Hope for More

There are only 5 days until Christmas and you can feel it in the air... anxiety, that is! People are hustling and bustling, just as the song says, buying this and buying that; fussing, pushing, celebrating and consuming. Just the other night, my good friend found her self in a car accident- the victim of an overstressed mom, trying to make her way down the highway towards the mall, no doubt.

I think it's hilarious how, during this time of year, people seem to loose their minds. The media is full of stories highlighting disgruntled customers and impatient people during this time of year, yet, in spite of such, underneath all the frantic reactions to this particular holiday, people are really just excited and hopeful that this year will be their year for peace, love and joy, as is the undertone of the season. This year, they might have the perfect gift, or the perfect family get together; this year, maybe broken relationships will be mended, or new romances started. Maybe this year...

As I sit back and look at my own wrapped gifts, I suddenly feel a hope for peace, love and joy myself. I hope for a closeness with family members that is just as effortless on their part as it is on mine. I hope to see my daughter grow up to be smart, kind and passionate for Christ. I hope to see my husband fulfill all of his goals and dreams and I hope to one day buy my father a boat. I hope for love to arrive in the lives of each of my friends. I hope to grow closer to God. I hope to grow closer to myself.
In my opinion, each hope that we have is like a wrapped Christmas box. We know there is something inside that must be worth the fuss of gold paper and bows, but without a giver, we will never receive what ever the gift may be. Hope is a beautiful thing. It gives us drive to do the impossible and requires a faith in what is yet to come. There is strength in hoping and lovely anticipation for the revealing of what we hope for, but hoping must have a source, otherwise it is not hope. It's merely a wish.

The cry of humanity is peace. The hope of humanity is in finding a way to usher in that peace. We sign treaties that fail, make promises that are broken, ask favors that are never returned and demand justice that is only biased. The answer to our problems is a state of peace, but what source are we hoping in? If our hope is in the government, then we will surely be let down. If our source is in our money or in our success, it will be short lived. Are we hoping in that new relationship- if so, any signs of an argument could propel us into fear, not peace. If I merely hope in my ability to attain a result, it may never come to fruition; but if I hope in a source greater than myself, then odds are, I will receive what is best for me, concerning the results in which I hope for. Jesus wants to be that source for you. He wants to be what you most hope in and hope for. The idea of gift giving is not merely of habitual tradition; it's a spiritual reality, wrapped in love, and culminated at the birth of a Prince of Peace that the world continues to hope for; though they do not always recognize it.

"For unto us a child is born...And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."- Isaiah 9:6

The peace that we hope for, pray for and fight for, can only be attained through the love of Christ. When we put our hope in Him, he delivers those results in our personal lives, and one day, will deliver those results for the souls of the whole world. When our hope is in Him, we will never be disappointed.
As we embark on yet, another Christmas, I urge us all to take some time to consider things that we hope for. What is it that our hearts truly long to see? Is it peace of mind on our jobs? Marriage? Children? A new promotion at work? Health for a family member? Direction for our dreams? Whatever it is that we want, consider the source we are using to realize these things. Is this source dependable, reliable or trustworthy? Can we expect this source to be a permanent answer, or will it only be temporary? Our hopes and dreams are too valuable to leave up to chance and our longing for peace is too precious to entrust with anyone other than the Lord. Trust in Him to give you what you need. He will never disappoint or fail you. His gifts are eternal and HIs promises are sure.

This Christmas, as we hope for peace in our hearts and peace on Earth, remember the one who was born to give us just these things! In Christ, we do not hope in vain and the peace He promises is everlasting and wrapped in love for all to receive, if we just believe!

An early Merry Christmas to you all!

~Pearls

Here are some inspiring ambitions that we Hope for. We know that Jesus is our source for all things and we have peace in our hearts in knowing that He will give us exactly what we need.

Living a Life on Display

I was recently reminded of a conversation I had with a friend of mine, many years ago. She insisted that, in this day and age, people could make their own choices for the particular life that they chose to live, without any spiritual consequences, because God was a loving God who dealt with every person differently and times aren't as simple as they were in the Bible. Of course, this comment really shocked me: the girl who was raised in a Christian home, who attended a Christian School and who went to church, at my parents' urging, more than 3 times a week. I was so perplexed at her statement and attempted to show her the error of her assumptions. I felt angry, almost, that she could even insinuate that a person's choices could override God's law or that God's way was not concrete and could be negotiable, depending on the person's situation or circumstance. I remember saying things like, "You really need to come to church with me"
But, to be totally honest, I was the one more in need of church than she was, because, at least she was sincere in her living. At the time, I was living a completely hypocritical lifestyle. I claimed that I was a "Christian", but I was not living a life pleasing to God. I had my checklist of "dos and don'ts" that satisfied my own conscience, but I was living far from the truth and the grace of the Gospel. Still, I made attempts to drag my heavy "Christian Soap Box" around at the ready, in order to position it just right, so that I could stand on it, firmly, and declare to the world the proper way in which a Child of God should live! In my private life, I made excuses for myself, but in front of an audience, I turned on the "church girl" switch. I was a mess. My life was far from a good example.

Years later, as I cringe to look back at that conversation, and so many others like it, because I realize that I wasn't doing her, myself, or God any favors. In actuality, I was living the life that she described. What right did I have to try and show her "the way", when I wasn't following it myself? I was the one who had deceived myself into thinking that God's word and His ways could be negotiable and that I was exempt from things clearly stated in scripture. I was the hypocrite, because I knew the truth, but rejected it. I knew what was right, but only displayed it in public, for people to see my good deeds. She was living her life in a more honest way than I was. She was not pretending. She was genuine.
During those early college years, I was full of self-righteousness, taking on the impossible burden of trying to lead others to a Jesus that I did not even know or celebrate within my own heart. I was blinded by my own attempts of "goodness" and I was a hindrance to those around me who were sincerely looking for the truth. This is the issue that we face as Christians everyday: There are people who are looking for Christ, but, unfortunately, the examples they often come across are half-hearted, soap box carriers who insist on their own personal truths, lacking the compassion and relationship with Jesus that has the power to save us all!

The scary truth is, so many people are in the "Middle", so to speak, looking for sincerity, truth and a genuine understanding of God. They are searching beyond mere belief and church attendance. Think about those in your own life, who might be among the "Middle": individuals who aspire to know God, yet try to in their own way and in their own efforts; those who are familiar with "Church", but lack a true relationship with Jesus. What about that co-worker who takes pride in her volunteer work, but has no true concept of what it really means to fall in love with Jesus? Think about that relative, who considers themselves a "good person", but doesn't understand the message of the Gospel or the gift of salvation in Christ. Or what about your neighbor, who prays and reads positive messages and engages in affirmations, but can't quite grasp their need for a Savior or their perfection in Him? They are looking for signs and proof of the Truth and guess who God put in their lives to demonstrate it... YOU!!!

As we make our choices and live our lives, let us examine the state of our own hearts, as 2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us to do:

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"

Are we passing the test? Are we relying on the Holy Spirit to do good works in us for God, or have we taken on the impossible job of trying to do it ourselves? Are we being true and authentic witnesses in public and in private? Are we sharing the love of Christ with those around us, or are we sharing legalism, denominationalism or worse yet, religion and impossible rituals? Are we hugging, or hurting? Are we giving or judging? Are we offering compassion or condemnation?

The problem with the soap box, as I came to realize, is that it's not strong enough to hold us up forever. Eventually, the weight of our own sin will cause our soap boxes to come crashing down. It's an inadequate stage and a façade. Sooner or later, it will begin to rip and tear and we will fall through. Not so with Jesus! He is consistent, everlasting and our eternal foundation!

There is a world full of hearts that are longing for the blessing of assurance in Christ. They need to know how much the Father loves them (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:1), how their way might bring destruction but God's way can bring new life (Romans 6: 23; 1 John 1:9) and that they can be eternally sealed in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2: 13; 2 Corinthians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 1: 21-23). This is the good news and hope of the Gospel: not that we have all the answers, but that God provided the answer in Jesus, making a way for us to be pleasing in His sight and providing His love to us, which we can then share with those around us.

It's time to break down our boxes, girls! Don't be afraid to share Jesus with others. There are so many people who are desperate for Him! Let's not keep them waiting!

~Pearls

Overcoming Complaining

Good Morning to you all! This week, I had an honest discussion with the Lord about some goals I'm wanting to accomplish and I had to confess to Him (and to myself) that my motives were becoming quite selfish. It occurred to me that, deep down, I'm still struggling with the sin and issue of comparing, complaining and keeping up with the Jones'. Anyone know where I stand?

It's so easy for us all to fall into such a trap. You have an idea that you're excited about, you covered it in prayer, read up on various blogs, books and magazines, discussed your goals with trusted friends and feel amped to put the wheels in motion, but as you try moving forward, you begin to notice others who seem so much more successful with their goals than you are with yours. So you start to compare: "She is so much more creative than me", "His networking is so much stronger than mine", "They are really getting lots of attention", "That person just won another award".
It's easy to get side tracked because it's natural to notice situations around us, especially in this day and age of social communities and reality obsessions. It's difficult to complete an entire day without being informed of someone else's success. Despite our efforts to focus on our own agenda, the problems arise when our comparing turns into complaining: "She doesn't deserve that recognition", "My idea was so much better", "He didn't earn that award", "They could never do it as good as I could"...

The problem with complaining is that it occurs out of an ungrateful heart and a lack of trust in what God is doing within us. When we are not satisfied with our own circumstances, we fall prey to complaining, and eventually competing with others, overtime. This robs us of enjoying who we were specifically created to do and to be. We all have special sets of gifts, talents and strengths and each of us are at the mercy of God's timeline. Not everyone's name will be in lights. Not everyone will arise to success at the same time and not everyone's journey to their destiny will be manifested in the same way, but regardless, we have been called to rejoice when others experience success and encourage them on their way; not harboring jealousy or envying their blessings, because you never know what they had to endure within their process to get to where they are. 

In each of us, God is unfolding His perfect plan in our lives and in our hearts, if only we just trust His process and put our lives in His hands. My destiny will look different than yours and yours will look different than others, but at the end of it all, if we keep our hearts on Christ, our lives will unfold in an existence that is beautiful to behold because we put our trust in the Lord and in His leading for our lives and direction for our goals.

Scripture tells us that when we trust the Lord with the good we want to accomplish, He in  turn will make our success brilliant!

Trust in the LORD and do good... Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. ~Psalm 37:3-6

I just love that part: the justice of your cause (your goals, your endeavors) will be made to shine like the sun! See, the Lord is proud of His creation and wants to put us on display! They key to it all is to be content where God has you right now, trusting His process as you maneuver through your goals and pursue your endeavors. We must also remember that our steps are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37: 23). So, as we strive to achieve our goals and produce our ideas, we must be diligent and stay prayerful over the direction and instruction from God, thanking Him with grateful hearts for the opportunities He's blessed us with and seeking how we can help others along the way. Ask Him to make your path clear to you and celebrate with those who are achieving success, encourage those who are needing a boost and love people as you travel along your path. Remember that when life unveils your turn for success, you will want others to celebrate with you, as well! 

Comparing takes away your focus, complaining takes away your joy. We desperately need both for the journey and cannot afford to be robbed of either. So set your sights on things above (Colossians 3:2)! Do your absolute best with what you have, full throttle. Learn from others and share your own lessons! Go hard for God, seeking His face and His approval in all that you do! His plans include you and His path is a sure win! The Jones' have their purpose and you have yours. It is unique to your life, your talents, your strengths and yes, even your weaknesses. Never doubt that you can be used of God and never underestimate the power that is unleashed when we rejoice for the goodness that is being produced in others, and in ourselves.

As I revisit my own goals, I realize that I have the unique opportunity to rejoice for my success, ahead of time, because I am learning to trust God and His process. I don't need to compare, complain or compete with anyone else. If I keep my eyes on Christ, then I will be successful and shine like the sun; my life will matter and most importantly, it will make a difference for the kingdom of God! Who I am and what I am destined to do is purposed for the glory of the Lord! I just want to be authentically who God created me to be and do what He has called me to achieve. I want to celebrate with those around me and encourage those who are still searching for their purpose.  I also want the same for you!

Trust His process!
~Pearls