What does God look like through you?

"If you don't know God He will probably look like you."

How true could this be?  What does God look like to the world in the Western World?  I suppose it depends on who you are looking at?  Main stream picks up on a harsh, judgmental and mean God who is cruel and unforgiving.  I believe this because I see the hatred towards believers - or those who believe they are Christians  of good intent.  Reading comments on news articles online are a great place to view the hostility.  Can we fault the world for seeing the "Church" through angry eyes and tainted glasses?  Who made them that way?

What have we done as a people who are called by His name?  We have been adopted into a family that was not our own and not received our birth right through our adoption.  We received the new name but not the inheritance.  We have moved into our new Home but have not taken time to get to truly know our new Father. We are distrusting and distant;  selfish and not wanting to really change.  We read His words and miss the intent of His heart because we listen not to His Spirit.

What is God telling us in His word?  He's telling us that He loves us.  That He does not want to condemn us, but that He desires to save us and unite us in Heaven with and through His son!  BUT...we're NOT listening as a whole!  Brothers and sisters of the Kingdom, I appeal to you to look at Jesus again and again and again until you see He is LOVE personified.  He is our example.  He wants to instill His heart into ours.  WHERE did He condemn anyone when He walked the earth?  When did He throw the sins of the people in their faces and shame them?  No, no, no!  He was received by those around Him because of His Love and Compassion.

When we leave our homes each day people should see God as He is when watching us.  We should be different in our behaviors than everyone else.  When we look at others we should look through God's eyes of compassion and Love and not our own.  His eyes will always see differently than ours.  But how we do this is by having that personal and intimate relationship with Him.  We CAN come boldly to the throne of the Creator of all things through His Son.  We can be ourselves and allow Him to work Himself into our lives.  We NEED to for the sake of millions of souls missing out on the greatest gift given to mankind from God Himself....salvation...eternal life and freedom.

It is not right for one to hoard for themselves what God intended to be distributed throughout the world.  When we fail to love as He loves us we are not the light in the world, but rather are static causing shorts all around us.

Lord, please help us to draw nearer to You.  Give us courage to step away from the gates of Your Kingdom and to boldly come into Your presence to receive Your great love so that we may go out into all the world and share it to others.  Let us be the reflection of Your Son and a true bright light drawing others into Your Family!

A drop of light

As I was sitting at the dining room table this morning and battling discouragement, about to toss in the towel of my faith I glanced out my window at something that caught my eye. I saw a blinding little light in the tree in our yard. Something clicked in my spirit and heart at that precise moment and gave me hope again.

It's so easy to feel invisible in this world. A grain of sand lost in the sands of time. Feeling like we make no difference in this world of 7 plus billion people. Yet, the sands touch together. We as people are all affected by each other. Every grain of sand rubs against others.

This little bright twinkling light in the morning sun shared some encouragement with me. This little droplet of water was reflecting the radiant light of the great sun. I could see it in the bright daylight. There were no others to witness this little day time reflector, but I believe it was just meant for me to see. Maybe it was a strange coincidence but it returned to my heart hope. That in all things, as we reflect the Lord's light in this world, we can make a difference by touching the life of just one person. By this we've doubled our portion. Maybe then that person can light up and affect another and now our portion is tripled. And so forth.

My point is it's impossible to not impact the world we live in even as a lone grain of sand or a lone droplet of water. Whether we are rubbing up against someone and causing friction or being a reflection of the Light of the world we make a difference.

Lord let my light shine because You are my source. Forgive my faithlessness and help me to remain faithful when hopelessness abounds around me like a wild storm. Encourage my eyes to gaze towards Your glory so that I may reflect Your light right where You have placed me in this world.   

Invasion of the Peace Snatchers

Some days you can go along and be "minding" your own business and whistling joyfully and you feel no cares at the moment  when suddenly out of nowhere this thought pops into your head that steals your peace, stops your joy and your whistle is no more.  Your peaceful and happy thoughts turn into thoughts of rejection, or maybe fear, or anger, or resentment or whatever.  Your mood turns from happy to crappy in an instant.

Too often we can keep on that path of negativity and it can ruin our entire day, maybe week and in many cases our relationships.  We have those imaginary conversations with those we are directing our thoughts towards.  Sometimes it's ourselves and we become emotionally self-condemning and naturally we will withdraw from those around us.  Where do these thoughts come from?  How do they invade our minds so quickly and change the direction of our days without us even realizing it?  How can we battle these alien hosts that invade our thoughts and steal our peace and stomp on our joy?

I will not give credit to the evil that berates but rather I will focus on how to overcome their dissension and refraction. Think about what you're thinking about!  Notice!  Pay attention!  And FIGHT to keep your peace!  We don't have to receive the garbage.  We can choose to counterattack with good thoughts.  We can rethink with good things.  Peace is worth the battle.  It only takes a moment to lose it but when we labor to keep it our lives will benefit as well as those lives we are linked to.

The battle is not an easy one and Lord I pray for Your strength to help me to press through.  I may get bruised and bloodied in the process but the victory will be mine and I will be stronger from it.  May these mental assaults prepare me to be like a seasoned soldier who can walk out a valiant life here on earth and reflect Your glory to all I meet and come across.  May these experiences enrich and encourage the lives of others and in turn their lives can bless others and so forth.  Let Your dominoes fall but not for the collapse of Your people but to the connection of us all throughout the world.  Help us to take our thoughts captive to the loving obedience of Christ who is our strength!  Let us kick out these peace snatchers and live with renewed minds so our lights will shine and Your love will permeate the world.

Everyone has a story

Whenever I am driving or out and about doing the mundane tasks in life I cross the path's of many people.  So often I get so caught up in my task that I miss them.  How many people do we pass by every day?  And with those how many do we acknowledge?  And for those we acknowledge, how many do we consider?  My point is that every one has a story.  That person who cuts you off may be distracted with some pressing situation or just distracted because of their own daily agenda.  That burnt out cashier who doesn't even acknowledge you in any fashion of real interest may be having a very bad day or maybe has just been feeling just as invisible by their customers.  What about the rude person who cut in front of you in line?  They may have a bad marriage at home, a kid on drugs, a sick parent and are just at their whits end in stress because they are trying to take on the entire load by themselves.  Now I'm not saying these are always the cases, but what I am saying is that EVERYONE has a story.

My prayer is that I take notice of the people I pass by.  May I be sensitive to them as fellow humans and offer them kindness, a warm smile, a sincere greeting and even my place in line.  I hope to be patient and not in a rush to save myself an extra minute when I can and should sometimes give it to someone else.  Let my eyes see others with value rather than seeing myself as more valued than them.  Tug at my heart for those who may need some kind words, a genuine complement or just an aknowledgment that they are not invisible.  Maybe You can let me share a word of encouragement to someone who needs to know You care.  Whatever the situation, I pray I will be available to be Your hands or Your voice to share Your heart to these precious beings You created.  Let me be a vessel to showcase Your beautiful Love as I go about my daily duties.  May the menial tasks become missions of Your goodness.

blowing bubbles of thanksgiving

There's so much sorrow and suffering in the world.  Heaven must certainly be bombarded with prayers from broken and shattered hearts every day.  What if instead we could blow up the Heavens with praises and thanksgiving for our many blessings.  Could this bring a balance into the world that is being inundated with darkness?  One can hardly believe the cruelty humans can inflict upon one another.  Maybe if we can lift up our voices and thoughts and hearts to God and thank Him for the many splendors He has given us that we take for granted we can bring down His glory to break the darkness with His light and love!

We are surrounded every day with noise:  cell phones; computers;  televisions;  ipods;  cars; people; life in general.  The noise of our worries and circumstances overwhelm us and we naturally want to escape to more noise.  I pray we can stop and listen.  Stop and shut our eyes and tune out the man made noise and distractions.  Stop and take our thoughts to those beautiful events in our lives, or even to the sounds of God's creation all around us.  Can we take time to breathe in the air, or feel the breeze or rain drops on our faces?  Can we listen to the magnificence and power of the tides or great winds, the thunder and lightning and realize there's something greater and bigger than us out there.  What about the symphony of the trees dancing in the breeze as their leaves rustle and the birds sing their song in harmony?

Isn't the sky so vast and big and full of displays of splendor and majesty?  Is not life a great miracle in that we are these incredible machines that function and are so intricate in design?  How is it we have the ability to love and laugh, to cry and hunger and feel joy and sorrow?

There is a delight in seeing people holding hands as they stroll past us.  The love of an elderly couple walking side by side having shared decades together weathering the storms of life together and holding onto a bond deeper than we can possibly fathom.  The love of a mother holding her child and wiping away their tears and the power she has to give the child hope that everything is all better because of her compassion and kisses.  There is joy in listening to the laughter of children playing because they have no cares in the world and life is meant for adventures and nothing else matters.  The world is theirs to conquer!

There is just so much to be grateful for!  Everywhere there is still light and goodness in the world and we must sometimes fight to see it when it feels like the world is falling apart all around us.  I think it is tragic when we forget to stop and see the treasures right before our very eyes.  Lord, open our eyes to see Your many gifts that we may have hope and find peace even in the midst of our own storms.  The sun always shines again if we take time to just soak in its rays of life and find our rejuvenation once again.

Yes, we have much to be thankful for.

Day one of my non paper journal!

Lord, You know the thoughts in my mind and the desires in my heart.  My heart and soul long for You in every area of my life.  You lead my steps and have given me creativity, a sound mine, intellect, compassion and so much more.  I want to use all of these to bless Your Name while I live on this earth.  I want to live a life of such moral excellence and love that I radiate Your light through to others I meet and live with.  It is not my desire to shove Your Truth down peoples throats but to live it out in such a way that they see the goodness that comes from it.

You have changed me so much and transformed my heart and mind to Yours and I am eternally grateful!  I know You are bringing new things into my life and plan on enjoying every step of the journey You have planned for me before I was fashioned in my mother's womb!  Today Lord, let me bless those around me.  Maybe You have a Word of encouragement I can share with someone who is far off or even near by.  Could You anoint my hands as I create today that the projects I work on will bless those who receive them?  Show me who needs prayer today.  Give me strength to hold on to Your promises for those loved ones I have been praying for for so long and to not lose hope.  Thank You for Your faithfulness Lord.  Let my life return faithfulness to You. In Your name Jesus I pray....thank You for praying for me!!!