Chosen

So, the past couple of days I have been feeling this kind of urging in my spirit about something God was wanting to tell me.  He had revealed a couple of things here and there but I just wasn't answering it.  So today Joel asked me if I wanted to do a devo and of course I was like YAHHHHH!  He asked what we should do it on and I got that nudge again in my spirit.  I said we should do one about being chosen, but not the kind of chosen that people usually think of when it comes to God's plan for their lives [that's what I was feeling at least].  So I told Him "why you were chosen and what you were chosen for." I didn't quite know where God was going to go with it and later on after I told Joel my revelation he was like [paraphrasing here] "that's not what I was expecting, but that's so good! I'm still shaken up."
So, I sit down on my bed, get out my Bible and go to the concordance in the back [thank God for those things].  I look up "chose," and "chosen," etc.  One of the scriptures was Ephesians 1:4.  I read it and was like "daaaaang," so I backed up to verse 3 and read all the way through chapter 1.  For real! Probably the BIGGEST revelation of my life! I've read this scripture so many times but God definitely opened the eyes of my understanding to it in a whole new perspective.  Then He started revealing things through His Spirit to me and I started writing it down.
So, here's Ephesians 1:3-23 in the Message, because I like the way they put it, and then what God had me write down.
^"3-6How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
 ^7-10Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
 ^11-12It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
 ^13-14It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
 ^15-19That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!
 ^20-23All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence."


"I chose you-not to be Jesus, but to be Jessica.  My specific plan for you is different from what my plan for Jesus was.  You can do the same kinds of miracles, shine the same Light, and be the same example He was.  But, I placed a different amount of hairs on your head, I destined for you to go different places, preach to different people, have different talents.  Jesus isn't your idol, the One you are to reciprocate, I Am.  Jesus is just you're example, your inspiration.  What Jesus did lets you know that you can do ALL things through Me-aka-the Anointing-aka-Christ [because in Hebrew 'Christ' means anointing or the Anointed One] who strengthens you.  Just as Jesus was meant to be and then became Christ-the Anointing or Anointed One, SO ARE YOU!  You're meant to be and operate in, and as, Christ-the Anointing that I provide you with.  JESUS Christ is the HEAD of Christ-the Church-the Anointed Ones-because He became the first Christ through Me.  YOU are the BODY of Christ when you operate in My anointing.  It's the same Anointing and I'm the same God.  So, don't try to be 'Jesus' to people.  Be Christ-the Anointing to people.  Be Jessica Christ-the one I've adopted, the one I've chosen, the one I've Anointed!"


GLORY!!!
This was SUCH AN EYE OPENER! Because lately I've kinda adopted the phrase "be Jesus to people" or something like that.  But "no," God's saying! "You're not Jesus. I don't need you to be Jesus. I need you to be Jessica. I've called you just as I've called everyone that knows my love. BUT, I've CHOSEN you as well. For a specific purpose and a specific day."
He needs us to be....well....US! He needs me to be me and you to be you. When we operate in His anointing we are just as much Christ as Jesus is. It's Christ-the Anointing-that lives on the inside of us! It's Christ who God has CHOSEN for us to be.
I urge you, take this revelation that God gave me and insert your name where it says "Jessica." Make it personal to you because this wasn't something God had just for me.  He revealed this to me so I could tell everyone. These kinds of revelations aren't meant to be kept secret! They're meant to be shouted from the mountain top!
Be Blessed.

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire

So, this morning (more like noon) when I woke, I was reading my Proverb for the day and came across this verse.  I'm sure I've read it a million times before, but it totally took me off gaurd this morning!
Proverbs 26:28 "A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruins."[NKJV]
The Message puts it this way: "Liars hate their victims, flatterers sabatoge trust."
Whoaaaaa.  This is saying that when we lie, we must hate the person we're telling that lie to and that we're breaking any trust we have with them and them with us!
Intense...


Think about it, how often do you lie?  I asked myself this question.
Whether it be lying to cover something up, to protect someone or something, to make something sound more interesting, out of forgetfulness, or out of ignorance of what really happened: it's still a lie.
I've told lies before; no doubt, I've made mistakes.  But, those people I lied to: I didn't hate them, or at least I didn't feel like I did.  BUT - the Bible says that if I lied to them, I must have hated them.  Let's look into this.
Matthew 6:24 says "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other."
Jesus says there's love and there's hate; there's no in between with God.  There are only the two extremes. Revelations 3:16 reiterates this point: God will only recognize hot or cold, anything lukewarm or inbetween makes Him want to vomit.
So, when we lie, we may not think we hate the person we're lying to, but we sure aren't showing them any love!  If we truly love and truste that person why would we be lying to them, even if it it's just to make something seem cooler than it really is?  That's stupid, and I can say that because I've done it, it's stupid...plain and simple.
1 Corinthians 13:6 says that Love "does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail."
Love is truth.  Love is trust.  Which means Hate is dishonesty.  Hate is distrust and doubt!
So, when we lie to someone, we must hate them, even if we don't think we do.  If we aren't lovin' on them, we're hatin' on them.  God's right, but what else is new.  No wonder God tells us not to be liars. Be careful with your words, I know I will be now!

I know this isn't the happiest of topics, but it was a real eye opener for me.
Be Blessed!

Revelations: A Champion

So I'm doing a devo with my best friend Joel and we're talking about some awesome things that I came to the realization of tonight thanks to Pastor Dad.

God wants us to live like champions, it's what we're destined for, anointed for!  Ephesians 5:1 says that we're to be imitators of Christ.  [Here's the revelation] Jesus was tempted by Satan, Matthew 4:1-11. I totally believe that this was just one of the many times Jesus was tempted, without a doubt! I mean, He was a man! I'm sure there were plenty of times where thoughts came up on why He was choosing to live the way He did; BUT, He kept those thoughts captive: He didn't let them grow! 

1 Corinthians 10:5 says "lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." Jesus removed those temptations from His mind, and that's exactly what we should do if we're going to be imitators of Christ! The only thing that Satan can do is put a thought in our minds. He has NO power other than that.  He cannot make us sin; he can only present to us a thought, a temptation!  The only way he can gain power over us is if we GIVE IT to him!

Jesus gave NO power to Satan, no leeway. He removed the thoughts and temptations immediately from His mind once they entered and compared them to what His Father, God, said. Jesus said that He was only going to do the things He saw His Father do and say the things He heard His Father say! That's discipline, that's determination to be holy as He is holy, Leviticus 20:7/1 Peter 1:16.

So, if Jesus can do it, if He can put those thoughts and temptations behind Him, can't we? Just like God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle, 1 Corinthians 10:3, He won't ask for more of us than we have to give. As long as we're trusting in and following Him, He won't let us fail, Deuteronomy 31:6. God asks us to be imitators of Christ: it's a possible feat. 

God wants for us to be Champions! He wants us to succeed at everything we put our hand to! As long as we do it God's way, as long as we say the things He says about it, as long as we give Him glory in what we do: we will not fail! NOTHING is impossible WITH God! Luke 1:37

Be Blessed! 

Stretch With Me!

So, the Whole Person Scholarship interviews and tests went great this past weekend, and college weekend was AWESOME! I definitely have great peace about it! I know that God will supply all me needs, for college tuition, room and board, food, car, gas, furniture, etc.  I'm definitely standing firm in believing I will receive one of the full ride scholarships and every other scholarship I apply for. :)

As of late, I've been reading "Following God's Plan for Your Life" by Kenneth E. Hagin.  It's really good. Last night I read something that really hit home with me: "sometimes in following God's plan for your life you'll have to do some things you'd rather not do." That's so true! And it's true in the sense of not being able to do some things you'd like to do as well.

God is always testing us and opening up opportunities to test ourselves, testing our strength and faith in Him; and it's a good thing. [2 Corinthians 13:5] He wants us to stay strong and faithful. There are going to be times where He's going to ask us to do something we feel uncomfortable doing, not in a way that contradicts our faith, but rather in a way that stretches us.  It can range from Him telling you that His Will for you is to go to Uganda in the mission field to saying hi and smiling at a person in the lunch line who may be a little weird. He will totally pick out the most random, and sometimes simple, things to test you in too. Simple example: sticking to your diet (which is a hard thing to do, I know). You soooo want to eat that piece of chocolate cake, but you HAVE to stay faithful to the promise you made to yourself. I mean really, if we can't stay faithful to OURSELVES with something like that, how are we going to stay faithful to GOD's Will for our whole lives.  So, sticking to a diet can be considered a little stretch of faith if you want it to be!

The more we're tested at a certain level of faith, the easier those things are to face and conquere.  That's why He tests us only to the degree that we can handle [1 Corinthians 10:13]. It's just like stretching your legs: the more you do it, the easier it is, and then, wah-lah, you can do the splits. Haha

But seriously, God want's us to prove ourselves to Him.  He wants to know that we're at least WILLING! He wants to know that if He does need us to be the ones to go to the other end of earth for His Kingdom's Cause, we'll do it! He wants to trust us with His Will!

So, when those tests and trials come, like they did for Job [Job...the whole book], let's not play the blame game like Job and his friends did.  Instead, let's take the challenge and prove ourselves worthy of God's Will for our lives. Let's spit in satan's face by overcoming the obstacles and shouting for joy that God is with us and that we're determined to stay steadfast under His PERFECT Will!  Let's stretch more than we ever have before! I wanna be able to say that I can do the "splits" by the end of my life; in other words, I wanna be able to say I finished my race and fullfilled God's PERFECT Will for my life by the end of my race and time on this earth!

So, will you take on the challenges with me?  Will you stretch with me?

Whole Person

So, tomorrow after school mom and I are heading to Tulsa.  Thursday is the Whole Person Scholarship Competition Day!!!  I don't really know what to expect other than I'll be in a bunch of interviews, then the rest of the weekend is chill, College Weekend.  Anyways, the Whole Person Scholarship is a FULL RIDE scholarship to Oral Roberts University (where I will be attending as a freshman this fall).  It's awarded to those that were nominated and that they see as Whole Persons-spiritually, physically, and soulfully.  They give out about 30 each year and I have been praying and believing and claiming one of those scholarships as mine, and I've been claiming every other scholarship I've applied for too.  Seriously, I have an army of believers in agreement with me about it too and it's so comforting to have that kind of support.  But an even better support than my church family is support from God Himself.
Some of the ladies from church prayed for me yesterday and one of them, Mrs. Vicki, when we finished, told me to look up Ephesians 2:10.  So last night I went and looked it up and I didn't really understand what it was saying (I looked it up in NKJV).  So I looked it up in the Amplified and I was so happy with what I read.
"For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."
GOD HAS PLANS FOR ME!  Now, I'm not totally ignorant! I already knew this, but I had been so stressed out about all this college and scholarship and financial and graduation and prom stuff lately that it was like I was getting this revelation for the first time again.  God wants me to live the life He's planned for me, and it's a great life.  I don't know what all it entails yet, but I've been receiving some hints about it lately and it's made me so excited.  But if I'm going to receive all the blessings and provisions He has waiting for me, I have to live life HIS way and strive after relationship with HIM, not His blessings.  I have to take the paths that He leads me down, I can't stray off because something's "shiny."  His plans HAVE TO COME FIRST!
My point is, I'm believing that His plan includes ALLLLLL of my college tuition, room and board, books, food, car, etc, being paid for in FULL through scholarships (mainly the Whole Person), and HIS provision: not through my own provision nor my parents'.
God is so magnificent.

Jeremiah 29:11       "For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for WELFARE and PEACE and not for evil, to give you HOPE IN YOUR FINAL OUTCOME."
2 Corinthians 9:8    "And God is able to make ALL grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in ABUNDANCE, so that you may ALWAYS and under ALL circumstances and WHATEVER THE NEED, be SELF-SUFFICIENT [possessing enough to require NO AID OR SUPPORT and FURNISHED IN ABUNDANCE for every good work and charitable donation].
God Bless. :)

Consistency

So a few of weeks ago I was in our Student Leadership meeting for Youth and Pastor Kev asked me to prepare something about being consistent.  Right when he asked me that all these things started running through my mind, like "Consistent? I know what it means: like, continually productive.  But have I been consistent in my DEVOs or prayer life or Bible studies lately? No! Why is he asking me to do this? I'm not the right person for this."
Later when I got home and was meditating on it and realized that God wanted me to do this, not PK.  He was trying to get my attention.  All last year and last semester I would get up early and do these DEVOs and send them to 80+ people every day of the week.  But, when I got my iPhone I kinda fell out of it because I couldn't forward it to all those people in one text like I could with my BlackBerry.  I used that as my crutch.  So, I stopped doing these DEVOs, but still read the Word and teaching books.  But lately I had been falling in and out of being consistent in that even.  As I was thinking on these things I knew that I needed to repent.  I felt terrible the way I had been treating God.  I went from being so on fire to kinda just flickering here and there.
So, these are my notes on being Consistent and what I said at the next SL meeting we had:

What we believe we have to CONSISTENTLY portray.  Consistent means being marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contridiction.
Romans 14:22-23 says "Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you're out of line. IF THE WAY YOU LIVE ISN'T CONSISTENT WITH WHAT YOU BELIEVE, THEN IT'S WRONG!"
How are we inconsistent some (or even all) of the time:
-We know it's good to pray and read our Bibles, but do we do it on a regular basis? John 1:8
-We believe in healing and know it's real, but we don't always speak it over ourselves: we speak sickness and disease over ourselves so often instead.
-We know we're supposed to love others as God loves them, but we gossip, bad mouth, and get attitudes with people all the time. Leviticus 19:18
-We know we're supposed to honor our parents, but we continually fight with them all the time.  Exodus 20:12
-We know our purpose is to be "Jesus" to those around us, living a true christian life, but do we live that life every day or even at least one day of the week? Luke 10:1-12

We're to be disciples for the Kingdom and it takes being able to heed instruction and correction, and spending time with those who are instructing and correcting us to be that disciple.
To be disciples we have to be disciplined.  To truly be disciplined, we have to be CONSISTENT!

As we learn to be consistent, through discipline and wisdom from God, we can't turn it into a habit.
A habit is a behavior pattern aquired by frequent repitition or physioligic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increaced facility of performance/and aquired mode that has become nearly or completely INVOLUNTARY.
We CANNOT make a habit of God!!!!!
What are some habits that the world knows:
-Smoking/drinking
-Cursing
-Biting your nails
-Procrastinating
-Twirling your hair or fidgeting
-Overeating
-Lying
-Interrupting people

Habits require NO thought or brain power or premeditation!
God deserves all of us, all of our attention.  Especially when we're obeying Him or spending time with Him.
Being consistent with something requires putting your heart and mind into it.  It takes determination.
So we have to be determined to be consistent and mindful of our God! We have to be consistent with our beliefs through our words and actions; NOT just when we're at church, but at school, work, and the mall/etc too. We should always be mindful of our gracious and magnificent God!

I hope this helps you. It really helped me.
I'm going to do my best to be more consistent, not only in my prayer life and Bible studies, but in doing these DEVOs. I hope they help someone because when I do them, they definitely help me.
God Bless.

Fasting

So, the past three weeks I have been on a general fast with my church,
to do different fasts in different ways (whatever God was putting on
our hearts to do at the time). In that time I fasted food completely
for 3 days, facebook and twitter all 3 weeks, fast food a week, all
secular music, caffienated drinks, and sugar for over a week, and tv
watching out of having nothing else to do for about the whole three
weeks.
Overall, I would think it was a successful fast. In this time I got
closer to God and learned a lot, but, sadly, drifted from Him at
times. I learned that first and foremost, getting to know God at a
deeper and more intimate level is the most important mission and cause
we have in life. I talked about our Cause in my last blog. So, at the
beginning of this fast I set out to begin accomplishing this Cause.
It was hard, and, truthfully, at times i failed. I'm human, and I know
that the point of fasting isn't a religious one, it's a Cause one.
Jesus fasted food and water for 40 days and 40 nights and i couldn't
last a complete 3 weeks without listening to Mutemath or drinking a Dr
Pepper? It's quite sad the weaknesses we succumb to.
I've come to the realization that fasting is one of those things that
has multiple purposes. It's not only the perfect time to delve into
the Cause, but if we promise God we're going to do it, it's a time of
testing ourselves. It's a time to strengthen ourselves and learn how
to keep our promises to God. In these three weeks I broke some of my
promises to God. Not huge things, but they were still things I told
God I was going to be strong against. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 says. "When
you make a vow (promise) to God, do not delay to keep it; for He has
no pleasure in fools. Do what you have vowed. It is better to not vow
than to vow and not keep it. Don't let your mouth cause your flesh to
sin, or say that making the promise was a mistake...."...there's no
excuses.
So in this testing of my heart, did I pass? Yes and no in different
areas. But, I learned something else during this fast: mercy is true
goodness that God extends to us when we deserve punishment. I thank
God for being merciful, because i surely dont deserve His goodness.
So, having this knowledge, next time I fast will I be more determined
to keep my word to the fullest just as God always has in my life? Most
definitely!
This blog isn't to encourage you to fast, it's to encourage you to be
more responsible to the promises you make to God, because, really, has
He ever made a promise to you He hasn't kept or isn't keeping? No!
Be blessed! Determine life to be a Cause!
Jess Von D