Shards of Glass…. December 28, 2009

A few weeks ago I was half asleep, sort of in between sleep and awake, and God gave me a vision. I was in a kitchen and I dropped a glass. Broken glass was everywhere. I swept it all up and to the naked eye, there was no evidence that it had ever happened.

But then I walked to the counter and as my foot stepped near the baseboard of the floor, my foot was cut and began to bleed.

That’s when God said to me: “There are things that have happened in my people’s lives which caused them to be broken inside. And while most of it has been dealt with and to the naked eye they appear to be “all cleaned up,” there are shards of glass remaining that have the potential to cut them, make them bleed, disable them, make them lame and unable to walk into their destiny. It’s time to clean up the shards of glass.“

I was blown away, and excited at the same time, because I know of my own fears, insecurities, unresolved feelings, etc. that no one else sees. And I know they limit me and I’m sick of them.

There are many “mindsets” we have because of these things that we now need to recognize and take captive so we don’t continue to live in bondage to the lies. Cry out to him today to clean up the shards of glass in your life so you can walk boldly into your destiny!

Ps 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Rom 12:1-2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Ps 51:7-13

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.

CHRISTmas Misconceptions Addressed: Dec 25th, Xmas, Happy Holidays December 25, 2009

Every year I find there are a few “touchy” subjects among Christians and non-Christians alike. Many argue about celebrating Christmas on December 25th, claiming it to be a pagan holiday celebration. Others get upset when the term Xmas is used in place of Christmas, claiming it cancels out Christ. And finally, in todays culture more and more people are being forced to use Happy Holidays in place of Merry Christmas so as to not offend anyone.

Here’s what I found when I researched these concerns:

DECEMBER 25^th

There is a DVD called “Bethlehem Star” (http://www.bethlehemstar.com/) and it reveals scientific & historical research about the alignment of the stars, the moon, the sun, the planets, the constellations, etc back in the year Jesus was born. They provide Scriptural proof for each star, planet, constellation studied and it is all in the Word.  Because of the alignment of these various things which can be traced from historical records they found that when the “star” appeared and the Magi (wise men) followed… based on the distance they had to travel, etc… the day they arrived and brought gifts to Jesus in the manger was our equivalent of Dec 25!  This day had no significant meaning to anyone back in that day, therefore celebrating on Dec 25 was not intentional because of this. The Roman Catholics are the ones who began the practice of celebration on Dec 25 almost 300 years after Jesus birth. But regardless of why they decided to celebrate on this day, evidence now exists to show God’s sovereignty in the midst of it all!  Man thinks he picked the day, but God divinely purposed it all along!

In addition to December 25th likely being the day the Magi visited Jesus in the manger, it also may be the date of His conception!  Here is a link to some research on this: http://www.revneal.org/Writings/jesusbirth.htm

XMAS

I also recently learned that the words “Christianity” and “Christmas” have been abbreviated for more than 1,000 years and the tradition does not symbolize disrespect or anonymity. The “X” in Xmas is from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the word Χριστός, Greek for “Christ.” References in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as early as AD 1021 show Christ referred to as “XP” or “Xt”. The letter χ used in ancient abbreviations is still widely seen in Eastern Orthodox icons depicting Jesus. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xmas)

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

According to Merriam-Webster.com:

Etymology of Holiday = Middle English, from Old English hāligdæg, from hālig holy + dæg day

Date: before 12th century

1 : holy day
2 : a day on which one is exempt from work;

3 chiefly British : vacation

4 : a period of exemption or relief <corporations enjoying a tax holiday>

From this definition of holiday, we can see that its root meaning and primary meaning are HOLY DAY.  So if you find your environment insisting you not say Merry Christmas…. just say Happy HOLY DAY instead! Because that is indeed what it is!

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So while I prefer “Merry Christmas,” on this day December 25, 2009, I am free to say Merry Xmas, Happy HOLY DAY and still know that it’s ALL ABOUT HIM!

(Oh, and Happy Birthday Jesus!)

“God is…” A Spoken Word (My Theology of God) December 3, 2009

One of my classes this semester was “Systematic Theology I” where we studied the Personhood of God. (Systematic II is about Jesus the Son, and Systematic III is about the Holy Spirit.)

As a requirement for the class, we had to give a 2-3 minute presentation of our theology of God.  So last week I began to write some thoughts regarding what I believe about God.

I started by writing down His attributes.  As I wrote, to my surprise everything started rhyming! (Now I’ll admit that writing is a gift and passion of mine. But I write non-fiction biblical truths, not poetry, songs or spoken words. BUT GOD DOES!)

I was so excited by the time I was done I could hardly contain myself. Literally within 45 minutes of sitting down to write my theology of God, the below “spoken word” was birthed.

KEEP IN MIND:  This is a “spoken word” and therefore is more powerful when it is “heard” rather than “read,” as the tone and rhythm in which it is delivered adds a lot to it. Perhaps the Lord will one day use me or someone else to record this word in audio or video format. If delivering a word of this nature is something you are gifted at, please contact me.

A WORD OF CAUTION: Those steeped in Arminian beliefs probably won’t like this. Calvinists, on the other hand, will love it!

“God is…” -  by Mary Held

God is….

God is a person, the absolute authority…

…He is all-powerful and all-knowing even more is He.

Ever-present, He’s where you are, but always He is here with me…

…not unaware of anything, even things we say “How can this be?”

He is the Source of everything, Creator of the breath we breathe…

…Author of our destinies, Composer of the songs we sing.

He choreographs our dance of life, through peace and strife…to refine our life…

…He puts us under the knife…of Love that bites…But carries healing…

…by bringing us down to a place of kneeling,

…when even in the midst of our squealing…

…He is peeling and revealing.

Through the gift of Grace that saved us, He continues to maintain us…

…As we insist on being complainers, but like the Israelites He sustains us…by His Love & Grace,

…pursued by His chase, we run this race…

… trying to shed even a trace, of self… and the cross, embrace.

This Grace we can’t resist, as by His love he does persist…

…ever constant in our midst, our hearts He alone can twist…

…to the direction of His pleasing…

Through circumstances He’s squeezing, and in the midst of our wheezing…

…and our pain not easing…we surrender….

…no longer a pretender, or offender, now tender, we finally submit …

…to our Defender, of every gender, in His Splendor, He’s the Sender…

…of Himself… as the Son and Holy Spirit.

This great love, He poured out from above, a love so great that He gave,

…His only Begotten Son… revealed by a dove…

…as ransom for our wrongs, as an example of how strong,

…and just how much He longed, to rescue us from the grave.

This love will never change, even if we become estranged, short-changed, or deranged…

…it won’t be long-range, because He can rearrange… our hearts…

…through circumstances prearranged… He causes change, so we remain…

His… His Children, His Beloved, His Chosen …for it is frozen …in Eternity.

Though we sin, we have no power, to undo what was done in the hour …of our salvation.

We limit blessings we receive, when to our sin we choose to cleave…

…because we are naïve, and the enemy has deceived, through the tricks he has up his sleeve,

…and therefore now we grieve… as we conceive… the consequences of our disbelief.

But just like His love, He is Eternal, no beginning and no end…

…He never will suspend,

…His love and pursuit of His friends….

…He will not relent…

…until he apprehends…

…those whom He predestined.

God is…

©Copyright Pending. All Rights Reserved.

[NOTE: I am sharing it here to bless you now, but notice that copyright is pending, all rights are reserved and it cannot be used without permission. I appreciate your integrity and faithfulness to honor this. (oh, and another thing I believe about God… is that He is faithful to bring all things that are hidden into the light, so if anyone does decide to use this and call it their own, He will be faithful to reveal it.)]  <grin>