LOOK UPWARD AND INWARD, MOVING FORWARD WITH GOD BESIDE YOU.

7/12/2020

There are many times when I find myself thinking about God and looking up into the sky in awe at what He has created. I can imagine that the Father and Jesus are looking down at the earth, and I realize that their gaze is turned upon me. I honestly feel so blessed and happy in these moments, because I have embraced the journey of “ change” in my life. I made the decision to give my life to Jesus, and He has guided me through both good times and bad. I am not perfect, but I am striving In and With Him I am maturing in my walk with Him, and I have found my identity in Him and how He sees me. Looking back at the past for me brings great memories of friends and family….accomplishments and joyful times. The past can also remind us of our failures and losses. Hard times, things we are ashamed of, and the past can keep us from being who Jesus fully intends us to be. His. Forgiven. Children and citizens of the Kingdom of God. The world and Satan would try to fool us into believing that we should feel guilty for who we are. We should constantly let our past and those of our father’s sins forever define us as bad people or failures. What the world is saying is a complete lie. The past defines you only if you let it define you. The key for every Christian is to release your past, and embrace the future of how your faith in God will “Change You and Give You Your Identity In Jesus and His Promise of Eternal Life. In his letters to the various churches of his time, the apostle Paul made it so clear that once you have given your life to Jesus, you are not defined nor held back by your past. Paul certainly wasn’t …but He also realized how blessed he was through Jesus alone, and he spent his life striving and moving forward in Christ’s grace in his life. In Romans 7:19, Paul tells us clearly that as men and women who know Jesus, we will still struggle in our lives. Perfection in our journey with Jesus takes time and effort….but our effort is not to save ourselves, or prove to the world how righteous we are. Our effort is to try to be more like Jesus. To walk in His ways, and hope we can grow in abiding in Him.

FOR I DO NOT DO THE GOOD THAT I WANT TO DO, BUT THE EVIL I DO NOT WANT TO DO, THIS I KEEP ON DOING. Romans 7:19

MY GOAL IS TO KNOW HIM AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION AND THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, BEING CONFORMED TO HIS DEATH, ASSUMING THAT I WILL SOMEHOW REACH THE RESURRECTION FROM AMONG THE DEAD. NOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY REACHED THE GOAL OR AM ALREADY PERFECT, BUT I MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO TAKE HOLD OF IT BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN TAKEN AHOLD OF BY CHRIST JESUS. BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF TO HAVE TAKEN HOLD OF IT, BUT ONE THING I DO: FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND AND REACHING FORWARD TO WHAT IS AHEAD. I PURSUE AS MY GOAL THE PRIZE PROMISED BY GOD’S HEAVENLY CALL IN CHRIST JESUS. Philippians 3: 10-14

The past cannot define you or contain you. In Jesus you have been forgiven, and you stand in a position of Righteousness in the Father’s eyes because You are in Jesus, and He is in You !! As you grasp this, it also encourages you to look “Inward”. Looking inward reveals the “changes” that you need to embrace to become “Holy” as Jesus defines it. A transformation of who you are and whose you are. A progression toward sanctification as you seek to walk more and more in the principles Jesus modeled for us in His life, teachings, and character. God sees your Holiness as you are honoring Him with your life ! Once you “Look Upward” and see God, and you “Look Inward” and begin to change, YOU CHANGE OUTWARDLY AS WELL !! People see a change in you, and you replicate the pattern that Christian Believers have been embracing ever since Jesus came to bring us Salvation and Life.

THEREFORE, GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Matthew 28:19

BUT SANCTIFY CHRIST AS LORD IN YOUR HEARTS, ALWAYS BEING READY TO MAKE A DEFENSE TO EVERYONE WHO ASKS YOU TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU, YET WITH GENTLENESS AND REVERENCE. 1 Peter 3:15

I hope that we can all see how looking up toward God can impact our lives. As we look inward, we can be transformed. Have you looked up ? Have you looked inward. I guarantee you that if you do, with all your heart, you will be reborn. You will not be trapped by those who define you and judge you by the past. Your future and purpose and meaning and “IDENTITY” will rest in the hands and heart of God. Be outwardly bold. Go and make disciples. Share the good news of Jesus with everyone you meet ! Seek a new and blessed life. Jesus will be right beside you, showing you the way. Listen for His voice. He is calling you. Be His/JAA