captivesofhope

Finding renewal and hope

Tag Archives: Jesus


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Prayer is a Place

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Slipping into prayer is like slipping beneath a warm blanket in the winter time or like soaking tired muscles in a bath of Epsom salt. Jesus is a pool of love just waiting for me to dive in. I dive in with my problems and let Him wash them away. There are times when I get so deep, I don’t have to say anything. I just let Jesus move and speak His purpose to me. He restores the strength that life has drained from me. He repairs my broken heart so that I can stand to have it broken again. He heals my mind that is weary from the pressure of this world. He takes my burden and gives me His. His burden is light and full of peace for my soul.

His burden is this; Jesus loves people. He loves people who don’t love Him back. He loves people who insult Him and misuse His name. He loves people who used to walk with Him, but who now go in a different direction. He loves people who have never known Him. He loves people who will never know Him. He loves the people who have hurt my feelings. He loves the people whose feelings I have hurt. Jesus loves people I have never met. The scope of His love is beyond my understanding. I don’t understand how Jesus could love so many people so perfectly and at the same time. All He wants me to do is to tell the ones within my reach about his love. Well, here goes… JESUS LOVES YOU.  No matter where you are or how many times you have failed. There is a place for you in Him. A place that is beyond anything you have experienced. If you believe in Heaven, you’ll want to know Jesus because He is heaven. I feel Heaven every time I close my eyes and say His name. Life is not easy, let Jesus carry your load. He is so much stronger than we are.

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Beauty Is Not Skin-Deep

I used to be a size 4 in highschool. I was thin and healthy looking. But, when I look at the pictures, I am not impressed. I don’t want to look like that person in the pictures anymore because I was lost. I had problems. I did not know God. That made me ugly. Even though I am no longer a size 4, I feel beautiful. I feel beautiful because every time I look in the mirror, I see the work that Jesus has done. That is beauty. There is a light behind my eyes that was not there before.

Today, pastor preached about the fact that Jesus was not a handsome man to make people want to follow Him. He did not pick the most handsome body for Himself. He wanted people to see His heart and His love for them, not his body. Today, people judge others based upon how they look. If a person appears to be less than desirable, that person is often shunned or mistreated. I saw a news clip about a little girl whose mother consented to getting her plastic surgery because she was being teased. One of her ears stuck out a little further than the other so the other children made fun of her. I can’t judge her mother for deciding to fix the problem. Parents want to protect their children whenever possible. The point is that people young and old make fun of or avoid things that are out of the norm. Beauty is truly skin deep in our society today. I have found that beauty comes from Jesus. Nowadays,  people are attracted to me and can’t understand why. They do know that it is not my looks. They see Jesus and they need Him. They need what happened to me to happen to them. Let it be, Jesus. Amen.


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Shaking the World

I have been in a hostile environment for these five months and I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t affect me because it has. I have been insulted, belittled, embarrassed, criticized, and bullied. This situation has challenged my self-image, my peace, my joy, and my faith. I have had some very rough days, but God has sustained me. The scripture that summarizes my experience is, “And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Hebrews 12: 27). In this scripture God talks about shaking the earth and Heaven so that the shaken things can be removed. Those things that cannot be shaken, cannot be removed. God has shaken my world during these months. I have had to decide if I really believe what I say I do. Do I really believe that God is going to keep His promises? Do I even believe that God made the promises? Am I an overcomer or am I a coward? Do I believe that I can walk on water if Jesus bids me come? Do I believe that I hear from God or am I fooling myself? All these questions had to
be answered before I could move forward. Many things have fallen away. I have seen a lot of things removed from my life. Some things were more painful than others. Now, all that is left is me and God. The real me and the real God. You know what? I like what I see. I feel like I made it. I did not do it perfectly, but I am still standing. I had to cry and I had to pray. I had to worship God with trembling lips and a teary face, but I worshiped Him. I had to groan and struggle and ask questions. I had to have others pray for me and with me. Some days were better than others, but I am still alive and I still love God. What’s more, my relationship with Him is deeper than it was before. It is easier to trust Him. I feel lighter because God removed the things that were weighing me down. Now it’s time to step off into destiny.