Just As I Am

I had the privilege of talking to a group of ladies from my church this past week. I shared the following message with them and feel like I need to share with you too.

       I am. What a powerful statement. Those two small words can pack a big punch. In Exodus God lets Moses know how to answer pharaoh, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) In Revelation God uses I am again. “I am the Alpha and the Omega”, says the Lord. (Revelation 1:1) God uses I am to describe himself and so do we. I posted on my blog in May the things that I let define me and I want to share those with you again:
  I am: Carolyn and Mark's daughter
          Holly and Joel's sister
          a granddaughter, niece, and cousin
          a little girl without a father
          sad
          afraid
          a teenager without a father
          an athlete
          a band nerd
           rejected
          depressed
          a college student
          a bride without her father to walk her down the aisle
          a wife, Nick's wife, Mr. Hardy's wife, the drummer's wife
          happy
          jealous
          David and Val's daughter-in-law
          a mother
          Alex's mom
          a college graduate
          Bekah's mom
          a teacher
          afraid
          dealing with a miscarriage
          hurt
          a disappointment
          confused
          a church secretary
          no longer able to have children
          frustrated
          alone
          remorseful
          forgiven
          servant
          happy
          child of God
We tend to define ourselves with emotions and what we do. The best thing about how we see ourselves is The Great I Am doesn’t see us the same way. There are three women in the Bible that I want to talk about. I believe we can relate to at least one of these women if not all three.
The first woman is the woman who suffered from bleeding for twelve years. There was nothing anyone could do to stop the bleeding. Can you imagine the physical pain and toll this woman went through? What about the emotional pain? She obviously hurt and was drained from hemorrhaging. Then you have to think of the pain her heart felt. She was rejected and considered unclean because of her bleeding. I’m sure her “I ams” were ones that described her condition and hurt heart. This woman hurt on so many levels; just like some of us have and/or still do. I don’t know about you but there are times I’d rather have physical pain than emotional pain. I can “deal” with the physical pain better. Here is this woman weak and in desperate need of healing. Does she curl up and say my life is over? No, she knew Jesus was her last chance. She needed to get through the crowd of people to get to Jesus. This woman had so much faith in Jesus she reached out and touched the tassels on His robe. She had so much faith in Jesus healing her she stretched out her arm and touched His; which is on the bottom of His robe. The very instant her hand touched His robe she was healed. Her bleeding stopped and I would imagine her color started to return and her pain was gone. Jesus asked who touched him but no one answered at first. Then this woman afraid dropped to her knees and said, “I did”. Jesus could’ve been angry with her because he knew power left him and he was on his way out of the town. Instead he looked at her and said you are healed. Jesus literally saved her life. You can read the account in Luke 8, if you would like more than my paraphrasing. Are you the woman who reached out to Jesus in all her pain? Are you the one who sought Jesus as your last resort?
Maybe you’re not the woman of faith but instead the woman accused. Have you been brought before others to be accused of something? Most likely you haven’t been accused in a public square. More likely it’s been behind your back or behind closed doors. In these situations you usually don’t have a chance to speak for yourself. The woman accused was brought before Jesus in a public square and was prepared to die for her sins. She was caught in adultery and in those days you were stoned to death for such things. Let’s look at being accused differently for a moment. It hurts to be accused of something, but think of the shame and embarrassment when you are caught red handed. This woman stood face to face with Jesus, the only perfect person to walk this earth, waiting for Him to sentence her to be stoned to death. Instead, Jesus frees her from the death sentence. Here she stands with all of her “I ams” waiting to be condemned. Jesus doesn’t condemn her; instead she walks away a free woman.  This story can be found in John 8, if you would like the full story. Maybe you have been accused and it brought you face to face with Jesus. Rest assured if you are alive you are being accused by Satan but Jesus as your savior says, “She is not guilty”. Have you faced Jesus as an accused woman but not condemned?
If you’re not woman one or two maybe you can relate to woman three. The third woman we all know as the woman at the well. You can find her story in John 4. We’ve heard this story so many times we can close our eyes and picture the story when just the title is mentioned. Here is Jesus sitting at a well asking a woman of Samaria for water. The kicker is Samaritans and Jews didn’t “hang out”. My thought when I read this is, this woman is thinking, “what is your problem? You weirdo!” This woman didn’t seek Jesus nor was she brought to Him. She just happened to be at the well going about her life and Jesus was there at the same time. What are the odds she would meet the one man who could change her life for eternity? As their conversation continues and He starts pointing out her marriages (five to be exact) do you think she wonders am I worthy to be in the presence of this man?  Her “I ams” are probably pretty lengthy and yet Jesus is taking the time to talk to her and share who He is. He isn’t rude or condemning. He wants her to realize He is the living water and by believing in Him she will thirst no more. She believes and runs off to tell the village about Him.  Do you feel you aren’t worthy? Are you the lucky woman who by chance met Jesus?
Not much has changed since the days of the Bible. The woman of faith, the woman accused, and the woman at the well all needed Jesus. They all came to Him by different means and with different needs but they all needed Jesus to save them. We all have different stories of how we met Jesus or maybe you need to find Him now but one thing is for sure we all need Jesus to save us. Jesus was the answer then and is the answer now. Jesus accepted each woman just as they were. He accepts me and all of my “I ams” and He will accept you and all of your “I ams” too. So come just as you are. When we have Jesus as our savior others can’t see our “I ams” but they can see Jesus if you so choose to let your light shine. We will always see our “I ams” they have made us the person we are today, but Jesus is who we should strive to see and be. So the next time you see your “I ams”, remember Jesus is really who defines us. Until next time, “May Yahweh bless you and protect you.” (Numbers 6:24, HCSB)

Say Uncle!

“So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression.”(Deuteronomy 26:7 HCSB)

Have you ever been in a wrestling match with a sibling or maybe even an adult and they said, “Say Uncle!”? I have, and the whole thought behind say Uncle is you are giving up. The other person has pinned you down and you can’t get out or up from the pin or they are tickling you so much that you’re about to pee on yourself. Oh yes, fond childhood memories of being held to the ground so someone could tickle me until I couldn't breathe. But as we get older we don’t play that game and life is the one pinning us down. Have you ever felt like life was giving you so much you couldn't get up and instead of laughing you were crying? Wave after wave of unexpected circumstances and misery just kept hitting and knocking you back to the ground. You can’t say “Uncle” and you certainly don’t have the strength to stand much less get on your knees. It’s not fun being there and you have two choices…1) curl up in the fetal position or 2) keep fighting against the waves.
Both positions have their good and bad points. Most people are built with one or the other instinct and that is the position they go to first. I’m not here to knock anyone who chooses position one or position two. What I hope to do is shed light on the good in both positions and allow you to assess for yourself what your instinct is. If you are in one of the two positions right now, why are you there and is it time to change positions?
Most people see the fetal position as weak. I see the fetal position as protecting yourself. Why or how is that? Think about it…close your eyes and picture yourself in the fetal position or go ahead and get in that position..just don’t fall asleep. :)  You have your head tucked into your chest and your arms are covering your face. Your legs are tucked into your stomach. Therefore, you are protecting your vital organs and your beautiful face from damage. When life’s struggles start hitting us especially the ones that knock you to your knees (i.e. death) you want to curl up. You choose to not let the outside world in and in that sense you are protecting yourself from furthering the hurt you already have. What happens if something else just as traumatic happens when you are still reeling from the first wave of hurt? What do you do? Do you stay in the fetal position, get to your knees, stand? Think on that while I move on to position two.
When life hurls the hurts of this world at you do you stand and face it head on? Some see this as strong while others see this as stubborn or maybe just calloused. The first time you are hit with a hurt you are out to prove you can keep on; you can keep going with the best of them. Then another wave of hurt attacks and this time you throw your arm up to block it, like a boxer protecting his face from a punch heading right between his eyes. The problem is if you stay there too long, your arm blocks your vision. If you are quick and block the force of the hurt and return to standing how many more times can you handle it before you are knocked to your knees?
Both positions are meant to protect your from harm, but did you notice both positions has you on your knees at some point and maybe even more than once. Do you say Uncle to life when it has you down and you can’t get back up? Do you say Uncle to life when the blows keep coming and you’re tired from blocking all the blows? Do you think it’s just mere coincidence that you have an opportunity on your way down to be “on your knees” and on your way back up to be “on your knees”? You have a chance in the midst of your storm; while being knocked down, to be on your knees and instead of saying Uncle you have the chance to cry out JESUS. Then again on your way back up from the storm, either you are still in the storm fighting your way out or praising the one who got you through it, you have another chance to cry out JESUS. “So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression.”(Deuteronomy 26:7 HCSB) God hasn't changed since the Old Testament times, when His people cry out He hears.
From the time the first wave hits you and you take a position until you are able to see the light, God is with you and hears and see the tears. The hurt may cause your world to turn pitch black and no words can come to your mouth. It is OK, God is still with you. The worst place I was in I didn't even realize I was there until I started coming out of it, but God was there the whole time. His light does break through the dark. It may take a long time, it may be one ray of light at a time, but the darkness does eventually fade. You may be completely broken before that light, God’s light, is able to penetrate the dark. That too is OK; you will come out of the dark into His light and be a new person. You will see His glory. “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4 HCSB) The hard part is praising God during the storm, hitting your knees in your dark time and praising God. Just remember no matter your storm or how long it takes God understands and doesn't like to see you hurting. “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5b NASB) No matter your reaction, your position when life tries to knock you down, don’t say Uncle…Just Say JESUS! Until next time, “May Yahweh bless you and protect you.” (Numbers 6:24, HCSB)

I love music. It reaches my soul and talks to me and allows me to understand or express my feelings when nothing else seems to work. I hope you enjoy this song by 7eventh Time Down: Just Say Jesus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84LSLk3hfD4

Unity

How quickly do we judge our neighbor? The mom whose kids are wearing shorts on a cold morning? The dad who runs late to every event his child is in? The person standing in line in front of us? Get ready; this is going to sting…..the Non-Denomination, the Baptist, the Church of Christ, the Assembly of God, the Pentecostal, the Methodist, and the Cowboy Church? I know there’s more, but I think you get the point.

        We JUDGE. It’s something that we do and most of the time we aren’t aware of it. What would happen if before we cast our stone of judgment we offered a smile or a helping hand? Remember the woman the Pharisees brought before Jesus for adultery? They were ready to stone the woman to death. Do you know Jesus’ response? “If any one of you is without sin; let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7 NIV) Those men are not much different than us. Granted, we don’t throw stones to kill someone for their sin but we do have a tendency to kill one’s spirit by our words and/or actions. We would rather say, “our way is the right way and there is no other way.” May I ask where in the Bible does it say Baptist or Church of Christ or any other religion is right about their beliefs and everyone else is wrong? Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Bible does say, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24 NIV)

        How much better would this world be if we set aside our differences and grabbed hands with those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ? What would happen if we stopped throwing stones and gave a helping hand? Our beliefs are just that; beliefs. We shouldn’t focus on what we see as right or wrong.

 Instead we should ask God to give us eyes to see who needs Him and who needs help.

 We should ask God to give us ears to hear the TRUTH and to listen without giving our opinion. 

We should ask God to give us a mouth that speaks TRUTH and LOVE to everyone. 

We should ask God to give us hands that will reach out to others.

We should ask God to give us feet to go where He leads. 

While asking for this; ask God to give you the courage to do what His still small voice tells you. This world and our nation needs God! The only way to make a difference is to set aside our differences and unite as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all hungry and thirsty. If you are a Christian you know Jesus is the one who can fill us and quench our thirst. Let’s share this with others, let’s be the change we want in our nation. Let’s be the ONE who does something to help someone else-after all we are ALL Humans. Until next time, “May Yahweh bless you and protect you.” (Numbers 6:24, HCSB)

Take a minute and listen/watch Natalie Grant perform Human @ Dove awards. This is taken from Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIWut9ZrbRs