REJECTED, BUT RECEIVED BY CHRIST

Rejected, but Received by Christ! September 1, 2012 Slicing his wrists my father attempted to commit suicide. The very same day, just hours later, I watched my mother do the same. In just a few days it will make 12 years since this tragic day that occurred in my life. I know my parents were not in their right state of mind when they were raising me and when this event occurred, but it has always left me with a sense of rejection. I have felt unloved and unwanted for so many years. My parents did not succeed in their suicide attempts, but this week God taught me something about this day. Though they did not die, my relationship with them ended that day. I was taken away from them and eventually put in foster care. I didn’t understand it all then and I still don’t fully understand it all now. God has shown me over the past couple of years that it was for the best. If I had not endured all that I did, He would not be able to use me in the way that He is today. He has restored my life and has given me a story of Hope and Redemption to share with others that are hurting. This time of year has always saddened me, but now the Lord allows me to look at it, acknowledge it and accept it for what it is… a part of my past, a part of my story. I recently came across a verse that I have heard and read many times. I know it is not by coincidence that the Lord brought it to me at this time. The verse is Psalm 27:10, which says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.” How amazing it is that, that verse was written so long ago. I have faith in knowing that God knew then that this verse would comfort me today. Rejection is not an easy thing to accept, but knowing that the Lord will receive you allows us to find comfort through the pain. The Bible tells us that people will disappoint us, but God will NOT. If you have been rejected, please remember that Christ has received you!

TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH

TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH 8/16/12 John 18:37 Jesus answered, “You say I am a King. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth…” Think about that verse for a minute. Jesus came into this sin filled world to testify to the truth. As Christians it is our job to also testify to the truth. When we know that the Lord is alive and at work in our lives we need to be willing to share that with others so that they may taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8) I am honored have the opportunity to speak at a conference in October. The theme of the conference is Testify to the Truth. The thing that I love about that is I will be speaking and testifying to what the Lord has done in my life. I will be doing what He has called me to do and that is my heart’s desire. I want to be a living sacrifice as Paul tells us in Romans 12:1. I don’t want to live for myself, but for the Lord and the Lord alone. Speaking is one way that we can testify to the truth, but the one that will speak volumes to others is living it out. You can say one thing, but act another way. The world doesn’t always care about what they hear, but more so what they see. Are you living a life that testifies to the truth? I encourage you to think about the things that you need to change in your life so that others may see Christ in and through you.

AIRPORT SECURITY VS. GOD SECURITY

AIRPORT SECURITY VS GOD’S SECURITY 7/23/12 The other day I was at the Charlotte Airport on my way home from an amazing conference. I was exhausted from the conference and I just wanted to get through security and read one of the books that I bought. Now, let me just tell you that this was only my second time at the airport, my first was a couple days prior when I flew from Orlando to Charlotte. I was standing in line to go through security and I made sure that I took my watch off and took my laptop out of my bag. I didn’t know that I had to do that when I left Orlando, so I held the process up by having to pull my laptop out of my bag. I put all my stuff up on the conveyor belt and stepped into the little X-RAY type machine. When I went to step out the man at the end told me to stand in this one spot and not to move. I stood there and then was told that I needed to be taken to another room to be patted down. When you tell someone that doesn’t like to be touched that they are going to have to be patted down it does something to their brain. I felt as if everything were going blurry as the anxiety began to set in. Three women took me into the room and told me what they were going to do and I told them that they were not going to touch me in the places that they wanted to touch me. After some debate more security officers came and a couple of police and told me that if I did not allow them to search me then I would be arrested for being “noncompliant” and “suspicious.” Today as I was reflecting on this event and how the airport security wanted to search me to make sure I was “clean.” I began to think about how God wants to search us. He doesn’t need to pat us down, but He does want to search our heart and our lives. He wants to make sure that our lives are free from all the junk that will hurt us and others. There are many times that we want to hide from God though because we don’t want Him to search our hearts in fear of what He may find. When I was at the airport I was not afraid of what they might find, but it was more so embarrassing and degrading to me. I know that there are times in my own life when I want to hide or run from God because of knowing that what He is going to find is embarrassing. We live with such sin in our life, but sooner or later it will be exposed whether we want it to or not. Just like I had to be searched at the airport God is going to continue to search my heart, mind and soul. The thing we need to think about though is if we would be more comfortable with airport security searching us or God? It should be our desire for God to search us. Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” This verse should be our prayer. We should want God to search us and purify us! Oh and it turns out the reason they had to search me was because of the “jewels” on my shirt.