Shhhhh! Listen! Did You Hear That?

Have you ever been told that you aren't good enough?  I have.  I  used to listen.  I used to believe that.  I used to hate myself.

Until.....I met Jesus!  Jesus changed everything for me!

I was told just 2 weeks ago that I wasn't good enough.  That I didn't measure up.  I was rejected.

I don't believe that any more!  I don't believe that because Jesus whispers in my ear that that is a lie.  Jesus whispers in my ear that I am good enough.  Jesus whispers in my ear that I do measure up.  Jesus whispers in my ear that He won't reject me.  Shhhhh!  Listen!  Did you hear that?  Jesus whispers in my ear.....  Since I met Jesus and asked Him to be my Savior, I now know that the enemy tells me lies. The enemy wants to take me out. "The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I Peter 5:8.  But God has something better.....

So now when someone tells me that I'm not good enough, when someone tells me that I don't measure up, when someone rejects me; I just laugh.  And then Praise and Thanksgiving begin to flow out of me."   "...let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of Praise."  Hebrews 13:15.  "...give thanks in all circumstances...."  I Thessalonians 5:18. 

You see, I now know the truth of who I am in Christ.  And since I know the truth, I don't have to believe the lies any more.  The truth:  Would a Holy, Righteous God leave heaven and His perfect form to come down to this earth and take on a human body, live among sinners, be told He wasn't good enough, be told that He didn't measure up, be rejected, be persecuted, be beaten, hang on a cross, die and then come back to life for ME if I wasn't good enough?  If I didn't measure up?  If I deserved to be rejected? 

I don't think so.

So now, anytime I am told that I am not good enough; anytime I am told that I don't measure up; anytime I am rejected; I laugh with glee because I know that since I am covered by the blood of Jesus, God sees me "white as snow".  Jesus blood tells me that I am good enough, that I do measure up, that I am not rejected by God.

Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.  As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My Word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but willl accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." 

God's Word has come into my life and has accomplished what He has desired.....it has brought Joy and Peace to me, I see the mountains and hills bursting into song and the trees clapping their hands.   God is using me because I know the truth.....I don't believe the lies anymore.  I don't have to hide from the world, even though the world is telling me that I am inadequate.  All Praise, Glory and Honor to God.....I Can Be ME!   I can be the person God created ME to be.  I can be that new creation in Christ.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."  II Corinthians 5:17.

So, let me ask you again.  Have you ever been told you're not good enough?  How you ever been told that you don't measure up?  Have you ever been rejected?  If your answer is yes, you have a choice.....you can listen to the lie OR you can listen to the truth. The truth being.....because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, you are good enough, you do measure up, you do not have to worry about rejection.

Believe the Truth.....GOD LOVES YOU!

Throw off the lie.....GOD LOVES YOU!

GOD LOVES YOU!       GOD LOVES YOU!       GOD LOVES YOU!       GOD LOVES YOU!

God has a plan for your life if you will only believe the truth and live out His Word.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you a hope and a future." 

Jeremiah 29:11

Encouraging You In Christ

All Praise, Honor and Glory To God!

Delight In God's Discipline..................... Not Today, God!

I am currently working through a Bible study called, "Walking By Faith, Lessons Learned In The Dark" by Jennifer Rothschild.  My lesson today was titled, "Delight in the Discipline That Strengthens".    One of the questions in the lesson asked me to identify an area of my life where I needed God's discipline.  Uuuuhhhh, I thought, I have experienced God's discipline plenty of times in the past, but right now, I don't see an area in my life that God is working on disciplining me.  

I so love God's sense of humor!  God used the very next verse that I read, to discipline me.  LOL!   The verse was Proverbs 19:11, "A man's wisdom gives him patience, it is to his glory to overlook an offense."  I had been offended in the past and I thought I had overlooked it, but this past Saturday I was reminded of the offense and now, looking back on the incident, God showed me that I had not overlooked it.   Oops! 

At that point, I realized that I needed to work on what God was disciplining me on, so I decided to  go to my Concordance and look up every verse in the Bible on "offense".   The first verse I found was Proverbs 17:9 which says, "He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends."  Wow, I thought, that is pretty powerful.  Isn't Love the whole message of the Gospel?  Isn't Love what God is callling me to?  Love the Lord your God.....love your neighbor.....love good.....love your enemies.....love your wives.....love your brother.....love one another.....the fruit of the Spirit is love.....love never fails.....the GREATEST of these is love and on and on and on.  My Concordance listed 3 pages in the Bible where the word "Love" is found. 

Through this search of the word "offense", God showed me that if I allow myself to take offense with others, that the love He wants to show them through me cannot come through.  God showed me that if I allow myself to take offense with others, I take the focus off of His  love and put the focus on myself and my lack of love.  God showed me that if I allow myself to take offense with others, I damage my testimony of God's love.  God really showed me.....

And so, my lesson entitled "Delight in the Discipline That Strengthens" really hit home today.  And Yes, it is true.....God's discipline does strengthen.  I am stronger right now because of His discipline.  He has strenghtened my resolve to love those in my life who may not be so loveable at times, because let's face it, I'm not so loveable at times.  He has strengthened my faith because I see that He loves me so much, He will not allow my sin to go undisciplined.  He has strengthened my love for His Word that convicts me at exactly the time that I need it.  He has strengthened my love for Him!

The last verse God gave me to read this morning was I John 4:19-21 which says, "If anyone says I love God yet hates His brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And he has given us this command:  Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

And so my friends, I have some work to do.  I have some work to do on myself in letting this past offense go, so that the love of God can flow freely through me.   I have some work to do on myself with future offenses, so that I don't stifle the love of God flowing through me.  I have some work to do..........

I have some work to do.....if you are reading this today and I have offended you in any way, I ask for your forgiveness and that you would grant me the grace that God has granted all of us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  "...it is by grace you have been saved."  Ephesians 2:5

Encouraging You In Chist!

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!