Who do YOU Say He is....

Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”

 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

 Mark 7:27-30

Who do you say Jesus is? 

To me, He is my Everything. I've asked myself several times recently who Jesus is to me. Is He my Defender? Is He Worthy? And what The Holy Spirit showed me was Jesus is my Everything.

I think there comes a time in all our lives when we have to ask who Jesus is to us? Who do WE say He is? Who is He to us personally? Is He Jesus in our lives or just our parents lives? Do we think He is our Lord and Savior just because we grew up in a Christian home and went to Church on Sundays and Youth Group on Wednesdays?

I grew up in a Christian home, I was taught the word of God everyday.  But I didn't invest in Jesus personally like I should. Sure I got saved and had times when I was in love with Jesus but it was fleeting (it can't be fleeting ya'll, it has to be true, consistent, steadfast, and always). It wasn't until I was sixteen and was hit with a situation I couldn't handle on my own that I got serious about seeking God for myself. About knowing who He was to me.

And you know, Jesus presented the question of who He was to His disciples too (read the passage above). Jesus had caused quite the stir when He started His ministry. He was healing people and doing things NO ONE had done before. And there was a lot of talk about Him. Some thought He was prophets that had been before, some wonder if He was the Messiah. And His disciples had heard this talk...and Jesus posed the question to them, who did they say He was. 
He first asked who others said He was? And then He asked who they said He was... He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 

And Peter's answer was this, "You are the Christ." 

We can't always just take the word of others, we have to seek Jesus for ourselves. 

And what a glorious thing, when we seek Him and search for Him with our whole hearts (Jeremiah 29:13)! When we see His heart and see how much He loves us. When we see how He calms fears and tell us not to be afraid, when we see His divine promises for us. When we see what He's done for so many other people....

When we seek Him, Jesus, and we'll see, He is Who He says He Is... Our Savior, our Redeemer....

Amen. 

The Rock That is Higher Than I...

The Rock That is Higher Than I

Life can get pretty messy sometimes, can't it? Life can get so hard that feeling down and depressed is normal for us. A family member is causing heartache, you never feel like you measure up with your walk with God, you get overwhelmed trying to be there for everyone else-feeling like it's just too much and you don't know how to cope... All and all, just a lot of stuff seems to fall on us hard-like a avalanche of rocks sliding down and crashing on you all at once.

Well, David had quite a few moments like this in His life as well. He was in hard times often. He was betrayed by the King he loved and honored, He lost his best friend on earth, He was betrayed by His own son, and even messed up some. But do you know what He writes? Read this and listen closely. 

Hear my cry, O God;

Attend to my prayer.

 

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, Psalm 61:1-2. 

What? How beautiful, Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. When we're overwhelmed, when that avalanche of rocks is crumbling down on us, we can go to the Rock that is Higher than us. We can go to the Rock that is higher than all the problems facing us. 

When our heart is overwhelmed and we don't even think we can even be still in His presence...there something we can do. Beautiful soul, we can come to Him, we can give it all to Him, and we can let Him relax us and help us rest in Him....

Why? Why do we go to Him? How do we know He'll be a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1)?

For You have been a shelter for me,

A strong tower from the enemy.

 

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah, Psalm 61:3-4.

Hasn't He always come through? Hasn't He always showed up? He has been a strong tower from the enemy. He has been everything we need! We can trust Him...We can abide in Him...we.can.rest.

Hallelujah!

It's so refreshing to know in times of turmoil, we can go to the Rock that is Higher than us and find refuge in the storm.

Amen.

You are cherished. You are loved. The King of kings has called you into His eternal kingdom and you are in Him, and through Him YOU ARE ENOUGH! That's right, you are enough-not because of what you've done or what you could do-but because He is enough! He calls you His, Jesus calls you His. You are His precious one, He literally fought hell to have you. Stop believing the lies of the enemy, quit being worried and afraid about everything and accept you don't have to fear through Him. Through Him you have peace, you have joy, you have provision, you have enough. Stomp on the lies of the enemy, stomp on every failure the devil throws your way. Stomp on it with the enough God has given you.

Amen.

...To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, Ephesians 1:6-7

He Has Done All Things Well

        And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” Mark 7:37

     I am often fascinated with the stories of Jesus in the Bible. The stories of His healing and compassion on people (Matthew 8:1-3, John 8:1-11), the stories of Him defying religious odds (we need some of that today). He was/is so kind and so loving, the way He talked to people, the way He healed, the way He completely restored people's lives. He showed them love like no man ever had. He completely set about a new era.

   Look at this verse again closely, And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” Look at that? "He has done all things well." He made deaf to hear, mute to speak, and many other things this verse doesn't mention. He cast out devils, opened blind eyes, set captives free, and showed loved to complete outcast in society. He did all things well, really well. 

   And you know what? He has done all things well in our lives too. Oh He really has people. Think for a minute. Really think. Really think about all the moments our Jesus has showed up in your life. All the moments He breathed His truth. All the moments He opened prison doors. All the moments He destroyed the lies. All the moments. 

Think. Really think.

 He has done all things well.

   If you really pause and reflex, you will see that God has come through-making you to hear and see-in so many situations. You will see He's been there for you, when you weren't there for Him. You will see that He has been Your King, He  He has been Your Friend...He has been your everything.

   You will see He has done all things well indeed. Just trust Him, and He'll continue to do all things well. 

Completely and totally. 

    

Sticks Closer Than a Brother

           

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             I went through a time when I was little where I really wanted to have a friend... I would ask God for a friend to move on the same road as me... I'd write down prayers/things on paper about friends. I even asked God if He could just give me a cat/bird for a friend.

Let me back track a little... I guess I didn't "typically" have friends-my age-when I was growing up. I had some children I played with for awhile, but then others would come and go. And I think it was after watching Anne of Green Gables (for the umpteenth time), or loosing contact with a friend I had, I mostly got like this-where I'd walk around outside praying and dreaming for a friend. I think I had been doing this for awhile when I asked God if He could just give me a cat/bird for a friend.

Well, funny story, I did get a cat that is a really good companion to me, but thankfully God gave me some people friends, and I mean real ones.

I answered a Pen-Pal ad in The King's Blooming Rose magazine when I was thirteen, that girl is still my friend to this day. Then I answered another one, and eventually I put my own in, and I answered more along the way. I met some good friends this way. Not all of the girls I wrote turned out to be my friends, but God blessed me with some good ones. He also gave me good friends when I was at Eight Days of Hope, and gave me friends just up my road...(up the road huh?).

You see God has blessed me with incredible friends, and I thank Him for that.

Have I always been a good friend? Not. At. All. I've struggled with jealousy. I'm not always faithful to keep up with my friends, and be involved with their work. But thankfully God, who is the best friend in the entire world, can help each and every one of us become the friends we should be.

I think we all need to appreciate our friends a whole lot. A good friend is rare and hard to find. Friends that hurt us seem to come in bigger droves. So, we should take time to show our friends how much we do appreciate them. We need to forgive the wrongs that one has done to us (it's not like we don't have things we've done wrong). We need to pray and ask God to help us become the kind of friend He is. Give more than we take. Love and listen. Lend a helping hand in time of trouble. All and all, G I V E.

Take time this week to show your friends how much you indeed, truly care about them.

A man who has friends must himself be friendly,

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24