Salt and light

[Matthew 5:13-16; Luke 14:34-35]

Israel Houghton says in his song “Identity,” “One of the things plaguing our generation is people trying to figure out who they are. … We bear the name of our Father, and in Him we find our identity.”

That’s what comes to mind when I read this passage. We sing songs declaring Jesus to be the light of the world, which He was, but He calls us the light in verse 14. What an honor, a privilege, and responsibility. It is crucial in this world to know who we are, and to Whom we belong. When we forget who we are in Christ, we lose sight of our purpose. Many women lose their identity because they take on the attributes that others notice. We must remember that only God has the perfect perspective. He is so far above us that He cannot be slighted or biased. At the same time, He knows us so intimately that He can say with confidence who we are.

So look into the mirror today and tell yourself, “I am the salt of the earth. I am the light of the world. I am who Jesus says I am.”

It might be a little difficult if you do not understand what Jesus means by this. In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis offers that salt and light share the purpose of exposing other tastes/sights. Someone who has never tasted salt before would not believe us that it can be used to bring out the flavors in other foods. They would think it much too strong. Similarly, a world in darkness, having seen light for the first time, would not believe that through it we can see other things. They would figure that its effect would be too blinding. But we know the truth, because have been exposed to salt and light. And if the world were to be exposed to our salt, to our light, then they too would know the truth. We, in doing what we were innately created to do, draw others to Christ.

If we forget our purpose, then we are “good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” But if we complete our purpose, then our works will shine before men, and they will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. This is not a time to sit idly and wait for just one chance to honor God. Every second given to us is a gift from God, and an opportunity to praise God through our works and to testify to the world. Do not waste time on wondering who you are. You are the salt. You are the light. Ask God to show you how to be used for His glory.

God bless,

Alisha

Beattitudes & Woes

[Matthew 5:3-12; Luke 6:20-26]

Verse one of Matthew 5 sets up the scene for probably the greatest mind-boggling speech in history. Jesus saw the crowd, recognized their desire to learn, and more importantly, saw the need to correct. One of the characteristics I love about Jesus is how He was able to see things so very differently from us. He saw the world from God’s perspective. This wasn’t only because He is the Son of God. It was His prayer life that brought Him this viewpoint.

Prayer gave Jesus the assurance that when He was poor in spirit, mourning, hungering/thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, making peace, and persecuted, He was indeed blessed. It also gave Him the assurance that when anyone else felt any of the above, he too was blessed. Jesus saw trials as testimonies in the making, as a way to bless others and in process be blessed Himself.

Luke shows us the other side of the story. Woes to the “haves” because they will lose what they have. Woe to those who trust in anything besides God(emotions, materialism, popularity), because they will be sorely disappointed. This is certainly not what the world teaches us. Pursuing our own happiness leaves us temporarily on a high, as opposed to the pure, unadulterated joy that comes ONLY from fellowship with the Creator. Prayer helps encourage that fellowship, as does reading the Bible and doing His will daily. Spend time today with God and see things from His vantage point.

God bless,
Alisha

Logo

A 2-D god

I know it’s been a while since I sent a devotional so here is on a very important subject: Jeremy Camp. More specifically my Jeremy Camp poster that hangs in my dorm room.

Don’t delete this message. Allow me explain. It is no secret to my closest friends that I am a huge fan of the contemporary Christian artist Jeremy Camp (this is not an endorsement I assure you). His picture hangs on my wall, and I joke with my roommates that I talk to it. My friends always give me a look as if to say, “You know it’s not real though, right?”

During one of my many mental wanderings this morning, I imagined myself answering them in my room, “Of course not! But it’s nice to have him around.” And since in my daydreams anything can happen, I see this J. Camp poster staying tight-lipped and angry with me when my friends leave – upset that I denied his existence, when he was always there in my room when I cried myself to sleep late at night, when I wrote and sang songs of worship and pain, when I played my guitar until the discouragement was released from my fingers. “He” was there, in my room, when I needed someone but couldn’t have anyone because it was that period, that time of being alone, when you cannot expect anyone to be there for you because it just wouldn’t be fair to them. And I denied him in front of him for the sake of my friends, because if I acted like I knew he was watching me, they would think I’m crazy.

I feel that’s how we often view God. He’s this two-dimensional figure of something we greatly admire and love to sport and represent as Christians. But we keep Him in this little room in our heart. When we’re outside with our friends, He’s not there with us. He’s stays in the room. When we’re in class or at work, He’s not there. He’s in the room. But when we’re hurt, when we’re broken, when we’re scared, and when we’re alone because we just can’t be with other people, He’s there. He watches us. He’s just an image even then. We don’t let Him interact in the healing process. And when we let friends get close enough to the room, suddenly we deny the reality of His existence. We deny that He’s watching us. Because what can He say? He’s just a two-dimensional picture.

I know I can say for myself that for a large portion of my Christian journey that was who God was to me. Something to store, something that could be contained, a source of life when I opened the bottle filled with living water, but something I could close up again. I personally refuse to live like that anymore. I refuse to let Him hang on the wall. I want Him to not just take over my world, but to become my world. If you want to do so as well, I suggest to log off Facebook and spend some time in prayer. God is really yearning for you to let Him be God in your life. To be your Lord and Master. Not to rule over you, but to love you as no one else can for every moment of everyday.

I’ll close with a thought from Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, “God … chose to create you for His own enjoyment … and He considers you valuable enough to keep with Him for eternity …” That’s how much God loves you. That’s what He wants to do with you if you let Him – to shape you into the vessel He intended in the first place. Actually, I like to think of it more as He’s already shaped us into our unique forms and the closer we get to Him the more He reveals our shape, our purpose. And all our pain comes from doing what we weren’t created to do – like square pegs trying to fit in round holes. But He won’t show us if we don’t want to see it. Don’t limit what God can do in your life. Don’t keep Him in two dimensions.

Smudged

Please take the time to read this and do not be daunted by the size of the message. It's all about God wanting you to spend time with Him.

Not to feel guilty, but here's what He showed me: there are some girls who will see the message length and leave it for a rainy day. They may not delete it, but they will certainly not come to it for a while. We are all busy with our own schedule. But – and ladies I implore you to not think of this as some form of condemnation – if we can make the time for the hour to watch America’s Next Top Model (even I do), and the hour and a half for class, which only feed us socially and mentally, respectively, how much more time should we give to God who will feed us spiritually? If you looked at your spirit-man today, would she be emaciated? Sometimes I feel as though we suffer from spiritual anorexia, that we refuse to take the time to take in and chew the good meat of the Word of God, all because we seek to control our lives in our own way.

Please, daughter of God, my sister in Christ, take the time to read this message. I promise it is for you. And here’s what makes me so sure. Last night as I sat in the library, my mind wandered into the past and brought up feelings and emotions of another girl. I was so overcome with emotion that I took whatever paper was with me and wrote from that girl’s perspective. It evolved into something beautiful, and here I share it with you. I was tempted not to, but the Lord sent me confirmation in the form of my devotional for the day, which not only addressed the same topic but quoted the same verse. See for yourself after reading this if you don’t believe me (http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtml).

“SMUDGED

“That girl’s song resounds in my head and as always I find that it is a reflection of how I feel in my heart. ‘Broken up deep inside. You won’t get to see the tears I cried.’ God I feel so – so torn. So absolutely, positively torn. I don’t know why You put me in his life but I know You did and I see it serving its purpose each day.

“It hurts God. It hurts to see him pursue another, more pretty. I don’t even envy her. I know You made me beautiful and wonderful and very unique. I don’t know. I guess it hurts that no one sees that. That I am seeing it in myself, but nobody else does, or if they do then, well, they’re girls.

“It hurts Father to see him pursue another when I feel as though I was the one who was there. But I always chose to make myself not seen. I worked in mysterious ways, moving the hearts of others to go talk to him when he was hurting. I didn’t care that he didn’t turn to me, though it hurt. What mattered more was that he hurt. And I was going to do whatever it took to get him to feel better. So if he wouldn’t talk to me then he’d talk to another. And he’d feel better and draw closer to that girl until he realized that she wasn’t the right fit. So he turned to another.

“And there he is, pursuing girl after girl when he doesn’t realize that I can fit his need. That I have been the eye that saw him, that cared for him. That brought him to you in my intercession. Ever-interceding on his behalf. ‘Father, he just can’t see right now. He hasn’t totally rejected me yet, Father. Give him one more chance. He’s made the mistake to see me as just a casual friend but not as we are meant to be. I yearn for that deeper relationship, sure. But if all he sees me as is just a smudge, a faint reminder, then at least I’m present. At least I’m noticed.’ But I yearn for more.

“And now I see how You feel. I get, Jesus, what You mean. Jesus, I know it hurts to see me pursue another when You were the One who was there. But You always chose to make Yourself not seen. You worked in mysterious ways, moving the hearts of others to go and talk to me when I was hurting. You didn’t care that I didn’t turn to You, though it hurt. What mattered more was that I hurt. And You were going to do whatever it took to get me to feel better. So if I wouldn’t talk to You, I’d talk to another. And I’d feel better and draw closer to that person until I realized he wasn’t the right fit. So I’d turned to another.

“And here I am pursuing person after person when I don’t realize that only You can fit my need. That you have been the eye that saw me and cared for me. That You, Jesus, brought me to the Father in Your intercession. Ever-interceding on my behalf. ‘ “Father, she just doesn’t see Me right now. She hasn’t totally rejected Me yet, Father. Give her one more chance. She’s made the mistake of seeing Me just as a casual friend, but not as we were meant to be. I yearn for that deeper relationship, sure. But if all she sees Me as is just a smudge, a faint reminder, then at least I’m present. At least I’m noticed.” But I yearn for more.’

So what do I do Father? What choice do I make? Do I continue to smudge You, make You less and less distinct until You are so faded that I forget You’re there? Or do I choose to write a new chapter, this time in pen. And not bur the promise I’m making with You but keep it distinct, intact, TRUE! The choice is mine to make. I alone can make it. But should I do so, I will not be alone – no, I will never be alone.”

Ladies, what is the decision you will make? If you’ve come to this part of the message then you’ve taken the first step – making the time to receive from Him. Now it’s time to open the door.

“Behold I Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 (NKJV)

God bless,

Alisha

Dirty Feet

This being Good Friday (and what a good Friday it is), I wanted to share something special with all you lovely ladies. Something that ties in with the suffering of Jesus so that we can be reflective, quiet, and somber. God had other plans.

A friend of mine (and I hope she doesn’t kill me for posting this) made a comment on my wall about a picture I put up, complaining that she had dirty feet in the picture. I couldn’t care less because it was in India and, yes, the roads are dusty and one’s feet definitely do become dirty. I remember that it was there that I understood the ancient Jewish custom of washing someone’s feet when they entered the home. It was so no dirt would drag in.

Once someone had forgotten to do so, and a woman with a little bottle of alabaster oil washed the dirty, smelly feet of a Prophet, rinsing it with her tears and wiping it with her hair. This story (Luke 7:36-50) is one of my favorites because of the humility she showed. As I said before, the feet of a person was dirty, disgusting, filthy, and smelled awful from walking through the dusty roads, but she used her most precious things to clean the feet of Jesus. The alabaster oil was costly, but she would gladly give up her riches for the Christ. Her hair was perhaps more costly, being the quintessence of female beauty, but she would sacrifice her body for her Savior. Her tears were the most costly thing of all, the very keys to her heart, but she would give it up to her God. All she had she gave up to wash the feet of Jesus.

God use to require us to examine those lower appendages too. What did God tell Moses at the burning bush? Exodus 3:5 tells us that He instructed him to remove the sandals from his feet for the place where he stood was holy. There are probably a few interpretations for this. Mine is simply this: God didn’t want Moses to get His place dirty. Removing one’s sandals is taking away the part of you that most clearly highlights where you have been. If you were in water, they would be wet; if you were in the mud, they would bear it too. But it God’s presence, he wanted Moses to separate himself from the world and leave it outside. Moses would have to put back on the sandals eventually, but when he was with God, he was not to bear any sign of the world. Pause now, and let that sink in.

I’m not trying to make you feel guilty today – no, in fact, I hope to do quite the opposite. It was not only us lowly sinful humans who had to be mindful. Isaiah 6 tells of the cherubim who would stay before the presence of the Lord. They each had six wings, two to fly, two to cover their face, and two – yes – to cover their feet. Imagine these lovely celestial beings flying around proclaiming, “The whole earth is full of His glory” and yet never being able to see it? Why? Because they still had to be mindful of their feet. They still knew their place – not yet holy.

But in Revelation 4 we see an awesome picture. Four living creatures, which can be interpreted as the four representations of Jesus in the Gospels, that too have six wings are flying about the throne room of God. They are in the very presence of the Almighty! And are they covering their eyes or feet? No! In fact, the Bible says that they are covered in eyes, as if to say they cannot get enough of seeing the glory of God!

That’s the difference! That’s the difference that Jesus made. See, He didn’t come into this world to condemn us. I’ll tell you what else: it might have been your sins that nailed Him to the cross, but He did not come into the world to die either. He came into this world to RESURRECT! The cross is not our hope – though it is our reminder. The empty tomb is our hope! If Jesus had just lived a good life and taught people and died, then we would be no different from every world religion out there. But Jesus was the Son of God and proved it by “laying down his life that He may take it again” (to paraphrase John 10:17). No one could take it from Him without His permission; He gladly gave it up and He knew He was going to take it up again. There is freedom from His resurrection!

Here’s where it really ties in girls. (Before you read on, first read Hebrew 12:1, 2 so that you can understand from where I’m coming.) Last night I had a dream that there were all these women running a race, not against each other but with themselves; it was all about just trying to finish it. Some inevitably looked to each other to see where others were at, but for the most part they knew it was not a competition. And I was there too, running with them, cheering them on, encouraging them to persevere. But there were a few girls who started to lose hope. They looked down at their feet and thought about where they had come from. They were thinking about they had gone through and wondered if it was even worth it to keep running. Some had been badly abused, others molested as children. Society told them that it was okay to become “rejects,” because they had somebody to blame. They didn’t have to run the race. Everyone would understand that they just didn’t have the strength because what happened to them crippled them spiritually. And slowly, they more they looked down, the more discouraged they got. Finally some quit altogether, and when we called out to them and asked why, they said, “It’s just not for me,” too ashamed to tell the whole truth.

But ladies, you do not have to give into that lie. Something beautiful God taught me through the book The Purpose Drive Life by Rick Warren was that God uses our experiences, even our hurtful ones, for His glory and for His ministry. The creatures did not hide their feet; they showcased it, knowing full well that it was what the Father had used to help them help others get into heaven. They wore their feet with pride, as a living memorial of how God uses our weaknesses, mistakes, shames, and trials for His glory. Jesus made that difference. And once we enter into heaven, we too will behold His majesty freely because we don’t have to worry about our dirty feet.

Dealing with Grief

For over a month I have been wanting to do some devotional on pain, and now I feel is the time.
More specifically, I want to talk about dealing with grief, which I here define as a pain that stems from a loss. We associate grief with death, but that's not the only way you can lose a loved one. The woman who loses her son to gangs, her sister to drugs, her boyfriend to another woman, or even her best friend to her own selfish desires equally feels sorrow.

That's the first of five principles you should keep in my mind:

1. Realize that you're hurt.
Don't be ashamed. There is no shame in shedding a tear. It's good to be strong and courageous, but it doesn't show a lack of faith to say that you are pain. Acknowledge it. For a long time, I would not tell anyone what was going on in my life, inside and outside, kept my depression to myself, let it eat me up inside. I felt that God put people in my life who "have it a lot worse" so I had no right to complain. But I realized now that I could not have been more wrong. To say that someone else has a worse life than me is to say that God is unfair. And He surely is not. God is merciful and just to EVERYONE. You are not exclusively His child. You do receive grace, or unmerited favor, but you do NOT receive special attention. He loves EACH person individually. So yes, you are going through a rough time. It's rough for you - admitting it only admits that you are human and weak, which is the truth.

2. Know that God put it in your life for a reason.
One of my favorite characteristics of God is his eternal nature, how He is able to see all of time at once as if it were every page in the book of history strewn about before Him. He knows you. He knows everything about you. The Bible says the very hairs on your head are numbered [Matthew 10:30]. He knows your body; He knows you physically. The Bible also says that God looks at the heart [1 Samuel 16:7] - He knows you emotionally. He knows your every thought so He knows you mentally. Need I go on? He knows you. He knows you so well because He loves you so much; only a person passionate about a subject will investigate every detail of it. He loves you with a passion.
Now that we have that established, do you honestly believe that God would put you through pain for no reason? The reason may not be apparent but He will reveal it in time, though maybe not to you. Job never saw the book that was written about his life, so famous today that it's studied in philosophy classes throughout the nation. Sometimes you'll never understand why you go through a trial, but it is a trial - it is to try you. You will get stronger in the end.

3. Remember and record every step of the way because it will be your testimony.
You yourself may not receive true benefit that comes from the experience, but guess what? You weren't meant to. Your tribulations are not for you; they are for another. There's another girl whose cousin fell through the cracks and now you know to tell her how to deal with a loved one battling addiction. There's a teenager who feels like she's losing her father to his own selfishness who you can help. There's a wife who thinks she cannot cope with her husbands adultery whose hand you can hold. It may not be now or even soon, but you can help. You will help. Your experience is your ministry. That's why it's so crucial to record in any way suitable to you the way you got through this. Because you will get through this.

4. Remind yourself that you are not alone.
God is always there. Focus on that fact. Recall the previous devotional on letting God be a three-dimensional part of your life. He can be if you let Him. He wants nothing more than to scoop you in arms and hold you tight. And He does it every morning when He sends you his sun. He proclaims His love for you every night with billions of stars. Even if you can’t “feel” Him, He’s there. He hears your prayers. He sees your tears. Even if every waking moment is filled with pain, He blessed you with fragility so that at some point you have to sleep. Your pain is not perpetual.
He has not left you, _____. I wish I could know all of your names so I could write it out 250 times with each of your names after the comma. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” [Deuteronomy 31:6] That’s His promise to you. And God cannot lie – He is too powerful. Anything He speaks automatically becomes the truth. So He meant it, my friend. He never, ever leaves. There’s nothing that you can do can push Him to the point of giving up. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 8:38, 39]

5. Call on a friend.
A human friend. God placed people into your life for a reason. No one, not even Jesus Himself, went through life alone. Sure there are times when you need to be by yourself. We just established that God is always there for you. But there is a power that comes with human interaction - simply put, it heals. Don’t avoid your problem; please, talk about it. My suggestion is to first go to a Christian friend who will know that God is the ultimate source of comfort and strength. But even if you can only talk to an understanding non-Christian, turn to them. You cannot and should not go through this by yourself.

I’ll leave you with the word’s from Kirk Franklin’s song “Afterwhile.”

Afterwhile, afterwhile
This too shall past, afterwhile
Scars will heal,
You'll love again
It won't hurt you afterwhile
It won't hurt afterwhile

Stuck between if and when
You prayed and tried
But still no end
God's purpose soon you'll understand
It won't hurt you afterwhile
It won't hurt you afterwhile

Afterwhile, afterwhile
This too shall past, afterwhile
Scars will heal,
You'll love again
It won't hurt afterwhile

So when the pain has come to end
And now your heart is whole again
Help someone who needs to know
That it won't hurt them afterwhile
It won't hurt them afterwhile
It won't hurt them afterwhile