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Attractive is a Choice!

The word attractive has been on my mind lately. Everyone wants to be attractive. There are millions of dollars spent every day on face creams, fat burners, gym memberships, teeth whiteners, hair products, etc. All because people want to be attractive. Wanting to better yourself is a good thing. However, it’s not just the outward appearance that makes a person attractive.

I have met many “pretty/handsome” people, but their attitudes and actions were ugly. They were NOT attractive. I think of the scripture Matthew 23:27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every impurity.

Oh the Pharisees made sure their robes were just right and walked around with pious looks, but look what Jesus said to them! He said their insides were full of every impurity. When I think of impurity, I think of a river teeming with trash. Picture that. What an ugly mess. No one wanted to hear what the Pharisees said because they were ugly in their ways, they were hypocrites, no doubt mean, prideful and downright unattractive to everyone but themselves. Even if their way was right, who would want to listen to them? They set a bar so high, no one could reach it, yet they esteemed themselves as having done so. How foolish!

Attractive obviously means pleasing to look at, but another one of the definitions is having beneficial qualities or features that induce someone to accept what is being offered.

As Christians, we have the greatest gift living on the inside of us. We have THE answer to life’s problems and situations. We should be the most beautiful, kind, caring and attractive people on planet earth.

Galatians 5:22 says But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness If we, daily bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, forbearance (extend mercy), kindness, goodness and faithfulness in our daily walk, would that not be attractive? When unfair and frustrating things happen in your workplace, if you respond with the fruit of the Spirit, while others respond with the fruit of their flesh, would that not be different? Would you not be more attractive in this situation? Why? Because you are putting on humility and displaying Christ.

Studies show that attractive people get better paying jobs, better positions, and garner more favor than an average looking person. And we have all seen that happen. However, I believe that greater is He that is living in us – and that if we would just allow Christ in us, to be the hope that shines out of us, we would be the most attractive people around. (And I also believe this attractiveness would transcend any physical qualities we lack!)

Yes, I know there will always be people who will hate us. I get that. But if they hate us because we are displaying the love of God, they hate God, not us! However, there are people we are all called to reach and they aren’t looking for a pious, religious zealot. They are looking for a kind, compassionate, caring human being who can show them there is a better way; a person who is approachable because they can tell (by our actions) that we CARE. There are many people who call themselves Christians, but display hate, anger and rage. I want to tell them- you don’t identify with me! Quit saying you are a Christian if you don’t act like Jesus! Now, do we hate sin? YES! Do we hate people? NO. For far too long, many in the church have blurred this line! We must speak the truth in love and we must separate the sin from the sinner. Remember, Jesus died for the vilest sinner! We were ALL sinners before we came to Christ. Jesus died because He loved us. Love is attractive!

What I am saying is – being attractive is a choice. Just like we choose to brush our hair, wear make-up or cologne, we can choose peace, and joy and to extend grace. We can choose to handle chaos with grace and turmoil with peace. How? By submitting ourselves daily to the Lord. The Book of James says we submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee. People are watching how we handle life and they are looking for answers. And while we may not be able to choose what comes at us, we can choose how we respond. We can choose to react in a hateful, mean, ugly way, or we can respond in love, and attract His will into the situation. When we attract His will, we become attractive to others who desire His will, even if they don’t know it.

Matthew 5:16 says “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”– In the same way – which way? The same as when a light is sat on a lamp stand to give light to others – not hidden away, no the word says it should shine before all. We are to let Christ shine. The more we let Him shine through us, the more love, peace and grace will come forth from our lives. We will be a cool drink for someone on a hot day… We will be wisdom to the confused and hope to the hopeless. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is attractive. It is life. It is breath. It is love.

For everyone who is searching, it is what they are searching for. Not everyone will receive and not everyone is searching, but for those who are, let’s be attractive. May our lives attract those who need an answer and may we be ready with grace and love to speak it to them! Let’s show people that we care and that we love them. Let’s be Jesus to them. When Jesus was on earth, He attracted crowds of thousands with His words and His love. Jesus displayed beneficial qualities or features that induced people to accept what He was offering. He was attractive. He attracted followers; He attracted people who needed healed, set free and loved. They were drawn to Him, not to the religious Pharisees! They were drawn to love.

It is the goodness of God that draws men to repentance. (Romans 2:4) We cannot back away from sharing that God is good because some leave off the repentance part. No! Proper use is : the goodness of God will draw men to repent! We attract people with His goodness and then we share, in love, the need for repentance. THAT is attractive.

Let’s choose to walk in His love and choose to be attractive. Let’s let Him shine through us!

Sound has the Power to Create!

by Kelita Deems
“Be Careful What You Hear. Sound has the power to create.” – Robert Heidler

There are many ways to hear or to listen….you can listen to someone while hearing background noise. You can actively listen, intently and focusing. You can halfheartedly listen while thinking about other things. How do we listen? We listen different ways to different sounds, usually by the importance it has in our lives. We listen to our boss, perhaps more than we listen to a co-worker. If a loud noise erupts, we listen, we have no choice.. Or, if you are like me, chirping birds or wind chimes can get your attention.

Listening often demands actions. For instance, if an ambulance blows a siren, we listen and obey by moving over to let them pass by. If you are in school and the bell rings, you listen and promptly get up to change classes. When your mother yells your name, you listen and heed her instructions. Listening…….

Then there are things we actively choose to listen to. Music in our earbuds, tv shows or movies on the screen, conversations and other sounds. Listening…..

One of my favorite scriptures about hearing (listening) is Romans 10:17 – Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. In other words, you don’t just listen once and you are done. You listen, and listen and listen – it implies an ongoing process. As we hear the word of God over and over, it will cause faith to grow, which is important because without faith it is impossible to please God!

We all know that our words create. Jesus framed the world with words, we are made in the likeness and image of God. Our words frame our world as well. Look around, what do you see? Your words have carried you to the place you are today. If you don’t like what you see, change what you speak. Proverbs 18:21 says the power of life and death are in the tongue. If you speak life you will reap life, if you speak death you will reap death. Our words are seeds. But, that’s another lesson!

Hearing. Listening. Speaking to hear….. Proverbs 4:21-22 says My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
So, we see that speaking and hearing scriptures are life to us and healing to us as well! (remember Romans 10:17?)

In Mark 4, Jesus was teaching the parable of the sower. He says Listen! He says take heed what you hear! He says he that has ears to hear, let him hear, all within that one parable. Those words mean to physically listen and to also understand. So, not only are we to hear the word, we are to study the word, meditate on it and understand it! THEN it will be life to our flesh!

Listening……sounds…..sounds evoke emotions. How about the joy we feel when we hear a baby laugh, or the panic of a fire alarm? What about the fear of a loud sound in the night? Or the calming sound of birds on a summer’s day. Do you know that some scientists believe that sounds can heal? Sounds and listening. Hearing……..How are we listening to Him? How are we hearing what He says?

Many times we cannot control what we hear. When you are at work, you may hear unpleasant conversations, or when you are out in public as well. This alone is reason enough to make sure we are daily spending time with the Lord, in His word and presence. But, let’s look at a few things we can control in our hearing:

• Gossip. It happens to all of us. We end up in a conversation where someone is speaking a negative truth about a person who is not present. This does nothing to lift your spirit or bring life to you or anyone else. Lord, may we recognize clearly and remove ourselves from that conversation! Ephesians 4:29 – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

• Unholy Communication on TV or in Music – (especially in music because adding music to words causes them to penetrate deeper into our soul!) We could use Ephesians 4:29 again because if we would not let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, then why would we let strangers say it in our living room through the television or stereo? But let’s try Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

• Self-talk – our self-talk is important because we believe ourselves more than anyone. The enemy will put thoughts in your head to see if you will bite and accept them as your own. This had me deceived for years! The scripture that says take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5) means just that. When you find yourself thinking a thought and pondering it and it does NOT line up with the Word of God, take it captive! I often just say out of my mouth – “I march this thought to the cross of Christ because ______________(whatever scripture refutes the thought) and then I speak a truth of what His word says instead. Another way is – and this really works – I say OUT LOUD – NOPE! Not today! Why out loud? Because Satan can’t read your thoughts, he plants thoughts in your mind and then waits for your reaction. He is hoping those negative thoughts will become negative words out of your mouth – why? Words/sounds create! So, by taking these thoughts captive, you are denying him a building permit in your life!

Be careful what you listen to. What do you WANT to hear? I want to hear Him. I want to know when He speaks. I want to Hear His voice. I am learning to hear Him more. He has always been speaking, but I haven’t always been hearing. I have spoken to Him for years, but never stopped to listen to what He wanted to say. The more time I spend with Him, in prayer, in the word, the easier it is to recognize His voice.

Be careful the sounds you make/the words you speak. What do you want to speak? Speak LIFE! Speak truth! Speak love! Speak kindness! Speak according to the Word of God. The Word of God is LIFE! We speak and the sound of our words create. This also implies that when we hear sounds/words, those words create in us an emotion or call to action. How we respond, what emotion we release, and how we react with the words we choose, will release building blocks from what we have heard. Listening, hearing is more than the physical act of hearing. Hearing goes into our very being and causes a reaction. It will determine thought processes, and steps. How we hear, what we hear is the vehicle of our life!

Be careful what you hear. Sound has the power to create.

Prayer – Father, thank You for Your word and for understanding of Your word. Lord, first we repent for allowing negative sounds to create negative emotions and for acting and speaking to build on those negative situations. Holy Spirit, we ask You going forward to convict us quickly when we are about to create something in our lives that is not for our good or for the good of others. We pull up every negative seed we have sown with negative sounds that have come from our mouths. We pull down every stumbling block we have laid. We choose, this day to live free from the participation in gossip and unholy communication when it is in our power to do so. Convict us of our hearing! We want to hear YOU. We want to hear Your voice and create and frame our world with the words that bring life. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

THE PROCESS…

Everywhere I turn lately I hear the word process. I mean, I hear it like a loud bell ringing to get my attention! It’s all a process….enjoy the process….embrace the process…you are in the process…It’s all part of the process! OK! OK! You have my attention!

The dictionary describes it this way:
Process – a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.

Ahhhhh, P R O C E S S. It has dawned on me that I have spent most of my life trying to circumvent the process in just about every area of my life and even tried helping others do the same!

Several years ago, when I truly surrendered my will to the Lord and said, “Do what You need to,” I realized then that impatience had cost me much in my life. My impatience with people, with finances, with relationships, and even with God, caused me to try and “fix” things myself. In doing this, I began to lean on my own understanding or strength to get out of situations, which we all know is not only wrong, but can be catastrophic.

There are many examples I can think of, but I will be transparent and give you a one big one for me.

In 2003 I needed about $700 worth of work done on my van which I owed probably $4000. I didn’t have $700 so instead, I traded that van for a brand new van and ended up being $9000 upside down on the loan. Instead of saving up the $700, I opted for a van that didn’t need work, but cost me so much more! (reasoning that it would be newer, wouldn’t need the work, be “safer” and so on) The payment increased and 4 years later, this vehicle had 93k miles on it and I still owed $18k. UGH! Now, keep in mind, that by this time I had realized my error and repented and asked for mercy and a solution. I also had had two dreams that my van got hit, no one was hurt, and my insurance paid it off. BUT! I didn’t submit to the process, or trust the Lord and decided to take out a second mortgage on my home and pay off the van. (it pains me to even type this) Oh, it got me out of my high payment and a vehicle that was not worth what I owed, but it also circumvented the process.

Three years later, when we sold our home, we got 18k less and that mistake has followed us for years. Not only that, but do you know six years after I did this one of our vehicles was hit, no one was hurt and the insurance company paid it off????? God’s promises are true and He is faithful! The dreams He gave me (and established them by giving it twice), were fulfilled by Him. However, because I didn’t stay in place, it caused me to go on a detour and this payoff did not benefit me financially. My impatience cost me my process and the benefits of it.

What I have come to find out is, life is a process. Everything we go through, every decision we make will have a cause and effect. How we deal with things that happen to us, how we tackle problems, etc., is all a process. And every process is designed to make us a better person. We may not see it at the time, but no one is a failure when they are submitted to God!

Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding and He will direct your paths.

Trusting the Lord IS submitting to the process. As believers, we are not to live our lives at every whim and desire we have, but we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, which is our REASONABLE act of worship! (Romans 12) Most people don’t want to submit to the process because they don’t want to submit. Submit has become a foul word in today’s society. Everyone wants to do what THEY please. But, how is this working out for us? For me, it didn’t work out at all.

Let’s look at the definition again – Process – a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. A SERIES of ACTIONS or STEPS taken in order to ACHIEVE a PARTICULAR end! Wow. God sure does know what He is doing! This brings Romans 8:28 to mind. We know that ALL things work together for good, to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. That word purpose in the Strong’s concordance means “the setting forth of a thing” or being established. In other words, as we are submitted to God, He will cause all things to work for our benefit according to how He wants to set us forth or establish us. That, my friend is a process.

In these series of actions or steps, which by the way, the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord. (Ps. 37:23) He is ordering our steps to achieve a particular end (how He wants to establish us and set us forth.) If we believe the Bible, and love God we will be submitted to Him or obey His commands. (John 14:15) The process is for us not against us! When we circumvent the process, we are rebelling against the very thing that is designed to work things out for our good! We are all guilty and my hands are up first!

How do we change this? Submit to the process. I realize this is easier said than done, but it is the answer. Submit to God, resist the devil (and his temptation for us to fix things ourselves and do things our own way) and he will flee from you. James tells us this. The enemy’s temptations won’t always be something mean and evil, it may be as simple as taking matters into our own hands, or finding a solution that may even make sense, but it is not what God wants for us. Just like my van situation – it alleviated the tough financial situation of the moment, but made the end result the exact opposite of what I desired. Or what about how he led Eve to take matters into her own hands and come out from under submission to the word of the Lord? That cost Eve, her husband, all her descendants and US! Not submitting to the process has consequences and they have ripple effects on our children and those in our lives. (YIKES! Think about this!!!!)

So, what does submission look like? Daily discipline. DAILY we must submit our will to our Father. We must read His word and stay in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. There really is no way around this. I have tried doing things my way or other ways even, and I have come to know that all success I have is through submission to the will of God.

You might say, I don’t always hear God to even know what He is saying. I get that, I used to be the same way. But, I tell you, once I started spending time with Him in prayer and fellowship daily, I began to hear so much that I wondered why?! Another key factor to hearing is time in the word. If you do not know His word, you will not hear Him clearly. The enemy knows how to plant thoughts and even speak in ways that can deceive us. Knowing the word of God will give us a way to measure or test what we hear. God will never say something to you that goes against His word and will always speak in the nature of a good father.

Is submission easy? Not at first, and not always. However, it does get easier. As you discipline yourself to submit you will begin to see the fruit, and once you taste the fruit borne of discipline, it makes the submission all the more sweeter. It doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t come quickly, it comes as part of the PROCESS. In submitting your actions to Holy Spirit and becoming disciplined in your steps according to the word, YOU WILL achieve a particular end and God Himself will set you forth. (For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you hope and an expected end! Jer. 29:11)

Even though this is not easy, it now excites me because I know that I can reach my goals and I will fulfill what God has for me. This is huge for a “fixer” like me. I no longer feel responsible to fix everything for me and everyone else! I am learning to fix my eyes on Jesus! When things get tough I run to Him. I dig in deeper in the word, I go and soak in His presence or pray in the Spirit until I find the calm I am looking for -until I hear His heart on the matter. (side note: increasing your prayer time is vital when you are in a process!!!!!! I cannot say that enough!)
Process. I choose to embrace any and all processes that the Lord has for me, because in doing so, He is ordering my steps and working all things out for my good. When I step out of the way and lean into His understanding and trust the Lord, He will direct my paths. Selah!

Let’s pray:
Father, we repent for taking things into our own hands and circumventing the processes in our lives designed by You to establish us in Your righteousness and favor. Forgive us now. Holy Spirit, empower us to submit to Your ways. Jesus lived a disciplined life. We choose to do the same. We purpose that our fleshly desires will die, as we continue to make the choice to submit to Your ways so that we will achieve the particular end You have for us. We are excited for this journey! May we extend grace to others on their journey as well as we walk this out together. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN!