Reflections: World vs God

       When you look into a mirror, what do you see? Let's be honest people...when we look, we are looking for flaws. Some people can't even stand to have a mirror around them because of how unhappy they are with what they see. They look at their own reflection and instead of seeing who they truly are.. who God intended them to be; what do they see? They see, fat...ugly...too skinny...failure..cheater..addict..and on and on, covering your true  "whole"reflection. Why is that? Why do we just see negative? 

    The enemy takes our worldly views and human reactions and uses them to chain us up, and restrict us from the real view of ourselves. Most of the time even when God comes and sets us free, we CHOOSE to walk with those chains out 
of deception, fear, or comfort. 

    Take a dog for example... if you had a puppy and for it's whole life, everyday, you walked that puppy out the same exact path to it's tie out lead and back to the house, never deviating. Once that puppy becomes and adult dog, you can remove the leash and as long as you walk the same path as it did when restricted by the leash, the dog is going to act as if it is still chained. Why is that? Even though you have set them free from their chains, everything is still the same. The same scene, the same view points, the same outlook on life; because they have never experienced or looked anywhere else. Now, if you took that same dog and walk them on a different path, they have now been taken out of their place of habit, comfort, and what is known to them. When they see that change and experience it, they know they are free to run. 

    It is the same thing with us when God forgives us and sets us free. Many times we walk the same paths, see the same things that we always have, the worldly views, and feed into the enemy's deception never looking past our chains. We go on struggling, not realizing that those chains are no longer there. Instead choosing to carry them. Giving God limitations on what He can do in our lives, by lessening our faith in God and what he can really do, and making a worldly view on how He see's us. Like when Peter walked on the water. When he looked at Jesus and saw Him walking on the water, looking solely at Jesus he had the faith to let God bring him to his full potential, but as soon as he looked away at the world around him, Peter let those seeds of doubt and worldly views lessen his Faith in what God had already proven possible...and he sank.    (Matthew 14:22-33)

         But here is the real story, as we accept God into our lives and ask for forgiveness then, we are set free! His word teaches us that, shows us a new way to walk, and how God really see's us. So many times we try to restrict Gods love, put boundaries on His forgiveness. Holding grudges for God, thinking for Him that, "He must me disappointed or angry at us," and that just isn't the case. You see, we mark ourselves "unworthy"and we are all unworthy if we just look at ourselves or where we have been chained, but the difference is that God made us worthy the day He placed His son on the cross. 

     We need to stop trying to think for God. Stop trying to tell God what is right and wrong, and choose to accept that we are all sinners, we all have a past, and we all have present struggles. By accepting Jesus into our hearts we are now re-birthed as a "forgiven sinner."  This is not forgiveness that we know worldly, this is a true forgiveness, wiped clean, a real fresh start with no grudges held. A true cleansing, something beyond our view.

      So, how do we see different? Well, how do you know what someone is thinking? You ask them. So our first step is to ask God himself. God has left us a personal message to teach us to see a new way to walk, to see that we have been set free, and to get a better understanding of His forgiveness. The Bible is our message and it reveals your true reflection. Who you are really as a whole with God. Every time you are in His word, trying to walk that new path, you start revealing who you really are and how God views you. We have to choose to accept it...not because we are worthy (because that is not possible) but because God chose to make us worthy! 

     So lets see what God says we are...
1.) We are Loved 
  John 316 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

2.)We are Forgiven 
Acts 1043 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

3.) We are Saved
21 Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
1st Thessalonians 59 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

4.) We are His Children

2 Corinthians 618 And,“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

   
5.)We are Heirs to God
Romans 817 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

6.)We are Ambassadors of God
Ambassador: A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as representative in residence by one government or sovereign to another, usually for a specific length of time. 

2 Corinthians 520 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

7.)We are called to purpose

Romans 828 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.

8.)We are to prosper

Jeremiah 2911 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

9.)We are Conquerors

Romans 837 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 

The enemy and the world's words hold us down, and hide who we truly are, and then God sets us free...So we need to make those steps to really let go of our chains because we are the only ones holding them now. Don't take other people's words or opinions, and that includes your own as well. If you want to know what God thinks then get in His word and learn. Learn your new walk so that you can see that you are free..learn how God see's each and every one of us, and how precious we are to Him. God doesn't bog us down with words that hides us. God wipes the reflection clean so we are really revealed in His image, forgiven by His amazing grace, and Loving us everlastingly..no one can take that! 

Romans 8:38,3938 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Cat <3