created and acceptable…

what does GOD say about me?  psalm 8.5 (tev), YOU, GOD, made man inferior only to YOUrself.  YOU crowned him with glory and honor.  i was created by GOD and GOD does not make junk. 

not only was i created by GOD but CHRIST has made me acceptable. ephesians 1.4 (tlb), through what CHRIST did for us HE decided to make us holy in HIS eyes.  without a single fault we stand before GOD covered with his love.

that is a great verse!  we are acceptable to GOD, not because of what we've done, because we could never be good enough to be acceptable to a perfect GOD. but through what JESUS CHRIST has done.  HE died on the cross, paid for all our sins, covered us with HIS love.  GOD looks down and says, “what JESUS did was acceptable.  you are acceptable.” all i have to do is accept what HE's done for me. one of the most amazing truths is that GOD knows every single thing about me and still loves me.  GOD knows every single thing about you, every thought you've had and HE still loves you.  that is amazing.

i was created by GOD.  CHRIST has made me acceptable and if GOD says i'm ok, i'm ok.  2 corinthians 10.18 (ph), it is not self‑commendation that matters, it is winning the approval of GOD!  he says it doesn't matter what i say about myself, it doesn't matter what other people say about me, what counts is what GOD says about me.  if GOD says i'm ok, then i'm ok. 

just a thought from the front porch…

unique and valuable…

you don't realize how unique and valuable you are.  none of us do.  the reason you are so vulnerable to the fear of rejection is because you're full of self-doubt.  that's why when criticized by another person, deep down inside, you have the doubt and fear that they're right.  so it hurts even more. 

the effect of sin is always insecurity.  the more we sin, the more insecure we become.  somebody ignores you at a party and you say, “they must not like me!”  no, maybe they just didn't even see you were there.  but because you were seeing through the eyes of fear you're vulnerable. 

i heard a story this week where a woman was standing at a bus stop.  a lady from her church walked up and said nothing to her. she thought, “she must be mad at me.  she's upset with me.  she must not like me.  therefore i don't like her.”  they both got on the bus and about five minutes later the lady looked over and saw her and said, “oh, i'm sorry.  i didn't see you here.”  and she started talking.  she said, “i was just consumed with my own pain.  i just came from the doctor and found that my son has leukemia.” 

when we look at life through the eyes of fear, we don't see other people in their pain.  we only see our fear.  we miss opportunities to minister to others.  we can only see ourselves and what victims we are.  we must look and see the pain of others and give our lives away as JESUS said. 

just a thought from the front porch…

you are valuable, you really are...

we need to affirm each other’s value to be successful in our relationships.

psalm 130.13-14 talks about the value of every individual. (ncv), YOU made my whole being. YOU formed me in my mother’s body. i praise YOU because YOU made me in an amazing and wonderful way. what YOU have done is wonderful.

david tells us, he clearly explains that no baby is ever born by accident. no baby. the parents may not have planned it. it may have been unplanned. it may have been an “accident”. it may have even been the result of a rape or crime.

but the issue is even though we misjudge, we don’t plan, we do wrong things here, GOD doesn’t bring babies into this world by accident. it was formed for a purpose and the scripture says that even before you were born, GOD formed you in your mother’s womb, gave you certain abilities, knew how you’d look, knew how you’d talk, knew what you’d be good at, knew what you’d be bad at. HE shaped you, HE formed you.

the bible says HE even numbered your days, planned your life even before you came out of the birth canal. that, by the way, is why abortion is murder. it short-circuits GOD’s plan. and it says that my desire is more important than GOD’s plan.

i don’t know if you really understand that you are custom made. that means you have tremendous value.

and people need to hear that today. people are striving to be affirmed. they want to know that they matter. they want to know that they count, that their life has meaning and significance.

a study a while back of 10,000 women revealed that the number one cause of depression among women was low self-esteem. we have an epidemic of low self-esteem in our society today because people don’t feel valuable. why is that?

there are lots of reasons. one of the reasons is the theory of evolution that is taught in schools. if you are just an accident of nature, just happened, there was no CREATOR behind it, you just happen to be a more complicated form of slime, the truth is then you don’t matter. if it’s all by accident, you weren’t intended and you just happened to be one who got higher up on the scale than the frog in the pond, then really your life doesn’t matter. that’s what secular humanism does to our society. it teaches people to be devalued.

on the other hand the bible says no child is born by accident but you have a purpose in life, that GOD created you for a purpose. HE had you in his mind even before you were made, before even your mom and dad even knew you were coming along. that’s part of GOD’s plan.

just a thought from the front porch…