Hi all,
I am happy to announce a new Flourish.tv website. Flourish will now be a community blog with life and community pieces alongside the daily devotional.
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I appreciate all of the support and encouragement.
Blessings,
Malika
We go through times when we feel as if we are on the mountain top, and other times as though we are in the valley. If we are going through a valley season, the important thing is to keep going.
We are made for a victorious life of overcoming adversity, impacting people and leaving a legacy on the planet. God fashioned us in His image to reign.
However, when the world became upside down, we lost our way and our original design. We muddled through as best we could but without our connection to God, we began to wither and decay. God loved us so much that He sent His precious son, Jesus, to earth to restore us back to himself and give us His endless life.
Now because of Jesus and His finished work at the cross, we can exchange our identity as ‘separated’ to Jesus’ identity as the ‘beloved child of God.’ No matter what we face now, we can overcome every obstacle and challenge through the gift of righteousness and the abundant supply of grace. The more we receive grace, the more we will be fueled for our destiny and purpose.
Romans 5:17 – For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
At times we can feel as though the world is crashing in from every side. We can feel trapped as if there is no way out. However, when we can stop listening to our emotions, we will find there is always a means of escape.
God created us to flourish. He made us in HIs image for relationship and mission. He plucked us from eternity and placed us on the planet to grow, develop, flourish and thrive.
Even when we became disconnected from God and lost our way, God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to earth to save us not condemn us. God’s love became flesh and moved into the neighborhood for us. Now we can receive Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross and be reconnected, redeemed and restored to our original purpose.
The more we commune with our Lord in prayer, the more we will step into what we are made for. When our obstacles and challenges seem too much to bear, we can pray for help and our Father God will deliver and empower us, so we are able to soar over the storms of life and find ourselves in our purpose and destiny.
Hebrews 12:2 – “Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
We can drive a car and only use the rear view mirror, however if we do we are absolutely headed for a crash. To get to where we need to go, we need to focus forward and only look back once in a while to see how far we’ve come.
We were made for growth. We were made in the image of God and blessed to multiply and flourish. Everything in us is created for progress.
Even when we lost our way, God couldn’t leave us to wither and decay. He sent His precious only son to earth to rescue, redeem, restore and reconnect us back to the Father.
Now through Jesus and His finished work on the cross we can receive the gift of righteousness and the abundant supply of grace which causes us to reign in life. Now as we focus forward and steer towards our goal, our Beautiful Lord and Savior, we will be led into our destiny and purpose.
Hebrews 12:1 (MSG) – When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
Sometimes we can worry whether we are on the right track in life. We question which paths to take and decisions to make. If we have a seasoned guide, we can be confident that we will be led in the right direction.
We were made for an exciting journey of overcoming adversity, adventure and impacting others for good on the planet. We are image bearers of the infinite God of the Universe and made for victory.
The God of all things loved us so much that when we were held captive by this world that He sent HIs beautiful precious only son to earth to ransom His life for ours.
Now we can receive Jesus and His finished work on the cross and walk free as a son or daughter of God. Now God’s very own Spirit dwells in us and leads us into all truth. We can rest assured that our Holy Guide will lead us to the right path that leads to life.
We can face certain circumstances or events in life, and then find it difficult to move forward. Sometimes we are even afraid to have hope in case we are disappointed. However, hope is not something to fear but to draw strength from as we take our next step.
We are made for movement. We were created to walk with God in the cool of the day. We bear the image of the infinite God of the universe so we can have a relationship with Him and reign in life.
God made us in His image, placed us on the planet and built us for mission. Even when things went sideways, God sent the rescue plan in the form of His precious only son. Jesus came to earth to rescue, redeem, restore and reconnect us back to the Father.
As we receive Jesus, we receive hope that does not disappoint. In Him we have endless life, abundant grace and the gift of righteousness. Now we can get up one more time knowing that we are not alone. God is with us, for us and on our side and He is able to do through us abundantly more than we can hope, think or ask.
We can get into a rut in life and just try to survive, but the truth is we were made for adventure, impact and legacy.
We are God’s image bearers, we are the crown of creation destined to reign. We are built for our unique purpose and call in life.
Even when we wanted nothing to do with God and nothing to do with our destiny, God sent His perfect love in the flesh to rescue, redeem, restore and reconnect us back to Himself.
Through Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, we can receive the gift of righteousness and the abundant supply of grace.
Now fueled each day by our times in prayer with the Altogether Lovely One, we can find the abundant endless life that Jesus provides, step into our purpose and shine like the stars forever.
Daniel 12:3 – Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever
We can go through slumps in life and want to give up moving forward. However, slumps are just temporary and our destiny can impact eternity; so taking the next step towards our dreams is vital.
We were made in the image of God to overcome adversity, for an adventurous journey, and to impact others for good. God shaped our gifts and talents for our specific call in life, plucked us from eternity and placed us on the planet for mission.
Even when we lost our way God sent His rescue plan in the form of His beloved only son. Jesus gave up Heaven for earth to save us not condemn us. He laid down His life at the cross, so we could receive His righteousness by faith and His abundant endless life.
Now we can wake up to God’s fresh mercies every day. We can spend time with our Heavenly Father in prayer and be fueled with passion for the King and the Kingdom. As we step out in faith we will find grace and supply for our destiny and true fulfillment as we bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth.
Matthew 6:9-10 – “Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”
In life we can feel that we are always missing something. We can be on the search to try to fill our void. However, Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us.
We were made in the image of God, created for union with Him, healthy relationships with others and a destiny to steward.
When the world became upside down, we lost our connection and we lost our way. God’s relentless love could never leave us disconnected. Jesus left Heaven for earth to save not condemn us. He embraced us, healed us, and set us free. He gave His life at the cross so we could be reconnected to the Father and restored to all we were made for.
As we receive Jesus into our heart, the wealth of the Kingdom is in us. As we grow in our relationship with God, we will find the true riches in life: acceptance, love, joy, peace, and well-being. When we are continually filled by the love we are made for, we will find over time that we become everything we are destined to be and step into all that we were fashioned for.
Luke 17:21 – “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
We can try to project an image of perfection but the real us has flaws. Fruit and vegetables in an organic garden look much different than those at most supermarkets. Organic produce has flaws and each one is unique in shape and color, while often non-organic produce appears flawless and bright in color. However, looks can be deceiving because it’s the organic fruit that has no poisons and a multitude of nutrients and minerals.
We were made in the image of God on purpose for a purpose. We have been created with our individual strengths and talents because we have been shaped and fashioned for our unique destiny and call. We also have our own weaknesses and inabilities because we are finite human beings.
The God of the universe loved us even with our flaws and failures and sent His only son Jesus to earth to rescue, redeem, restore and reconnect us back to Himself. As we receive Jesus and His finished work on the cross, we become children of God upon whom the Father lavishes His love.
As we cultivate our relationship in prayer with our Heavenly Father, we will grow in knowing who He is and who He has designed us to be. The more we meditate on how unconditionally loved we are, the more we will relax into our own skin. As we become authentic people who are comfortable with our strengths and weaknesses, we will become people who can accept others with their imperfections as well. The more we become people of grace, the more people will see the God of grace.
2 Corinthians 12:5 (NLT) – That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses.
Flourish 