Tag: #angelakcrowauthor

Have you ever covered up a nail hole in your wall by hanging a picture over it until you have time to fix it? Time gets away from us and then before we know it, we have several holes in the drywall and not always the right picture to cover it up. The day finally comes when you must spackle it, sand it and repaint it to fill all the holes.

            We all have plenty of mistakes from our past that we would like to hide. We are ashamed and try to cover them up with pretty parts of ourselves and mask the real holes in our life. But until we allow God to fix them for us, they’ll always be there, haunting us. We will always be damaged.

            Our past is like a big gaping hole in the drywall that only Christ can fill and repair for us. Small mistakes lead to big ones, small white lies to cover up our mistakes lead to bigger ones and before we know it if we aren’t working on damage control, we are in over our heads. Years can go by while we are waiting to repair our damage. We put it off until another day and then another. Before long we start to believe the lies. Our holes get bigger and harder to cover up.

            But God sent His Son to cover all our mistakes and repair our damage so we could have a new life, a fresh start to try again with a new perspective. We can’t fix all the holes in our life by ourselves. But with Christ, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26, ESV).

            Our problems and mistakes seem very big to us, especially when we are in the middle of them. But God is bigger than all our mistakes combined! He can cover all of them for us if we just give them to Him and stop trying to do our damage control every single day. On our own, we can’t get our heads above water. But God turns the water we are drowning in, into Living Water to sustain us and wash away our sins. He throws us a lifeline and then helps us with all the repairs.

            To God, all our damage is minor repairs in preparation for a new life with Christ. What would it look like in your life today, if you chose to let God be your handyman? Ask Him to fill the holes in your life and cover all your past mistakes with the beautiful picture of Christ.

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless (Isaiah 40:29).

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16).

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time- to show us his grace through Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 1:9).

The smile, laugh, and love I share with others is my living testimony to a Christ who rescued me and changed my life forever. He gives me the strength and courage to fight like a warrior. I see myself decked out in pink camo and combat boots, putting on the armor of God, wrapping myself in zeal as a cloak (Is. 59:17, ESV), not only for myself but for the freedom of others.

His gifts are precious and come in many forms that I can never imagine for myself. But they are not just for me, they are to help others too. The key is paying attention and being willing to go where He leads. My life is a token of His love and the patience He has with His children, as He waited for the day He could bring me back into the fold, and hold me in His loving arms, to one day accept Me home for eternity into the family of Christ. I was the lost sheep He came after with a vengeance, full of love, grace, and forgiveness like only He can do. I am forever grateful for that.

We should all see ourselves how He sees us and be happy about who we are in Christ. I don’t know about you, but I want to take care of my body, mind, and spirit as the temple of God (I Cor. 6:19, ESV). He created us to be like His Son Jesus; that is a tall order, but with the Holy Spirit inside us we can achieve anything because nothing is impossible with God (Matt. 19:26, ESV). We will never be without sin as Jesus was, but we can strive to be more like Him every day.

We should love ourselves as He loves us without regard to our mistakes, flaws, blemishes, and brokenness. He made each of us uniquely who we are. Our flaws are perfectly us – there is no one exactly like you or me. We are special just like all His creation.

I am still a work in progress. He is molding me to be who He created me to be. I want to use my knowledge wisely to help others grow and live their best lives by being an example, role model, and friend, but firstly a faithful servant of Christ.  Obedience to His Word is key to making this possible. I encourage you to read the Bible and pray for wisdom and discernment in how to apply it to our lives today. We cannot find these types of answers on our own or in any self-help books. A relationship with Christ is worth the effort and daily discipline it takes to reach the inner peace, healing, and joy that only comes from Him.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV).

With modernized technology in our culture, it may sometimes be hard to believe that Jesus can understand the things we are dealing with today. Think about it, when Jesus walked the Earth, there were no cell phones, computers, or automobiles; all the things most of us now rely on just to get through the day.

            Who do you think gave the inventors the knowledge of how to advance technology? Col. 2:3 says that all the treasures, wisdom, and knowledge are hidden in Christ. God is the One who created this world and everything in it. There are no limits on God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End (Rev. 1:8; 22:13, ESV). He knows all, is all, and sees all.

            Our view of God is sometimes too small. If you have never watched the Awe Factor video from Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love, click here to watch it now. Are you blown away at the magnitude of God? Think about our brains and the signals it sends us to let us know when we are in pain so we can pull away from the hot burner.

            What about the butterfly, have you thought about how their antennas work? Did you know they use them as light receptors? The antennae track the position of the sun and turn that information into the time of day. They also can help them fly in the right direction while giving them a balanced life. The antennae can help them sense the direction of the wind and changes in the direction, so they can ride the currents without losing their way. At the base of the antennae is a special organ (Johnston’s organ) it draws information from the antennae to help keep the butterfly balanced.

            So, in short, their little antennas provide a lot of meaningful purposes: Smell, internal clock, navigation, balance, and even help with finding the right mate. They can recognize the wingbeats of their species. How amazing is that? I could take a much deeper dive into many other creatures and the intricate details and thought God put in each one, but you get the picture.

            If God created an insect that uses its antenna to do all these things and our brains which send signals to our body to help us navigate each breath, and a vast universe where He put each star in place (Hebrews 1:3; 1:3), something we can never fully imagine, what is hindering Him from understanding how a cell phone works? We certainly did not produce these inventions all on our own. People can use technology in the wrong way, but overall, it is good, and God is the One who gave us the wisdom and knowledge to create it. There are many other examples I could give, such as the advancement of medicines and the doctors who save lives, even they did not do it on their own. John 15:1-4 tells us a branch cannot bear fruit by itself.

            Alone we can do nothing. God can use even non-believers for good things. We cannot put Jesus in a box. He has no limits. I don’t know about you, but I take great comfort in serving a God who is big enough to oversee all the problems that arise in my little corner of the world. We misplace our loyalty and give the wrong people credit when we should thank God and praise Him for everything we have today- even our cell phones.

“Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven- what can you do? Deeper than Sheol- what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea” (Job 11:7). (Emphasis added)

In Ezekiel 43:5, it tells us that “the Glory of the Lord filled the temple.” In the OT this is referring to an actual building constructed exactly according to the measurements God gave. Once it was complete, His Glory filled it. Since the OT points to Christ and the NT, we know that after Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to fill all believers and serve as a comforter and guide. From this, we now have a picture of God who dwells inside the believer, or the temple, which is our bodies.

            If we want God to fill our temple, we need to make it presentable and not defile it by how we live. The Holy Spirit is the Glory of the Lord, who now fills us. John 15:4 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

            To make room for Him we must rid ourselves and our hearts of the sins that block Him and His presence. When we are allowing other things to rule in our hearts, it takes away from God’s glory and His presence in us. In other words, we are not bearing fruit. We are to take care of our temple and keep it holy as God is holy. We can do this by praying for God to reveal to us any areas of our life that are blocking His Holy Spirit from entering. We can use the prayer David used in Ps. 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

            We are not complete in Christ until we remove the sin in our lives and strive every day to be more like Jesus. A tall order that we will never achieve this side of heaven, but one that we can work towards as we walk in His light, abide in Him, and seek the Kingdom of God more than anything else. It is only then that Christ will fill our hearts and temple with the full measure of His glory.

The ESV Study Bible notes that the measurements and regulations for the temple in Ezekiel are not merely interesting details, but they communicate something of the character of God. Likewise, our temple must be in alignment with His regulations (our character) and the precisely measured room in our hearts (without sin or the things we put before Him) will allow His glory to abide in us. This is just another way of saying that anything less takes away from His glory and presence within us, the temple.

The sea urchin drifted into my quiet time recently with great persistence. So, I dug up a little information on them to see what they had to share. As one of the oldest animals on Earth, also known as the porcupine of the sea, the red sea urchin can live to be 100 or as much as 200 + years old (OR State Univ, 2019). Urchins range in an array of colors from green, purple, red, brown and many more. Urchin means hedgehog and if you look up an image of one you will see the resemblance. Without a bone in their body and no obvious eyes, sea urchins use their entire body to respond to light; even their feet aid them in seeing (Cape Clasp). Their mouths have multiple jaws and a chewing structure known as Aristotle’s lantern. Their body has a protective cover made from a shell-like structure called a test (Klappenbach, 2021).

            I find their God-given design fascinating, but what struck me the most was their response to light with their whole body as way to see. In the depths of the ocean, you may think it is complete darkness, but I found out recently by watching Welcome to Earth, hosted by Will Smith on the National Geographic channel, (I highly recommend all six episodes), that the ocean floor is gleaming with light and color, especially at night. This natural chemical process called bioluminescence illuminates the water like dazzling stars, in multiple colors, allowing living things to produce light in their bodies (Good Living, 2021). Again, I am in awe of God’s design.

            Color and light are related in many ways. You could say we are God’s prism- His light shines into our lives and illuminates us and refracts back out into the lives of others, bringing with it an array of color to those around us. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12, ESV). He adds color and light to our lives. His light embodies grace and truth (Brand, 2015).

            There are many references to light in the Bible, but I want to turn to colors, which also hold significant meanings. White can be symbolic of purity and joy, red can stand for sin or Christ’s blood, while black is usually associated with judgement or death. We also see purple as a prominent color used to dye garments, such as a robe worn by Christ and other priests in the tabernacle. Did you know that the name Colossae got its name from a Latin word meaning “purple wool” because the area produced and dyed wool?

            There are many ways we can describe light and color as it pertains to Jesus Christ and our lives, but bringing it back to the sea urchin, I see this little creature as symbolic of our own lives with Christ at the center. When we put Him first, we naturally respond to His light and move towards Him, we don’t have to see Him with our eyes to know He is present and that He is protecting us. He gives us Spiritual armor, and when we put it on along with zeal as a cloak, we clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ Himself (Is. 59:17). When we trust God to lead us through the darkness of this world, even when we feel like our heads are under water, His light will see us through. We have a guaranteed inheritance, when we believe in Him, and He seals us (protected and preserved) with the promise of the Holy Spirit, until we gain possession of it (Eph. 1:13).

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Is. 60:1).

“The fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9).

References

Brand, C., ed., (2015). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Nashville: B & H Publishing.

Cape Clasp. (2020, August 10). https://www.capeclasp.com/blogs/cape-clasp-blog/5-facts-about-sea-urchins

Good Living. (2021, May 12 )https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/goodliving/posts/2018/04/sea-sparkle#:~:text=The%20bioluminescent%20sea%20will%20glow,a%20light%2Dproducing%20marine%20creature.

 Klappenbach, Laura. (2021, October 2). Round Echinoderms:. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sea-urchins-and-sand-dollars-129946

Oregon State University. (2019, July 13). https://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2003/nov/red-sea-urchins-discovered-be-one-earths-oldest-animals

Jesus died on the cross for you and me. What does that mean to you? Really stop and think about that. Let it sink in. I had the chance to do that recently when I was sitting in meditation with the Holy Spirit.

Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for someone He loved. I heard this question.

“What are you willing to sacrifice for those you love?”

I began to think how small my little sacrifices really are. But little though they may be, in the light of what Christ did for us, the Father still takes delight in them. Both parties are blessed, although sometimes I think I am blessed more than those I am helping.

The sacrifices He asks of us may get bigger as we grow in our faith. But our love for others will overshadow the sacrifice if we have Jesus in our hearts. He will ask more of us, but we will be equipped to handle it and be blessed through it.

This message is humbling, and I don’t take it lightly. It helped me put my existence into perspective. We may think the things we are doing are big sacrifices but compared to Christ they are minute. God knows our hearts and our motives. If we do even the small things in love, they will be honored.

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” ( I Peter 1:18-19, ESV).

A lot of people are searching for something to fill the gaps left in their hearts from the death of a loved one, addiction, divorce, rejection, illness, and on and on and on. But we can ask God to fill the gap. I was one of the searchers for most of my life. I can tell you from one painful experience to another, that there is no man on this earth that will ever give you what you are searching for. God is the only One who can redeem that pain and fill all the crevices of our hearts.

He can plant seeds of hope that will grow over time to more than fill the gaping holes in our hearts and give us purpose, love, and light again.

“I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14)

We are dependent on God, but He is not dependent on anyone. He created everything in existence. We can take great comfort in that fact. He created us to be dependent on Him for all our needs. He delights in giving us good gifts.

We are who we are because of Him. God is all-encompassing without limitations. He is our Heavenly Father who wants a closer relationship with us. If we work on that relationship first and foremost before we go looking for someone else to fill the gaps of loneliness and heartache, He will give us enough to overflow into the lives of others. At the right time, He will send someone as a companion for us if it is His will. God plants seeds of hope in gaping hearts.

So, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters are anything, but only God, who makes things grow ( I Cor. 3:7, NLT).

The human condition requires Divine Intervention because man by nature is sinful, and we are not capable of saving ourselves. Human effort to cover up and hide from sin is futile and leads to destruction as we saw with Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:7-8, ESV). God is the only answer because He is Holy and set apart from sin. Without Christ as the ultimate sacrifice for our sin, we would have no hope of salvation. Because of one man’s sin, we are all condemned, but by one act of righteousness, we are all justified (Romans 5:18). For me, God’s Divine Intervention was a wake-up call to start paying attention. It came in the form of an accident that somehow spared my life but took the life of my sister. It came when my abuser threw me out, even though I could not see it at the time. It came when God helped my dad hang on to life long enough to get my mom buried and pass himself only six days later. God’s mercy and goodness are no match to our brokenness. His will always prevails; thankfully, He wants the best for us and the greater good. It is like a factory reset button; to clean out the cobwebs we created and have a fresh start on a new path forward.

            Without grace, we would not have a clean slate to move forward. No matter how much good we try to do we can never be good enough to cover the sin in our lives. Ryken, 2013 makes a great point, “when we finally become convinced of our lost and sinful condition—with all its deadly consequences—then we cry out for the kind of help that only God can give.” I can relate to this statement as I finally asked God what He wanted for my life. Only then was I set free and to begin a new life; only through a spotless lamb of Jesus Christ can we claim any righteousness and freedom from sin. God gives us grace out of pure love. When grace sinks in, new life begins. It is a verb and redemptive activity set forth by God through the work of Christ; therefore, we are forgiven and accepted forever (Brand, 2015). No human on his own seeks God or does anything good enough to merit salvation (Romans 3:10-12). It is like gentle refreshing rain on a squelching summer day in the middle of the desert. It quenches our dry parched lips, and we receive its life-sustaining qualities. This reminds me of the vision in Ezekiel when God sent the Spirit to bring new life to dry bones (Ezekiel 37:9-10). It is only by the Holy Spirit and the grace of God through His Son Jesus that we have new life.

Bibliography

Brand, Chad, et.al., eds., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, B & H Publishing. Nashville, TN, 2015.

Ryken,  Philip Graham. Christian Worldview: A Student’s Guide. Crossway. Retrieved from https://app.wordsearchbible.lifeway.com. 2013.

If you are like me, sometimes you stop and think about the wonder of God’s design. It is good to take time to be in awe of our amazing God. There are many things we do not understand, and we search for answers to things that we may never know on this side of heaven. But let us take time to lean into the mystery of how God, who created the universe, dwells inside the hearts of all believers. Sometimes we try to understand when we should open a window to our mind and accept the mystery. God is so patient with us, yet we continually repeat the same mistakes and ask the same old questions for clarity, when He has already told us, or He chooses not to tell us; either way, we can be okay with the information He has provided. I have caught myself in one breath, saying ‘it is in your hands, Lord’ and then still try to control and understand things I am not meant to know yet.

            I do know that the best question I ever asked in my life was ‘God, what do you want?’ It was like a great weight lifted from my shoulders and I experienced a freedom like no other. Lately, I have been asking it again. I want to continue to ask and live a life of freedom, which allows God to lead me one step at a time. I am not asking to try to figure out my future, but to release it into God’s hands. This helps me stay in step with the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:25, ESV).

            The mysteries of God lie with Christ. In Him are the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:2-3, ESV). I know when I get tired, I am more likely to have doubts about my path. But I ask God to help me fight through them and be excited about the mystery of the journey, and the adventure that lies ahead. I also know with each sunrise comes the mercy and childlike wonder of a new day. Christ is God’s mystery, all understanding is found in Him, and He is enough.

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

“But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (I. Cor. 2:7).

According to Merriam-Webster, a semicolon is used to separate two independent but related clauses.[1] It is used when an author could have ended the sentence but chose not to. It can symbolize when the story isn’t finished. I read online that some people who struggle with depression, addiction, suicide, or other mental issues, get a semicolon tattoo as a message of affirmation and solidarity to not give up. It is a reminder of how far they have come.[2] Just as the mark is a sign for readers to pause before continuing a sentence, participants have embraced the symbol as a reminder that their story isn’t over yet.

            This ‘already but not yet’ concept is also in the Bible. We are living in the not yet, between the cross and the crown, as a pastor recently affirmed. Just as I was writing down the phrase in my notebook moments before he said it. I had already prepped for this message and was familiar with the term from my studies, so when he started his sermon on a similar topic, it was a reminder, and I knew it was time to finish it.

            God’s story isn’t over yet; neither is ours. Christ fulfilled the promises of the OT, but we are still awaiting the completion of Jesus Christ’s return. The kingdom of God, in the OT, encompasses the past, present, and future. It is “already” present but “not yet” fully completed, both a present and future reality. Jesus’ incarnation, life, ministry, death, and resurrection inaugurated the kingdom. In some capacity, we possess kingdom blessings now. We still endure hardships on this earth, but when the final kingdom is complete, we will no longer endure those sufferings.  God’s light will dispel all darkness.[3]

            Jesus Christ has already defeated death through the resurrection. Although we are all sinners, in a broken world, we can enter Christ’s kingdom through regeneration offered to us through the grace of God (Rom. 5:15, ESV). It is a beautiful redemption story that we can all take part in by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God gives each of us a unique story and the ability to use it for His glory. Regardless of where you are on your journey, your story isn’t over yet. Don’t give up. God’s promises are yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20).

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

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[1] Merriam-Webster https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/semicolon

[2] The Trend Spotter https://www.thetrendspotter.net/semicolon-tattoo/

[3] Brand, C., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary