For He Has Called You Out of Darkness

For He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

My friend’s brother and his wife had two wonderful children when they were young. They decided to adopt a child from another country. This child had lived in poor conditions in an orphanage without much love and care. The child had issues, both physical and emotional. But she thrived under their care. Her life changed when she was adopted by this couple. They went on to adopt half a dozen more children from other countries. They are my age and I can’t imagine doing this. Our children are grown and raised. But they are caring for and literally redeeming the lives of these children who didn’t have much chance where they were. The couple has literally taken these children out of their dark situations and brought them into a life of carefree childhoods and joyous love.

God wants you to know that He has called you out of darkness. But more than that. He has an exchange system for you. He hasn’t brought you out of your darkness to live in your own light. Things aren’t just better for you – you now live in His Wonderful Light! You are chosen by Him. He came on the scene of your life and called you out. He said, “She is mine. He is mine.” He cares for you and He has literally redeemed your soul. He wants you to know that He would choose you again and again. 

God also wants you to know that because you are chosen and because you live in His light, you have purpose to fulfill. This purpose is beyond your raising, above your troubles, beyond your sins. God looks at your life and He sees the real you. You may still be looking at the old you, but you are not bound by your mistakes nor the mistakes of others. His purpose includes destroying the works of the evil one that were pronounced over you. He has given you a new heart to fulfill His purpose. He knows everything about your present situation and yet He can use it all for His glory as well as your good. He is such a generous and benevolent Father that He will recreate your life in redemptive glory so that you can move on from the betrayal, the bitterness, the humiliation and the pain. You are being remade, you are new! In Christ’s family you are being brought out of every single dark situation and are learning to walk in the light of His joyous love.

Oh beloved, it’s time to run to the Open Grave and see that the stone has been rolled away. You are free in the family of God to enjoy your life. You have divine blessings in place for you. Reach for them. You have a divine destiny to fulfill, go for it. You may feel tethered to your past, but God says it is gone. Let go of the turmoil and reach for His hand. Your life is not the same and you never have to return to the orphanage of your former life. You have a new name – you are a servant of the Most High God, you are a child of Faith, you are a living breathing picture of God’s grace, mercy and favor.

Walk in God’s Truth today and walk away from the lies. You are free, you have purpose and you have favor and blessings. Let God take you where you cannot go on your own and find in Him real peace and great joy as you live in the light of the Truth – God loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that matters as your adoption is secure forever by the Faithful God.

I Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[a] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Psalm 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me.

Galatians 2:20 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.

Romans 8:15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 4:7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are His child, God has made you His heir.

Loved, Chosen and Celebrated By God Himself!

“At last, the baby began to crown, and with him came the fulfillment of his parents’ wishes. Five years of barrenness, five years of bitter arguments—this baby would put it all in the past. He would bring pride to the family, reap a dowry from his bride and help provide for the family. He would restore his family’s joy. As the baby took his first breaths, however, something wasn’t right and hopes built up over the last nine months quickly died away. Their little boy turned out to be a little girl and that was nothing to celebrate.”

We celebrate this week the birth of our first grandson. As I read these words from an article about life in another country, I remember my own time of carrying our first baby. I was determined it would be a boy. But I also remember as they handed her into my arms immediately after she was born the feeling of utter joy. “Aw”, “It’s a little girl!” I spoke with worn out breath. Whisking her off to the nursery I was glad that I had brought two outfits, for back then you didn’t know what you were having until they were born. Even when the second child was born a girl, the then new and untried ultrasounds and the technician had said boy. We did have a boy eventually, in God’s time, after we were through having babies.  But each and every child was and is loved, prayed for and a blessing to our life. No mistakes, no regrets, all from God special delivery to us.

For most of us the idea of having a healthy baby is all we care about. We count the fingers and toes and marvel at God’s handiwork. Others have grown up knowing they weren’t exactly what was wanted.  Or perhaps after the birth they may feel cast aside or unwanted for other reasons. They too feel the sting of “nothing to celebrate”.   Even though your childhood may have been great, as an adult you may have heard the rejection and the lack of fellowship. It could be your siblings, your spouse, your parents, your church, your friends. If we are not careful, any time rejection comes we take that on as the truth. What we perceive as truth is lived out in our hearts and minds. Pretty soon we live as a reject, believing that we are indeed “nothing to celebrate” at all.

Oh beloved, today is your day! It may not be your birthday but it’s a new day! It’s time to celebrate you! No matter what your past looks like, no matter who has spoken negativity over your life, you are indeed SOMETHING to celebrate! In Christ, you have been born again of blood that will never perish. You have the mind of Christ to combat the lies that hound you.  You have the Holy Spirit within you to keep you looking at yourself through God’s eyes. Today is your day – to be all that God says you are. You are indeed special delivery to the world from God Himself, your Abba Father. How you entered this life is irrelevant when you remember you are meant to live for His glory!

God indeed has a plan for your life and you are beginning today to say no to the past and yes to the future! You can’t change what others say, what you have said or what the enemy has spoken over you in the past. But you can change everything today by giving your day to Jesus! What He says about you is the truth – you were loved and cared for and created for such a time as this. Your destiny is beyond even the best of your thinking and especially beyond the worst of your thoughts about yourself.

Reach out to Jesus, put Him in front of you, wrap Him around you and walk in faith with Him as you learn to live loved, live celebrating and share with others how He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light!

John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). (Amplified)

John 1:16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. (Amplified)

 1 Thessalonians 1:4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;

 2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace (favor and spiritual blessing) to you and [heart] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). (Amplified)

Making Any New Year's Resolutions?

It’s New Year’s Eve. We’re on the brink of a place and time we’ve never been. One of the things people like to do to make the year more exciting is formulate a few resolutions. Resolutions are intended to help make the new year profitable and blessed. They are declarations of sorts. 

Our granddaughter and her friend have really enjoyed being at their youth event. Cassidy told us that all she wanted was to be there. Along the way though, she’s had to text us for this or that to help make the event better. Sometimes she asked for something on behalf of the friend she brought with her.  Even though she resolved to ask for nothing but to attend, she’s made a few declarations by sending us texts. Each time she’s asked for something we’ve done our best to get it for her. She trusts us enough to let us know what she needs. She has confidence that her declarations/ her resolutions will be met by us. She knows we love her and we would do anything we could to help her. 

Just by the fact of our acceptance to the Lord’s plan of salvation we are satisfied with entrance into heaven one day. That’s enough we say. And it is. Fortunately for us we have the opportunity to make petition to God for our needs along the way. Because of our relationship with God, we know we can ask Him for our life’s needs and He will answer. We know He loves us and we have confidence in His answers for our every need. We know He would do anything for us because He gave His very life for us.

What are your resolutions for the New Year? God knows this past year has had it’s ups and downs. There have been moments of great highs – joy beyond measure. He also knows there have been low moments – sorrows, rejections, pain, longings of the heart. How would you like this New Year to be different from the past? What do you really need? What do you want to declare? 

Oh beloved, God has a magnificent storehouse brimming full of everything you need for life and godliness. You can live a productive, meaningful, blessed life here and now. Although He’s saved you and you are headed for heaven, He is standing ready to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.  Because you are His child, His declarations in the Word of God can be your declarations, your resolutions for the new year. 

Open up the Book of Resolutions and ask God to direct you to new heights with Him in 2014. He loves to grant His children’s desires, especially those which glorify Him. You can ask for more than heaven. You can ask to be more Christlike. You can ask to be more authentic. You can ask for greater faith, a deeper walk with Him or a better understanding of His Word. Do you need to be more loving? Ask Him for more love. How about more power over the enemy – his tactics, his lies, his deception.  He will answer those things that you have need of without batting an eye when they are according to His Word. More prayer, more diligence, more forgiveness, more gifts, greater understanding, and more. All those resolutions are met in Christ and sitting in the storehouse of God’s love.

Yes, heaven is yours. But because He loves you and He’s for you, there is oh so much more! Resolve to live in the light of His Word and let 2014 be the greatest time of faith you’ve ever had. Unlike New Year’s resolutions that get made and then forgotten, your resolutions and declarations of faith will be met in Christ who secured all the promises of God for you. Rejoice that where you are weakest, He is greatest. Ask Him for His will in everything and watch as He performs His will in you and through you in greater ways than you’ve ever seen before.

Isaiah 55:6  Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.  

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Psalm 40:5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.

John 15:16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

Matthew 9:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Trust God and Let Go!

Watching Stella yesterday it’s amazing how much she’s grown and changed. She’s become a genuine toddler and definitely coming into the two year old stage of getting into everything and saying no a lot! She’s learning to take risks and venture out and try things she’s not familiar with.

Yesterday her mother was sitting her at the top of the slide. Then mother went down to the bottom of the slide to urge Stella to let go and slide. Stella sat there and hung on tightly. Finally, she let go! The look on her face was priceless as she slid. There was a wide eyed look of “what’s going to happen?” followed at the bottom with a look of pure delight, when momma caught her! She giggled and ran around to the ladder to do it again!  Each time there was a little hesitation, a little uncertainty and then reward as momma was always there waiting to catch her and keep her safe.

Stella wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she still wanted to slide! The first time she was most unsure, but after her mother caught her, every time she slid she got braver and braver. She knew and trusted that her mother would be there for her. If she hadn’t let go, her momma would have still been there. But Stella would have missed the thrill at the end of the ride!

Oh beloved, is God speaking new horizons to you? Is He asking you to launch out where you’ve never gone before? Maybe He’s calling you to a deeper walk with Him. He’s wooing you to come closer and seek His face. He could be asking you to lay aside some other things for more time with him.  It might be that He is calling you to service for Him, whether into the mission field or another ministry. He can be trusted! Where He sends you He will keep you. Where He keeps you He will reward you.  Let Go and enjoy the life God is calling you to.  Nothing He ever asks you to give up will ever replace the comfort of knowing you are right where God wants you.  Yes there are risks; yes there are things you must leave behind, but oh beloved! It’s worth it! For in the end it will be God you stand before and hear, “Well done…”  All those friends you think you have to leave behind? They need the Lord too! You may very well become the instrument God uses to lead others to Himself. Regardless of the unknown things ahead, God goes before you and He loves you! Oh how He loves you!

Let Him lead you and guide you all the way to heaven, for there’s no other way to live a life of pure joy than to let Him have first place. He loves you always and you can count on Him to be there for you and that’s worth following His plans!

Jeremiah 10:23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.

Isaiah 30:21 Your own ears will hear Him.  Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.

Mark 8:35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.

Have you Struggled with Your Value Lately?

When Danny and I met, he often wore a suede jacket with leather fringe. I really liked that jacket, but Danny loved it. He had bought it on a trip to Mexico. After a while he hardly ever wore it, so it was relegated to the back of the closet.  We’d been married probably 10 years when I decided to put that old coat in a yard sale. Someone scooped it up right away. 

After Danny got home that evening I shared with him what all I had sold.  When I mentioned the leather jacket he was unhappy.  I guess because he hadn’t worn it in a long time I just didn’t think it meant anything to him.  I was frantic that I had gotten rid of it. I remembered that guys in commercials got hot under the collar when the old fraternity jacket or bowling shirt was thrown away.  Fortunately for both of us I was friends with the purchaser.  I called her and asked if she would mind selling me back the jacket, which she did.  That old coat is long gone now, but that day I was able to restore something of value to my husband.

We are quick to check out the value of things. We watch antiques shows on television, hoping to spy something that we too might have hidden away in a closet. Sometimes we cringe as we hear the value man has placed on an old piece of history. Who does the deciding anyway? What makes one picture so valuable and another totally valueless? 

Ever look at yourself and feel that you are worthless? Maybe you were told that one time and it has stuck with you all these years.  Someone may have told you that you were priceless and yet in the end, they dropped you like so much junk. You still feel it, you may still believe it, as you hear the words casually said at the time. Feelings have a way of creating our world. Instead of rising above it, we often bend beneath it. After all, you may think,  if they think I’m no good, of no value or rubbish, then it must be true.  We live with a lie because we allowed someone else to devalue us. 

Oh beloved, God says to you this morning, you are of incredible value! You are a one of a kind, priceless jewel to the Lord! When God looks at you He sees something special that no one else may see. He calls you by name! You are His! There may be labels on you that try to put you down but God’s labels cover it all – Redeemed, Precious, Beloved.  Rejoice with Him this morning that your worth is determined by God and not by man. Those who count will know this and those who don’t know it don’t count. Run to His Word and find all the magnificent things God thinks about you.  Even if you are struggling with labels you want to remove, give those things to God and let Him remove them for you! He is able to make all things new, including you! Oh how He loves you, beyond your wildest imagination! And oh how He is with you, making you more than you were and all that you can be in Him! Now that’s worth praising His Name!

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:4 … you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake He made Christ to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become endued with the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].

Psalm 107:2  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.

Romans 9:25 As He says also in Hosea, "I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, 'MY PEOPLE,' AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, 'BELOVED.'"

God Has "Pinned" You - You Are Chosen

I have to admit it. I love Pinterest! For those who don’t know, it’s an online “community” where you can “pin” items, quotes, recipes, etc. that you like and have found on the internet. I especially love sayings and I enjoy finding new ideas for cooking and decorating. It’s also a great way to follow someone who has ideas and recipes you like.

When I was young, a college man would “pin” his girlfriend by giving her his fraternity pin. This signified they were going together.  They weren’t just dating, they were an item. My mother spent a lot of time pinning patterns to material, so that the item she was planning to sew would be the right size and the pieces would fit together. Without pinning, the pattern would move around and the pieces would not match.  Pin the tail on the donkey could be hilarious as the blindfolded pinner tried to pin the donkey’s tail in the right place.  Often the game player would be so off the mark that the donkey was totally tail-less.

Do you know this morning that before the foundation of the world, God pinned you? He chose you as His own. He chose you to be one of His to walk with Him throughout your life.  Have you let Him give you His mark – the mark of the cross of Christ? Do people know that you belong solely to Him?  The pattern for your life God has planned for you is picture-perfect, but you must let God place His pattern on your life so that you and He fit together perfectly. If we stay close to God and His Word, even when we feel we are blindfolded, we cannot see our way,  our lives will turn out right, everything in our life will be in its rightful place.

Oh beloved, God knows you completely. He sees your hurts, your disappointments, your misunderstandings with the world, but He says to you this morning, “Come away with Me and let Me work your life out.”  Nothing will ever separate you from His love as He holds you tightly in His loving care. Plans may seem to wear away, people may seem to walk away and life can get lonely, but God will give you everything you need – from friends to spouses to jobs to ministry as you yield your life to Him. While you may want to pin your own way, it is letting God do the work that makes all things beautiful in His time.  He loves you, beloved, and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters.

Ephesians 1:3-5 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.  Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

1 Corinthians 3:23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Ephesians 2:13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ

God's Definition of You is Out of This World!

One of the books my parents owned that I loved the most was an unabridged dictionary. It’s a dictionary that has not been reduced in size by omission of terms or definitions. It truly was like an encyclopedia of words. It was huge. The spine was at least 6 inches deep. It was full of wonderful words and the middle section contained voluminous full color art of animals, plants and insects. I spent hours and hours poring over that book. 

Pretty much everyone is an open book.  All it requires is a little time and the ability to listen.   Within a short amount of time you can find out what a person’s passion is, what their hurts are and how they grew up.  Often people find themselves defined by the circumstances of their childhood or their teen years.  If they’re not careful they will never see themselves in any other way – they’ll see themselves as incomplete, inadequate or damaged. Or they will constantly try to measure up to others.  

Oh beloved, why not start this morning and let God re-write your definition? Why not run to His unabridged view of you? His Word holds the greatest description of a believer. If you belong to Christ, then you can believe what He says about you. Regardless of your family life, your past regrets or your biggest mistakes, they do not define you! You are loved! You are cherished! You are important and you have a purpose! Give Him everything you aren’t and let Him write the Truth on your heart! And don’t forget to thank Him this morning for His wondrous love, His tender mercy and His infinite care!

 1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

I Corinthians 1:30-31 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

Colossians 2:10 KJV And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power

Ephesians 1:4 Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.

Romans 8:17 a And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

1 Thessalonians 1:4  We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be His own people.