God in Us - A Masterpiece

I have to be completely honest with you all...I have read over the notes I took from last week's meeting a few times now, and EVERYTHING I wrote is worth repeating. Miss Wendy spoke and if you would have been sitting next to me at the meeting you probably would have been annoyed by the clicking of the keys as I frantically tried to type so I wouldn't miss a thing she said! Yeah, it was that good! I don't want to cop-out though, so my prayer after finishing this entry (which will be more of a recap, because it will be Miss Wendy's words, not mine) will be that the Lord would give me a fresh revelation in my life so that I could share something more on this topic with you all. So without further babbling on my part, here are some of the highlights of what she shared:

• You are a masterpiece-you are whether you believe it or not. Being a masterpiece is about learning how to live extravagantly loved. Eph. 2 - "God saved you because He loves you."
• God created you in His image, then you had to decide if you wanted that. You may be saying, "I have no idea how to live like a masterpiece." A masterpiece in God's eyes is what He does in us the minute we decide to choose Jesus. In that minute, the masterpiece comes forth. The masterpiece is: To be able to say to the world, "Look what I can do with: pain, a crisis, a divorce, conflict, etc." And the world takes notice and asks, "Why can she react that way? How can she handle that?"
• Beauty from ashes...(Does anyone remember that Crystal Lewis song...? -Em)
• Being a masterpiece is about showing the world God.
• Matt. 5:14 (Message) "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!"
• We spend a lot of our life covering up our masterpiece (with our insecurities, self-righteousness, gossiping...) The more you live there [insecurities, etc.], the more you are covering up your masterpiece. Then we begin to wonder, "why me?"
• How can we stop covering up our masterpiece?

1. The more you trust, the more faithful you'll see that He's been to you!
2. Be careful what comes out of your mouth!
3. Be the one that encourages someone else!
4. When you live a radical life of gratitude and gratefulness, all of a sudden, one (or more!) of the covers comes off.
5. Even if you don't feel like it, if you start walking in the way Jesus asks you to, even more covers fall off.

• "When we turn our face to God, He removes our coverings...and we are shining."
• From glory to glory, He will let you take off a covering at a time or, if He thinks you can take off more at a time, He will allow that.
• "Keep company with me and you will live freely and lightly." - Matt. 11:30

Carried To The Table

Did you know that you are not defined by your choices; by your sins? You may not think so, seeing as the world is so quick to judge us by our actions and appearances. But God chooses a different way to define you...simply put, you are His. His creation, His child, created in His image. Scripture says in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Are you "in Christ Jesus"? *Pretty sure you are now nodding your head answering "Yes"!* Good, that's what I thought! So since you love Him and have a relationship with Him, He desires to define you on His terms, without condemnation. I'd like to share with you some definitions of condemnation (or condemn). I found them to be quite enlightening and I think you will too:

1) To express unfavorable judgement on - yikes! (Not part of the definition, just my opinion!)

2) To pronounce to be guilty - bigger yikes!

3) To judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service - oh boy...

Take a moment to think about these definitions...depressing, huh?! But the last one really jumps out at me... Unfit for God's service? I would never want to be labeled as "unfit for God's use or service"! And I know you wouldn't either. So aren't you glad that the Lord declares to us through His Word that, "there is therefore now no condemnation..."! (Now, don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean we get to do whatever we want whenever we want. God does discipline us, but instead of getting bogged-down when we make a bad decision, God's desire for us is that we make the situation right before Him, and anyone else necessary, and move forward in freedom-without condemnation!) Thank You, Jesus! Thank you that You died on the Cross for each and every one of our many, many sins-all so that there would be no condemnation for us! Instead, you give us freedom and liberty!

Despite what this verse promises us, we all still struggle to some degree with feeling unsure of how God feels about us. At our October meeting, we heard the phrase "carried to the table". We saw a drama depict various girls in situations where they were left feeling hurt and unloved. Emotions such as rejection from friends to arguing with parents, a poor self-image or divorce. And like a knight in shinning armor, Jesus came to their rescue and carried each one-broken and hurting-to His table. In this story, His "table" refers to a relationship with Him. He sat each girl down at the table, talking to them, encouraging them, telling them how much they are loved. This story isn't a fairy-tale, it's very real. And it can be a part of your life's story.

Don't be uncertain of how God feels about you...be confident that even amidst a trial or just plain feeling crummy, God is inviting you, yes YOU, to come and sit down at His table, a table filled with love.