To Serve or Be Served? That is the Question!

"Ministry" is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning "to serve.” At my church, our pastors believe that every member of God’s Church is a minister, so obviously that would mean that every believer is called to serve- serve Jesus and serve His Body. Jesus was the servant of all. In fact, He was the Servant King.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 (NKJV)

Jesus asks us as Christians to lay our lives down continually, denying our wants and desires, or as the Apostle Paul said to do, “die daily.”

Do we know how to do that?

It is human nature to seek after what our hearts and flesh crave, but we do not have to give into that kind of nature for we have a new nature in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers us to set aside our selfishness and learn how to be selfless like Jesus, preferring others above ourselves. That kind of lifestyle starts in the mind, in the way we think. Not only is the mind of Christ pure and wise, but it is selfless. When we declare that we have the mind of Christ, we are declaring that we can think selfless thoughts and our thoughts will then begin to affect our words, which will in turn affect our actions, which will in turn affect our behavior, which will in turn affect our character, which will in turn affect our destiny.

Who is God asking you to serve?

What do you need to do to lay aside your selfish desires and put someone else’s life before your own?

It isn’t easy, but it is worth it because Jesus promises us that whoever loses his life will find it and find it abundance.

Minister to someone today and find the kind of abundant and amazing life that you’ve always longed for full of so much love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control- enough to both to give out and receive! True abundance!

The Call.

As Christians, we are called to walk on this earth as Jesus walked on this earth, and in an even greater way (see John 14:12). He came down from heaven, wrapped Himself in humanity, and left His thrown to bring His glory down so that all men may learn to walk as He did and help bring more people into His Kingdom. He died on the cross, took the keys to death, hell, and the grave, rose again, and ascended into heaven back to His thrown where is making constant intercession for us as our High Priest. But He didn’t leave us alone; He made sure that we had the same power that conquered the grave within us and gave us the Holy Spirit to help us walk as He did. In addition to being the Son of God, Jesus walked this earth as a Healer, as a Deliverer, as a Teacher, as a Servant King, as a Priest, as a Shepherd, and as a great Friend to all.

When we become born-again believers, we begin to feel a stirring within us to love Jesus and love people like He did. We are able to love because He first loved us, as 1 John 4:19 tells us in the Bible. In Him, everything is possible because He is love and love never fails.

Although I called upon the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior, acknowledging that He died on the cross to wash away my sins, when I was 16, I have really only been a serious and active born-again believer for the last five years of my life. I have been through a tremendous transformation over the course of those five years (you can learn more about that in my book The Vessel: From Marred to Honorable, which will hopefully be available in Winter 2014), and it was just within the last year that I truly started to understand my purpose and calling and how the Lord wanted me to walk out that purpose in the earth.

As believers, we all have the same calling, but many different talents and gifts that we can use to walk out that calling. We are all called to love the Lord God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and love others as we want to be loved, not so that they can feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but so that they can meet the Man, Love Himself, face to face and come into a relationship with the Father through Him. When we acknowledge what Jesus did for us on the cross, He gives us the right to be called children of God. That means you are a son or a daughter of the Most High God! God loves family because He is the One who created it; He wants us all to be a part of His family not only here on earth but in heaven for eternity. Our job as Christians is to tell others about this awesome truth, even other Christians who may not know! The earth is longing for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed, meaning, we receive the revelation that we are God’s children and we begin to take dominion and authority that the devil has tried so desperately to completely steal from us! But He has already been defeated! Praise God!
Now back to what I had mentioned before, we all have different talents and gifts that God has given us to reach and draw people into His Kingdom. That is where the creativity of the Creator comes into play. All of us are completely unique in our personality, character, behavior, abilities, finances, influence, etc. To try to copy and imitate anyone else is cheating yourself of God’s awesome creativity to be activated in your life. Be who God has created you to be and don’t try to put yourself in a box!

With that said, I believe there are three ways we can fulfill our calling and purpose to love God with our heart, mind, soul, and strength and love others how we want to be loved:

1.      Worship God

2.      Edify the Body

3.      Reach the Lost

Within those three ways that we fulfill our calling, we use our unique personality, character, behavior, abilities, finances, influence, etc exactly how God is asking us to. None of those three ways are more important than the other. In other words, if God is asking you to fulfill the call as a Pastor/Teacher, it doesn’t mean that He views how you grow the Kingdom by edifying the Body more important than how a born-again business man reaches the lost by telling his unsaved co-workers about how Jesus changed his life and how Jesus will do the same for them. Or that God views a teenager reaching the lost by leading a fellow student through the prayer of salvation more important than a young couple edifying the Body by leading a Bible study at their college and career discipleship group at their church. Whether saved or unsaved, you are reaching people and drawing people closer (by Jesus being lifted up in our own lives) into the Kingdom of God.

Yet, we can’t reach anyone or draw anyone if we are not worshipping God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Worship isn’t confined to music and singing, or dancing, or painting, or the first 30 minutes of our church services. Worship is a lifestyle of loving God by choosing to say “yes” to God and “no” to our own selfish desires daily. Through acts of constant obedience, we are giving God worth and valuing His will over our own. When we worship God, He pours into us and then asks us to in turn pour out to others around us, again, saved and unsaved alike. Every single soul is important to Father God and He always desires more of us, whether we know Him and have been a Christian for 50 years, 5 minutes, or do not know Him at all and still need to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Jesus didn’t tell us to go and make converts; He told us to go and make disciples. If you are a Christian, and want to reach the lost, don’t just stop at leading them through the prayer of salvation, continue ministering until they are a part of the Body of Christ, in which they will continue to grow closer into the Kingdom by being edified by possibly someone else who is supposed to use their gift of teaching and encouragement to disciple and watch them mature and grow into who God has created them to be in His family. And please, don’t forget to live a life of constant worship through obedience to the Father. He will pour into you, as you pour out. Live, move, and have your being in that overflow.

Amen.

Riding Waves

A month has passed since Paul and I experienced a pretty emotional and tragic event in our lives. I chose not to disclose the information publically because we truly wanted to heal privately, as many choose to do when they are going through a difficult time. But it seems as if the whole experience is as fresh now as it was 4 weeks ago and my heart is heavy for those who have had to endure such sadness as we have recently. I process information and experiences by sharing my heart through writing, so that is what I am deciding to do.

We lost our precious baby at just 6 weeks along in my pregnancy. I carried that child for two weeks before ever knowing that the baby was with Jesus and not going to be a part of our family here on earth. Our faith in Jesus Christ is what has been our anchor through all of this. Having an eternal perspective definitely helps you put one foot in front of the other when you are going through a storm. God’s overwhelming love and amazing grace has overshadowed us and carried us. We have felt His arms hold us close and we are thankful. We are also so grateful for the prayers of so many friends and family who have continued to lift us up.

As someone who doesn’t like to admit weaknesses, not out of pride, but because I constantly declare Philippians 4:13 over my life, I have had a hard time realizing that it is okay to grieve and it’s okay for grieving process to take time. I have heard the grieving process described as “coming in waves” and I can definitely attest to that. Grief becomes a danger when you allow those waves to pull you under instead of rising above and riding those waves with the grace and strength that the Lord pours out for us. Just because you have God’s grace and strength to endure difficult times doesn’t mean you won’t ever have to face sadness or grief. Just like all attacks from the enemy, the Lord gives us the armor to withstand whatever is thrown at us, as well as a firm foundation beneath our feet. Jesus promises us in John 16:33 that we will have trouble in this world, but He also promises us that we are safe because He has already overcame the world. Whatever you are facing has an expiration date. You won’t have to live with that trouble forever; it cannot overtake you, unless you let it.

So take heart! Stand firm on the foundation of your Rock, Jesus Christ. Let nothing shake you because you have been made an overcomer through Jesus’ victory on the cross. Sadness and grief will come, sometimes like a tidal wave, but you have an anchor of hope and His name is Jesus!  He gave you the power to walk on those waves and He will not let you sink. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

I am praying for those who are going through a time of sadness and grief, especially around this Christmas season. Lift your eyes up to the hills where your Help comes from.

Sneak Peek to "The Vessel: My Process on the Potter's Wheel"

Preface

In the Bible, specifically Revelation 12:11, it proclaims that the Accuser of the brethren, Satan, has been “overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of [a people’s] testimony.” This is a promise from God that boldly declares that Satan no longer has power over those who believe. Through and because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we can live as overcomers. Most Christians grasp the first part of this verse, but as a fallen people, most don’t want to be reminded of a sinful past, let alone tell others about it. But it is the Blood of Jesus AND our testimony that puts the enemy right where he belongs- under our feet, and not the other way around! For the past three years, the Lord has been stirring my heart to release the word of my testimony. The enemy has tried to keep me in shame of my story and silence my voice for too long and I believe with all that is within me that now is the time for me to testify for my Lord Jesus! Every single story that tells of God’s marvelous transforming power in our life deserves to be shared because He is forever worthy of all of the glory that story brings!

I am about to share mine with you. In recounting my story, I have searched my heart, my memory, and my journal the best that I can, and relied on the Holy Spirit to do the rest. I have chosen to remain very open and honest as write the words in this book. Although this is my personal story, many people have contributed to the events that have taken place on my journey. I have avoided using names where doing so might cause someone hurt or embarrassment and that is not my intention whatsoever. My hope is that King Jesus would receive His glory and touch your heart as you see a life delivered from the power of darkness and translated into His Kingdom.

 There were many, many, many times when I tried with all of my might to take the pen out of God’s hand to write out my own story, but I am here today to tell you that there came a day when I surrendered that pen and my whole life and gave it to the rightful owner, Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. The surrender of my own will and submission to the Lord did not happen overnight. It was a process that I had to be willing to endure no matter what the cost. There was so much in my heart that the Lord had to pull out that He never intended for me to live with. As each page unfolds, you will discover how God transformed me from hardened, marred clay stuck in a deep pit of the filth of life and sin and molded me into a beautiful vessel of honor for Him to flow through and use for His plan and glory. I boast of this transformation not because I am good, but because He is! He redeemed my soul and miraculously changed me from the inside out. I write all of this only to tell you He will do it for you, if you just learn to yield your life to Him. Surrender it all over to Him and let the great Potter mold you into a vessel that seems best to Him!

Run YOUR Race...

I'm feeling a stirring in my soul to lead worship in a way that I haven't in quite some time, but I know that every season has a specific time. There is a part of me that longs to operate in the same authority I had in previous years, but I know that I do not have to be on a platform to operate in that kind of authority. I can worship freely with that same authority Jesus has given me wherever I am.

And I do.

There is just something about being with a team of passionate worshippers working together and flowing in the Spirit with their hearts knit so tightly together. There is such power in that kind of worship. 2 or 3 gathered in Jesus' name and He is right there in the midst of them. I have had the privilege to do that for over a year at Church in Action on our worship team as well on a team at GHOP since April and it is has been amazing. Being able to lead a group and the congregation is a privilege as well, but in such a different way. I cannot explain how alive I feel when God uses me in this way.

I know that the Lord had to work on my heart over the last year and it is always a work in progress. I am eager for it to be the time for me to step into that position once again. But as I know from previous experience, I cannot and must not focus on a position, but only His Presence. Although others are continually standing in that position, I cannot look at their assignment when I know the Lord has told me to set my heart to follow through with the assignment He has given me.

"Run the race set before YOU."

Figuring out that assignment takes time with the Father to hear His voice and to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you every step of the way.

Some assignments are obvious just because of location and placement. You know what to do because of where He has you during that season in your life:your job, your neighborhood, your church home, your place of ministry, etc. Some location assignments are life-long and some are only for a certain period of time and the Lord will move you from one place to another to reach people.

It requires time in God's Presence and time in His Word to hear more specific instructions regarding your assignment though. If you listen closely to the Holy Spirit, He will guide your every step and every word the Lord is asking you to speak to help advance the Kingdom.

THIS TAKES DISCIPLINE AND SELF DENIAL.

"More of You and less of me" kind of mentality. All the time.

"Thy will be done" kind of mentality. All the time.

Right now, my locations are laid out before me, yet my assignments are unclear to me. If you are not taking the time out of your day to sit in God's Presence or read His Word, your assignment will remain unclear. And the enemy does not want you to be aware of your assignment and wants you to remain idle and inactive for the Kingdom. He will try to stop all action that the Lord wants you to initiate and try his absolute best to silence your voice. 

This is what has happened to believers. We either take control of our own lives and proceed with our plans and ignore the Lord's leading or we become drifters and do not take action at all.

"I'll go wherever the wind blows me and do whatever makes me happy or feels right" mentality.

But we are called to be soldiers in the army of God with a Kingdom assignment/mission that will push back the forces of darkness! That requires action! That requires a Kingdom mindset!

But the enemy will use all in his arsenal to keep us fixated on ourselves. If he can get us to become self-absorbed, he can stop advancement of the Kingdom. The most important thing we can do is cast all of our cares upon the Lord and He will take care of the results. Our job is to pray and obey His instructions. Our job is to be vessels for the Lord to use to flow through to reach people. This requires surrender of your will and complete humbleness and obedience.

But it is all worth it. Being in the middle of God's will every moment you can, is so totally worth it.

Not only do I need to keep my eyes on the race set before me, but what will keep me motivated is the prize…Jesus. It isn’t the position…it isn’t the ministry…it isn’t the environment that my eyes need to be fixated on. It is Jesus- the Prize at the end of the race which we are always running towards.

And the enemy wants nothing more than to get you to focus on anything BUT Jesus. He doesn’t want you to know that Jesus is the solution to whatever you are struggling with. He doesn’t want you to know that Jesus is the only One who can satisfy your hunger for wholeness. He wants you distracted, confused, and constantly searching.

And do you know where you find Jesus?

The Word.

Jesus was the Word made flesh when He came to earth and He STILL is.

Are you looking for Jesus? Are you looking for the Prize? Can you see Him in front of you as you’re running your race?

If you can’t, then maybe your eyes are not looking in the right place.

Are your eyes focused on the Word of God or are they focused everywhere else but the Word? Make sure you know when your focus is. Keep your eyes on the Prize of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

 

Peace&Love,
Emily Rose

Long time no blog...

I have been up since 3 am because I have trained my body over the last few days to only live on about 5 hours of sleep (against my will of course). So instead of just wrestling with trying to fall back asleep, I just gave in and decided to arise early and do a little reflecting, since I never seem to have enough hours in the day to do that anymore.

Well, much has occurred since my last post in February.

I have stood firm in regards to a lot of things that I had been believing for and really hadn't began to see anything manifest until April. Like a speaker I heard yesterday at a prayer conference said, "God takes a really long time to do something really fast."

BUT, God is forever faithful to the end and desires for us to be as well. Jesus tells Peter in Luke 22:32 that he " [had] prayed for [him] that [his] faith may not fail..." And I believe that is a prayer that Jesus still to this day is declaring over all of us.

All things are possible for those who believe, the Word tells us.

 

Things have accelerated so quickly over these last few weeks and my faith has been activated in a way that it never had before. And all this time, as I have waited to see my promises come to fruition, God has taught me the value of trusting Him even when I don't understand everything and even when I don't feel like my prayers are being effective at all. 

But every step of obedience has its rewards. For God IS a re-warder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him.   

DILIGENTLY in Hebrew is ekzētéō (from 1537 /ek, "out from and to" and 2212 /zētéō, "seek") – properly, seek out, emphasizing the personal intent of the seeker, i.e. the outcome intensely and personally desired by the seeker. This seeking is only as valuable (viable) as the motive which drives it.  to seek out for oneself, beg, crave

So as I look back and see all that God has done for me over these last few months and even more so over these last few weeks, I am in utter amazement. I have been praying and believing that every area of my life would experience the new life that Spring brings because I had faced a very long winter season that had left me feeling so weighed down and utterly discouraged at times. But God is breathing upon that prayer and breathing upon those areas. I am seeing, with my own two eyes, the faithfulness of God unfold in my life: pre-approval for our first home loan (we didn't even think this would be financially possible for us for another year, but has made a way), the permission from the Lord and Paul to join a team at GHOP (Gateway House of Prayer) as a singer there and being asked on a team right away (something I had been desiring to do for an entire year), leadership opportunities at our home church where we are operating in our gifts at new levels we never thought we possible, and finally, the biggest test of faith that I had been standing and believing to happen for about 2 1/2 years-a new job with better pay and health insurance benefits- and believing for about 5 years to one day happen- a job working at Joyce Meyer Ministries. And God has came through on all of them over the last month!!!

And all I can do is praise Him! All I can do is shout for joy because I know that my God is for me! 

And I know that although some of my promises may be unfolding before me, that does not mean the enemy does not want to continue to attack my faith even in the midst of my victory. In fact, he has tried even harder to steal my joy and peace since I received breakthrough. He did not want me to enjoy this victory whatsoever. But guess what devil, I STILL GOT THE VICTORY! And even when I was waiting for the promises to manifest, I STILL HAD THE VICTORY! HA!

I believe that is why Paul urges us in Ephesians 6 to stand firm no matter what. That is the way we defend ourselves from the attacks of the enemy: we stand firm and guard ourselves from his fiery arrows with our mighty shield of faith in the knowledge that Jesus Christ conquered death, hell, and the grave for us! No matter what, we win if we don't quit! Praise the Lord!

So as I walk out these next few months ahead of me, I will continue to praise God for all that He has done for me and all that I know He will do for me in the future. That is real faith: "speaking what you are expecting, not what you are experiencing" (PDW).

Walking by faith and not by sight.

I am so, so, SO thankful for this new season! Ready for the winds of refreshing to continue to blow over me and continue to encouragement my heart that new life has arrived. 

And I end with this: know that God is no respecter of persons and if He has done all of this for me, He WILL do it for you. Just believe!

Peace&Love,

Emily 

Salt and Light

The Pitfalls of Comparison

Here are my notes from my teaching on 2/10/2013 at CORE at Church in Action...

A few weeks ago, I was in prayer and was having a difficult time letting some thoughts go regarding the direction of my life. The enemy seems to flood your life with so many distractions that will cloud your mind, bring confusion, and cause you to question God or grow bitter towards others and mess with your love walk. For me, because of the way I was raised and also the environment I spent a majority of my life in (theater/acting/performance), I was so used to looking at other people's lives and measuring my life with their's. Whether to make myself feel better or give myself a goal  to work towards. If you do not read the Word of God, this is how most people make decisions in life. They say, "Well, that's how so-and-so did it so that seems like a good plan." Or "So-and-so is just so successful in life, and seems to have everything they want. I will just follow what they did so I can have that kind of happiness and have those nice clothes, car, job, house, spouse, etc." Ulimately, you grow resentful towards others and envy starts to grow in your heart. Envy will cause you to look for reasons why you deserve what someone has.

But the problem with that mentality is this: COMPARISON EVENTUALLY LEADS TO UNGRATEFULNESS, WHICH EVENTUALLY LEADS TO SPIRITUAL DEATH (EMPTINESS OR A VOID IN YOUR HEART).

I've noticed over the last several years, Facebook, instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and pretty much any other social media outlet is a huge door to comparison. Your eyes begin to get fixated on earthly things instead of things of the Kingdom and God's plan for your life and this messes with your decision-making. In regards to material things, you are now spending money you don't have and are not just now trying to "keep up with the Jones'" but everyone in the entire world! People's lives are constantly on display and it is a great temptation for us to become disatified and unthankful for what God has given us. We're not happy. Not only that, but we aren't happy for one another. "Everyone is getting married, having babies, getting an education, getting a house, getting a raise, a new job, a new car, pursuing their dreams, making connections to further their job/ministry, traveling, wearing the latest fashions, making more money, going on vacation, losing weight, AND WHY NOT ME?! IT'S NOT FAIR...WHAH, WHAH, WHAH!" and list could go on and on and on...

The moment you take that step into comparing your life with someone else's is the moment you will find yourself in a deep, empty pit. You will never be satisfied in life if you walk down that path. The enemy will tempt you and lead you to the very same pit that he was cast down into when he began to compare himself to God (we will talk more about this later...)

COMPARISON-->ENVY/COVETOUSNESS-->PRIDE-->SELFISHNESS-->BITTERNESS-->UNGRATEFULNESS

COMPARISON LEADING TO ENVY/COVETOUSNESS

PROVERBS 14:30 (KJV)
"A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rotteness of the bones."

SOUND in Hebrew is marpe= healing, remedy, calmness, wholesome, yielding

You can forget about living in peace or feeling complete or whole if you enter into the land of envy or covetousness.

JAMES 3:13-16 (NKJV)
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have the bitter envy and self-seeking (selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there."

That kind of wisdom (verse 15) is the mentality of the world and James calls it demonic. We are not children the dark (Satan/demonic), but are children of light!

EPHESIANS 5:8-11 (NKJV) tells us what we are supposed to do as children of light
"For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."

Paul tells us also in Colossians about wisdom from above in Colossians:
"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." (Colossians 3:1-2)

He urges us to "put to death [our] members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walk when you lived in them." (Colossians 3:5-7)

When we were disobedient, we were "foolish, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another." Titus 3:3 (NKJV)

Going back to Colossians "Covetousness, which is idolatry...": You are worshiping what you don't have. Whether that is material things, a person, or a situation, that thing, situation, person, position is now placed above God and God's plan for your life. You have made that thing, situation, person, or position an idol in your life. And we know what the Bible says about idolatry from what was given to us in the 10 Commandments. You have left trusting God and if you don't trust God, you are walking in your own understanding, walking your own way, and you are in PRIDE. You become self-centered and concerned too much about yourself and your life.

PHILIPPIANS 2:3-6a (NKJV)
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..."

When we walk in selflessness and humble ourselves, God will give us grace. Proverbs 3:34b

LUSTS OF THE FLESH (LIST OF MAJOR SINS (which ENVY is listed among them) THAT WILL KEEP US FROM INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD: READ GALATIANS 5:16-26

All sin is based in selfishness. "Selfishness hinders the full power of God operating in your life." -Pastor Rochelle West

SELFISHNESS= concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others

Selfishness triggers the law of sin and death to operate in your life. The only way the law one can overcome the law is by love, which imitating God, who is love (love does not envy...it is not self-seeking...)

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NKJV)
"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."

This very act is the definition of selflessness and humbleness. And we are told to imitate this kind of love to our brothers and sisters.

Selfishness is rooted in fear as well-which is contaminated faith. Selfishness makes you bitter and ungrateful and you aren't operating in love at all. You are now completely disconnected from God. There is no way to please Him because all of those other sins comparison leads to have sucked the life out of your faith. (Hebrews 11:6) You are in danger of falling into a pit. The enemy has tempted you to fall straight down into a pit that he did when he was cast out of heaven.

READ EZEKIEL 28:12-19: a description of Lucifer/Satan
verse 15: "you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you."

PERFECT in Hebrew is tamim meaning without defect, blameless, without blemish, upright (righteous), with out spot, undefiled

Us- righteous,without blemish under the blood of Jesus=how God sees us
2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The enemy did not get that chance to be washed clean of his iniquity:
THE FALL OF LUCIFER
ISAIAH 14:12-15

This is why the enemy has used the trap of comparison since the fall of man.
GENESIS 3:4-5 "and you will be LIKE GOD."
ISAIAH 14: 14 "I will be LIKE GOD."

The motive behind their disobedience was comparison which lead to covetousness which lead to pride, which lead to selfishness, which lead to ungratefulness for what God had already provided (all rooted in fear) which lead to spiritual death.

In fear? You're not in faith. Anything that is not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Spiritually, then eventually sometimes after disconnection from God and living as a son of disobedience, natural death.

When we compare ourselves with another, we are saying we would do a better job planning out our lives than our Creator, the Most High, acting like Satan who fell and caused Adam and Eve to fall. Whoa, that is a dangerous place to be!

We are all guilty of comparing our lives to someone else's life at one point or another. The only way out is to repent, plead the blood of Jesus over your life, and set your eyes on Jesus. The moment you compare your life with another, is the moment you have taken your eyes off of Jesus and you will sink. Keep your eyes on Jesus and His Word. Cling to Him, abide in Him, and you will remain full of love and nothing else can satisfy you. You won't want anything else than what He has for you. His promises for you will be more than enough. You will begin to trust God with all of your heart and lean on His understanding, not your own. When we do that, He will direct our paths and He will never lead us astray. Ultimately  we've been given the choice of how to walk through life. We can choose to be thankful or ungrateful, selfish and bitter, or generous and loving. It is up to us. We can be like Paul when he said, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content; I know how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity). Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:11-13)

Christ will strengthen you when the enemy comes at you with every distraction and temptation  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able  but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (ENDURE!)." (1 Corinthian 10:13)

Focus on the Lord and His promises for your life. And when the enemy sends thoughts of comparison your way, just begin to praise God and thank Him for His faithfulness and all that He has given you. "Praise is the language of faith. Be thankful!" -Dr. Larry Lea The enemy will eventually leave you alone because he doesn't speak that kind of language. Resist him with your gratefulness to God and he has to flee from you! And if you do end up in a pit-remember, it isn't permanent. Praise will save you out of the Pit and Jesus will pick you up out of the Pit. God will use it all for your good and will turn your mess into a message!

TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO OF THIS TEACHING, VISIT MY SOUNDCLOUD ACCOUNT.

Do You Know WHO'S You Are?

Here are my notes to the message I taught on 1/13/2013 at CORE...

The world seeks to find a label for you from the moment you are born. Society wants to categorize you and put you into a box with everyone else like you. But God has created you with His own hands and has called you to NOT be like everyone else.

He told Jeremiah:

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah  1:5, NIV)

SCHOOL:

Growing up, you are labeled as a daughter, a son, a brother or a sister, the youngest child, the oldest child, the only child, or the baby. All centered around being a part of a family, which is how God sees us, being a part of His family. But once you are in school, for many of us, this is where we step foot into the world’s system and the world’s categories. You are labeled as your grade, or you are smart, advanced, dumb, slow or if you didn’t go to public school, you have an entirely different category…home-schooled. And everyone in public school thinks you’re weird. Once in high school, you are then put into more categories regarding your personality and what you do: athlete/jock, cheerleader, math-geek, drama geeks, band nerds, stoners, partiers, rich kids, poor kids, etc.

YOUR CAREER:

And on top of all of that, your entire time spent in the education institution you are trying to figure out who you will be when you grow up. Your whole life existence from that point is founded on one thing, your career. And as we know, we are NOT our job position.

  

Those who try to find their identity in what they do will always be searching for their ultimate purpose and will never find fulfillment in life.

WHY?

Because there is only one position that will ever give you a sense of purpose.

You are a child of God! You are His!

When you receive Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are then ADOPTED into the family of God. But many of us continue to look for purpose on our walk with God, working to achieve His love, instead of just trusting in it.

  

John 1:12-13 (NKJV) says:

Speaking of Jesus, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

READ GALATIANS 3:26-4:1-7

WE ARE HEIRS OF GOD!!!!! WE ARE ROYALTY!!!!

Our God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and we are called sons of God because of our FAITH IN CHRIST!

ADOPTION in Greek “huiothesia”=adoption as sons, sonship; in NT culture a son received greater inheritance and honor, but in Christ men and women inherit equally.

We must walk in the Spirit (which means praying, listening, and remaining fully obedient to the Father at all times) to use our faith and denounce any kind of worldly mentality which will only bring bondage (ROMANS 8:1-9;12-17).

When we make a decision based upon our flesh, it is going to eventually end in death because our flesh eventually dies. But if we make a decision based upon God’s Spirit and in Jesus, it will be eternal because in Jesus, there’s life eternally and NO CONDEMNATION.

“…our acceptance with God has to do with nothing but faith in Christ. God is very unimpressed with your performance, but He is deeply impressed with Christ’s performance. When you put childlike faith in Christ, Christ’s performance record is credited to you. Faith in Christ unlocks the Father’s heart to you. When you believe on His beloved Son, the Father’s heart explodes in affirmation and acceptance and delight-totally independently of your diligence or lack thereof” (The Secrets of the Secret Place, Bob Sorge).

READ MARK 1:9-11 (The Father was pleased with Him even before He did one miracle or went to the cross. He sees our heart and sees the end from the beginning).

You find such freedom when you finally realize you can rest in knowing that Jesus paid for your performance (AND YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN) and by accepting that, God sees you as His daughter or son. You are so loved by the Father. Nothing will be able to change that. (ROMANS 8:38-39) He will always love you, but He doesn’t always agree with the decisions you have made in your life outside of His best (His will). That’s why we must seek Him for direction, so we remain in His will.

When we fully understand God’s love for us and that we BELONG to Him as a daughter or a son, everything in us wants to love Him back with all that we have. Suddenly we find ourselves longing to be with Him all the time and be obedient to all that He asks of us. We long to sit at His feet and gaze into His eyes and hear His voice. Our prayer life is not seen as a chore but as a privilege. We are privileged to be a child of God in the earth and do His will every day wherever He sends us. The earth is longing for us to reveal Him. (ROMANS 8:18-19)

THE SUFFERING CAN’T BE COMPARED

TO THE GLORY THAT’LL BE REVEALED

CREATION EAGERLY AWAITS AND GROANS

FOR THE SONS OF GOD TO BE REVEALED

ARISE, ARISE!

MAY THE SONS OF GOD ARISE!

ARISE, ARISE!

MAY GOD’S GLORY BE REVEALED

HABAKKUK 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (NIV)

We will reveal God’s glory by standing up as an army of the sons and daughters of the Living God proclaiming His love for the whole world and explaining how He sent Jesus to die for them-the gospel! How will they know if we don’t fully grasp that we have been given the RIGHT to become the sons and daughters of God? The harvest is great, but the laborers are few because many don’t know that they don’t have to strive or work for their position as a son or daughter of God. They just have to believe and walk in it. Father God, through Jesus, would never give us a command to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” and not give us help. HE DID! We have the Holy Spirit…another amazing gift from above! (Luke 11:9-13)

So what are you believing for? What are you asking for? Are you coming to the Father boldly as a son or daughter? Or do you still see God as a dog-trainer somewhere up in heaven just waiting to punish you for your wrong? Remember, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Step into your position NOW as a daughter or son of the Most High God. He’s waiting for you with open arms ready to tell you how much He loves you and how proud He is of you for running this race for Him. Running without time alone with God is the work of a slave and we aren’t slaves, we are His children! Knowing this will fuel you to go out and tell the world about Jesus! You are His beloved child in whom He is well pleased. Trust in that. Trust in Jesus. Trust in His love. 

Peace&Love.

Emily