Invisible

I originally wrote this blog a few years ago, but it has been coming back to my mind.  With so many doctors giving up on the diagnostic process with me (and still not knowing exactly what has been causing my weakness and pain), combined with trying to find a job and not even getting called for interviews, my old rejection complex has been rearing its discouraging head.  Humans mostly do not care about the details of my life, but God does, and He is all that matters.  I pray this blog ministers to you as it has helped me again remember that God is in control, and I can find joy and strength in His love!

Most of my life I have felt insignificant and invisible.  I was always the short shy kid who tried to hide in the back row of the class, hoping the teacher would never call on me.  When my parents would attend parent/teacher conferences the teachers would look at me and say, to my folks, "I'm only meeting with the parents whose children are in my class." I would quietly respond with, "I have you for third period." The teacher would stare at me a moment, still trying to place me and then suddenly realize, "You're Amy's friend, right? What's your name again?"

Okay, so maybe that only happened two or three times, but to an insecure teenager, once was enough. I always felt like I was nothing more than the friend, sister, or daughter of someone more vibrant and outgoing. The nameless one people could not place if I was apart from my friend or family member.  And, oh how quickly my friends deserted me when someone more interesting came along. It has happened so frequently even into my adult years that I have learned to now think of all friendships as shallow and temporary. It truly is not a mystery why I have a rejection complex.

It is people just like me that have difficulty wrapping their brain around the fact that we are not invisible to the most powerful Being alive. God the Father, the Creator of all the worlds knows each of us by name! 

John 10:3 says Jesus knows and "calls all His sheep by name." In fact, Matthew 10:30 tells us that even "the very hairs on your head are all numbered." Can we even fathom that statement? I cannot!  

It may seem in a world where all sorts of horrific things happen all around me that God would not bother to take the time to listen to my seemingly insignificant prayers. My life does not seem so very important.  But I Peter 3:12 tells us that "the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers." God is indeed listening, especially to those who are striving for right living.  

In Revelation 8:3, John has a vision of the angels pouring out the prayers of the saints on a golden altar before the throne of God.  Can you imagine? That is so beautiful!  God is listening to us; we are not invisible to Him.

I realize that in a world full of chaos, it can be hard to think of God as caring about your prayers when He sometimes seems silent.  Even before the time of Adam and Eve, God gave His creations a free will.  It is man's rebellious spirit that has caused the tragedies and curses on this earth. It is man's blatant defiance at a holy God screaming they do not want Him in their lives that will ultimately bring about this world's end. Righteous and unrighteous alike suffer because we are all caught in the crossfire of sin. 

That does not mean, however, that God is ignoring you. Unlike the world around you, God is not picking and choosing who He finds the most entertaining.  He is not going to overlook you because the man or woman next door has a more dramatic need.  He cares about your needs too! Whether I am praying for healing for my husband, praying for my own healing, or praying for a loved one, God cares about each need, and He is listening.  He will answer according to His perfect will, not according to mine. Isiah 55:9 reminds us, "as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." In other words, we must rely on faith to believe God knows what is best for us, even when we think He is silent.  Just because His plan does not match our own it does not mean our needs are invisible to Him. He sees the big picture when we cannot.

Keep in mind, that being visible to God also means that He is always very aware of all we do, good and bad.  You will be judged according to your works (Matthew 16:27 & Revelation 20:12). He sees you looking at pornography, He sees every movie and television show you see, He sees you dancing to worldly music, He sees you getting drunk and using drugs, He sees you cheat, steal, lie, gossip, and call someone a bad name. Not being able to hide from God is a very good thing, but it also means you will always be accountable for all your actions.  

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. II Chronicles 16:9

The truth is, I am still very much insignificant and invisible to most around me except my husband. Unless I am forcing someone to pay attention, I am ignored.  I am not saying this in a self-deprecating way, but just stating this as a matter of fact to prove a point.  I do not have to shout to get God's attention, give Him a gift, or make some flattering statement about Him on Facebook to get Him to acknowledge me.  God cares about me right where I sit and where I stand, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  Isaiah 37:28 is a rebuke against a rebellious people, but the words ring true even when our hearts are right with God, so I will just quote part of the verse (you can look it up in its entirety on your own). It says, "I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in..." In other words, God is always aware of us and our circumstances.

I pray I am conveying all that God had laid on my heart today. I often feel what is burning inside my heart and soul cannot be accurately conveyed by my weak words. My main point today is that God loves you! You are not invisible to Him. He has known you since before you were born and He cares about you even when life seems contrary to that statement.  Things rarely make sense in this world, but when we get to Heaven and see Jesus face to face, we will know and understand beyond any shadow of any doubt that we have never been insignificant or invisible to the almighty God (see I Corinthians 13:12).  

I will leave you with words from Psalm 139. Let these scriptures be your comfort. 

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting. 

Psalm 139:1-18;23-24

God's Grace is Sufficient for Those who Walk in the Light, Written by my Husband

 

God's Grace is Sufficient for Those who Walk in the Light

Written by my Husband, Mel

God's grace is sufficient for those who are truly saved and walking in the light. Salvation begins with true repentance. Repentance means that you hunger and thirst after righteousness and desire to grow in Christ. It also means you are sorry for the old sinful ways of your past and now are putting your faith in Christ. It is God's desire for you to grow in him and allow his Holy Spirit to transform you into a new creation.

(Romans 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, WHO WALK NOT after the flesh, BUT after the Spirit.

God gives us grace to walk in the morning light as he has spoken to me audibly. The morning begins with a small amount of light at sunrise, as the morning progresses you have more sunlight until the sun shines at full strength at noon. So, it is for the Christian. His Grace is sufficient even if we have a small amount of light as we grow and yield to his Holy Spirit. However, God does not provide grace to continually walk in the darkness, as well as to remain apathetic toward righteousness. To know Christ is to walk in the Spirit and Not the flesh (old sinful ways).

(Galatians 5:16-25) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But IF YE BE led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Come as You are, but Don't Stay That Way

  

I originally wrote this in January 2016, but it has been on my heart to share it again. Even the preachers once on-fire for God who took a stand and preached against sin, are now leaving out the message of holiness and just preaching about salvation.  Yes, our walk with God absolutely starts with asking Jesus into our heart, but that is just the beginning.  It does not end with acknowledging Jesus died for your sins.  We need to do more than just realize Jesus loves us, we need to love Him in return by living only for Him, not for ourselves or others.  

My blog "The Parable of the Lost Sheep" has to do with being lost, and allowing Jesus to find you and be saved.  However, once you have surrendered your heart, mind, and soul to Christ, you are not instantly saved forever.  The theory of eternal security is a lie of the devil in order to put Christians to sleep.  When we think there is grace for everything, and that our actions suffer no consequences because our salvation is guaranteed with one simple prayer, we can easily slip into a life of sin and comfortably stay there. 

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness.  Joel 2:12-13

It is very true that Christ accepts us as we are, and He freely gave His life on the cross for our sins so we can have eternal life.  Yet it is also very true that, though we may come just as we are with all our faults, God expects us to change.  Jesus is a loving Father who readily forgives our sins as long as our repentance is sincere, and we do not continue to live in sin.  Think of it this way:  if your child wrote on the living room walls and said, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me," you would forgive him.  If he does it again, you will still love him, but there will be consequences for his actions.  If he does it a third time and continues to defy you and take advantage of your gracious heart, the consequences become more dire.  It is the same with our Heavenly Father.  Even more so since He is holy, and it is His desire that we live holy lives if we are to follow Him.  That does not mean we have to be perfect, but we must seek out to destroy our sinful nature.

II Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. " That means we are to put away the old creature/old nature of sin.  We don't stay living like the world.  If you are serious about following Christ, you need to give up worldly sins such as pornography, going to bars, secular music, occult practices such as yoga and astrology, movies/television, etc.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;  but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;  knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,  but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.  I Peter 1:13-19

On my husband's blog "The Sword of the Spirit," http://swordofthespirit77.blogspot.com/ Mel wrote a blog in July 2015 titled "The Finish Line," that goes along perfectly with my blog.  Here is some of what he wrote: 

"Most churches today are not teaching their people the truth in regard to salvation. They are taught that by simply reciting the sinner’s prayer that they are saved and the angels are singing in Heaven. The sinner’s prayer is a great prayer when done in sincerity, but this alone does not save a person’s soul, it is just the beginning. Most churches today are not teaching their people to repent of their sins and to be born again. To be born again, a person must become a new creation in Christ, and this means to be set apart from the world and unto God...  If Jesus Christ is truly the Lord of your life then his attributes will be apparent in your life. Christ said that any tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  


"This life of probation, may be compared to running a race. We run this race of life hoping to obtain the prize, which is eternal life with God, but if we do not complete the race and cross the finish line, then all is lost... Paul was saying that like a runner in a race keeps his body in good physical condition, we must also keep our spiritual body in good condition so that we might be able to cross the finish line and win our crown.  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.  I Corinthians 9:24 

"Christ said that those who endure unto the end shall be saved, if we fail to cross the finish line in victory, then all is lost... And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:12

"The lukewarm church of the end time is preaching a greasy grace message that makes people feel good, instead of  teaching them the truth. When there is no distinction between the sinful world and the saints, then the salt has lost it’s savor and the truth has been turned into a lie. If we live, dress, talk, as well as act like sinners, then we are lost as well. Christ made atonement upon the cross for sins committed in ignorance, as well as for sins that are repented of. If we do not repent of willful sins, then there is no forgiveness. Atonement is not automatic, it follows repentance. No one is perfect of course, but we are called to righteousness, and this means to live right..."
 

"The Book of Revelation was given to the Apostle John by the angel of Jesus Christ. Within Revelation, Christ gave warnings to the various churches that they must keep the commandments of God or they would be cast away. In Rev 2:4 Christ told them that they had left their first love, he told them to repent, and do their first works over or he would remove their lampstand from it’s place. He also told the church of Sardis to repent, because their works, were not found to be perfect before God. Christ told the church of Laodicea that because they are lukewarm that he would vomit them out of his mouth. As you can see, the Word of God teaches us that it is very possible to fall from grace, due to sin, or lack of faith. It is time for the lukewarm churches to wake up and stop leading people astray. James states the truth very clearly, when he said that faith without works is dead."

 
Here are some more thoughts on this subject from a blog I wrote in June 2014 titled: "How do we survive this world?"
 
If we cry out to God, He will hear our pleas.  He wants to protect us and save us... Man’s desire for independence corrupts him more and more.  The mentality of not wanting to be told what to do is only getting worse... It is up to you to surrender yourself to God as well as your independence.  It is up to you to choose to live right and separate yourself from this world.  

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 
The key words there are “if,” and “humble themselves.”

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18

Humble yourself and admit you have done wrong.  Salvation begins with repentance and admittance of sin.  If you died right then, you would go to Heaven.  However, though salvation is a free gift, we must treat it with respect in order to keep that gift. In spite of the very popular belief that you are now saved forever and will automatically go to heaven no matter what you do next is a lie.  It is an excuse to live however you want because you are a “Christian.” There is no desire to please your Creator or live a truly Christian lifestyle. There is no self-evaluation or repentance.  You cannot rebelliously continue in sin and expect God to turn a blind eye.  Not every sin leads to hell, of course, but refusing to do the right thing may cost your soul.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Luke 9:23

I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.  I Corinthians 15:31 

Daily very simply means we must crucify our flesh every day not just once.   Psalm 139: 23-24 should be a daily prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

So do we wait until some crazy gunman is at our door (so to speak) before we choose to make the decision to live a holy life?  Of course not.  There are no atheists in foxholes, so the saying goes.  And it is also true that God will have mercy on your soul if you wait until you are on your deathbed to call upon God and repent of your sins.  Yet, why would you wait until then?  If everyone died at the age of 99, most would wait until they were 98 ¾ to start living right.  But no one ever knows when their time on this world is coming to an end.  Nobody is invincible.  Age, race, wealth, none of it matters when you’re on a highway full of reckless drivers or the day you decide to go to the courthouse to renew your driver’s license just happens to be the same day a man with bombs storms in and blows the place up.    

For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. II Corinthians 6:2

 

 

Jesus longs to hold each of us in His arms.  He wants us to cross the Finish Line and not perish. 

 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 8:10

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3:16.

 

 

I'll end with a few more scriptures on salvation & repentance.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’ Acts 2:20-22

For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.  And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 22:15-16

 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:12-13

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

(All artwork is by Ron DiCianni)

Faith to Embrace That God is all His Word says He Is

 I believe that the biggest reasons people have such a difficult time accepting that God unconditionally loves them, trusting He forgives and forgets, and submitting to God is because they try too hard to place Him in a human box. 

We have all been repeatedly hurt by those who love us, so it is hard to grasp the concept that God would be any different.  It is hard to wrap our brains around the fact that when God says He will keep His promises, He actually will.  In order to help us (me too) be able to better embrace that God truly is all His Word says He is, and He will do all His Word says He will do, we need to remove human attributes from a holy God.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," saith the Lord." For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Let me back up just a bit to make it clear I fully believe Jesus Christ came to this earth in human form (And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8) but after He ascended back into Heaven, all those human traits disappeared. However, His compassion has never waned.  

Now, back to Isaiah 55.  We cannot ever truly comprehend the mind of God, and the sooner we accept that fact, the more we can just sit back and relax and surrender all to Him.  I know that it so much easier said than done, again, because we have difficulty seeing Him in a different light that the humans around us.

When God says He will forgive us when we repent (Then Peter said unto them, "Repent... for the remission of sins." Acts 2:38 ), and then will actually forget those sins, then they are forever under the precious blood Jesus shed for us.  

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

It is a difficult concept to grasp because not only do we find it hard to forget wrongs that have been done to us, but we also do not always forgive the people we claim to have forgiven. In our mind we may say we do, but it is easy to dredge up past hurts to the point it can be harmful to our spiritual health. On the flip side, others also tend not to forgive and forget when it comes to our offenses.  But God truly does forget our past and washes us white as snow.  Please note the first five words in the below verse.    

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 

It is also difficult to accept unconditional love. Precious few people in our lives love and accept us without rules.  "If you will conform to my ways, then I will accept you." or "I love you, but I really do not want to be around you."  But when God says He loves us and will never stop loving us, and that He wants as much more time spent with us than we give, we can believe it is true. He will not reject us when we make mistakes nor will He cast us aside when someone more interesting comes along.  He will always love us and find us worth His time and affection. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 38-39

However, a holy God cannot tolerate sin and even though we can never be separated from His love, we can be separated from His heavenly kingdom if we refuse His rules (Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things SHALL NOT INHERIT the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21.)  

Read also all of Romans, chapter 6.

This is why "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)  Because God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9).  He compassionately wants all of us to join Him in the beautiful paradise He prepared for us (John 14:2-3).  The rules are in place so we can have a blissful eternity with our savior, not to keep us in chains, but to set us free from those chains!

Even if we cannot fully understand how it is possible, when we have faith enough to accept God will not break His promises (also 2 Peter 3:9), He will not lie to us (Titus 1:2), He will forgive and forget our sins (Mark 2:10), His love is free (Romans 5), and He truly wants the best for us (Jeremiah 29:11), then we will be more willing to surrender our heart, soul, and strength to Him (Luke 10:27).  

...God is love. 1 John 4:8

Let's face it, most of us have had horrible bosses and/or abusive parents. When we have lived through authority figures in our lives not treating us with the love and respect Jesus expects us to treat all people with, it makes it even harder to trust that God's authority is just, fair, gentle, and good (Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 18:25, 2 Corinthians 10:1).  It can be near impossible to see God as a kind Heavenly Father if your earthly father and/or mother was  cruel.  Again, it is why it is so vital to not place God in a human box.  If His thoughts and ways were like frail, cruel, unforgiving, cold, stubborn, rebellious humans, He would never have sent His only son to die for us so we could be cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus, and be healed by the stripes Jesus took on His back (Isaiah 53:5), nor prepared a place of peace and joy with Him forever (Revelation 21:4).

I pray this all sinks in.  I know it is not easy to see God outside of our limited human eyes. I will leave you with my favorite scripture verse.  This verse is saying the same as Isiah 55 above, that we cannot fully understand the mind of God because we see this world through dark sunglasses, not through the bright light of Throne of God.  But when we get to heaven and see God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, then it will all make perfect sense. Until then, we can rely on faith to embrace that God truly is all His Word says He is, and He will do all His Word says He will do.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12