Who ever heard of forgiveness and starting over? Who ever heard of mending relationships (friendships, dating, engaged couples, married couples, family, Coworkers)? I have…so let me raise my hand. Do we really have to do this? Do we have a choice? We all have choices to make in life. For those of us who call ourselves believers…reconciliation is a ministry that the Lord gave us. He also reconciled us back to him! Don’t believe me? Check it out: 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says this, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Thats the ESV version. Sometimes I read the word in different versions to make sure Im understanding! Even though what I stated was clear, here is another version (GW Translation). “God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with Him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. In other words, God was using Christ to restore His relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and He has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others.” How hard can that be right? HARD! Is your relationship with your parents broken? RESTORE IT. What about my marriage? RESTORE IT. My friendship? RESTORE IT. I get it, I get it..they hurt you. I have been hurt too. I have been hurt in all areas and so bad my FLESH did not want to restore…but because of my faith and relationship with the Lord…I made the choice to restore. I want to make sure we really get the definition of reconciliation. The dictionary definition says that reconciliation means “the act of coming to an understanding and putting an end to hostility, as when former enemies agree to an amicable truce.” So what that means is, Bianca had to come to the understanding that people are human who are going to make mistakes, and sometimes act up in flesh because they are not GOD. HUMANITY is flawed, but God is not. Knowing that makes it easier to forgive and reconcile, ESPECIALLY IN MARRIAGE (for those who are married). Bianca had to decide to put an end to the hostility. You can decide that as well. Let the spirit lead you. You will know when it’s time. In in the meantime, continue to work on yourself and work daily to become a better you. I know I am. I don’t do it for me because its not about me. Its about God and what He wants. Obedience will always be better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). Think. Meditate. Decide.
Month: July 2024
Not Exempt
Hey yall! I am back for another post that was put into my spirit for others (and me as well).
Have you ever felt like just because you were saved that you were exempt from the world’s troubles and foolishness? You guys know what I mean by the world’s troubles and foolishness: heartbreaks, being hurt by others physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, etc. Its not even all about people hurting you. Going through trials and tribulations because you are a believer counts as well. Grieving because someone close to you has died, losing your home, being robbed, women being attacked, men being attacked, kidnappings, getting sick with illness and all other sorts of things have happened to believers. I know a lot of believers who felt like they were exempt from troubles just because they are believers. Can I be honest? I used to think the same thing. I have heard believers say, “That would never happen to me because I’m a believer.” Can I just say…….THATS A BOLD STATEMENT TO MAKE. Just because you are a believer, that does NOT mean that you wont go through life’s challenges. Having that mindset is a set up for a mental breakdown. There is a difference between TRUSTING that God would not allow certain things to happen to you because you believe in Him and have that relationship versus saying, “That would never happen to me.” We got to be careful of what we say. Every day we wake up is a blessing. Every day that passes where nothing happen to us is a blessing. We thank God for keeping us. We are called to trust God, not have a conceited mindset. Believers go through it too just like the world. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE is in how we handle our troubles and trials. God gives us the strength to endure, but on HIS strength NOT our own. Our situations are teaching moments. We are supposed to learn from it. We are supposed to say, “Okay God, what are you trying to teach me in this situation?” Let’s look at scripture.
“Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach, giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted. Youths will become tired and weary, young men will certainly stumble; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary.”- Isaiah 40:28-31 Here we are being told that God doesn’t get tired and that he gives power to the tired and revives the exhausted. Our strength will be renewed! Lets look at another:
“The LORD is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts him. I was helped, my heart rejoiced, and I thank him with my song. The LORD is his people’s strength; he is a fortress of protection for his anointed one.”- Psalms 28:7-8 Our strength comes from the Lord!
Here is one of my favorites: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” – Ephesians 6:10
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Saying you trust God and rely on His strength WILL BE TESTED. Your situations WILL TEST YOUR FAITH AND PATIENCE. WILL WE PASS THE TEST? “My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing.” -James 1:2-4
Our situations will teach us, train us, and mature us! So….we will NEVER. be exempt!
Be Reminded
How often do you forget that God has blessed you and chosen you? How many times have you felt like you were over looked or rejected? How many times has the enemy gotten in your ear about who you are? If any of your answers were ” sometimes, often, too many times, or a lot of times; then this blog is for you! Can I be honest with you? This blog is for me too!
It has been 7 years since my last blog. 7 years! You know what the number 7 represents in the bible? It represents the completeness or fullness. I have come full circle now. In these 7 years, I have felt rejected, forgotten about, talked about, left behind, tolerated, less than, and so many other things. I have felt so many emotions from sadness to hopelessness. I tried to encourage myself multiple times, but it just seemed like I could not get up. My life was spiraling out of control spiritually and naturally, I just could not keep up. It felt like everyone INCLUDING God constantly overlooked me. I found myself asking God, “When will it be my turn? When will people notice my heart and treat me right? Why do these things keep happening? When will I be a wife and mother?” I felt the need to control and get in the way of what GOD had planned for me. I acted like I could solve all my problems by myself. You know what that led to? NOTHING BUT DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY. I know that I am not the only one that has felt that way man or woman. I know now that I have not been alone this whole time. Did I stay down? YES FOR A SEASON….but I realized in the last 3 weeks that God has not forgotten about me when I thought he had. I learned that sometimes God will uproot you and place you EXACTLY where you need to be in HIS timing and not my own.
Today, I was watching a sermon by Heather Lindsey titled, “Are You Feeling Weary?” As I was watching, I realized that I have been Jonah for these last 7 years. The things that God has been putting in my heart, what He has been telling me to do; I have been disobedient. I was running from God because of all the rejection I felt and internalized. If you are not familiar with the story of Jonah in the bible, God gave him an assignment that he decided to run from. In a nutshell, instead of doing what God told him to do, he chose to be disobedient. He was disobedient to the point that he ended up in the belly of a whale for 3 days until he decided to finally stop running. Heather Lindsey said in her sermon that you can affect the lives of other people when you are in disobedience and out of position. Over the years I have constantly been disobedient and I constantly ran. I am a writer, an exhorter, and a minister’s wife all of which I pray AGAINST and ran from for years can you believe that? I can. The enemy is crafty isn’t he? Your mindset and thoughts can stand in your way if you don’t renew your mind.
God has been reminding me DAILY of WHO I AM IN HIM, how he blessed me and chose me for such a time as this. I am here to remind you today. It will NEVER be about what other people say or the enemy. It will ALWAYS be about what God says about you. GOD SAYS, you are chosen and blessed!! Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look:
“As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient.”-Colossians 3:12
“You are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. He chose you to be His own special possession out of all the nations on earth.”- Deuteronomy 7:6
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8.
Choose to believe what God says about you! YOU ARE BLESSED AND CHOSEN.
blessednch0zen 