man, as a baby in fact, and lived among the sin and brokenness of the world. He not only endured it for our sake, He overcame it, remaining perfect and holy and dying the death that would restore His children to Himself forever. There has never been a more outrageous act in the history of the human race. There has never existed someone who loved another like God loves His children.

Although I personally believe that our lives are complete when we are worshiping, loving and following this God on a daily basis, this time of year is specifically set for us to meditate on and celebrate the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. And though we have heard this story time and time again, how Mary conceived as a virgin and gave birth to Jesus in a manger, it is the most remarkable story we will ever hear. The beautiful humility of God is expressed in the most outrageous way. And I can only imagine what He was like as a baby. Did He seem and act like an ordinary baby? Or was He different, full of joy and light, His smile illuminating an entire room, and proving to be anointed from day one? Jesus was surely the most influential and powerful baby of His time. Magi traveled long distances to see and worship Him, and a King ordered all the boys under two years old in Bethlehem to be murdered in fear of Him. This person was and always will be the most important person who ever lived. And His sole reason for walking this earth, for being born to a virgin in a manger, was out of love and desire for His people.... for you.

There is an abnormal challenge this time of year to keep our focus stayed on this perfect baby who loved and loves the people of this world more than anything in the universe. There is an added pressure of buying the perfect gifts for others, of making our homes look festive and beautiful, and preparing meals that will be better than the year before. Somehow the Reason we celebrate gets lost. Jesus falls to the wayside when He should be the center of the party. The most joyous and fulfilling gatherings I've ever been part are when Jesus was the center anyways. Let's challenge ourselves to be mindful of the perfect baby who was born solely because He loves us and wants to be near to us. Let's challenge ourselves to let Jesus know how thankful we are for Him and how we believe that the best parties are when He's present and glorified. Let's remember that without Him, we would not be able to enjoy any of these holiday festivities anyways, for "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).

 Merry Christmas! And enjoy the company of Jesus this Holiday Season!

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Princes of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6

What is God's greatest concern?

I've come to a place in my faith where I am craving the rawness of God and who He is. I do not want fluff and I do not want other people's perceptions of who He is or what He wants. I want the truth. Who is God and what is His greatest concern?

Before delving into this, I think we should ponder another question: Does God in fact want to be known? If He didn't, there would be no point to discussing the prior. This could be a whole other blog post in itself, so for the sake of time and space, let's go ahead and say "yes", He does want us to know Him. I think the greatest support to that claim is Jesus, who undoubtedly walked this earth and claimed to be the Son of God. In John 14, Philip, one of His disciples, says to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." I believe that He was craving what I have recently craved, and desperately wanted to see and know God. Jesus replies, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." He goes on to explain that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. In other words, whoever Jesus is, whatever Jesus's concern is, is the Father's as well. So, since He was sent by God into this world, I will dare to conclude that God does in fact want to be known by people.

Let's go back to the very beginning, now that we know God does want us to know Him. Who is God and what is His greatest concern? Is He an angry, distant God who created and then abandoned when humans started screwing up? Is He up in Heaven looking down upon creation, waiting to punish or bless depending on human action? Is He too big, majestic or invisible to even make a difference in people's lives here on Earth?

I'll tell you what I think, and how I believe God has been leading me in the past few months.

God's greatest concern is people. They are His heart. I would say that God is none of the above descriptions. The simple fact that He sent His One and Only Son to live among mankind and then saved them from their sins and then sent His Holy Spirit to live in them means that He is anything but absent or lackadaisical. He is completely committed to the people that He created. In 1 John 16, it says, "God is love." Take a moment to let that settle into your spirit. It does not say that God loves, it says that He is love. I am going to use the common sense that the Good Lord gave me and suppose that because God is love, He created out of a place of love. We often feel like we fall in and out of love with people, or that we love them more or better some days. I believe that is deeply rooted in our brokenness and inability to love perfectly on our own. But God is perfect. He is love.

I think it is good of us to also remember that God has choices just as we do; He is a God who acts. He spoke creation into being; He knitted us together in our mother's womb; He sent  His Son and Holy Spirit so that we could be with Him now and forever, if we so choose. That was and is His good pleasure. And I don't think the God of the universe would do anything unless it was His will to do so. This also makes me think that God considers us pretty amazing and important. I do not and will not believe that the God who is love created something that He does not love and is not highly committed to.

I want to now look at Jesus, since He said that He and the Father are one, and looking at His life and actions is a great indicator to what God is like. Let's look at Matthew 15:29-31:

Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

It's clear that God wants to heal His people. It would be neat to know just how many people Jesus healed while He walked this earth. As John says in the last verse of his gospel, "If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written". By looking at the gospels, Jesus used most of His time on Earth to pray, teach and heal His people, both physically and spiritually. That is what God decided to do while He was on this earth, because that is who He is. He is love. And I believe that above all things, He loves and is concerned with the people He created.

To close, here is one of the most powerful prayers that Paul, a great follower of Christ, prays in the Bible for the Church in Ephesians. He says, "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

May we grasp His love as well. May we realize that He is love, and that we are His greatest concern. And may that love set us free!

Disappointment

Disappointment is an ugly word - it's an ugly thing as well, and I think just about every human has experienced it. It is defined as the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations. Yeah, that's ugly.

To be honest, in the past year I have experienced such disappointment with certain things that just this morning I woke up feeling that I couldn't bare anymore. I actually recently asked God if He would completely erase the memory of a certain disappointment from my mind so I wouldn't feel any more pain from it. He didn't; and in recent days I've felt really discouraged.

I have decided it would be unwise and unnecessary to explain
publicly what exactly this disappointment is, but I do want to communicate that I have a deep desire for something that I could see and almost touch this past year. There was a time when I felt that God was actually fulfilling my heart's desire, but it turns out that it was just brushing my fingers and not something I would ever grasp in my hands. I've felt it drifting away from me for months, and I now feel I'm at a place where I must let go of it completely; and I feel disappointed. It is not my perfect situation for this moment, but I believe in a perfect God and I'm feeling His presence regarding this certain situation more than ever.

Through experiencing one of the most impactful disappointments I've had thus far in life, I've realized that this will not be the last of my disappointments. Even when I can grasp what the Lord is going to give me, I must not hold on too tight, because that too will one day disappoint. This imperfect world is disappointing when your expectations and hopes and dreams rest in its things and people and places.

So, where must I go with my disappointments, and how must I posture my heart so I do not continue in a pattern of disappointment? The truest answer I can give is Jesus. I have nothing else, and I have no other choice because there is no other real solution. In the past, I have watched Him take really broken parts of me and restore them fully; I have gone to Him with lots of burdens and come away feeling as light as a cloud. I do not think that God is going to answer my prayer and completely erase the memory of this certain disappointment, but I do believe He is going to use it to teach me to put all of my expectations and hope in Him. Every single time I come before Him, and enter into a time of prayer/hanging out with Him, I come away 100% better than I did coming in. It is an incredible alternative to sulking in what never will be or what never was.

Please join me in not letting people, places, and things disappoint you anymore. I figure if I am seeking whole-heartedly after God and am submitting myself to His will, I will not be disappointed. And if my expectations change, perhaps I will not be let down as frequently. My expectations must be more in line with what God's expectations are, what His mindset is. This is my biggest prayer right now, that my mind is more like Christ's in everything I do and in every relationship. That I not live according to Mallory and her wants or needs, but according to God and what He wants.

Let's keep being found in Christ. Let's keep allowing His presence to renew us and give us new perspectives. And let's expect from God; He has already given us all things.

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5