Grow

❤️Beloved, It does not matter where you are, just grow through.

It does not matter where you are from, just grow through.

It does not matter where you want to be, learn to keep growing through any kind of adversity...

Grow through,

Shine through,

Be content through!  Grow! 🌻 Keep hoping, keep praying, and keep believing!  May God's peace love, and favor reign over your life! ✨

The Process Of Transformation

The Process Of Transformation

(Change, Wanting to Change, and Transforming)

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."  If you don't understand the process, God says just trust my plan.  

Many times in life we face many obstacles, challenges, hills, and valleys.  The obstacles are sometimes difficult and painful, but very essential for our growth in Christ.  What if there was growth, but no change?  It is not possible.  God does not change, because He is perfect.  People change, because people can grow.  But, that is precisely, what God is doing within each of us.  Yes!  He is perfecting us!  I am not a finished product, and by no means am I perfect.  Witnessing the transformation of the butterfly up close was a new experience that I never thought about before.  It was very interesting, and it showed me how God can transform our lives.  It also showed me how this painful process was beautiful, and very fulfilling.

One afternoon in class, one of the teachers brought in a small clear plastic jar with five small fuzzy caterpillars in it.  All that week we had been talking to the students about the transformation of the butterfly, drawing pictures, making arts, and sculpting crafts.  Now, we where about to see the whole process first hand in the classroom, and get an opportunity to care for them.   Immediately, the students flocked to me anxiously wondering what was inside this clear plastic jar.  So, I got the little fuzzy buddies, walk to the front of the classroom, and explained to sixteen three and four year old students; we were going to watch the change from caterpillar to butterfly.  I like the term "grow butterflies".  At least that is what one of my students called it.  For several weeks we all watched the little caterpillars inch around the jar.  They inched up, and down, side, to side.  Listening to the students day after day asking, when were the "worms" going to get their wings, and fly away.  Each time we would reassure them that it would be soon.  Watching their eagerness to witness this transformation was a blessing in itself.  One morning we all came into class, and noticed that a couple of the caterpillars had surfaced to the top of the jar in a cocoon.  Excitement overcame the classroom, and the students questioned the wear abouts of some of the caterpillars.  As the days passed we noticed that the rest of the caterpillars soon followed suit.  Once again, the students faces lightened with excitement.  By the end of the week all the caterpillars were successfully in their cocoons.  The next week we got the "butterfly house", (that is what my students called it),and we carefully placed all the cocoons in the netting.  We then hung it from the ceiling, and patiently waited for the butterflies to emerge.  The students watched the butterfly netting day after day in anticipation.  Then it happened.  The shadow of a wing emerged from the bottom of the netting, and slowly appeared in the light.  The students, all in amazement, watched as one of the little butterflies made its appearance to the class.  A few days later a couple more followed.  I got the netting down from the ceiling to put in a cotton ball of sugar water, and noticed blood all around it.  I saw that three of butterflies had spread its wings, one butterfly was quivering from the push, and the other was not moving from its cocoon at all.  It made me sad, and it also made me think.  

Growing the wings was the most crucial and critical part of the transformation.  Change can hurt.  It can be painful, but the outcome is beautiful.  Our Heavenly Father knows where we are, He knows our growth, He knows our strengths, He know our weakness, and He knows how much we can bear.  And yet, He still loves us, is patient with us, through our growth, through our change, and through our process.  He is with us always till the very end.  He has the perfect plan if we only submit to His will, and His way. 

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2).  "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:23-24).  "Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord." (Ephesians 5:10).  "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:17).  Realizing the beauty of transformation allowed me to see the beauty God was doing in me.  It was painful, but it was beautiful.  We grabbed the netting with the three remaining butterflies, and took the students to the awning to set them free.  I saw their faces light up when the butterflies flew to freedom, flew to their new lives, and flew changed and transformed little angels.  This was an opportunity where both teacher and students received a lesson and a blessing!  When we are being transformed, and we allow ourselves to be changed we are allowing God to shape us in His likeness.  His perfection!  Remember, if you do not understand His process, know He has got the perfect plan!  

Have a blessed day dear friends!!!

                 

  

James 2, 3, 4

Have a blessed day dear friends...

The Valley of the Dry Bones

The Valley of the Dry Bones

"The spoken word brings restoration over a valley of dryness, and 

life over a desolate land."

"The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone." (Ezekiel 37:1-7).

  

The word of the Lord brings life.  The breath of life that we breathe deep within our bosom is the same breath that fills our souls.  From the beginning, God brought all life into existence, and the creation of man by His very own breath, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7).  God only spoke the word, and everything was so.  For, "In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1).  As our physical bodies cannot survive without the breath of life, indeed how much more we need to depend on God's word for our spiritual life.  Both are essential, and both are of God!  "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." (Job 33:4).  No other form of created power could do such a marvelous thing, than to give life its own existence.  Who has the power to give life, and to take it?  Who has the power to bring back from the dead?  Who has the power to give in full with all prosperity, and hope?  Only God can!  "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7 The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifeth up."  (1 Samuel 2:6-7).  Only God alone can restore flesh to human bones, connect tissue to tissue,  and only God alone can cause them to live.  The Spirit of God is the wind, (the symbol of life), and it is represented by His quickening powers.  Disobedience and sin has caused death among the people.  The people were spiritually dead, and their bones lay desolate in a valley of dryness.  God hates sins, and He hides His face from it.  He is pure and He is holy.  "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." (Psalms 104:29-30).  So, Son of man, can these bone live?  O' Lord God, thou knowest!  "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14).  Washed in blood of the lamb, and by God's great power!  It is by God's power that the dry bones lived!  By God's power that He manifested himself through human flesh, and died paying the ultimate price for life!  By God's power are we able to confess and be saved.   By God's power there is a blessed hope!  By God's power there is restoration!  For, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  "And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed." (Joel 2:27). 

"And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said, he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, and exceeding great army.  11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cute off for our parts. 12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." (Ezekiel 37:8-14).

God's restoration is at hand in the land for His children, and nothing can separate His love for them.  "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).  The valley of the dry bones tell about the true power, love and grace of God.  That even though we are dead in sin, He stills converts us to himself.  Prophesying the word, that we may live and have life.  Prophesying the word of the coming King of Kings!  Prophesying the word of His death and resurrection as our Savior!  Jesus Christ was resurrected in three days!  "And after three days and an half spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them." (Revelation 11:11).  That reverent fear, that is the fear of the Lord.  By that fear one can gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  The wisdom of not doing it, the knowledge of knowing not to do, and the understanding of why it should not be done.  But, by sin, there is death.  "Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth."  (Psalms 141:7).  Now, through the death of Christ, hope has now been restored, and the people who were dead, could now live.  

The same word, the breath of life that was spoken in the beginning of time is the same word whom came down in the flesh as Jesus Christ, to bring life back into that which was dead.  "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father;) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14).  Christ died on the cross and rose bringing hope and salvation to all.  That precious life!!!  As prophesied, to Ezekiel in a vision of dry bones, and through the resurrected Son, Jesus Christ, we are now delivered from sin.  He has put His spirit within us, and kept us by His power through faith, unto salvation.  "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27).  To God be the glory!!!

Have a blessed day dear friends...      

        

Jesus Christ Is "The Great I Am"

Jesus Christ Is "The Great I Am"

I am, That I am,
I am, What I am,
I am, Who I am, and
I am, All that I am
Which is the inevitable Divine, and I alone "Is", "Was", and "To Come" the Almighty.

The Lord thy God is self-existing.  He is eternal, forever, and unchangeable.  He is incomprehensible, and unsearchable.  He is the beginning, the ending, and the in between.  The "I AM" of the Lord Jesus Christ, consists its meaning to, there is none other beside "Me".  I am all that there is!  I am that I am, and I will be that I will be, because, I am because I am!  What powerful words, from a powerful Almighty God!  "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." (John 8:58).  The very same words that were made known unto Moses, are the the very same whom thus appeared in the physical as Jesus Christ.  For, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8).  He is the Great I am God incarnate, and the God whom manifested himself in the flesh and, thus the word became living all the way from the beginning.  "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Issac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:3).  "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8).  

"Thus said the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of host; I am the first and I am the last; beside me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6).  Jesus is the bread of life.  "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35).  Jesus is the bread of life from heaven.  "The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven." (John 6:41).  Jesus is the living bread.  "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man shall eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51).  Jesus is the light of the world.  "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." ( John 8:12).  Jesus bears witness of himself.  "I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." (John 8:18).  Jesus is the door of the sheep.  "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep." (John 10:7).  "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9).  Jesus is the good shepherd.  "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (John 10:14).  Jesus is the only way. 

Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" (John 11:25).  Jesus is the true vine.  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." (John 15:1).  "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5).  I shall be, what I shall be for there is none other greater than me, and I Am the one who is soon to return.  The almighty God sits so high you can't go over him, so low you can't go under him, and so wide you can't go around him.  You must come in at the door to Jesus Christ.  He is indefinite, His love is infinite, and His kingdom is eternal!  He is the "Great I Am", and where He is, so I shall be!  To God be the glory!!!

Have a blessed day dear friends...