Declaring the Father

No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. [Prov. 8:30.] (John 1:18 AMP)

When Jesus was in the Earth, He declared the Father. The Amplified bible says it this way, 'He revealed Him and brought him out where he can be seen."

His very life declared to the world, "This is who God is!"

This is so powerful.

All that Jesus did and all that Jesus was in the Earth interpreted and explained who God is and what God does. Jesus revealed a true and living God in the Earth with all that He did. He made God known.

The world saw God revealed through miracles. They saw God revealed as a God of compassion and love. They saw Him revealed through healings, deliverance, and salvation.

And not one time did Jesus ever waver from His assignment of making the Father known.

He understood that the world had to see the Father through His life and ministry.

(8)Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father [cause us to see the Father–that is all we ask]; then we shall be satisfied. (9)Jesus replied, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father? (John 14:8, 9 AMP)

He was able to say, “If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. He's already been revealed.”

Think about your life. Can you say the same words as Jesus about your life? Can you say "If you have seen me, you've seen the Father?"

Have your coworkers seen the Father through your life? What about your neighbors?

Our desire each day should be that someone experiences and comes to know God through us. Not because we've placed a tract in their hands but because Christ was revealed to them through our lives.

Each day we must purpose in our hearts and remember that we are His representatives in the Earth.

You've been chosen to declare the name of the Father to the world with your life.

People will encounter God because of your encounter with Him. Your encounter will cause encounter. Others will experience Him, because you've experienced Him.

Moses encountered God at the burning bush. And because of his initial encounter, an entire nation saw God revealed through miracles signs and wonders.

Saul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and everything about Him changed. And through his life many heard the gospel and experienced the miracle working power of God.

Handkerchiefs from his body were given to the sick and they were healed. Demons left their bodies. One life changing encounter.

Remember this-Fire begets fire. Encounter causes encounter.

We must seek to encounter Him personally, because the world will encounter Him through us.

God wants you at a place of continual emptying. So you can be continually filled.

He has people, entire nations that need an encounter with Him.

And He can only send individuals that have encountered Him. Individuals that know Him and His heart.

He can only send those after his heart. Those who will seek no glory of their own, but those who like Moses crave His glory.

Prayer: Father, may my life boldly declare Your name in the Earth. May I be ever mindful of my assignment, which is to make You known.

About the Author :

Pastor Pamela Bell is a passionate, lover of God, who desires to see God's people walk in the knowledge of who they are in Christ. She resides in Mobile, AL and serves as an Elder at her church, Gulf Coast Christian Center. Pastor Pamela enjoys reading, spending time with friends and all things chocolate.

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Be Thou My Vision!

One of my favorite hymns is “Be Thou My Vision”. It has such a beautiful melody. Alison Krauss does a wonderful rendition of it that I’ve listened to countless times, and I’ve even led it at church myself. The music is just so lovely! As I was listening to it recently, though, I started really thinking about what the words really mean, and it made me love it all the more. The first verse goes like this: “Be thou my vision, oh, Lord of my heart. Naught be all else to me save that thou art. Thou my best thought by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.” Listening to it got me thinking… Do I really make the Lord my vision? And what does that even mean?

What is your vision for your life? What are your dreams? I guess another way to ask that is what do you want to become? That’s the definition we’re going to be using for your vision here. For me, it’s being a teacher. That’s my vision for myself. I work toward it by going to school and taking the necessary steps to get into the program I need. I read books for classes. I do homework. I get practical experience in the field. You see, just having a vision isn’t enough. There has to be forward motion involved, too.

It’s great to have physical goals for your life, but we can’t forget that there has to be an overarching spiritual goal, as well. Whatever your practical, tangible vision for your life is, apply that to the Lord being your vision. We’ve defined your vision as what you want to become. In John 3:30, John the Baptist defines his vision very clearly: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (ESV). That should be our vision, too. Paul tells us that we should be imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1). Making Christ your vision means striving to become like him. It means seeing him as the pinnacle of everything we’re working to be. He is the goal, both in what we want our lives to be like and what we’ll reach when we eventually finish our races.

The second line of “Be Thou My Vision” says, “Naught be all else to me save that thou art.” Basically, that’s both a prayer and declaration: don’t let anything else be my everything besides you, God! That’s something we should be praying, too. It’s so easy to let other things get in the way of what’s truly important. Imagine you’re driving a car. What you see through the windshield is your vision. If a tarp flies out of the back of a truck in front of you and hits your windshield, it becomes all you can see. It’s dangerous. You can’t get to your destination because you can’t see where you’re going! You have to address the problem first before you can make progress toward your goal. How many times do we let “tarps” obstruct our vision and then carry on like nothing is wrong anyway? We are so easily distracted and sometimes don’t even see the tarp on our windshields before we’re crashed on the side of the road. Be on the lookout for tarps, whatever they may be. Secret sin, a friendship or relationship, a job… Anything, even things that aren’t “bad” in and of themselves, can be a tarp if it becomes more important to you than your relationship with God. Part of the Lord being your vision is that you have to be able to see him! Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Keep your windshield clear. Focus on him.

In order to be a teacher, I have to go to school. I do a lot of reading and homework. There are practical steps that I have to take in order to get there. In the same way, there are practical steps for us to take if we want to reach our vision of Jesus. Of course, we can’t do them alone… And thankfully, we’re not expected to. Just like I have teachers in school, we have a teacher and helper in God. So what are some steps we can take in reaching our vision of becoming like Jesus?

Bible reading. This is so fundamental. The Bible tells us more about God’s character. How can we become like someone if we don’t know what they’re like in the first place? In order to be imitators of God, we have to know what he’s like. We can’t neglect this one. 2 Timothy 3:16 lets us know that all scripture is God-breathed. The Bible is literally a message from God to us. He wants us to know him. This is a good place to start.

Prayer. Once we start learning who God is, we see what we need to be like, too. However, we simply can’t do it by ourselves. For example, God is holy. How can we imitate that? We can’t be holy on our own, but 1 Peter 1:16 tells us that we need to be holy, just like God is holy. The only way to bridge that gap is through prayer. God enables us to become the things that he wants us to be. He allows us to put on the robe of righteousness and calls us holy (Isaiah 61:10, 1 Peter 2:9). Isn’t that awesome?

Be specific. Let’s be honest, “be like Jesus” is a really broad thing. If that’s what we settle on, it’s easy to give up because there’s too much to cover. Goal-setting needs to be specific. Find one characteristic of God that you need to work on. Maybe you have a habit of lying. 2 Samuel 7:28 declares that all of God’s words are true; he is entirely honest. So instead of just saying, “This week, I’m going to be more like Jesus,” hone in on that one thing. Say instead, “This week, I’m going to pray about my habit of lying and make an effort not to do it anymore. I need God’s help to break this sinful habit, and I have to break it if I want to be more like him.” One thing at a time! One note though: don’t get discouraged if you mess up. We all blow it sometimes! Don’t let one mistake stop you entirely. Just keep at it. While we’re on the subject, don’t wait until you’re perfect at one characteristic before trying to work on another one because it will never happen! But it will get easier over time, and mistakes will happen less frequently. I promise!

Making Jesus our vision isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s really hard! Things get in the way and obstruct our view. Sometimes doing the wrong thing and sinning would be much easier and more convenient than doing the right thing. But is working for your physical dreams always easy? No! If your dream is to be a teacher, you work hard at it. If your dream is to own your own business, you work hard at it. If your dream is to be a writer, you work hard at it. Just because these dreams require effort doesn’t mean that we should give up on them. Just because making Jesus your vision requires effort doesn’t mean you should give up on that. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you (Ephesians 4:30). Remember that you have the ultimate helper on your side who wants to see you succeed. He isn’t willing to give up on you, so don’t give up on your goal of being more like him, either. Alone, you could never achieve this goal. But with God, you can’t fail. Make him your vision!

About the Author :

Hannah Bryant is a worship-leading, cat-loving, pizza-eating redhead who doesn't take much seriously apart from her relationship with Jesus. She is currently finishing up her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Education at Southern Oregon University. You can finder her blogging at Redwood Seed, her personal blog. redwoodseed.wordpress.com.

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I Believe In Failure

“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”-C.S. Lewis

Why do I believe in failure? Because without it, many amazing things would not have been birthed. Many times thinking about our past failures leads us to feel like we are failures and if we get stuck there that becomes our identity. Instead if we change our outlook and take the time to examine our past and/or our current failures, we would see that they have actually propelled us forward. Failure shows movement in our lives.

I can honestly tell you that without many failures in my life, I would have most likely not fully turned to God and surrendered my life. Let me share an example from my life.

I have had a lot of heartbreak in my 32 years on this earth (to say the least). The last major heartbreak was a failed relationship that opened a floodgate of pain that I had not dealt with in all my life. I could no longer put a band aid on an infected wound. I had to allow deep healing which involved a lot of pain and discomfort (which is why I had never dealt with any of it in the first place). Someone I loved so deeply and intensely, a person I knew deep down in my soul I would spend the rest of my life with, walked away without a real explanation and never looked back. It was a loss and rejection that cut so deep I could not move. The world all of a sudden had absolutely no color. Everything hurt, breathing hurt, music hurt, movies hurt and I started questioning every single person in my life. It all lead up to a moment in my living room where I dropped to my knees sobbing so hard that I could not catch my breath. 

That night I laid there for several hours while my daughter was asleep in the other room and I had a conversation with God, well it was more like an ultimatum. I told God between my sobbing that I could no longer be hurt like this and the pain was too much that either he should take me out now or change my life completely so that I would not be in this position again. It was the most honest surrender I had ever had. See I was a believer most of my life, but not necessarily a practicing or abiding believer. I enjoyed the believing part but not so much the commitment part. I was more an emergency believer than an active believer. I believed in praying when I was in an emergent situation, but other than that I figured I had it handled. That night was the first step to a new path and new relationship with God and it all started with a failed relationship. Without that failure I do not believe I would be on the path or walk I am on now. I would be going around that same mountain again only to be lead to more heartbreak and more pain piled under that rug I swept it all under. I would not have dealt with any of the pain and I would have allowed the infection to spread further and consume me and those around me.

The positives of failure:

Without failure there would be no improvement.

Without failure we would not really need God.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9

Failure is necessary to learn and develop. Its progress and it shows we are trying.

Failure humbles you.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”-Ephesians 2:8-9

Your identity is in God, not in your failures.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”-2 Corinthians 5:17

“Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”- Zig Ziglar

I encourage you to take some time and sit down and write down your failures and next to them list what you learned from them. Or if you are currently in the midst of a failure, write down what you can learn from it. As in every week, I’m praying for each one of you. Every one of you is important to the kingdom, so put your crowns back on, throw your shoulders back and act accordingly to what God says about you!

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.”-Napoleon Hill

About the Author :

Leilani Glassmyer is a single mom to a beautiful 4 year old little girl. She is in love with the Creator of the stars. Her mission is simple yet so big, to encourage and bring Jesus to all in need. To bring hope by loving people, writing, photography, music, poetry/spoken word and meeting people right where they are. Gods Grace is her air.

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When You Want to Be Accepted

I don’t think I’m the only one who has been guilty of people-pleasing.

If we’ll admit it, we all want to be accepted by others.

We want to be well-liked and approved.

Time and time again, we hear stories about the person who pursues a certain career only for their parents, or the one who can never say “no” out of fear that they will be rejected. It is so easy to fall into the trap of committing to things we wish we had not, doing things out of obligation rather than a heart that is secure in God’s love

God has been teaching me the importance of placing more weight on His Word than any other word that may be spoken to me. He is showing me how to focus on Him rather than caring about what other people may think.

I am accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)

I am highly favored by God. (Luke 1:28)

I am holy, chosen, and blameless in God’s sight. (Ephesians 1:4)

I am chosen, marked by God’s love, the delight of His life. (Matthew 3:17)

We really need to let these truths marinate inside of our hearts. It is so vital that we speak them over ourselves daily and truly believe the magnitude of their meaning. It builds a firm foundation of God’s love in our souls.

It’s not because of anything you have done to earn God’s acceptance, but a sheer gift of His tender love and grace towards you through Christ. Christ’s blood makes all the difference. When God sees you, He sees His Son’s precious blood covering you, not your works.

As Christians it’s easy to get into the mindset that we are doing things for God when in actuality our motives may not always be pure. We want others to like us, to accept us. We think that God will approve of us more.

Whatever the situation may be, we have to ask ourselves if we are saying “yes” to earn someone else’s approval? Are we saying “yes” because we believe that God will love or accept us more? Or are we saying “yes” for the right reasons - out of a pure heart that is established in God’s love for us and because we want to give back to Him, no strings attached?

There is no condemnation in Christ, ladies. Of course God honors when we serve Him with all diligence and out of a deep love for Him, but we must examine our motives.

All our decisions should be bathed in prayer and divinely inspired, not made on a whim or simply to please someone else. Doing things for people out of obligation will only leave you bitter and joyless in the end. You will just be going through the motions rather than out of a heart that is aflame with love.

I highly encourage you to listen to Israel Houghton’s song, “I Receive” and let the words minister to you. Get the words deep down inside your heart.

Let God replace your need to please others with His unconditional love and acceptance for you.

You don’t have to worry about pleasing people.

God already accepts you precious Daughter of the King.

I Receive – Israel Houghton

Accepted, highly favored of the Lord

Forgiven by Your love I am transformed

It's not what I'll do but what You've done for me

And by Your grace oh God I stand with my head held high

I receive Your love, I receive Your love for me

I receive Your love, I know I am accepted, oh

Established, ever blameless in Your Son

Forever I am chosen to be loved

It's not by my works, by Your work in me,

And by Your grace oh God I stand with my head held high

I receive Your love, I receive Your love for me

I receive Your love, I know I am accepted

I receive Your love, I receive Your love for me

I receive Your love, I know I am accepted

Behold all things have been made new

My past has gone, my shame renewed

You gave Your Son Your love for me

Now at the cross I am made free

I receive Your love, I receive Your love for me

I receive Your love, I know I am accepted

I receive Your love, I receive Your love for me

I receive Your love, I know I am accepted

I receive Your love

Where would I be?

Where would I be if not for Your grace?

About the Author :

Endya Joy is a young woman on the journey to becoming a future physician. With a passion for ministering to girls and young women, she desires to be a vessel in which God uses to heal the whole person. She is a girly girl, has a slight obsession with books, and dreams of traveling the world one day. God and family are everything.

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Limitless Love

Did you know that the Epitome of love relentlessly pursues you? The One who remains higher than each morning sunrise and every star in the sky reaches down and washes over you with an infinite serving of His love- every passing day.

This is an incredibly beautiful truth that I decided to meditate on for quite some time late Thursday night.

I started to envision my physical self in the divine presence of God.

There I was, on my knees in a beautiful meadow of all colors, reaching out to God and waiting to feel His warm embrace. All of a sudden, everything starts to get brighter- so bright that not even squinting enables me to see. I comfortably close my eyes and smile, knowing that my God is reaching down for me. I get off of my knees and stand up, hands still in the air. I'm on my tiptoes, eyes still shut and arms still reaching as high as my fingertips can go.

"Come, child. Walk with me."

There He is.

He grabs a hold of my hand and squeezes it tight. I can feel His touch.

"I am here, not just now, not just today, but everyday. I am with you always, My darling. Hold on to me and accept this invitation that you have received to walk with Me with each new day. I love you, Emily Lauren. I love you. I love you. I love you, My child. Hold on to Me, My daughter."

And then it's quiet. I open my eyes- no squinting necessary- with a renewed heart full of my Father's love for me. I dance for joy in the meadow and shout praise to the King who has made my heart sing songs of adoration and praise.

For the next few moments, I want to invite you to close your eyes and imagine your Heavenly Father smiling down on you as He welcomes you into His presence with the warmest greeting you could ever possibly imagine. Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and simply be still. Take all the time that you need to do this. Once you are done, you may continue to read on.

What you just imagined is the greeting that is extended to you every morning as you open your eyes to another God given day. Because God loves you that much.

And there is absolutely nothing you can say, nor a thing that you can do in order to be excluded from this divine invitation. Nothing.

I think about my life and the massive piles of dirt that were once so high I couldn't even see over them, and with that in mind I can't help but ask myself, "How can my God be this good to me? How on earth can He love me this much?"

But He is that good- not because we deserve it, but because God is the Epitome of love. After all He's done for you, He still desires a loving relationship with you.

He made YOU.

He chose YOU.

He loves YOU.

We do not serve a God who keeps His attention focused on the number of sins we make. We serve a God who keeps His undivided attention on His relationship with us. He delights in us, with a longing to be pursued in return. He is always there, regardless of whether or not we welcome His presence. The worst thing that you could ever do for yourself is push Him away. God wants to take care of you, so let Him. Don't waste your time trying to show God to the door. Welcome Him, embrace Him, and live out of the place of rest that He provides for you. There is no one that could take any better care of you than the God who equips you and supplies you with what He knows you need. This is your God, and He delights in you

.

The beautiful and vast love that we receive from God everyday is the foundation of His spiritual temples (our bodies). We were created in the image of God, and that image is love. Love. Live out this image! Love God, love others, and love yourself. God's love has no limits, so why should yours? Don't restrict your love. Love is the greatest gift that you could ever give someone. Let your life be the proof of His love.

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God's word with power, revealing all of His mysteries and making everything as plain as day, and if I have faith to say to a mountain jump and it jumps but I don't love, I'm nothing.

If I give all I earn to the poor or even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love I've gotten nowhere.

So, no matter what I say, no matter what I believe, no matter what I do, I'm bankrupt without love."

-For King & Country

Love is our helping hand, our guide, our everything. Love is the beautiful river that flows through us all. Love is our Savior's name stitched across every ounce of our hearts. It is not proud, it does not boast. Love is being accepted for who we are in the presence of Christ- broken, ashamed, guilty, and all- as He wipes off our dirt. It redeems and it sanctifies us. Love is the set of hands that created us. Love is being held in those same hands. Love is sacrifice. Love is selflessness. Love is what makes life worth living; it is our reason to live. Love sustains and it provides. If we aren't experiencing God's love, we aren't fully living. To know God is to know love, because God is, and forever will be love. And this love never fails.

Without love, we are nothing.

Learn to love people more, friend or enemy.

Show love.

Be love.

And let your heart sing no other name but the Epitome of love Himself, Jesus.

" Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

-1 Peter 4:8-11 (NIV)

About the Author :

Emily Townsend is a 20 year old southern girl who has a heart for loving Jesus, loving others, and serving the world. She is currently pursuing a career in ministry as she continues to fall madly in love with Jesus by the day. Emily is also obsessed with books, coffee, koalas, Pinterest, Pilates, and weddings. Her daily dose of life consists of a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus. You can also find her blogging on her personal blog The Joy of My Joy.

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A Good Work

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. (Philippians 1:6 AMP)

God is definitely always working within us. He is a faithful and consistent God; a constant friend. Although He is working in us, we must participate in that process as well. We are first spirit but we are also physical manifestations of God's creative work. We are a representation of His word.

Being a representation of God's word [work] takes effort. The effort that needs to take place is not only about a physical fixation but an internal growth and development that produce external results.

I am definitely guilty of always trying to fix an area of my life, expecting things to change when I have not actually done the work that will bring forth a change in character. A lot of times we look for a different outcome by doing the same thing but with an unusual twist on it. It might look distinct or separate from us, but it is in actuality the same thing.

A teacher of mine once said that sometimes even when we know something is unhealthy for us, but if it is the only way we know, we will continue that path because we do not know another way; and if we do not take the time to learn something else that will be more beneficial, we will continue the harmful patterns, because it is all we know.

God loves us and wants the best for our lives, so much so that he began the work in us and for us; a work that we do not always initially understand.

Each person's life exemplifies something uniquely different and important in this world but most importantly to the work that Christ is doing. If that were not so, you would not be alive and reading this right now. Thank God you are. Thank God for your life. We take simply breathing for granted. Even the breath of life is part of the marvelous work that is being done within us.

God wants more of you. There is something, in particular, that He wants from you and your heart. There is another level of deepening that has to come through the life, and the gifts that He has blessed you with. Right now, we may still only be on the surface of what God has for us. We must go deeper! There must be another level of worship and understanding.

We are walking with God.

Walking by faith is an active journey.

It is a daily building of communication and relationship with Christ.

About the Author :

Francine E. Ott is truly thankful to have a relationship with God and is seeking Him daily for guidance and any opportunities to walk closer with Him in truth and love. Francine is a choreographer/dancer, teacher, and soon to be counselor who has a heart to see God's transforming power, renew, restore, and heal the minds, souls, and bodies of people's lives.

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