Vulnerable on Purpose?

VULNERABILITY.

It’s hard, isn’t it?

To bear your soul and hope for the best…

To entrust your inner self to another person….

Being vulnerable is just plain difficult….and scary…and amazing.

Yep, vulnerability is amazing.

And not just for the depth of relationship that is discovered through those scary “I-can’t-believe-I-am-telling-you-this” kinda moments….

It’s amazing because of the freedom that we find in revealing who we really are…

You know what vulnerable means?

The dictionary defines it as, “capable of being physically or emotionally wounded or hurt.”

So, basically, I’m opening myself up to a whole lot of possible pain and criticism by being honest with you about who I am?

Yep.

That’s why very few people truly embrace vulnerability as a way of life.

Because the dictionary has it wrong.

Because the media has it wrong (cue reality tv).

Vulnerability does make us prone to painful experiences. No doubt about it.

But I think we are focusing on the wrong characteristics of this rarely used word.

Why don’t we look at the positive effects of vulnerability for a sec?

Boldness.

Empowerment.

Redemption.  

Maybe the dictionary should really say, “capable of inspiring you to live out the God-design for your life in a truly authentic way.”

Mmmhmm.

Let’s talk about the famed woman at the well from John 4.

She is a woman with a past that she is battling on a daily basis.

She is an outcast because of her ethnicity and her gender.

Jesus sees her and  invites her into a purposeful conversation ( which I’m sure her soul craves). After all, her current situation was more focused on promiscuous activity than on fireside chats.

But, something inside of her leaps at Jesus’ words when He gently says that He is aware of her circumstances, her past, and the condition of her heart.

She could’ve denied it.

She could’ve walked away unchanged.

She could’ve even reacted in anger at His knowing words.

But she couldn’t resist the fact that this man, this Jesus, longed to know who she was deep down inside.

He was interested in the real her…not in who she was pretending to be.  

No condemnation in His voice. Just love.

God designed her (and us) with an innate longing to be known intimately and openly.

To be seen.

To be heard.

To be loved into a life that is so much better than the one we’ve settled for.

The woman at the well was no longer who “they” said she was.

She was who Jesus said she was.

Blameless.

And her willingness to shed her layers of shame in an act of vulnerability caused her to live a life of purpose by boldly sharing Jesus’ message of grace with the rest of the town!

Yes, I know that people aren’t as forgiving as Jesus is at looking past our flaws.

But I do know that assuming the person across from you isn’t going to appreciate your transparency is a cop-out. :)

You don’t know what the other person will say until you try.

And you may get hurt.

Because, sometimes others don’t want to be vulnerable back.

And God-designed vulnerability beckons heart-changing, uncomfortable, authentic, challenging moments of realness.

Not everyone appreciates that.

But, that’s ok.

Because, God sure does.

And remember,  He sees you.

He knows you.

He hears you.

And He will always love you back to life.

Darkness is Temporary

"Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, 

but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you." Isaiah 60:2

Today is "Shine a Light on Slavery" day.  

It's a day devoted to telling those around us the shocking news that slavery still exists. 
In fact, there are more slaves on earth today than ever before in history. 
Over 27 million in fact. (Source: A21 Campaign )

That is some dark news, my friends. 
Sometimes, it seems like the darkness is overtaking us, doesn't it? 

But, you know what? 

Darkness is temporary. 
It can't stand the light and runs away from a single flame.  

It cowers at bright beams of hope and shrinks back at rays of grace.

FEAR is it's weapon of mass destruction.  

But don't be misled by this impostor of darkness.
It's all a lie. A ruse to try to distract you from the truth. 

And this is the undeniable truth: 
The Light always wins. (Isaiah 58:8)

The Light lasts forever and ever. (Isaiah 60:20) 
Eventually the things done in the dark are exposed by the Light. (Eph. 5:11-14)

And the Light's weapon is far stronger than that of the dark:   LOVE.

This is NOT the time to shrink back or give up or stay quiet. 
Fear can't exist in the presence of love. 

So, we have to keep fighting. 
We have to keep loving.
We have to keep shining. 

More needs to be said. 
More needs to be done.
So. Much. More.

And the love-light of Christ is a beacon to the hopeless, desperate, and forsaken. 
He's inside of us! 

Jesus is the Light of the world. 

He is the bright morning Star.
He is the Dawn at break of day.  

How can we keep quiet?!!

Jesus is the only way to fight the Darkness. 

Do you live with a knowledge that you carry His Light inside of you? 

This truth brings us courage to keep pushing back the dark. 

It's not just a cliche to say that we are here on earth to be the Light.

No, it's a calling to see things differently, a mandate to bravely act. 
It's a revolutionary way of living, a mission to live for the cause of Christ. 
Are you shining?

We have no reason to shy away from burning bright 

because His Love is our guiding Light. 

Greater is He that is in ME

Last night I couldn't sleep. 

I kept feeling like a shadow was over my bed watching me.

I kept thinking of worst case scenario's in my mind.

FEAR kept me awake.

It literally stole something from me....a good night's sleep!

And isn't that what the devil always does?

He steals, kills and destroys... John 10:10

BUT the second part of that verse is the key to victory.

Cause though the devil takes....

Jesus gives us life...ABUNDANT LIFE!!! 

So, I made a choice last night as I lay there wide awake at 1:00 a.m.

I decided to fight back against that fear. 

I decided to live the abundant life Jesus died to give me.

I prayed and asked God to fill me with His love. 

"Perfect love casts out fear."-  1 John 4:18

I spoke out verses about God's mighty power in me.

"Greater is He that is in me than he that is in this world."- 1 John 4:4

I chose to focus on spiritual things.

"Set your mind on things above and not on things of this earth."- Colossians 3:2

And do you know what happened?

His peace, joy, and love immediately flowed over me. 

Why?

Because I acknowledged God's power at work within me!

Once I felt His power at work, a song rose up in my spirit right there in that bed.

A song from when I was a child in children's church.

It goes like this:

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river,

I’ve got peace like a river in my soul, (2x)

I’ve got love like an ocean,

I’ve got love like an ocean,

I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul,(2x)

I’ve got joy like a fountain,

I’ve got joy like a fountain,

I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul. (2x)

This song may not mean much to you but it was a lullaby for me last night.

I hummed it and sang that song in my mind until I finally dozed off.

It's like God was holding me and rocking me back to sleep.

 I could hear him singing along and whispering peace to my soul.

That, my friends, is the power of God.

FEAR debilitates, handicaps and destroys faith.

But when we tap into His resurrection power within us, fear has to leave us alone!

Jesus' power is so great and He cares so much that no need is too small.

My late night example of sleeplessness might seem small to you

but, to me, it was huge.

And God knew just how to show up and in what way to release 

His power so I could have victory.

He can do the same for you, ya know.

Jesus loves me (and you!), this I know....

One True Love

What does love look like to you? 

A rose, maybe?

Dinner for two by candlelight?

Oh I know! "THE NOTEBOOK"!

(Yes, I'm a huge fan of THE NOTEBOOK in case you were wondering.)

And I do believe that all of these things are representations of earthly love.

But, you see, we only know what we've learned here on earth.

We understand only what we've seen and experienced throughout our lives.

Our idea of love is full of limitations, conditions and imperfections.

But the perfect example of love ....love that is limitless and unconditional ....is JESUS. 

God sent His son to earth to die a horrific death for you and me.  

That kind of sacrificial love is so amazing and unbelievable.

But, I believe it!

Do you?

Do you believe in His never-ending love?

Have you accepted that He loves you no matter what you've done?

People won't always accept you, by the way.

We all hurt eachother- sometimes on purpose- often times by accident.

We all say one thing and do another at some point in our lives.

We all break hearts and have our hearts broken.

The best of intentions is still no match for God's perfect love.

The only way to really know love is to embrace what our Saviour, Jesus Christ, did for us.

As we approach Valentines Day, I want to challenge you to really look at the Cross.

Take your eyes off the earthly things that are dragging you down. 

Look up into the loving eyes of your Faithful God today.

Feel His arms wrap around you and reassure you.

God says:

YOU ARE PRICELESS.

Because Jesus paid the price...for you to know true love.

1 John 4:7-12 

"Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born again because of what God has done. That person knows God. 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

How did God show his love for us? He sent his one and only Son into the world. He sent him so we could receive life through Him.

What is love? It is not that we loved God. It is that He loved us and sent His Son to give his life to pay for our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we should also love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us. His love is made complete in us."