Showing posts with label Heb 11:1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heb 11:1. Show all posts

Can You Recognize a Blessing in Disguise?

~~ Hebrews 11:1 (NIV84) ~~  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.



God often talks to me through the things I read.  Today it was devotional messages in my email.  I bet you didn’t know that God has email, did you?  I got two emails this morning that spoke to me about something that’s been bothering me for a long time.  I realized that I’m stuck on this and God wants me to move on.

Uh Oh!  Now What?
Lynn Cowell, with Proverbs 31 Ministries in an article called When I Stray, talks about  how she said something that accidently made one of her friends look bad.  She stressed about it, feeling guilty.  Basically she didn’t think before she spoke and then felt terrible about it.  In the end she turned to God, and then to her friend for forgiveness.  She received it from both and her friendship was left intact.  But what about those times when we don’t get forgiveness from a friend?  What then?

Another devotional message I received was by Mary Southerland of Girlfriends in God, and was titled Doubt your Doubts.   Mary starts out talking about how we are so willing to accept man-made things even though we don’t understand them, yet we find it difficult to accept stories of miracles God tells us in His Word.  This is because of our lack of faith in Him.

God Will Help You Climb the Mountain
Mary says: 
God does not promise to remove the mountain or that we will even understand the mountain. However, God does promise to help us climb the mountain and He does promise to climb it with us. We must make the continual choice to fix our gaze on God and our glance on the circumstances. When doubt comes, reject it.
That’s when I realized that I am stuck on this situation that’s been bothering me.  You see a number of years ago in my BC (Before Christ) days, I said something to someone in an email that was meant as a joke.  However, it wasn’t received as a joke.  Not only that but this private conversation was shared with three other people.  They all took offense to what I said even though three of them were not involved.  I lost four friends.  One of them called me and gave me a nasty run down one side and up the other that left me with nightmares for months.  I’ve wanted to fix things with these people for a long time.  I think a lot about it.  I recently reached out to all of them hoping that we could move beyond the past as being more mature, and more forgiving.  I wanted them to see that I forgive them, and hoped that they forgive me.  I was rejected.

God Does Not Waste Anything
I’ve been trying to climb this mountain for a long time by myself.  These people are all what I call ‘worldly Christians’.  They claim to believe, yet they don’t live the life, read their bibles, go to church, or have a relationship with God.  Sometimes the relationships in our lives end for a reason.  I know now that I was stuck on trying to fix a situation… alone without God… when He wants me to let it go and move on.  If / when these relationships are meant to be fixed is up to Him and will be done in His timing.  God wants me to surround myself with believers who can support me and help me on my journey toward Him.  Going back into these relationships would mean surrounding myself with worldly attitudes.  Granted I hope that somewhere along the line I have planted a seed in them.  If so, it’s up to Jesus to help it to grow.  It’s out of my hands now.

I’ve been trying to hold on to relationships that God wants me to let go of.  It’s a hurdle in front of me in my path toward Jesus.  I have to let it go or I will be separated from Him.  Sometimes what seems like a bad situation is actually a blessing in disguise.  Keeping faith during the tough times is hard to do.  Letting go is hard to do.  Sometimes it’s a necessary step in order to go higher on the mountain.  We can’t reach the summit if we don’t trust God, have faith, work hard, and put up with some falling rocks along the way.

Let’s Pray
 ~~ Dear God ~~  Wonderful, graceful, Heavenly Father.  So often I try to climb the mountain by myself because I don’t have enough faith that You can help me get to the top.  Thank you that You never give up on me, or leave me stranded on the side of a mountain.  Please help me to see the blessings in every situation; and to let go of unnecessary baggage so that my journey up the mountain is much more enjoyable and filled with blessings.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

Now It’s Your Turn
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Great Writers Series: Believe

~~ Hebrews11:1 (NIV84) ~~  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.


by Carley Cooper

It’s day two of the 15 Habits of Great Writers challenge.  On day one the assignment was ‘Declare’; that is to tell the world that I am a Writer.  Our assignment for today is simply to Believe!  It’s the second habit of great writers.  Jeff Goins says, about being a great writer, that “Belief in something you can feel, touch, and taste is one thing.  Faith is another.  If you’re going to succeed, you’re going to have to believe you’re a writer — in the deepest core of yourself.  That part of you that you’re scared to show the world.  You’re going to have to trust in what you can’t yet see.”  If I were a believer in coincidences, right now I would say “Wow.  What a coincidence?!”  You see, I had a couple of big revelations when I read that quote. 

First, is that believing and faith are also at the very core of God’s message for us and our relationship with Him.  If we don’t believe in Him and have faith in Him; He cannot do His work in our hearts and our lives.  Therefore, we won’t get great blessings; and most importantly we won’t go to Heaven to spend eternity with Him.  I need the tools of believing and faith to be a be a great writer, and to be a child of God.  But, the biggest revelation about that is I can’t be a great writer without God.  I know that there are no coincidences in this world.  God has a perfect plan down to the last detail.  Everything has a reason and a purpose. 

He has made drastic changes in my life and in my heart in the past several years.  I’m a whole new person; literally body, mind and spirit.  As far as I’ve come though, I’m nowhere near complete.  There’s still a lot more work to be done inside my heart.  Then, again I suppose that would be obvious to the average believer just due to the fact that I’m still standing on this side of Heaven’s gates.  I have come past the point in this transformation where I know that I cannot live without God; and I don’t want to.  I do believe in Him, and what He’s trying to accomplish in me.  My heart truly longs to have His will be done in me.  I also long to be a better writer.  I can’t imagine that I will ever stop that pursuit of wanting to be better at this craft.  I know that this kind of longing, to always be better, is who I am just from other things in my life; like healthy living.  I read books, and articles on practically a daily basis to get better at it. 

The second revelation I had from Jeff Goins’ quote is about my biggest obstacle; which is fear.  It’s been an obstruction in my life; all my life.  That’s hardly a unique story in and of itself though.  Satan uses that tactic on every one of us.  It is this fear that has kept me from so many things in my life.  One of my biggest struggles has always been the fear of letting the outside world see the ‘real’ Carley; exactly what Mr. Goins was referring to, only in my case it’s not just my writer side, it’s all  of me.  The person I see in my mind as being who I really am, is not the person the world sees.  I want so much for others to see me the way I see me; which is a bubbly, outgoing, very free spirit who is unique.  I’ve never learned how to let her out.  I have prayed a lot about it in the last few years.  I know fear is at the root of the issue, and that it is a very deeply rooted problem.  But on several occasions recently God has been giving me messages that this will change.  I believe that part of this continued transformation that I am going through, is that I will not only feel free to be me but I will, as a result, have the ability to express myself through a new career in writing.

God has been doing a lot to let me know that I have no reason to fear.  Just like there are stories I could tell you about how He’s been encouraging me about  being myself, there are many I could tell you about how He’s given me the message of “do not fear.  One of the most life altering bible verses that I read, early on in my Christian walk, was as a result of a great bible study.  It was 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV): ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’  It spoke to me on so many levels.  First, that fear is not from God.  Fear is from the enemy which means it is a lie.  The old acronym is true; the world FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real.  Next, that I have a sound mind.  Being that I have mental health disorders, the fear of losing my sanity has weighed heavily on me.  It was a relief to know that God gave me a sound mind.  This tells me that this dragon that I battle, can be beaten.  It’s given me much passion and motivation to push through this, and many things; including my weight loss and healthy living program. 

Another message that God has given me several times, through various means, is that “I was made for more”.  The first time I got this message I wrote it on a few sticky notes and put it up around my apartment,  in such places as my mirrors and refrigerator, where I could see it all the time; for inspiration.  As always, when a message is from God, He will confirm it from more than one source.  Today, it was through a third revelation from Jeff Goins in an article called The One Fear We Refuse to Talk About.  In it, he says “And until we do it, [that one big thing we were meant to do in life] we live in the tension of a divine discontent, by which the voice of God whispers in our ears, ‘You were made for more than this.’“  I saw this as a sign from God that following this dream of being a writer is indeed what He wants for me.  He has great plans for my future.  Part of this process of learning to show the real me is already starting to happen; and it’s through my writing.  I share my stories about myself with you, here, so that you can see God’s glory and worship Him with me.  God has also told me several times in recent weeks to “Dream big, pray big.”  In the beginning I wasn’t sure I completely understood this, but I began praying for big dreams.  I was indeed made for more.  Big faith, brings big prayers, for big dreams which are called big blessings. 

As a Christian, I know that if I am to believe that I am a writer, than I also believe that it is because God put that passion in my heart.  He was the one who gave me this gift.  Therefore, I also believe that since it is my place in His plan for me to be a writer, I also believe that He will bring me the people, work, words, opportunities, education, and anything else necessary to complete my mission.  I’m sure that for many new writers, making the declaration that ‘I am a writer’ is the first step to believing it.  For me, though, it was coming to that realization, and believing it, that caused me to finally say “I am a writer.”  I believe this, because I believe and have faith in God.  My assignment for day two of this challenge is complete.  I do indeed believe!



~~ Dear God ~~  Thank You for the transformation; for the struggles that show me that You are indeed working in my life.  Thank You that I believe and have faith in You, in my dreams, in further changes; and that I am a writer.  In Jesus name, AMEN.



Big Dreams

~~Acts 16:31~~ Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.


 
Pansy. Photo property of Carla Cooper. All Copyrights Reserved. Worship Melodies
Photo by Carley
Well, it is finally here.  The first day of summer!  Yea!!!  I love summer.  If God let me run the world, the first rule I would make would be ‘No more winter’.  The second rule would be ‘No more need for long pants’... or shoes.  I am not a huge fan of long pants.  I like living in shorts, skirts and tank tops as much as possible.  It feels so much less restrictive; and I love feeling so feminine.  Some may think that this is a silly dream, but I think that is a fun dream.  Summer is a great time for dreaming.  What do you dream about?  I think about romance, drive-in movies, long walks along the beach at dusk, water-balloon fights, and pansies (because they were my Grandmother’s favourite).  The whole world just seems lighter, happier, and freer in the summer time. 

I had a chance recently to write about one of my dreams.  The requested topic was to write about a place that I would like to travel.  Well, that was not something I had to sit and think about for more than half a second.  Italy.  La bella Italia.  Just the sound of it is romantic.  I have dreamed most of my life of going to Italy.  In a perfect world, I would go on an extended tour, taking maybe a couple years to take in the culture and beauty of Italia.  Then maybe I would buy an old villa in the Tuscan country side that I could fix up, where I could spend some time.  I am not sure why I have always had such a passion for Italy, I just now it is there. 

A perfect day would be to wander through city streets chatting with fascinating people and having lunch at some small bistro.  Then I would go on to spend the afternoon picking through old treasures at a flea market.  One of a kind items that I could never find anywhere else.  Things that I could bring home and use to decorate my house in Canada to look like that old Tuscan villa.  Another afternoon might be spent posing for a slightly risqué portrait painted by a fine-looking ‘starving’ Italian artist.  Or maybe, I could go to a vineyard and experience a wine and cheese tasting, Italian style.   Then, to accept a dinner invitation to a big Italian party from a handsome gentleman who speaks to me with such romance, yet I have no clue what he is saying; and it does not matter because we are having so much fun together.

As I did some research on this topic so I could write about it, I found myself being led to biblical resources about faith.  I was surprised, but as I thought about it; that is exactly what a dream is all about.  It is faith in God that the dream He has put into your heart will indeed come to be reality one day.  When you have a dream that is a passion you cannot explain and it never seems to die; it is then you know that your dream is from God.  If God put it there, it is there for a reason.  Our pastor tells us all the time that “God does not waste anything”.  It is by the gift of grace from God that, because we have faith, He will save us (Ephesians 2:8).  What is faith?  “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 – Emphasis mine).  If all it takes for God to do the amazing undertaking of saving us from spending eternity without Him is for us to simply believe in Jesus, then surely He will have no problems with a dream or two while we are here on earth. 

What are your dreams?  Travel?  A big home?  Missions trips around the globe?  A marriage and a family?  A fulfilling career?  Or maybe, it is simply just to have a vacation for a couple of weeks in a serene place where you can just escape the reality of the world, and focus on Him.  Whatever your dreams, have faith; and it just may become a certainty.  I do suggest, though, that you keep it to something realistic, and never let anyone else take your dream away from you.  For example, I do not expect God to put me in charge as much fun as I am assuming that would be.  Nor do I expect to escape the winter cold, long pants or shoes.  Through prayer and listening to His voice you just may find that the dreams you thought were ‘too crazy to be real’ just may become your world!  Do not be afraid to dream big.  God can handle big dreams!  Maybe I will get to travel to Italy one day.  I have faith.

If I still believed in past lifetimes, as I did before I was a practicing Christian, I would think that in a past lifetime I was Italian.  I feel like I miss it.  I think if I went there today I would want to stay.  I can honestly see that happening.  Well, until next time 'Ciao Baby'.



~~Dear God~~ Your ways are so amazing.  You give us dreams so that we can hold on to faith in You.  Please help me to always hold on to my big dreams because as long as I have them I will know that I have big faith and that You are forever with me.  In Jesus name, AMEN.