Made to Soar

We can fail at times and falsely believe that we ourselves are a failure. We shelve our dreams and try to muddle through. The truth is the only people who do not fail are the ones who never try anything new.

We were made to soar. We may fall from time to time but that does not mean we are not meant to fly. God created us on purpose for a purpose. We have a destiny that we will never know if we keep playing it safe.

God loves us so much that He sent us His best, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the exact representation of the glory of God. To know our Father God more, we can look to Jesus, incarnate love. He is the one who embraced the sinner, raised the dead, healed the sick, touched the leper, fed the multitude, and overcame hell, death and the grave for you and me.

Now we can receive Jesus’ gift of righteousness and the abundant supply of grace. We do not have to fear failure, because our behavior does not define us anymore. If we succeed or fail we are still the righteousness of God in Christ.

Over time as we grow in our relationship with God, we will begin to develop, flourish and thrive. We will intuitively know what decisions to make and paths to take. And when our dreams look us in the face, we will take that leap of faith and we will effortlessly grow wings.

Romans 5:17 – …those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 11:3 – And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Genesis 1:28 (The Voice) – Then God blessed them and gave them this directive: “Be fruitful and multiply. Populate the earth. I make you trustees of My estate, so care for My creation and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that roams across the earth.”

Romans 1:17 – For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

Abundant Supply

We can doubt ourselves from time to time. We can feel as if we are lacking the things we need to accomplish what’s in our heart to do. However, as we use what is simply in our hand, we will see all the other things we need coming together to accomplish even more than we can imagine.

God created us for greatness. We are designed to grow, develop, flourish and thrive. God knows our weaknesses and He loves us so much that He sent us Jesus to strengthen us where we are weak.

As we receive Jesus into our heart, we receive His gift of righteousness and an abundant supply of grace. So, whatever we lack in righteousness, strength, health or resources, God’s grace is sufficient for all our needs.

As we step into our dreams, God will supply all our needs according to His riches and glory and we will find as we are led by Him that we have no lack. Everything we need is in Him and He is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask, hope or think.

Psalm 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Exodus 4:2 – Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

Genesis 1:28 – God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Romans 5:17 – ..those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:19 –  And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 12:9 – And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

Ephesians 3:20 – Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,according to the power that works within us…

Strengthened!

We can be searching in life and not realize that the answer is at hand. We are one prayer away from hope, help, salvation and restoration.

We were made for relationship. God created us to walk with Him, have good relationships with others and steward God’s mission here on earth.

Even when we felt alone and disconnected from God, He made a way for us to be reconnected. Jesus left Heaven for earth for us. He  lived a sinless life for us, died on the cross as us; and then He was raised from the dead for our justification.

Now we can be at rest in God’s unfailing love. We can know that He has a great plan and purpose for our lives; and no matter what we face we can be assured that God is with us, for us and on our side. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Charting the Course!

Life can be a tricky journey to navigate. Preparation is key to a smooth trek but even with the best plans in place, storms can arise that we we not expecting.

When we face obstacles and challenges we can try to handle everything on our own. When we succeed we feel great about ourselves, and when we fail we feel like failures, which leads to a topsy turvy self-worth.

We were never meant to do life in our own finite strength. God created us for a parent-child relationship with Him. As we receive His incarnate love, Jesus Christ, into our hearts, we become a child of God and God becomes our Heavenly Father.

Now when the storms of life arise, we can face them with an ease knowing our Father God is with us, for us and on our side. We can trust that He will not leave us nor forsake us and that He is working out everything for good in our lives.

As we allow the Holy Spirit to be our map & compass on this passage, in time we will find ourselves exactly where we are supposed to be, in quiet blue waters, near sandy beaches with the warmth of the sun shining on our face.

Psalm 23:4-5 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Transcending Peace

We can go through life happy and content until we face difficulty and hardship. Life can throw us a curveball, something that we were not expecting, and we can find that we lose our strength to fight the battle.

We never have to fight our battles alone. God is omnipresent. He is always everywhere and when we receive His gift of love incarnate, Jesus Christ, His spirit dwells within us. With God all things are possible.

Jesus came to earth for us. He is the exact representation of the glory of God. God in the flesh gave His life for you and me, so we could have new life with Him. This resurrected life overcomes anything this upside down world can throw at us.

Even when we face tough battles and storms, we can have a peace that transcends understanding. We can have a joy that sustains us no matter our circumstances and most of all we can have a confident expectation that God will work all things out for good because He is with us, for us and on our side.

Romans 8:28 (The Voice) – We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.

 

Right Side Up!

In life sometimes we can not find what we are looking for. We try to fill a void deep down inside us with temporal things. Even if we momentarily find what we are looking for, it doesn’t truly fulfill us and we will eventually feel even more empty than we did before.

We were made for eternity. We were fashioned and shaped for an intimate connection with the God of the universe, healthy relationships and mission. When the world became upside down the creator of the world sent the world love incarnate.

Jesus came to earth on a search and rescue mission. He lived a perfect life because we could not, He died on the cross to pay for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead for our justification.

Now we can have resurrected life with Jesus, the victorious life that overcomes every challenge, obstacle and difficulty this upside down world throws at us. As our internal world becomes right side up, our eternal needs will be met and we will begin to grow, develop, flourish and thrive in life.

Colossians 3:1-2 (The Voice) – So it comes down to this: since you have been raised with the Anointed One, the Liberating King, set your mind on heaven above. The Anointed is there, seated at God’s right hand. Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things,

The First Christmas Gift!

Over two thousand years ago the world received the first Christmas gift: God’s infinite love in flesh. The hope of the world came to rescue us as a helpless little infant. God is able to take what the world sees as weak and powerless and overcome every obstacle, challenge and difficulty in our lives.

Jesus Christ, fully divine and fully man, grew up a son of a carpenter. After thirty years He began His ministry of reconciliation. He raised the dead, healed the sick, touched the leper, befriended the sinner, freed the oppressed, fed the multitude, and chose sacrificially to lay down His life for each and every one of us.

God then raised Jesus from the dead for our justification and now we can be raised to new life with Him. We can exchange all of our burdens at the cross: sin, trauma, fear and anxiety; and receive Jesus’ righteousness, joy, peace and sense of well-being. We can receive an endless second chance, a forever clean slate and a purpose and a destiny because of the precious blood of Jesus.

As we receive this Christmas gift of God’s holistic salvation, we can know internal peace that transcends understanding, and goodwill towards men and women that’s root is found in the endless love of God. The first Christmas gift is our ongoing gift of knowing Jesus and making Him known.

Luke 2:7 – …and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them…

 

The Greatest Gift!

We can carry many burdens we were not designed for: rejection, trauma, unforgiveness, worry, fear, anxiety, depression. If we carry too many burdens we will give up moving forward in life because the weights are just too heavy.

Jesus came to earth on a search and rescue mission. He said that He would give heavily laden people rest. He would teach them the unforced rhythms of grace; and that His burden was ‘light’ and His yoke ‘easy.’

In the great exchange we bring Jesus all of our burdens and weights and He gives us an easy and light spirit and an everlasting connection to Him. Jesus paid for this exchange with His life. He lived a perfect life for us, died on the cross as us and was raised from the dead for our justification and holistic salvation.

This salvation gift is free. It is the greatest gift in the world. With this gift we can know the creator of the universe as our Heavenly Father and live and reign as children of God. We will walk free and light; moving forward in life.

Matt 11:28-30 – “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 

Life on Purpose!

Sometimes in life we wake up to find our lives are out of control. We overcommit to everything under the sun and we find ourselves exhausted and weary. We were not meant to wither but to develop, grow, flourish and thrive.

God created us for love, relationship and mission. He made us for fellowship with Him and purpose in stewarding the earth. He blessed us and told us to multiply and take responsibility. We were designed for victory not failure.

Even when the world became upside down, God sent His beloved son to rescue us. Jesus made the way to restore us again to the Father through His finished work on the cross. Now as we receive Jesus in our hearts, we can have our personal world right side up.

As we grow in this relationship with the Father God, we can begin to know the purpose and plan for our life. We can chart a course for our path and be led by the Holy Spirit into our destiny. We can shed the weights of over commitment and busyness and find our true calling and purpose in life. Nothing compares to finding our place and our purpose here on earth.

Genesis 1:29 (The Messages) – Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
    Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
        for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

A Beautiful Masterpiece

We can spend so much energy trying to be like others. We can dress a certain way, talk a certain way, even choose a profession just to blend in. However, we are a one of kind masterpiece. There’s no reason to hide in the crowd, when we were made to stand out and shine.

God created each and every one of us completely unique. We were created for a special purpose and destiny. We even have our own individual fingerprints and DNA. Why be a carbon copy, when the real us was made on purpose for a purpose.

As we grow in knowing our Father God, who loves us so much that He sent us Jesus, we will begin to understand how amazing we truly are. We were shaped, fashioned and designed for our destiny. Nothing will fulfill us like finding our niche.

As we relax into our own skin, embracing our own personality traits, unique preferences and abilities and skills, we will find ourselves fitting into God’s purposes. He will weave our lives with others into a beautiful tapestry designed for His glory.

Ephesians 2:10 –  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.