Matthew 24:4-13
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no one deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But the one that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
I thank God for each of you- my fans, my supporters, those who come here to see what I'm "not" doing :) all of you are fuel to the proverbial fire the Lord is fanning in my life right now. Accordingly, I’ve decided to share some lessons learned.
Some people have come to me and shared that my personal sharing of how God is growing me has been useful to them in their journey, so I’m providing a very transparent view of who God is growing me to be. . . peradventure you believe this is “too much about me”- feel free to use your back browser and view another site. For those who believe God can use my experiences to grow you- here are some lessons learned.
Lesson One:
I have grown to a place in God where I am beginning to see what many of those who have gone before me have confronted in a way that has diffused their spark of excitement for the Lord or ignited a greater flame for who God had intended them to be. Right now I'm in a place that requires me to tend the fire in my life to ensure that indeed, this flame does not go out, nor get quenched, but rather is harnessed and utilized for the glory of God. Over the last eight months I have had the joy of experiencing a fresh move of God in my life. For years I'd struggled with looking for love in all the wrong places and while I still desire to be God's leading lady for a worthy king, I'm content with being me- without him for now. Over the last eight months I've come to realize that everyone who says they are for you may not always be consistent in being that person and that the best person to be for you is quite simply- you. Not in an embittered, determined not to need anyone for anything in life way- but rather in-dependent of others to bring the joy, satisfaction and self-worth that can only be found when you and God spend one on one time with one another.
Lesson Two:
I've learned the beauty of recognizing that it's a great thing to be a follower so long as you are mindful the one you are following is going where God intends for you to go. I found myself in a trap of following a woman who was not anointed for where God intended for me to go at all- yet she was constantly willing to correct me of my path. She was (and still is) a very gifted woman of God, her life exemplifies Godly character and on a surface level she is an excellent model of God's spirit at work in a human being. The thing about her however is that she is not called to go where God has me to go. She is not anointed to do what God has for me to do. How do I know this? I know the Spirit does not contradict itself and that over the course of the last twenty plus years, as Paul said- "I too have the Spirit of God." I was for too long self-conscious and unable to believe that God was speaking a specific word to me because I continued to listen to her words that were contrary- not that they were Godless or Wordless words, just not God's word for MY life. God has birthed each of us through particular parents, in a particular home, in a particular place in the world, and in a particular time in history on purpose. There will be actions and plans that God shares with you that many may not understand and because of how different they are, you may be chastised and discouraged from proceeding- but YOU question God regarding those things God says and once you have God's answer- trust God.
Lesson Three:
I've learned that the more growing God does through you, the more you must be intentional about maintaining the connections to the original places God found you. For a season I found myself so caught up with where God was taking me that I neglected to stay connected to the people and places God used to pour the Holy Spirit in me in the first place. Now, don't get me wrong- God does grow us in the things of God and cause us to move away from those things that are not growing and productive from our past. Yet, sometimes there are people- possibly a former Pastor, or an old teacher, an old song or a former friend that God used to inspire you to do great things- or at least the right thing. While some people, experiences and places are to grow us for a season, there are some people, experiences and places that are to remain constants in our lives perpetually. Whereas in the past an old friend may have encouraged you to see the light of Christ in a way at the time seemed foreign to you, ten years later that same friend may be the one to remind you of the light you loved when the new surroundings have distorted your vision. As a Girl Scout we used to sing a song that simply said- “make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold. A circle is round, but never ends that’s how long that you should keep you friends.” This concept has been a lesson difficult to learn, but useful for me in this Christian journey. I have friends and family that have consistently prayed for me, even when I did things to push them away, or when I chose to seek counsel in “new friends” who in the long run turned out to be simply people desirous of being in the place where God was blessing and had no concern for my personal welfare whatsoever. So be encouraged to hold to the past things that have revealed God’s glory in your life.
Lesson Four:
You can only fit into God’s mold for your life. Do not allow people, circumstances, churches, church groups, or any other external force to mold you into an image other than authentically who God has created you to be. As you continue to grow in God’s plan for your life, seek God for how every aspect of who you are is to be used for His glory. God used me preach a word a few months ago entitled “God Did It On Purpose” and I’m going to figure out how to load the slides online and share that in the very near future. The short of it however is- Be Real and Be You! You can only be the best one of you God created. God calls us to be holy, but not identical. Seek God for your place in God’s kingdom and know that God wants you authentically, 100% true to you- Holy but YOU!
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