Perfection & Promises

For as long as I can remember I have always struggled with wanting to be perfect. Not in a prideful way, but just in a, to be perfect is to be 100% and doesn’t perfection mean no problems, or issues, or failings, guilt or shame and everything would be all good, all the time?

My perfection idealism, I have been shown, is a longing for Heaven. It isn’t just me who I want to be perfect, I want everything and everyone to be perfect as well.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

While we cannot be perfect (completely sinless) in this life, we can work every day at being refined by the Creator. There was a perfect one, Jesus and His life had issues and problems, though he had no failings, He was sinless. And by His sinlessness, sacrifice, and resurrection, God looks at us (those who have accepted Him as savior) as perfect too.

This is the good news, the gospel, the message of salvation.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:22-24 (NIV)

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
1 John 3:5 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (ESV)

Please do not be discouraged either when I write we cannot be completely sinless. I know there is some debate on this topic. However, let's be real with one another, the world we live in is pretty vile, and God’s ways/nature is on point, pure and above that which we can comprehend at times. Do we in 2020 even know every time we do fall anymore, as sin is stitched through the fabric of our society? Not that we are under the law but look at it for comparison in this instance, the rules, and regs that were set forth, or look at the 10 commandments and compare that with some of the shows we all watch. Though we are not “doing it ourselves” does focusing our mind on such things have the potential to distort us and cause us to fall (even if in other ways), I do think so.

Whew. 

Ok this has taken a bit of an unexpected turn as writing has continued, and I will conclude with this.

As always, I do not write things from a lofty, above everyone else, perspective. I do not think I am better than any of you and, if anything (from time to time), I feel like the worst human that ever has existed. It is only by Jesus Christ, do I have hope. There are many wrong choices I have made in life, even knowing the truth of Salvation and having a relationship with the Trinity, because of free will. Yet, we always have the chance to pick up, start again, and be a better person through the Trinity. Memories of my past try to eat away at my future, but I know and trust that what is in God’s word is true.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:15-17 (NIV)

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:11-12 (NIV)

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. ❤

American Gospel : Christ Alone // 7 Truths

Wow, wow, wow! 

Is it a recommended watch? For sure! 

Will I be checking out Christ Crucified next? Oh yes! **Note: I started to watch the 2nd installment and had to stop 30 minutes in. Though it might be beneficial for some, I cannot say the same for myself. Perhaps I am on false teaching-learning overload? But nonetheless, I will not be watching it. 

Admittedly, in years before I did watch some of the people mentioned in this film, though never as a solitary source of teaching. It isn't something I will hide as Joyce Meyers is written about in 31 Rays of Hope. However, I never bought into prosperity gospel or faith healing (for all). Some of the most devout believers with rock-solid faith I've ever met, happen to be some of the poorest and sickest people I've known. Yet, their testimonies are all about how God is WITH them, regardless. How they would rather be cast down in this life (by our society standards) than to ever spend a day not knowing who God was. 

It has always been hard for me to reconcile some teachers/preachers/whoever sitting on millions and millions when there are so many people who could benefit from those funds. It is not a sin to have money, however, the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). 

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As I am working on the audio version of the devo, (which will be available for free, details to be sorted out later), I realized that some of the words and phrases I used could be misleading considering what I didn't know was going on/being taught in so many churches. For the past 5 years or so, my main teachers have been Charles Stanley, Michael Youseff, and Allen Parr. I also happen to have a very faith strong mom who has much wisdom, even though she doesn't think it. Even know I check before I repin a verse if it doesn't look quite right. I learned early on to check the scriptures for myself to make sure what I was being fed was a lie or carefully twisted truth. 

Watching this video I was shown what I have been wondering for years, "why are people leaving the Church?" Well if you believe God is anything other than what He says He is (in the Bible), that Jesus was not all man and all God when He walked this Earth, or that the Holy Spirit is some sort of genie to grant your every whim, (just to name a few errors pointed on) well then, it sounds like a false religion, not a relationship.  I can understand why if people have been taught that God wants us all to have Rolls Royces, never get sick, and have the cream of the crop everything (mostly centered on financial success and stability), they would feel punished when it wasn't received. They would feel abandoned by God, discarded, and left out in the cold. 

But what falseness this is! Jesus had a hard life, and he said, "Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." John 15:20 

The video is excellent (though some of the lies were hard to stomach), so I won't say much more but will close with these 7 truths: 

#1 - God is the Creator of the world, all that we know and don't know. Colossians 1:16
#2 - God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Psalm 139
#3 - Jesus is the Son of God. Matthew 3:17
#4 - It was the Father's plan for Him to be born as a human, yet fully God at the same time. 100 Verse List
#5 - It is by Jesus Christ alone that we are saved from our sins and reconciled back to God. John 14:6 & Romans 10:9
#6 - The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, our advocate, and helper. Verse List
#7 - Father, Son, and Spirit (Trinity) desire a relationship with YOU! 2 Peter 3:9

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ! ❤

⇑ Curious where the closing comes from? Ephesians 1:2-4, blessings are about so much more than the tangible. 

Social Media and Me

If you know me in my personal life, or ever had the pleasure of being apart of one of my errr 3 or 4 Facebooks, and who knows what else along the years, you might question “what the what is up with her?”.

I have extreme social media anxiety, and it messes me with me in ways that others might see as foolish, but the thoughts, once there, cannot stop going around in my head. Rather than a way to connect, I saw many years ago people (in my own circle) straight posting one thing online (ex. we are so in love) but in reality, they were about to be divorced. This combined with a few other reasons, such as obsessive checking,  getting “in trouble” with friends if I didn’t post where I was, and other lifestyle changes beckoned me to step away from FB for good. Slowly all the others took the same turn, and the last time I posted on my personal Insta (now deleted) was the afternoon before I met my now-husband (12/2017).

Even now admittedly, I struggle with even the company Gram, because of expectations vs. reality, and a pressure that no one puts on me, but is there within my thoughts. Thus, going forward even that will be treated differently, though not going away entirely.

I have known so many great people through-out my life, and some people I fell out of touch with because of my lack of social media, but I hope for everyone (I have ever known) the very best. Mental health is something I have struggled with all of my life (though have kept that fact hidden from many), and I came to understand/realize that no one can fix it for you (aside from God), but regardless you have to be proactive about it on your own (avoiding triggers).

Simply put and reconfirmed over the past weeks, I am happier and have a better mental balance when my social media is limited to posting devotionals and pinning on Pinterest. Does that make me a weirdo? Perhaps in some peoples eyes, but I’m an imperfect, saved by the grace of God, Jesus Freak who has been called weird since I was a tot, and the only opinion that carries any weight in the grand scheme of things is what God/Jesus/Holy Spirit thinks of me (or any of us).

You will never hear me say that I am an open book, but if you have any questions or comments about this post, please let me know. I will answer as appropriate, and above all hope this provides peace, comfort, and clarification to anyone who may read it. ❤

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. 💙

TRANSFORMED [A Verse Blast]

This week we have been working on refining an upcoming pin design (hopefully July release) and writing the corresponding devotional. Which had to be re-written as the initial drafts were way too long to fit neatly on a compact card, as there is just so much that can be said about transformation. Really the Bible is filled with scriptures that speak to our soul’s evolution (for better or worse), so to get that extra info out, here is a verse blast for your viewing and learning pleasure. Along with a video, because well music is quite important to me and my personal relationship with the Trinity, and this song is awesome. 😊

*All base images are free use on Pixabay, then further edited and designed by me.  
Feel free to post and share verses as you see fit.
Why don't I "watermark" 24/7? Well because I don't own the copyright to God's word, and I go back and forth with doing it vs. not doing it.  
Also, blogger would not let me embed the video from Shonlock's actual account (for some reason #grrr), but you can subscribe for more awesome tunes here. 

Peace and blessings to you through Jesus Christ. 💙