All the Names of God..

He loves you deeply. He forgives you and pours out his boundless grace on you. But he also likes you and delights in you as his child, his friend. He is everything you need in every moment, every circumstance. Our human minds may not fully grasp the character of God in his entirety. Sometimes the best we can do where we are is perceive God as a vending machine, calling on him by a specific name to come meet with us. Jehovah Jireh when we are in need, Abba our father, Immanuel when we are alone, Alpha and Omega when life seems too long. In our desperation and in our shining moments God is there, inhabiting our spirit and aligning it to who he is. We then are able to minister to others who are in need of comfort, provision, and council. Though I may never fully understand the depth of a God who created my own heart, I want to experience who He is name by name.

The Compromise of Comparison

So many of us struggle with who we are and where we are because we have a natural tendency to compare. Radical transformation of the way we think and behave occurs when we learn to accept ourselves and embrace the present moment. We are freed from the bondage of our own thoughts, and obsession with comparison as it once distracted us from accomplishing the will of God. As we consider events in history and throughout scripture, we often respond by comparing the context of the events with the context of our modern world. This is not a bad practice, but there is a significance that remains when we are able to accept occurrences just as they were. Comparison dilutes and devalues both parties involved because each person and each era exists for a distinct purpose. This applies to the way we perceive ourselves as well. There is a great amount of value compromised when an individual compares who they are with another person who was designed with a completely different set of gifts, calling, and intent. Becoming content with who God has made you to be
will contribute to your ability to press forward with healthy confidence. Do you sense a discomfort today with living in the moment? With who you are? Amazing plans are in store for your future, but you must be fully invested in the present, living out your own identity in Christ to receive the richness of these plans.

The Father's Heart

We have this privilege of serving a gracious God who loves us so perfectly and unconditionally in the midst of our brokenness and imperfection. The way we pour out our love in return is through loving one another, but the difficulty lies in seeing Jesus in others when they do not act like him. It bothers me that we justify our ignorance of meeting people’s needs when we are able because we feel that they are undeserving. I don’t want to enable anyone, but I am called to love everyone. We have to rely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance when we approach the situation of meeting needs. Our human perceptions and behaviors will not always be aligned with the opportunities he is orchestrating for us to bend low and serve as he served us, giving abundant life when we deserved nothing. When my focus is on eternity, I’m able to break away from the man made cycles of life that have become such a drain on society. God wants for you to receive just as many blessings on a Monday as he does every other day of the week. You are a beloved child of God, and your job is an avenue by which he is using you to love others. The simplicity that we are called to leaves substantial room in our souls to be filled with the peace that is beyond our understanding. Horrible things are going to happen in this world, but the Lord’s goodness will remain. We are diligent to make plans, which may or may not be in line with God’s purpose for us. Trust him when plans change, acknowledging that his way is higher. In the midst of your trials, reflect on the requests that you have brought to him in prayer. Sometimes He is answering your prayers as he is walking with you through a valley toward an oasis. This is one way God develops the fruits of his spirit in our lives. 

It's not that hard to change the world.

It’s unfortunate when words, phrases, and even common scriptures get tossed around so frequently that their meanings become diluted and flat. I love reading scriptures in the Bible over and over again as if it were my first time, because as the living word, God speaks through new revelations to us when our hearts are open.

            Two phrases that are common in my writing and communication are “changing the world” and “transformation”. The implications of these words describe vague concepts that we do not always meditate on to fully wrap our minds around. God has defined and redefined these words in my own life and I sense that we all have a great opportunity to grasp and accomplish the concepts that these words entail.  

           

            Transformation indicates that you are different than the person you once were. God has redeemed you from your past, but your past was yesterday just as much as it was 10 years ago. When we are in communication and relationship with God, he is continually transforming us each day as we in turn continue to stumble and grow. If you are not constantly going through a process of transformation, how can God use you as an empty vessel? We serve a God of order, a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but he is constantly working through our imperfections, growing, strengthening, and changing us.

Romans 12:12 Do not conform to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

            Transformation takes on many forms. It could mean that you think twice before losing your patience with a stranger, that you become free from an addictive habit, or your heart changes toward an opportunity to serve God.

            When we recognize transformation in our lives and in the lives of others, the world around us begins to change. Priorities change, perspectives change, attitudes and hearts change. Jesus showed us that the Christian walk is so simple. To go against the grain of the world is to respond to one another in love, to turn the other cheek. Do you ever consider how small your life really is within the context of the universe? I always think about this when I am walking through an airport in another country, or when I am flying over a big city. What a small link in the chain we are as individuals, but God still wants to use each of us in mighty ways. God uses the bodyof Christ to ignite movements. The world experiences the most genuine and significant change through undeserving acts of love. Changing the world does not require large scale organizations and positions of power, but a transformed mind that receives and obeys the direction of the Father.