Picking Up the Broken Pieces

“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13

In my last posting I wrote about how I bought a beautiful mosaic candle holder. Well, I wanted to share another word the Holy Spirit spoke to me about that mosaic. You see when I saw the beautiful red and gold glow behind the cross I remembered what my sister in law had just recently told me about a project that her and her mother took on. They were making a mosaic tile for her mother’s garden. She said that they found the project to be difficult because the glass would cut their hands and fingers. I heard the Holy Spirit say,

“When people try to pick up the broken pieces of their life on their own they will find themselves getting cut and hurt. It is too painful. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that I pick up the broken pieces and make a beautiful master piece for all to see and stand in awe of.”

We don’t have to worry about picking up the broken pieces in our lives. That is not our job. This difficult job belongs to our Lord and Savior. When we surrender to the healing power of the Holy Spirit He puts the pieces back together again, better than we ever could. Then He fills us with His joy and peace. His fire will be in us and will illuminate us.

I remember when I lost my mom at the early age of sixteen. My life was shattered into a million pieces. The years after her death were consumed with drug abuse, extreme feelings of loneliness, and depression. I was a mess for many years. Every time I tried to pick up the broken pieces of my life I found myself more frustrated and discouraged. The more I followed my own ideas and ways of healing the worse things got for me. I needed the Healer to come and mend my broken heart. I needed Him to help me forgive. Most of all I needed to surrender to Him and lay down the broken pieces of my life at His feet. And that’s exactly what I did.

He has healed me and has showed me that He can use any situation good or bad, happy or sad to make us stronger Christians. We don’t always understand why we go through some of the troubles that we do, but we have to know with all of our heart that He truly does work everything out for our good. We have to trust Him with every part of our life. There is to be no holding back from Him.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 reassures us that He does have a good plan for our lives. It promises us that when we call on Him that He will hear and answer us. The Holy Spirit can heal every part of us and make us beautiful in Christ Jesus.

If you are still trying to pick up some of the broken pieces of your life on your own, STOP IT! That is the Holy Spirit’s job. Allow Him to have His way in you. He loves you and has a wonderful plan in which He will use every broken piece to make you whole again. Trust Him and you’ll see that your faith will make you whole.

"Do Over!"

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23

Recently I have been thinking about how many believers allow themselves to be tormented by feelings of guilt and condemnation when they sin and fall short of our God’s glorious standard. They get so down on their selves when they realize that they are still susceptible to sin. We must remember that we are going to make mistakes as long as we are here in these sinful bodies living in this world full of sin and temptation.

Satan and his demonic forces are determined to keep us bogged down under feelings of condemnation and guilt when we sin. These forces immediately try to attack our minds with negatives thoughts like..

“Do you think God is really going to keep forgiving you when you’re always messing up.”

“Real Christians would never say or do that. You’re not a real Christian.”

“See you’re not good enough, smart enough, or know enough for God to use you. You can’t even stop sinning.”

I seriously doubt that I am the only one that enemy attacks with thoughts like the ones above. I know this because the Word of God says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren. (Revelation 12:10) These accusing thoughts and words are straight from the pits of hell. The Accuser wants us to have a “woe is me” attitude and give up. He knows that if we are busy beating ourselves up, feeling guilty, condemned, and unworthy we will not want to enter God’s presence to receive His forgiveness, mercy, and grace when we need it most. We will be bound by these emotions, unable to be used by our Lord.

Instead of sitting and meditating on our mistakes and our shortcomings we need to remember what 1 John 2: 1-2 says.

“My little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin. But if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely.”

You see our Heavenly Father knows that we are not perfect and that we will sin, so He has given us Jesus Christ to be our Advocate. So we can go boldly before the throne to ask forgiveness and healing. Our joy and peace will be restored because we know that all is well between us and our God.

I remember when we were kids we used to love playing kickball. For those of you that don’t know kickball, it is a mixture of baseball and dodge ball, only the ball is much bigger and softer and you kick the ball. When the pitcher rolls the ball if you miss it or kicked a foul everyone would yell “BALL!” or “FOUL!”, “DO OVER!” You then were given another try, a ‘Do Over’ to kick the ball as far as you could.

That is how it is when we fall short of God’s glorious standard and sin. As followers of Christ Jesus we are trying to live each day pleasing to God, avoiding sin, but sometimes we just miss it and mess up. But if we confess our sin and repent He is faithful to let us try again. So rebuke those negative thoughts and reject that “woe is me” attitude and remember that our Advocate, Jesus Christ gives us ‘Do Overs’. Thank God for that!

p.s.

I suggest also reading Don't Let Sin Control You

Little Lost Sheep

Jesus said “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:11-14)

Since early this morning I have heard the Holy Spirit telling me about the little lost sheep. I feel so sad for these sheep. They are so hurt and lonely. So today I write to the little lost sheep whoever you are.

Little sheep the Shephard is looking for you. He wants you to come back to the fold. You can’t stay away from His people and think that you can stand strong on your own. The enemy is lying to you and replacing the company of God’s saints with the company of the world. They are the ones closest to you who are just as lost and confused. You need to be with the other saints who love the Lord and His people. They will stand with you and often times hold up your hands in prayer.

You have excessive wounds and troubles because you have chosen to walk away from the Shephard and His ways. All He has every wanted for you is to trust Him to care for all of your needs. He loves you so much and would never leave you alone, but He has allowed you to have your own way. Now you are reaping what you have sown and you are heading towards the cliff.

I know the Shephard intimately and personally. He loves us even when we stray. He is known to go out looking for His little lost sheep. He is looking for you now. Come home. Put all of your trust in Him and stop leaning on your own understanding. If you will acknowledge Him in all that you do He will direct your path. Remember not to get angry when things don’t go as you planned because He is in control. He will always work everything out for your good, even if you don’t understand what’s going on at the time. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. However, we know that He is all knowing and He has a plan for our life. Abandon your own will and desire His will for your life. He will console you and give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Many will see what He has done for you and in you and praise God.

The Shephard says, “You are weak, angry, hurt, sad, confused, and dependant on the love of your other gods. You love them but they don’t love you. I love you and want you to draw close to Me. I want you to eat and drink my Word. It will give you new life and hope. You will be full of determination to live life and fulfill the destiny that I have called you for. If you will spend time in the Word, with the Word, with Me I will help you to do what my Word says. You will know who you are when you spend time with Me. You will no longer be a weak and frail sheep. You will be strong and confident because you are walking close to Me. Strength and courage to live your life more abundantly will come from the healing that My Word will bring you. I am here to guide, protect, and sustain you. Trust me and walk with me. Come home. I'll carry you.”