Self-Worth

How often do we go through a day and feel like we are totally "worthless"? Or perhaps we feel like we shouldn't do something meaningful for the Lord because we are not worthy, or we are not perfect?
Here is a revelation for you, you are not perfect and neither am I. None of us are perfect. How about doing something for the Lord, I can't do that, I am not worthy. Guess what, none of us are worthy.
Jesus knows we are not perfect. He knows we still make mistakes. But we are redeemed and forgiven by Jesus. When we chose to live for Him and live by His values and principles, He forgave us of our sins, and imparted His Holy Spirit in us, and at that very point began to empower us.
We are saved by the sacrifice Jesus made on that cross for you and me. Jesus knows we cannot make it on our own. So He gives us His Holy Spirit to fill us, give us strength, and enable us to do what He has asked of us.
Because we have given our lives over to Jesus He works in us and through us everyday. He molds us into who He desires us to be. He pours His love into us and fills our hearts with His love. Jesus doesn't give up on us. He continues to mold us and form us.  He is the Potter, we are the clay. He will not stop perfecting us until the day we move on into heaven. Then we will live in glory with Him for eternity.
Wow, what a promise. To know that even though we are not perfect, even though we cannot do His work He has asked of us without His help, He continues to mold us everyday. He doesn't forget about us.
We can certainly mess things up on our own. When we get prideful and think we can do anything without relying in Jesus then things get all messed up.  Our lives will be turned upside down. And we often cry out to God and wonder what happened. We wonder where He was. Jesus was there all the time. It was us that closed the door on Him and forgot about Him.
So lets not forget about Jesus. Remember that He loves us regardless of our shortcomings. We are worthy because He makes us worthy. He continues to mold us into the man or woman of God He so desires.
Do we deserve His love, His forgiveness, His compassion on us? No. But Jesus doesn't see us that way. He sees us through love. We are the ones who condemn ourselves.
Lets try to live in the victory Jesus has given us. Lets live like we have embraced the fact that Jesus loves us. You are worth it because Jesus is molding you.
He has a calling on all of our lives. Each one of us has a different purpose in Jesus. Lets see ourselves in that purpose. Lets see others in their purpose.
I pray for all of you, faithful readers, that you have that revelation in your heart of just how much Jesus loves you. I pray that you feel that worthiness in your heart. And I pray for us all that we can go forth and do the mission Jesus has asked of us with boldness, confidence, and victory.
Jesus came into this world with total humility, because of love. Love for all of us,

1 Corinthians 13:4-6:
4. Love is patient, love is kind.
Love does not envy,
is not boastful, is not conceited,
5.  does not act improperly,
is not selfish, is not provoked,
and does not keep a record of wrongs.
6.  Love finds no joy in unrighteousness
but rejoices in the truth.

Jesus is our maker, our creator. He molds us into who He desires us to be. We are who He says we are.

Hurricane Michael - A Horrible Disaster

By now most of us have seen the photos of the horrible destruction Hurricane Michael left. It is sad, sickening, heart-breaking. It leaves you speechless.  I am sure plenty are trying to blame God for this.
Why would you even think this? God has created this beautiful world for us to live in. He created us.  He loves us more than anything. Yes, this world is not permanent. We know someday Jesus will return for His children and we will live eternity in a beautiful place He has prepared for us.
When God created us His desire was for us to live a pure, holy life filled with His glory.  But instead mankind chose sin. We chose to live a life separated from Him. Yes it began with Adam and Eve when they listened to the devil instead of God. It is that sinful nature that is the root of many of our problems.
So what about a hurricane? I can honestly say I do not believe in any way, shape, or form God causes these horrific disasters. We live in a world that is not perfect. The Bible tells us Jesus came to give us life.
“A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
‭‭John‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭HCSB‬‬
The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy! Jesus came for life.
I know God did not cause the destruction.  And I do know God never leaves His children abandoned.
God gives us wisdom and knowledge.  He gives the meteorologists that knowledge.  It is up to each person if you want to heed to those warnings. And none of us should judge another if they choose to stay. We do not know how we would react if we were in a similar situation until we face it ourselves.
What we can do now is pray for everyone that was impacted by this hurricane.  We need to pray for all of the workers, the volunteers, the infrastructure to be repaired and operational, and for the victims and their families to have peace, comfort, and reassurance that God is right by their side.
This will not be the last natural disaster to occur.  There is a pattern the last few years of these storms being much more violent. This is the world we live in. What can we do? We can prepare ourselves as best we know how. Through prayer, having a personal relationship with Jesus. Trusting Him for all of our needs and concerns.
How did people survive? Because the Lord God protected them.
There will be questions so many have that I cannot answer.  But I do know God’s Word is truth. And He came so we can have abundant life.
We know our time here on earth is temporary.  We know our possessions are temporary.  They will come and go. I have no doubt the people that suffered horrible losses will rebuild. They will survive.  We are fighters, and God gives us amazing strength during these times.
We must always hang on to God’s promises.  We must stay close to Him and under His protection. None of us can do this alone. We all need our Lord Jesus to help us.
And for those suffering, let’s be sure to pray for them.