So I just wanted to take the time to write about talking to God. Throughout this week I realized that I was starting to become religious (dun, dun, dunnnnnnn!!!! *insert terror scream*) For those who don't know what I mean by that...I mean religious in the sense of worshiping tradition and getting stuck in the what and not the who. So through my reading of Pink Lips and Empty Hearts (yep, another plug, this book is just too good lol) God revealed this to me:
So many people look at God as he CEO of the world. Like we must be proper and prim and completely prepared to speak with him. Like we must be brief because he's a busy man and he has lots of other things to do......NO!! NO! NO! NO!!!
God desires a RELATIONSHIP with you! A true relationship with you! You wouldn't go talking to your friend or significant other like that so why do you go to God as this facade of who you want him to see you as? He already knows your dirt, no need to try to cover it up with pretty words lol
We need to talk to God as ourselves about our lives! I used to find this weird until I actually tried it. When I wake up, instead of getting down on my knees and saying "Oh most holy God, alpha and omega, beginning and the end, first and the last, God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, thank you."
I don't talk like that...ever, so why would I when I come to God?
I say "Good morning daddy, thank you for waking me up this morning!" and then go into my prayer time.
You see, when you talk to him as if he is more real than your friends around you (which he is), then it become so much easier to truly be in a relationship with him! The bible tells us that God desires constant communication with us and speaks to us daily if we just take the time to listen. So we should go throughout our day just talking with God! When you are facing a decision throughout the day and you don't know what to do, instead of asking your carnal friends say "Daddy, should I choose paper or plastic?" Now clearly, that's a little trivial, but you get my point! You may not always get the answer right away or hear his voice, but it will put you in communication with the MOST HIGH GOD! - I mean WOW!!! How cool is that?!?!
Personally, I love this! Me and God talk like homies!! How much better can it get? Being able to talk to the guy who has all the answers!!! And yes, sometimes he gets frustrated with me and sometimes I get frustrated with him but just knowing that he is there and I can take any and everything to him whenever I want to is such a beautiful thing!!! He always has my best interest in mind. He's the best friend I have and truly my daddy =)
Make him yours too today! Look to the sky and say "Hey Daddy =)"
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Beautiful Life in Death Pt.1
Wow!!! I have had over 100 views on my blog with just my first two posts!! Look at God!!! I pray that each and every person who reads my blog is blessed and that it causes you to reflect on your relationship with Christ. For it is through him that we have life, and have it more abundantly!
This past week has been pretty cool for me. My boyfriend and I decided to not see each other this week and use the time we usually spend together with God. I used a lot of that time in the book I mentioned last week, "Pink Lips and Empty Hearts" by Heather Lindsey and I must say, I already feel the changes in my life. I am earnestly longing to be more like Christ and and to increase my personal ministry. I ask God every day to show me what I need to change in order to grow and it's been enlightening. I highly encourage every woman who is truly seeking a relationship with God to read Heather Lindsey's book!
Now, in this post I want to dive into a topic that is glorified and often people never even scratch the surface and in my prayer, reading, and meditation time this week, I've had some beautiful revelations. (Now, please know I'm just writing lol I have no idea which direction this post will go in so bear with me while I allow Holy Spirit to lead me)
Anyone who is close to me knows I am no stranger to death. I have lost many people in my life, some very close, some not as close but because of this, at a young age I learned how to lean on God and to look at death in a new way. I feel we often forget that Jesus walked this earth as we did and he can relate to us more than any other human can. Jesus actually experienced death, knowing it was coming, going through it himself, and came out of it victorious so who better to talk to then the expert?
And I learned the beauty of life that is in death. You see, the bible talks about dying in two different senses...
1. Death that Jesus experienced by which we are made free
2.Our personal death to sin and the flesh by which we can live free
This week I'll discuss the first kind of death because it's the one most people are familiar with. But I feel we often forget what this really means. Romans 6 opens up saying "Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death." We often go through life claiming Christ as our Lord and forgetting he is our Savior...
What do I mean by that?
I mean we often try to carry our own burden, try to change who we are or our situations without his help. Yet that is why he died! So that we wouldn't have to carry our own burdens and go through these times (good or bad) without a Savior! He died and now lives so that we can LIVE. Yet so many of us walk around dead inside. Void of the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, temperance, goodness, faith, meekness, and gentleness) that have been freely given to us for our enjoyment but most importantly, we walk around void of the Holy Spirit.
Today, I studied Romans 8 which is all about the life we have in Christ THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. It really bothers me that so many churches do not teach Holy Spirit when it is clearly all up and throughout the bible. John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Ghost is a gift sent from God for our help! So why do we try to ignore it as if we can pick and choose which parts of the bible are important and which aren't??? But I digress...we can talk more about the Holy Spirit at a later date...
So what I'm saying is...in Christ's death all of the filth and sinful nature that is in us died with him. We don't have to live in constant lamentation of self or feeling anything other than the joy and freedom that come from his glorious resurrection!! In him we are FREED, LOVED, ACCEPTED, and MADE NEW!!! All we have to do is accept his amazing love!!! So I challenge you to each day accept him as your savior and not just your lord! And use the precious gift of the Holy Spirit as our comforter and helper to lead you and guide you throughout the day.
Don't get comfortable, keep pressing!
BONUS!!!!
If you know me you will also know that I LOVE Oraia Speaks and her ministry. She's an anointed, spirit-filled powerhouse of a spoken word artist and in the video below she does two of her pieces. The first one talking about death to self called "Die Hard and Live Free" and the second about Christ's death called "It is Finished." I encourage you to watch and listen, it'll bless you!
http://vimeo.com/57167515
This past week has been pretty cool for me. My boyfriend and I decided to not see each other this week and use the time we usually spend together with God. I used a lot of that time in the book I mentioned last week, "Pink Lips and Empty Hearts" by Heather Lindsey and I must say, I already feel the changes in my life. I am earnestly longing to be more like Christ and and to increase my personal ministry. I ask God every day to show me what I need to change in order to grow and it's been enlightening. I highly encourage every woman who is truly seeking a relationship with God to read Heather Lindsey's book!
Now, in this post I want to dive into a topic that is glorified and often people never even scratch the surface and in my prayer, reading, and meditation time this week, I've had some beautiful revelations. (Now, please know I'm just writing lol I have no idea which direction this post will go in so bear with me while I allow Holy Spirit to lead me)
Anyone who is close to me knows I am no stranger to death. I have lost many people in my life, some very close, some not as close but because of this, at a young age I learned how to lean on God and to look at death in a new way. I feel we often forget that Jesus walked this earth as we did and he can relate to us more than any other human can. Jesus actually experienced death, knowing it was coming, going through it himself, and came out of it victorious so who better to talk to then the expert?
And I learned the beauty of life that is in death. You see, the bible talks about dying in two different senses...
1. Death that Jesus experienced by which we are made free
2.Our personal death to sin and the flesh by which we can live free
This week I'll discuss the first kind of death because it's the one most people are familiar with. But I feel we often forget what this really means. Romans 6 opens up saying "Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death." We often go through life claiming Christ as our Lord and forgetting he is our Savior...
What do I mean by that?
I mean we often try to carry our own burden, try to change who we are or our situations without his help. Yet that is why he died! So that we wouldn't have to carry our own burdens and go through these times (good or bad) without a Savior! He died and now lives so that we can LIVE. Yet so many of us walk around dead inside. Void of the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, temperance, goodness, faith, meekness, and gentleness) that have been freely given to us for our enjoyment but most importantly, we walk around void of the Holy Spirit.
Today, I studied Romans 8 which is all about the life we have in Christ THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. It really bothers me that so many churches do not teach Holy Spirit when it is clearly all up and throughout the bible. John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Ghost is a gift sent from God for our help! So why do we try to ignore it as if we can pick and choose which parts of the bible are important and which aren't??? But I digress...we can talk more about the Holy Spirit at a later date...
So what I'm saying is...in Christ's death all of the filth and sinful nature that is in us died with him. We don't have to live in constant lamentation of self or feeling anything other than the joy and freedom that come from his glorious resurrection!! In him we are FREED, LOVED, ACCEPTED, and MADE NEW!!! All we have to do is accept his amazing love!!! So I challenge you to each day accept him as your savior and not just your lord! And use the precious gift of the Holy Spirit as our comforter and helper to lead you and guide you throughout the day.
Don't get comfortable, keep pressing!
BONUS!!!!
If you know me you will also know that I LOVE Oraia Speaks and her ministry. She's an anointed, spirit-filled powerhouse of a spoken word artist and in the video below she does two of her pieces. The first one talking about death to self called "Die Hard and Live Free" and the second about Christ's death called "It is Finished." I encourage you to watch and listen, it'll bless you!
http://vimeo.com/57167515
Friday, January 18, 2013
Show Me the Father
Hello All!
First and foremost I want to thank everyone who has been reading my blog! I received such wonderful feedback and I am truly humbled. =) I think I'm going to make new posts once a week (or whenever I feel led).
So this whole week I kept thinking about what should my next blog post be about?! Now that I know people are actually reading, I have to make sure it's good lol So I jumped from thought to thought and I finally realized, it's not about me...the title of this blog is Make Me Invisible, so after racking my brain and nothing seeming quite right, I waited and finally got my inspiration from the Lord in my reading of John 14 this morning.
John 14: 8-Phillip said, "Lord, show us the the Father, and we will be satisfied."This passage starts off with Phillip, one of the disciples of Jesus, asking Jesus to show them the Father. If Jesus just show's them God, they will be satisfied. Let's stop there...In a conversation I had with a good friend of mine last week, we discussed how many people around us are hurting and are looking for God, whether they know it or not. Phillip is an excellent example of a lot of people we all come in contact with... people who look and play the part but truly just want God. And Jesus responds...
9-Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Phillip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10-Don't you know that I am the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me."
When I read the first line of verse 9 I was hit and convicted like nothing else! Jesus said, I've been with you all this whole time and you still don't know who I am? (Now, I love this Jesus, when he challenges us and convicts us, when you get to this point with God, you KNOW you have a relationship with him, maybe I'll write a blog post on that next week lol) But this line made me think WOW-how many people have I been around my whole life and they have no idea who I am? Who I am personally and more importantly who I am in Christ...
For years I never let anybody in. I was not going to be hurt by anybody, friend or foe, boy or girl. So I put up walls that only let me shallow exterior show. When I came to Howard, I realized it all had to change. My freshman year I felt so lonely, and God revealed to me that I needed to face who I really am and let people know me on that level in order to have truly fulfilling relationships. I didn't really know where to start with that though...so it wasn't until that next school year in Living Stones where I really because my journey to transparency. All of my friends know that I don't talk about my issues...my boyfriend used to get mad at me for staying so closed up when something was wrong...but I worked hard to change all of that...and through that I learned that there's freedom in your testimony, freedom for yourself and freedom for others.
So what, or who, do people see when they look at you???
Now, I don't want to make this blog post too long so I'm going to let all you all to read the rest of this passage and meditate on it yourself...
11- Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. 12-"I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13-You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14-Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! (New Living Translation)
I will just call attention to verses 13-14. Jesus promises us that anything that we ask in his name is ours...now that's one promise we should all hold him accountable for! I mean, how often does anyone just tell us whatever we want is ours, asking for nothing in return??? That's real love! (for anyone who's searching ;) And I love how in verse 14 he says, YES, as if he already knew we would be skeptical, because it seems too good to be true, right? But, my friends, THAT is GREAT GRACE...and there's more where that came from!
Love you all! Be blessed!
Suggested Readings (new section, because I'm doing more reading lol): Pink Lips & Empty Hearts by Heather Lindsey...great book and testimony by a great lady! If you haven't heard of her, look her up!! lol
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Here It Is!
So this is a blog, huh? =)
Hello world! I don't know how many people will read this or if any will at all...but lately through my time of prayer and meditation I've had a lot of share with the world so I said hey, why not make a blog!
I named this blog "Make Me Invisible" after the KiKi Sheard song "Invisible." The entire premise of the song is a plea for God to help us be invisible so that people see nothing but Him when they look at us. And that's my life.
Towards the end of 2012, I was overcome by this sense of joy because I felt myself stepping into my destiny - sharing the wisdom God has given me with his hurting daughters. But with this I also realized how much my relationship with God and my boldness regarding my Christianity has suffered since I've come to college. I have a strong sense in my spirit that 2013 will be a year of personal growth, greater understanding of who we really are, if you choose to put in the work...and through this blog, if anyone chooses to follow, I hope you'll witness my growth and be inspired to grow yourself.
Blessings! Make God proud this week! =)
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