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Really, you gave yourself away…

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given away

 

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Luke 9:24 KJV

Have you really given yourself away? Has God found you in the hurricane, or are you on the cliff watching-looking at what you have climbed out of by the grace and mercy of God. Have you giving yourself away enough to stop complaining about what it means to be given away?

Most of us have given something away. It could be in the form of clothing, food, money, our love or even our blood. When we do these acts of charity we know that we are not going to get those items back and we will not get paid, they are gifts. We may feel good about ourselves in knowing that we have helped others, but that is about it. Some of us even take on the understanding that when we give things away we cannot decide what happens to those things once they are out of our possession. The kind of authority belongs to the receiver. I came to realize this myself when I chose to give away something I favored.

I had a sweater that was given to me by my sister. I wore the sweater several times pairing it with jeans or leggings and making fit my style. I really liked the sweater, but I eventually stopped wearing it and it became more of a sentiment because it was a gift from my sister who has passed away. About a year ago I decided to give it to charity. It took a couple of charity truck pick-ups before I stopped taking it out of the give-away box and storing in my basement. Once I gave my treasured sweater away I could no longer decide if it would be washed in Woolite, Tide or a bargain brand detergent. I couldn’t tell the new owner to lay it flat to dry and never to hang it on a hanger. It was no longer up to me to decide what looked great with it and what didn’t. I had given it away to be used by someone else.

If our lives are given away to God, we are completely his. Our life is not ours, but it is in the complete care of God. We are no longer guided or instructed by previous owners or ourselves, but by God because we have received the life of Christ as a way of transformation for us. Don’t be confused or deceived about giving your life to God. We are not given away while we are complaining , lacking love, cheating, gossiping, killing the lively hood of others, lying, being self oriented, having ungodly anger, or while looking for recognition after helping others for God. These are just a few examples of the characteristics that keep us from being completely and unselfishly given away.

Your life is given away to God if you are subject to his Holy Spirit, the love he exudes and do the opposite of what keeps us from being completely given away. You have no problem with new ownership if you find yourself doing what is not always the easiest of most popular choice, if you ride the waves instead of swimming away from the direction God gives to you. If you can call on Christ, (because you know this is where strength generates) when it is rough instead of going to a high place and leaving those in need behind, you are given away. When you know you can rest in God’s glory when needed, and keep an ear to his voice to be ready to work as he see fit you are completely Christ-like, you are his.

There is more to saying you are given away for Gods use. Words get us there mentally if we hear them, but actions and responses kept us there. Are you given away enough as of today?

Scripture Inspiration; Luke 9, Ephesians 2

Rest

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And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

KJV Isaiah 65.24

 

rest

God has heard your need for joy

And rejoicing,

Peace and stillness,

Bread and nourishment,

Protection-

Deliverance-

Love-

A Father-

Integrity-

Faith-

Strength-

A place to lay your head-

His Holy Spirit-

All your prayers God knows.

He hears your cry.

Prepare for a return.

No Caution

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Kneel

Find me where I am.

Sit me down, you too,

Is this about me, You-

No answer is found.

Are you from above-

There is dirt in your skin, I see the dust.

Just talk.

Desperation lives.

This voice is old,

My thoughts, seasoned.

Grace, mercy, love.

What comes-

What goes-

What stays-

There is a chief above every beast,

A master, His eyes are open.

Hide where-

Live, grow, renew,

Be more.

Find Him, find you.

Where he is, kneel down,

Now it begins.

My Voice

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praying hands

 

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.  Psalm 55:17 KJV

 

I call, you hear.

My stillness is rewarded.

Answers come as I wait.

My pain ceases quickly.

I hunger no more, you provide.

 

My meditations bring peace.

Quietness takes control of a noise stricken life.

A superabundance of joy floods my sunken heart.

Love rains down rinses my hate away.

Sin surrounded me upon exiting my mother’s womb;

Calling out to you caused your power to consume.

The sin is now removed.

 

I travel forward in this race,

My meditations give me a place.

Always hear me when I call,

I need you every day of my walk.

Confidence

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confidence216

 

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Daniel 3:17-18 KJV

Where does you confidence reside? Is it in God and what he is able to do whether your desire is met or not? Would you ultimately put your life in His hands while being challenged with death to disown him? If your confidence is in God you can faithfully serve him knowing that your life and choices are not in vain if they are as a boomerang and will land your back in the Master’s hands.

The Holy Spirit will teach you how to live and what to say. Allow it to enter into your soul and lead you so that every step you take gives you the strength of being planted in righteousness with the ability to move about freely with self -control. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the book of Daniel did not lose control or become excited, they had a relationship with God that made them sure of His power. We have the opportunity to have a relationship with the same God, Christ has allowed us to have God’s spirit dwelling inside of us.

Call on him and make the connection you need. Serve and worship him with your whole heart and actions and there will be a confidence in you such as the one these men had concerning God that no one will be able to dilute.

Scripture Inspiration; Daniel 3, St. John 11 KJV

Glory

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 Cross

And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4 KJV

 

A promise made

Being answered.

Claiming what belongs

Under his wing.

We are his,

That are called;

Not by a phone,

By a thunderous voice

That is calm and gentle.

My owner

Splitting the sky.

Doing his truth,

His beauty, he’s very alive.

Not this world for me

I belong to one;

He Son stretched out on the tree.

The story has been told;

The beauty and the truth.

All his power unleashed

To rescue his children,

You and me.

The creator, He knew

All that would be done.

He knew who would follow his son.

He knows all, nothing you can hide.

He is pure, not of our mind;

Perfect and just,

Can you see this glory,

That only one God has?

Open your eyes!

His coming is a must.

 

Who has the authority on your team?

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Image

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Matthew 28:18 KJV

Do you doubt that he is capable of doing that one thing for you? Have you called on Him, but you keep envisioning the worst or maybe your thoughts are going in the opposite direction of you request?

Open your mouth again and ask Christ to do what it is you need done in your life. Show your trust by counting on Christ to achieve for you not only because you believe without proof, but because you have confidence in his words and his work.

Christ commands with authority and the situation before him does not measure up to his authority and power. Look at what he has done according to the Gospel: He forgives sin, heals the sick, relieves the soul from unwanted spirits, and even stills the wind and water for his disciples comfort just by speaking. What is holding your voice hostage?

You are tired, worn down, yet you have not taken any Christ action or maybe you have, but not with the right mindset. Stop assessing and give it all to the one who has the ability to do all and change all that exist in your life.

Scripture Inspiration: Mark 2:1-12, 4:35-41, James 1:1-18 KJV

The Connotation Elephant

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The dictionary is a tool that shows us how to pronounce words, and it will also offer ways to use words as nouns, adjectives or verbs, but we often have our own ways of processing words and getting them to mean what we want them to. Take the word forgive, it has a denotation, but we can give it our own connotation. In the dictionary forgive means to pardon, excuse or abandon the anger one has. The connotation of this word can come out quite differently.

What is a connotation? Well, it is the feeling you associate with a word and allow to be the meaning of the word for you. So if you look at the word forgive and think: peaceful living and a way to move forward, that is a connotation. It also means that you are more likely to forgive others for anything that they do to you without too much thought or hesitation. You know that doing so is better for you than holding on to resentment and anger. What if the connotation that comes to your mind is a little different, what if it goes like this: a feat of giving in, losing. That is exactly how I defined the word forgive, and when I tried to forgive others the denotation was never solidifying inside of me, my connotation was in the way.

It was this way for me way to long and I never realized how badly this was affecting me; I was being bruised over and over and did not see it. I was basically going rounds with myself, two of me in a boxing ring. The denotation I knew, and the connotation I lived. Time came for the referee to call the match, and there was only one capable to take my warring emotions on. His name is God. He caused me to land on the scripture that called my situation out clearly after I had one of my faux forgiveness episodes. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 KJV

God had spoken! Not being able to forgive or live the denotation of forgive was not my real situation, the real situation was that I needed to realize that forgiveness from God is what was going to cause me to live in this life, because I was not really living, and for my soul’s eternal life. I also had to understand that I was not losing or giving up by offering a pardon to others because vengeance was never mines to have or lose, it was God’s.

Now that I recognize that connotations can turn words into what we desire and that the outcome can be good or bad I just have to ask, are you living the denotations, positive connotations, or the negative connotations for your life’s vocabulary? You don’t have to tell me just think about it.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary 2013