Forming relationships is one of the hardest things we do throughout our entire lives. Relationship building holds especially true if we are to journey with Jesus in order to accomplish all God has planned for us. We have to start doing things His way and loving ourselves is part of it.
To truly be walking with Jesus on our life journey, we have to be in agreement with Him.The book of Amos in the Old Testament really brings this to the forefront concerning the behavior of a believer.I really like how this is said.
“Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? (Amos 3:3 NLT)
Most people think this verse is referring to a relationship with friends, relatives and so forth, which is correct ... in part. This passage is referring to our relationship with God and being in agreement, alignment and purpose with Him including how He feels about us.
If one person loves and the other one only does so based on the situation, the whole “it takes two” thing is unbalanced.There is no moving forward along the journey, because someone has forgotten that grace and favor are part of loving others and ourselves.
People often say when they are not in agreement or moving in the same direction that they are not on the "same page". When we are not on the "same page" as Jesus, He cannot agree with us, therefore whatever we are believing for is not going to happen.
Jesus repeated: "Again, I truly tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven." (Matthew 18:19 NIV)
Let's dig deeper into how important this is.
"And I tell you once more that if two of you on earth agree in asking for anything it will be granted to you by My Heavenly Father. For wherever two or three people come together in My name, I am there, right among you."
(Matthew 18:19-21 Phillips New Testament)
You can be sure Jesus has not broken the agreement. So if it is not God or someone else, who do you think has missed walking in agreement?
Loving the Me God Sees
I realize that it’s difficult for us to really see ourselves like God sees us. Nonetheless, we have to try.No, that’s not right … we have to do it.
In the coming weeks people will be sharing special times letting one another know how much they are loved. When this message is conveyed to you, I want you to do something.
Every time you hear or say "I love you" say the same thing to yourself! Put aside how you look and feel about who you are, and start accepting the individual God created on purpose - you!
He knows exactly how you look and He loves what you look like regardless if you do not. He designed you and likes what He made. You are perfectly designed for His pleasure and glory. Declare as the psalmist did:
"I praise You (God) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:14 NIV)
When Christ walked this earth scriptures tell us that He knew His purpose by fellowshipping with His Heavenly Father daily. As a result of being in agreement with God, He increased in every area of His earthly life.
"Jesus grew (increased) in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people."
Luke 2:52 NLT
If you want to grow in favor with God, grow in faith by getting on the same page as Him. That does not mean you have to like everything about yourself, but love yourself enough to forgive what God has already forgiven.
Start walking in the same direction as God and learn to unconditionally love yourself. Get into agreement with Him so you can walk in favor with everything else in your life.
Start believing and saying out loud "Somebody loves me, and that somebody is me!"
It’s not a sin to love yourself, but is actually a sin not to love what God said was made “good.”As a child of God, grace and favor allows Jesus to partner with us for our journey in life.
My husband and I really love you, and care about how you are progressing on your journey with Jesus. It is our desire that you come to think of yourself as beautifully and wonderfully made by the Master, created for good works and to love the life you have been given.
"God has made us what we are.
In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things He had already planned for us to do."
(Ephesians 2:10 EVR)
From this point on, start "loving the me (you) God sees! Whenever you hear or say “I love you” to someone else, make this statement. When you stand in front of a mirror repeat it over and over until it sinks into your spirit and becomes a part of your thinking:
Somebody loves me,
and that somebody is me!
“It would be a lonely life if no one ever said I love you, and knowing that God loves us is wonderful.But it is so good when God loves us through other people.”
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming a child of the Savior.
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Note: If used, names in articles are changed to protect individual(s) privacy.
Note: When used the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him no place in our lives.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Unless noted, scripture reference in series was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway. ImageCreative Common License if not specified.
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Talk and praise are cheap when they don’t have love to back them.In difficult situations people often find out the true colors of others and how they feel about them in the way they are responding to individual burdens.
Feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety are overwhelming, because some can’t fathom what it means to be loved unconditionally.They don’t see a way out or hope beyond a current crisis.Crying out in desperation they don’t feel heard or special in what they are going through, and because so many others may be experiencing their own difficulties, a plea for help goes unnoticed.
This is why the message in Exodus 19 God spoke to Moses to tell the people was so important.Jehovah wanted them to know their cries were heard and that they were His own specially loved treasures. God is still saying that message!
I can’t recall a time when someone praised me simply because of who I was. Nor do I remember anyone ever saying I was special.In fact, I was told the exact opposite by someone I loved in my adult years! "You're not special, and she's prettier than you."
Not thinking I was important really didn’t give me much confidence in succeeding in life, and being told unkind things about my looks really took me to a new level of feeling unloved and unworthy. However, that changed through learning about the love of God through Christ Jesus.
Do I still think about those things that were said to me? Of course, but not as often, and I no longer let them define who I am or how I feel.
Coming to the understanding that God loves you not because of your gifts, talents or special abilities is eye-opening!I think of it like this … God loved me so much that He picked special skills and selected attributes that would make me who I was, and I would love who I am (learning to like myself came first).
God loved and fashioned me into who I am because He wanted me to love what He loved – me! He planned for and wanted me, not someone "like" me, but flesh and bones literal me who He knew would mess-up and not always get things right!
When a parent receives a newborn they love it unconditionally regardless of what it may or may not become in the future. They see the bald, pink, pudgy child as perfect and beautiful.
Now I have seen some of those "perfect" kids and have thought, surely you are not blind - that kid is downright ... well, you know where I am going with this. What others find beautiful is not always beauty or perfection in the eye of another beholder.
They same goes for how God created each person. As a parent, He sees every child of His as perfection, not perfection in waiting. He is fully aware of the downfalls that will come throughout our lives, the mistakes, and wrong decisions we will encounter, yet that does not stop Him loving us.
I am favored by God not because of what I can bring to Him or do for Him, but because He first loved me so much that He wanted favor, salvation and blessings to be on my entire life (throughout eternity).
"We love Him (Jesus/God) because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19 NKJV)
He, on purpose, created me to be just like this for Himself and His glory. He wants me! He knows me! He knows my name!
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (from Isaiah 43:1-3 NKJV)
He wanted me, named me, and calls me His very own. Not as a possession to control, but as a person to fellowship with and enjoy life with on a continual basis. He saved me (and you my friend) for this reason!
You Are Awesome to God
In prayer David praised Jehovah over the love of God in his very own creation as Psalm 139:14 states:
"... I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
Let us read the complete statement for a full understanding of his thankfulness concerning God's desire to have "David" (you and me as well) specifically in His life.
"For You fashioned my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I thank You because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; Your works are wonders - I know this very well." (Psalm 139:13-14 Complete Jewish Bible)
David was fully aware of the care and attention given to each detail in designing him as a one-of-a-kind unique individual. That statement can be told for everyone; no one is patterened after another. Each has their own wonderfully made mold designed for them. If that's not proof of God's love for you specifically, I do not know what is!
All those quirky things people find annoying ... God did that. All the strange tastes, likes and interests you have that are so different from others ... God did that. Not to make you less than anyone else, but to stand out from everyone else! You are truly special!
You are not the same or like anyone else on purpose, because God did not need two of anyone! He wanted one you and you were called "good" in His creation of you! No evil thought went into creating anyone, so if those things are present, they were not part of God's initial design.
"God saw all He had made, and it was VERY good." (Genesis 1:31a)
I love this about God. He specifically picked out what He wanted to be in my "make-up" and fashioned everything else to fit in place so the outcome would be ME, not anyone else, but perfectly made to His satisfaction without any hesitation! Isn't that amazing? He has designed each person to ever be born (past, present and future) to be exactly how He wanted.
I totally get how King David felt when he wrote Psalm 23 from experiencing the love of God personally, no matter how many times He failed or fell from grace.
“Surely goodness, mercy (unending unmerited favor), and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord (and His presence) shall be my dwelling place.” (Psalm 23:6)
These aren’t just words to make him feel good when things were going bad or when he had passed on to glory. They were words of hope for the living here on earth that helped David cope.
Friends, Psalm 23 is not for the dead, but for the living! You will have no enemies, dark valleys, fear or lack anything in Heaven.
David knew that God’s promises were real and for his life then and there. They are just as real for us here and now!
In verse six the term “goodness” means in the widest sense it is God’s pleasure to present to His precious treasure the most beautiful, best, bountiful, kindest, loving, cheerful things shall be in his favor (yours, mine or anyone who believes).
Instead of thinking of this passage for just King David, put your name in it as I have and receive it as God talking to you personally.
"His mercy on me (say your name) is kind implying beauty, favor and goodness.This mercy gift of favor will follow, run after with intent to pursue, chase or hunt after me (say your name) my entire life."
There will never be a time in your life when people or circumstances do not disappoint. That is why what I am sharing is so important and vital for you to take hold of it in your spirit right now.
When you wholeheartedly believe this is true, the way you handle the unexpected challenges of life will be different because you are expecting God's covenant favor to always be with you. It is a game and life changer when you finally believe you are truly special.
Until next time, favored blessings!
*For those who trust in Jesus Christ, God gives the promise of life here but also the gift of eternal life as an inheritance of being His child. If you would like to have this gift also, click here to learn more.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for more information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1/Fay Ann Daniels unless noted. Do not copy.
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
Revise and rewritten exerpt from original article "Hope Beyond Lockdown: Part 1". Unless noted, scripture reference in series was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway. ImageCreative Common License if not specified.
Welcome, Daily Favor Blog, Favored1, Daily Favor Teaching Blog, Favor, You Are Special, Loved, God's Love, God Loves You, God Loves Me, Uniquely Made by God
We finished grocery shopping and were heading to the car
with our carts. It’s not that we had
tons of items, but that hubby has to lean on one while he walks.
My husband was a good thirty feet ahead of me with his
cart while I trailed behind with another. With a mind of its own, mine of
course had the wobbly wheels that continually veered off to the left as I tried
to control it.
As I was focusing on my runaway buggy I heard a
conversation transpire between my husband and another lady, but I never saw her.
“Hey, how ya
doing.” Hubby nodded as the lady
walked by.
“I see you let
her out.” She shouted, as if I couldn’t hear her.
“Excuse me! … I’m right here!”Before I blinked she had passed me and the
two of them were laughing.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Sholinganallur, Tamil Nadu, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Skopje, Municipality of
Čair, Macedonia; Romania; Nigeria; Bosnia & Herzegovina.
I am so happy for your visit and hope that you come back
each week to participate in the weekly challenges.God has been faithful and we expect His favor
to abound in the lives of those who chose to Journey with Jesus on Daily Favor
Blog.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below.All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life.Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
I pulled my cart up next to the car and began my inquiry
about the woman. She was someone from the hospital (I should have known).Finding out who it was I made tracks back
into the store to find Kathy, but like Houdini she disappeared.
Round two in the parking lot was just as surprising.Midway to our car someone ran up to us and
popped me on the shoulder as if playing tag and I was it.Turning around quickly it was our young friend
that we hadn’t seen since Christmas time.Looking back on the situation I know it was God causing our paths to
cross at that exact moment.
Our conversation was across the board with topics from
relationships to computers and everything in between.Every time we see this guy we end up spending
hours in the parking lot gabbing.
The sun was setting and it was getting cold.The only one wearing a coat was my husband. Finally my friend said he was chilly and
walked back to his car to see if he had a jacket in his vehicle.
“I’m getting cold too.” I said subtly to my hubby hoping
he’d get the message and retrieve my coat from our car.He didn’t, but it was nice to know he was all
snuggly warm! (Ignore the underlying sarcasm.)
After an hour talking, our friend began telling us about
a situation he was still struggling with, even though we went through all this
with him months ago.My friend couldn’t
accept forgiveness or love for himself.The thought itself gave me chills, and I don’t mean chill bumps!
Love Me, Love Me Not
Somewhere along our journey in life I believe we all go
through the “not feeling loved” period.As
the Apostle Paul might say, this is an area that I have to “put under” repeatedly,
because it simply isn’t true.
The feeling of not being loved doesn’t mean we aren’t
loved. Although each of us has differing reasons for thinking this way, it’s
still an emotion we battle.
After our friend shared his circumstances, he told us
that his plans for the evening included getting drunk so he didn’t have to deal
with it.My husband and I shared
scriptures with him regarding how he felt about himself, but it didn’t
matter.
Seeing that we were getting nowhere in persuading him, I
felt led to share something extremely personal thinking he could relate his
situation to mine in some way.His response
was that the things that happened to me weren’t my fault and of course I could
be forgiven.I said the same thing went
for what happened in his life, but he would have no part of it.
He knew what the Bible said, but felt it didn’t apply to
him.His story included forgiveness for
all those that had forsaken him and were causing this turmoil, but it didn’t
include himself.
We kept telling him, “People love you. We love you. God loves
you, but you don’t love you!” Over and over he said, “I know, I know … but I
can’t.I don’t deserve to be forgiven or
loved by God.”
Trying to convince him that not accepting the love of God
through forgiveness was like putting the Lord back on the cross saying, “Sorry
Jesus, it didn’t work for me.”
When we
disregard scripture we crucify Christ over and over.He made the choice not to believe. (Hebrews 6:6)
Walking Billboards
Our friend loves the Lord and one would think he’s
practically a walking billboard for Christianity; that’s something we should
all strive towards.
He shares the message
of the cross, continually listens to gospel music, is faithful in church, wears
Christian clothing or jewelry and even boasts faith based tattoos (which is
another matter in itself).
With all those things under his belt there is still
something he’s missed, and he admits it.My friend isn’t walking with Jesus in his journey, because he doesn’t
live what he says he believes by taking Christ at His word concerning love.
A Loving Choice
Before we were created God knew that mankind would mess up
royally through sin, but that didn’t stop Him from loving us.As a matter of fact, God even made provisions
through Jesus that would allow us to be transformed into His likeness so we
could walk the path He set for us.
“For we are His (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in
them.” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)
Look at this same verse using the Amplified translation
of the Bible, which clarifies it a little better.
“For we are His workmanship (His own masterwork, a work
of art), created in Christ Jesus (reborn from above – spiritually transformed,
renewed, ready to be used) for good works, which God prepared (for us)
beforehand (taking paths which He set), so that we would walk in them (living
the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us).” (Ephesians 2:10
AMP)
When we fail to believe what God has said in His Word, we
are making a choice not to believe.When
we don’t believe what scripture says, we are making a choice not to love
God.Pretty scary isn’t it?
To love God is to believe Him.
Remember, love isn’t a feeling, but an action.It is a characteristic of God. As His
children, we have that characteristic living inside us through the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
A way of loving God is to believe Him when He says He
loves us unconditionally. That includes all the bad stuff we’ve done in the
past or present, and what we may do in the future.His love never fails and always forgives.
Rejecting Love
It’s hard for us to see ourselves in a good light as God
does.We look at our past and see the
mistakes, flaws and weaknesses.No
wonder we reject love when it’s presented to us.
However, that’s not how God sees us.He sees wonderful children who have been
cleansed by the blood of Jesus, made whole again, beautiful, redeemed and
forgiven.
Think about these four questions:
1 – If we don’t accept the love of God, how can we ever
tell others about it to carry out His plan?
2 – Are we loving God with all our heart, mind and soul
if we don’t love what He loves (meaning ourselves)?
3 – How is it possible to carry out Jesus’ command to love
one another as I have loved you? (Matthew 22:37-39) The Royal Law in the Bible
doesn’t say, “Hate your neighbor like you hate yourself.” (James 2:8)
4 – How can we journey with Jesus if we don’t believe His
love is real?
“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does
it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted,
or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
No, despite all these things, overwhelming
victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from
God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our
fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow.Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed,
nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35,36, 38,39 NLT)
It Takes Two – Love Me Back
In order for any relationship to work those involved have
to reach some sort of agreement … that is unless you’re a cat.
All the rules go out the window then. If you
own a cat you know exactly what I mean. They love God that’s for sure, but have
no intention of loving us back!
Well, maybe that's not entirely true and perhaps judgmental based on the dozens of
scratches on my arms! (Nope … no clue why I added that bit, it just
came to me.)
Relationship building holds especially true if we are to journey
with Jesus in order to accomplish all God has planned for us. We have to start
doing things His way and loving ourselves is part of it.
To truly be walking with Jesus on our life journey, we
have to be in agreement with Him.The
book of Amos in the Old Testament really brings this to the forefront
concerning the behavior of a believer.I
really like how this is said.
“Can two people walk together without agreeing on the
direction? (Amos 3:3 NLT)
If one person loves and the other one only does so based
on the situation, the whole “it takes two” thing is unbalanced.There is no moving forward along the journey,
because someone has forgotten that grace and favor are part of loving others
and ourselves.You can be sure Jesus isn’t
the one who forgot, so guess who is left?
This Week’s Challenge:
Loving the Me God Sees
I realize that it’s difficult for us to really see
ourselves like God sees us. Nonetheless, we have to try.No, that’s not right … we have to do it.
For the next week or so people will be
sharing special times letting others know how much they are loved by them on
Valentine’s Day.Our challenge this week
will also convey that message, but not the way you think.
The challenge is to believe “somebody
loves me, and that somebody is me.”Besides believing that you are loved by God or anyone else, we need to
love the way Jesus does.Unconditionally
love yourself.
It’s not a sin to love yourself, but is actually a sin not to love what God said was made “good.”As a child of God, grace and favor allows
Jesus to partner with us for the journey.God hears our prayers and cares because He loves us.
Don’t be like our friend who is determined to live without
loving the way God loves based on the way he feels. God will go on loving him
whether he ever comes to that realization or not.
My husband and I really love you, and care about how you
are progressing on your journey with Jesus. It’s our desire that you come to
think of yourself as beautifully and wonderfully made by the Master, created for
good works and to love the life you’ve been given.
This week whenever you hear or say “I love you” to
someone else, I’d like you to make this statement.Repeat it over and over until it sinks into
your spirit and becomes a part of your thinking:
Somebody loves me, and that somebody is me!
“It would be a lonely
life if no one ever said I love you, and knowing that God loves us is
wonderful.But it is so good when God
loves us through other people.” - Aaron Wilburn
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also.Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Gateway Bible. Image credit: Google
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