Let’s consider again some choice words from different translations of our theme scripture…
Ephesians 2:10
We are…
His handiwork
His masterpiece
His workmanship.
Those aren’t just nice words.
They are God’s Words.
About us!
They are truth.
You are his masterpiece. His one-of-a-kind work of art. But we’re all damaged masterpieces in need of restoration. He wants everyone to receive his gift—salvation, being “set right” with God. When you know you’re right with God—not because of what you have or have not done, but because of what God has done for you—then you don’t need to prove your identity. Then you’re free to accomplish the things God planned for you before you were born. ~ John Burke, “Imagine Heaven”
That’s what this website is all about.
Finding the clues of the masterpiece of you—and restoring that masterpiece, if need be.
If the masterpiece has been hidden or covered over, we (He) will start the restoration process.
The Master painter will uncover His original brushstrokes—each stroke creating a part of the whole, even the ones that don’t seem like they should be there.
He knows how to blend and form and create beauty—even from ashes, as the Bible says in Isaiah 61:3: ….to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes…
We can, with His help, find our way back to our (His) original design, complete with the original dreams—the God-given dreams that have been inside us since we were created.
Sometimes blooms (dreams, talents) need to be coaxed.
Make no mistake. This isn’t easy. But it’s worth our pressing in.
This is not about performing and pleasing people.
It’s about pleasing God.
And, don’t worry. He’s not hard to please, like you might think He is. In our minds, we make Him too human.
He is God. A Spirit. (John 4:24)
The uncreated One.
The Maker of all things.
He is LOVE! (1 John 4:8)
He loves us with a love we cannot even begin to comprehend. We can never be separated from that Love—from Him.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 17,18
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our LORD. Romans 8:38-39
And His ways are not our ways.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
So don’t try to understand, or at least suspend your thinking, and just know, by faith, that He absolutely and unequivocally loves you and loves spending time with you. And there is nothing you can do to stop Him from loving you!
Again, CHOOSE to believe.
{ Believing is a choice. }
And “believing” is faith. And it is faith that pleases God! And God GIVES us that faith. (…as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Romans 12:3b) Notice He’s giving us everything we need!
This is about being authentically you—not someone else—not someone you think others want you to be.
Just the very loved-by-God person that He made you to be!
Only when you are your authentic self can you love yourself and love people and be fully alive and engaged in life.
Discovering all the intricacies of how He created you is going to be fun!! Like Christmas morning.
Finding gifts!
Gifts from God.
Gifts hidden right inside of YOU.
They’ve been there all along.
From the very beginning!
He put them in you in your mother’s womb.
They are there as sure as the other physical parts of your being that make you alive and human.
The journey begins with one step.
And then another.
One obedient step at a time.
The fog will lift off the path with each step.
Not off the whole path—the path that goes straight up to mountains peaks and straight down into some valleys and pits… Sorry. Sometimes it does do that, but we gain lots of insights and strength in those valleys and pits.
The path with switchbacks and sharp turns—the path that goes far into the distance beyond where we can see.
It would confuse and scare us to see the whole thing.
Oh. Yes. Maybe we’ve located the problem AND the solution: We must learn to take one step at a time.
{ Back to faith. }
Trusting the One who is leading us. Our Shepherd.
We are His sheep.
Cute, aren’t we? Kinda dumb, but cute.
And He is leading, guiding, and protecting us.
Trust Him.
Let’s follow the Shepherd.
Together.
Why try to figure this out alone when…
God is leading.
And God is speaking. Always.
We just need to take time to listen…and follow.
We need, or we WANT, to start by pondering Love.
We will take a brief look at Love from four perspectives: God Loves Us (God loves YOU!); Loving God; Loving Ourselves; and Loving Others.
So I think this is how we begin the journey of setting our buds free to bloom.
Getting another block in our foundation and cultivating good soil for growth—and that block and soil is a revelation of Love.
That is how we will have security and freedom to thrive and bloom.
We must know we are loved.
How Great Is the Love ~ Meredith Andrews
Thank You for the way
That You love us, how You love us
Thank You for the way
You have made us
We were created
For Your pleasure, for Your presence
For the glory of Your name
Thank You for the way that You love us
Jesus, faithful King
Lord, with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love of our Savior
The weight of the cross, the curse of our shame
You carried it all and rose from the grave
How great is the love
How great is the love of our Savior, of our Savior
Thank You for the grace
That has saved us, You forgave us
Thank You for the way
You have freed us
We have been ransomed
We’ve been rescued, we’ve been purchased
With the price of Your own life
Thank You for the way that You love us.
LINK: “You’re Beautiful”