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The Truth About Flamingos, Church, and Jesus

 

Have you ever been to Florida?  When I think of Florida I think of warm sun, beautiful beaches, palm trees and flamingos.  Have you ever thought something was true your whole life to find out it’s not true at all?  Funny thing about Flamingos, if you asked a native Floridian if they have ever seen a Flamingo in the wild, 99% of them would probably say no.  Flamingos primarily reside in the Yucatan Peninsula in México, the Bahamas and the northern part of South America.  Only a very small percent of Flamingos reside in Florida (in the wild) at the very tip of the Everglades.  At one point at the end of the 1800’s Flamingos left Florida altogether, it wasn’t until recently a small number of them have migrated back.

Knowing what I know now about Flamingos makes me wonder have I applied this first impression truth to other areas of my life as well?  

First impressions aren’t always true.

Don’t jump to conclusions – there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.” – Proverbs 25:8, The Message

I have grown up in the church my whole life and for the most part, consider the church as an extension of my home.  Unfortunately, I’ve also seen some not so loving parts of the church.  Whenever I meet people, the more I get to know them, I find out they stopped going to church because they have either been hurt or felt condemned.  The church is supposed to be an extension of God’s home, a place where people can feel loved and accepted no matter who they are.  Jumping to conclusions and holding onto first impressions can get us into trouble.  We shouldn’t rely on these methods as our guide for making decisions or adopting our truth.  We need to take a closer look to reveal the truth.

True-  The church is full of imperfect people and is not perfect.

Truth-  There will be times the church and its people make mistakes, but it is also a place where we learn to forgive one another.

True-  People in the church may try to take part in God’s role and judge people.

Truth-  Church is a place we learn how to walk the line of grace, love and accept people for who they are, grow as the body of Christ and come alongside one another.

 

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” – John 7:24, ESV

When we take a closer look, things aren't always as they seem. Click To Tweet

In the gospels, when Jesus was teaching His messages to the disciples and crowds, He was trying to help them understand He was the new message of truth, love, mercy, and grace.  They didn’t have to seek redemption or salvation from sacrificing lambs or following a bunch of laws, they just had to trust and believe in Him.  But somehow a long the way the world we live in has twisted the character of who Jesus really is.  We need to be careful because looks can be deceiving.

2 Cor. 11:13-14 NIV, “For such people, are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for Satan himself, masquerades as an angel of light.”

In other versions of this verse, the word masquerading is also described as disguises and transformed.  There will be things in this world that try to masquerade, transform and claim to be Jesus. There is only one true Jesus.  Jesus isn’t someone who can fit in the box of a definition we create.  Our definition of Him will never be found in what the world says but in what God’s Word says (The Bible).

Do you have an impression of Jesus that you don’t like?  When we take a closer look, we can see the truth so much clearer, than standing from a far distance.  

True-  You may be hurting right now and are mad at God.

Truth-  God is good all the time.  His intention is to never hurt or harm us.  Psalm 21:11, “Although they plot against you, their evil schemes will never succeed.”

True-  There is evil hurting innocent people in this world.

Truth-  God is never evil.  Evil never comes from God.  1 Corinthians 13:6, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

True-  You feel defeated by your circumstances.

Truth-  You are victorious no matter what your circumstances are.  1 Corinthians, “He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus came so we could have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).  He didn’t come to take away from our lives but to give.  He came once and for all (1 Peter 3:18, Romans 6:10).  He took our place on the cross for something we deserved.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6

We need to be careful because looks can be deceiving.  Just as Flamingos aren’t really a good representation of Florida, first impressions aren’t a good representation of God or the church.  Don’t get your experience or receive your opinion from a distance, take a closer look and discover for yourself the truth about Jesus.

God’s Word isn’t meant to be hidden in the pages of the Bible, but to be alive and active in our hearts and lives.  God’s truth will always set us free.  You were made to be victorious.  The more we are in God’s Word the more we discover His heart of who He really is.

Have you ever had a first impression of something and applied it as truth?

What is your truth about church and Jesus?

Have you stopped going to church and/or given up on Jesus?

God will never give up on us.  He pursues us and desires to have a relationship with us.  You are loved beyond measure by a God who loved you first!  Would you like a deeper relationship with God and don’t know where to start?  Please message or comment below, I would love to help!  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Right now Florida needs our prayers!  Join me in praying for Florida.  Pray the people of Florida are protected from the harm of the hurricane.  Pray the hurricane loses its speed and power.  Pray people will listen to the evacuation warnings and get to safety.  #PrayforFlorida

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The Truth About the Facebook Fairytale

Chances are if you’re  living this day and age you are apart of the social media craze.  You have a Facebook account, Instagram, Twitter, snapchat, you name it.  You post pictures, sending messages of what you are doing in your daily life, painting a picture of what your life looks like.

Facebook doesn’t always tell the whole story.  It has become more of a fairytale than the real tale of our lives.  I love Beth Moore’s quote “Facebook is  Fakebook.”   Just because we see a perfectly posed family picture, a person smiling, doesn’t always mean everything is going perfectly behind the scenes.  The pictures we see are merely snap shots of what are really going on in our daily lives.

Sometimes Facebook can get the best of me.  Everywhere I look there are pictures of perfect skin, perfect makeup, perfect outfits, perfectly plated dinner plates, manicured houses, perfect vacations, the list goes on.  I then become disillusioned in thinking, ‘Wow everyone has it so together,’ then realize these are the deceptive lies of the enemy.  If I’m not careful I can fall into his trap of doubting my worth by comparing myself to others or being discouraged that I have not done enough with my life.

I am someone who is not always honest and transparent about what has been really going on in my real life.  I would like to be better about posting ‘Hey friend I’m struggling today, I could use your prayers, will you pray for me?’  Instead I coward to what others think of me for fear their comments of what they will really say.  Facebook has become a not so safe place where we can reveal the struggles of our daily lives, for fear of criticism.  We can’t expose our real battles we face for fear of insults.  Or we fear when we expose our vulnerabilities, there will be no where to hide once the flaming arrows start launching?

I’m not saying we should use  Facebook  as a place to spill our dirty laundry, but as a place where we can feel safe and encouraged;  not attacked.

This has made me think what is our purpose in using Facebook and what do we use it for? 

Are we using Facebook as someone who casts out the  first stone or the one walking away with grace?

Are we portraying lies and fake facades of a superficial life that will never last?

Or are we displaying God’s splendor, displaying His fruit that is evident in our lives, in what we post, making it all for His glory?  Are we being transparent and real truthful and honest.

How are we really using Facebook?  As a weapon of the enemy or an instrument of righteousness for God?  Let’s find out.

Do we use Facebook to encourage and build one another up?  Or leave not so nice comments and cast judgements upon what we see?  Or are we silent stalkers who like to look at others posts but choose not to like or comment, but instead make assumptions upon what we only see on the surface?

Do we use Facebook to tell God’s story of what He is doing in our life? Or as a facade putting together an assemblance of the appearance of how great our life seems?

Or does Facebook attack our minds?  Tempting and luring us to mindlessly scroll through everyone’s lives taking us away from what we should be paying attention to?

How does Facebook really affect us? Do we allow the enemy to fill us with his deceptive lies of dissatisfaction? Making us desire more of something we don’t have?   Making us wish we had the life of someone else?

Or do we try to compete, try to keep up with the  Joneses, try to rise above the shouts of the world to be heard, to barely hear the whispers of the Lord?

Or do we compare ourselves to others,  allow the seeds of inferiority to be planted, that I’m not good enough because I don’t have what so and so has?

Are we being lured into the trap of the enemy, using Facebook as his weapon of destruction?  Or are we protecting ourselves using it the way God would like us to as His instrument of righteousness?

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  Galatians 6:7-8

Have we become disillusioned in the lies of the Facebook fairytale?  Thinking this is what life should be like?  I promise you behind every smile, every perfectly posed family picture, there is a struggle and battle that lies deep within, that is merely resting right beneath the surface.  Truth is, life is messy.  Facebook may not always portray life’s messy moments and tell all of God’s story.

Next time you use Facebook, say a prayer.  Ask God to help you use it for His glory, to pray for those you see who need prayer.   Offer a word or two of encouragement.  Become an instrument of His righteousness and  build His kingdom.

We can break down the walls of the fairytale, build the walls of His kingdom when we tell His story;  allowing the  author of our stories to shine through our authenticity.  Truth is, fairytales never last.  God’s story is eternal and will never fail.  We need to tell the real tale of our lives, to tell God’s story.  Don’t hide behind the Facebook fairytale, allow the author of your story to be known.

When we hide behind the fairytale, how will anyone ever know it is Only God that got us through our trials and Only God that provided?  Hiding behind the lies, hides  His story He has written, keeping His story hidden in the dark.  His stories need to be brought to the light for all the glory be to God!  Amen.

“Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Romans 6:13

We are real people with real problems.  And that's okayClick To Tweet.

How will you use Facebook this week?  As a weapon of the enemy building up his armies?

Or an instrument of righteousness building up God’s kingdom?

Have you been  disillusioned in the Facebook fairytale?  How or in what way?

What truth has Facebook revealed to you?

How do you use Facebook and how has it affected you?

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