Accurately Reflect Me 

Luke 17:1-3 (GW) …how horrible it will be for the person who causes someone to lose his faith! It would be best for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large stone hung around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to lose his faith. So watch yourselves!…

Beloved, be mindful of your actions and how they affect others. Yes, you each have personal responsibility for your choices, but you do not want to be the one to cause someone to stumble or fall away just as you don’t want someone to cause you to stumble or fall away.

Therefore it is vital you be like Me. Love like Me. Accurately reflect Me. This cannot be stressed enough. I see the full impact of careless words and thoughtless actions, and if you could fully grasp the effect they have you would feel the weight of them. They are not to be taken lightly.

My Word is there to instruct you in how to live. Beloved, eat it as though you were a starving man. It is good and nourishing to your soul. It brings forth life and teaches you to be like Me. So immerse yourself. Be saturated by the water of My word that you might pour out that living water in a dry and thirsty land.

Let Love Supersede All

Matthew 18:13-14 (GW) I can guarantee this truth: If he finds it, he is happier about it than about the 99 that have not strayed. In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want one of these little ones to be lost.

Beloved, I desire that not one would be lost. I AM not angry at those who have wandered away, I only long for their return. Will you walk in love and accurately reflect My heart so My beloveds know I ache for them? Will you withhold judgment, instead extending mercy and understanding? Will you resist the urge to indulge in self-righteousness and pride and instead be humble, long-suffering, compassionate, and full of grace? You are made in My image, reflect Me accurately.

Refuse to be the prodigal’s older brother – resentful of the Father’s love for the one who’d gone astray. Love in no way excuses sin, it simply says the person and their heart is more important. Be known by your love. Draw them home by your love. Let love change them. Let love change you. Let love supersede all.

Refuse to Be Dimmed

Ephesians 5:4 (GW) It’s not right that dirty stories, foolish talk, or obscene jokes should be mentioned among you either. Instead, give thanks to God.

Beloved, you are in the world, but not of it. Let your words and actions demonstrate the difference of what one filled with Me looks like. Stay mindful of what is pleasing and honoring to Me – as well as what isn’t – and choose wisely. Resist the temptation to feel pressured into compromise simply because of who else does (and how many).

You are light. Refuse to allow that light to be tainted or dimmed, but rather shine brightly forcing the darkness to scurry away. And by darkness beloved I do not mean the people, but rather the spirits in operation behind the people’s words and actions. Never forget there is a difference. And we love the people, even (and especially) when we can clearly see the enemy’s hand at play. Often they need it most.

Be My Love with Skin On

Note: in scripture, things were often repeated for emphasis in the same way we bold or italicize things now. So when God chooses to repeat something, He’s saying, “This is important.” With that said, I smiled when He launched into a second day on this scripture. 🙂

Galatians 5:22 (AMP) But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is…patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting]…

Beloved, it is never worth wounding someone’s heart over your schedule, your “rights”, or your pride. No matter how pressed for time you may feel, the people I place around you are there by design. They are opportunities to be My love. The frazzled checkout clerk who has been swamped all day may desperately need your smile rather than yet another frustrated customer who is short with them.

You may never know what’s going on behind the scenes. You may never know what fruit your actions bring, but I do. I see when your moment of kindness tilts the balance in that person’s life so they choose life for one more day rather than giving up. You may not know the full impact your actions have, but that doesn’t mean your actions aren’t having impact.

So choose to kill your flesh. Cultivate patience. Respond in love even when the world would say you have a “right” to be affronted. Be My love with skin on. Bear fruit and bear it abundantly.

Godly Patience, a Tangible Love

Galatians 5:22 (AMP) But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is…patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting]…

Beloved, remember that your actions reflect on Me. Whether you are aware or not, people watch to see how you react and respond to people and situations. They want to know if relationship with Me and My presence in a person really make a difference. Pause and ponder what messages you send about Me and if they’re the ones you want and intend to send.

I’ve instructed you to bear with one another in love. Just as I AM patient and long-suffering with you, I have asked you to do likewise with those around you. Reflect Me. Reflect My heart. Show that the fruit of My Spirit in you is a godly patience that operates in true, tangible love. Let that fruit be manifest for all to see for it is good.  Continue reading “Godly Patience, a Tangible Love”

My Crowning Glory 

Isaiah 62:3 (VOICE) And you will be the crowning glory of the Eternal’s power, a royal crown cradled in His palm and held aloft by your God for all to see.

Beloved, you are My crowning joy, a sparkling gem, My delight, the apple of My eye. My glory is made manifest in you and in your life. I display you for all to see – exalting you that those around you might see Me.

So shine brightly, beloved. It is not arrogance to live to the fullest of what I’ve created you to be. It is honoring to your Creator. Do not be shamed into diminishing yourself into a muted version of you simply because others are jealous, intimidated, or judgmental. You are My joy and glory. Live to please Me.

Win Them Without a Word

Ephesians 6:13a, 15 (AMP) Therefore, put on the complete armor of God…  and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].

Beloved, share My word. Speak My truth. Speak it in actions birthed from obedience and love. More are watching you than you realize, so never forget Who you host and let the light, joy, peace, and love of My Spirit pour out from within you. Snatch others from the grip of the enemy with My strong love.

For it is a gospel of peace; that peace that surpasses all understanding that is your inheritance. Cultivate it. Cherish it. Refuse to allow the enemy to steal it. Let it surround you so as you step close to others, they feel it and want it for themselves. You will win them without a word, beloved, simply through the peace and love in your presence that come from Me.

Testifying Without a Word

1 John 2:4 (VOICE) If someone claims, “I am in an intimate relationship with Him,” but this big talker doesn’t live out His commands, then this individual is a liar and a stranger to the truth.

A man who is unfaithful to his marriage vows, yet holds himself up as a paragon of a husband is a liar and a hypocrite. Be mindful then, beloved, not to do the same. In humility, read and study My word, walk it out, and let the light of My love reflect from your face (just as Moses’ did when he spent time with Me). You need not declare your relationship with Me to the world, for My touch on you – the glow of my presence – will be apparent without you saying a word.

The light of your countenance will testify. The strength of your love will testify. The beauty of your compassion will testify. And the depth of your mercy will testify. All of these, a reflection of Me, My touch on your life. No words needed. The strength of your actions – your very life – testify of Me and Who I AM to you.

Cry of Freedom

What I see, feel, and hear is likened to a prisoner held captive who, within themselves, is crying out for freedom from oppression and oppressors. The time in captivity has tried to convince you and manipulate you into believing you are someone you are not and that you are alone. The subtle control and manipulation may have caused you to even question your own identity and perhaps believe you are who the oppressors say you are. But, beloved, your cries have been heard. Abba Father has heard you crying out His name for help. Your Warrior Father and the angels in heaven have warred and battled on your behalf and are scattering your enemies with the swinging of His strong arm and with His mighty hand that holds the keys of freedom and victory. Abba has shouted with a mighty voice of triumph and the walls of your prison have crumbled down. The chains have been broken off you and He is washing you clean by the water of His Word and the blood of the Lamb. You have overcome by this and through the word of your testimony! Continue reading “Cry of Freedom”

Fragrant Offering

Luke 7:36 -38 (NKJV) Then one of the Pharisees (Simon) asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 

Mark 14:4-6, 9 (NKJV) [emphasis added] But there were some (His disciples [Matthew 26:7], Judas Iscariot Simon’s son [John 12:4], and the Pharisee who had invited Him [Luke 7:39]) who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me…Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. 

It is first interesting to note and understand the significance of where Mary was on her journey to where Jesus was. I believe it to be significant to the journey your heart has taken. Simon’s name means “listening, to be heard, reputation. His home was in Bethany (which means “house of dates” or “house of misery“) and Bethany was right at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives was and still is one of the most well-known Jewish cemeteries in Israel. Bethany was next to the road that led from Jericho (means “Place of Fragrance“) to Jerusalem (means “foundation/possession of peace“…a place of completeness and wholeness). Continue reading “Fragrant Offering”