Do you believe what we discussed last week? Do you believe that in you is the power of God? Do you believe that you can really and truly impact your generation for the Kingdom of God?

If you do not, I beg that you would dive into the Word of God and discover His power and His promise that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is living in you (Ephesians 1:18-21).

Once you reach of point of believing that this is really true I have one thing to say… DON’T WASTE IT. Don’t believe the lie that “someone else will do it.” The Lord has called YOU out and set YOU out “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

We live in a world that is ruled by darkness (Col 1:13). We, as believers, have been rescued from that darkness, yet we still live in a world utterly surrounded by it. It is tragic, to say the least. Yet, what is even more devastating is a dark world full of lights that don’t shine. Don’t be a dim light. You are the light of the world, Jesus says, and with a specific intention: “That they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:16).

The Lord has set you apart and called you to make a difference in the world for the glory of His name. What are you doing to impact your generation?

More than anything, I believe that life with Christ is the deepest joy anyone could ever know. He is trustworthy. He will not let you down.

I pray that you would recognize the intention that Christ has for your life. The desire that He has to exceed your wildest dreams and do more than you ever dreamed.

I challenge you to dream big. Petition the Lord today and ask what He might have you do to further His Kingdom.

Maybe that means investing in the younger girls in your church? Going on a mission trip? Being a camp counselor? What can you do to inspire the people around you to BELIEVE God and to DO SOMETHING to make a difference on this earth for HIS Kingdom. What can you do? Who can you serve?

Lord Jesus,

I want to impact my world with the gospel. I don’t want to waste the potential that you have worked in me since before the foundation of the world. I believe that You are God and I commit my life to making Your glory known on the earth.

I love you.

Amen.

 

In 2 Corinthians 2:9 Paul quotes a passage from Isaiah when he reminds the church in Corinth that, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”

If I could give you one single piece of advice to last for all your days I would say this, “Dream big. Set goals and diligently see them to fruition.” Keep in mind I am speaking now to those who are His. (If you’re not, you may want to read this  first.) 

Part of the surrender that we experience as believers in Christ is the surrender of our will for His. It’s definitely not always easy and fun. Sometimes what it seems we wanted most is the one thing He withholds. When we are walking in the truth of Scripture we believe that if the Lord has it for you then you will have it in His time. And if He doesn’t have it for you, we hold on to the hope that He has something so much better.

Psalm 84:11 says, “No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” If we set our hearts on walking blamelessly before our King we have the promise (an express assurance on which expectation is to be based) that if He sees it as good for us, it will not be withheld. That is something to rely on, my friends!

So here we stand. We have a God who is for us (Romans 8:31) and a world that has no hope. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians, we have never even imagined the things that God has prepared for us. Paul also says that Christ is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). That pumps me up! What are you imagining for His Kingdom? What are you dreaming about? What are you imagining? Is it something in which the Lord will delight to go above and beyond? Are you pursuing the furthering of His Kingdom? I hope that you are!

Ephesians 1:4 says, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Girls, before the foundation of the world God set you apart for HIS glory! Don’t let that go to waste! The worst thing that you could do for the Kingdom of God (and equally the best thing you could do for Satan) is not to recognize the power that you have been given as a follower of Christ (Eph. 1:18-21). Without this power we can do nothing. WITH this power we can change the world. I believe that with everything inside of me. I think that the reason miniscule things are being done for the Kingdom is because Christians don’t recognize or tap into the power that we have been given. We are doing the gospel a huge disservice by living as if we don’t have what it takes. You’ve got it, girl!! You’ve got it!

You have been created with the purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God. To make His glory known among the nations and to share His joy and light everywhere you go. My prayer is that you would not miss out on the plans that God has for you because you think that you are not good enough. Or because you simply think you can’t. You have to believe that the redeeming power of Jesus’ death has set you free. Allow God to use YOU to do mighty thing for HIS Kingdom on the earth!

Lord,

I believe that You have created me to accomplish great things for Your name and for the purpose of Your Kingdom. Help me to keep my focus on You. Give me the strength to dream big dreams. Use me for Your glory! I am Yours.

Amen.

As we have been traveling on this journey through “you are” statements, I don’t want you to forget the purpose. We focus first on who you are and then on why. It is of such deep importance that you know truth because of the lies that Satan will speak to you.

Last week we saw the truth that you are beautiful. As lovely as that fact is, it is for a far greater purpose than you might think. You are made in His image with the purpose of reflecting Him.

In the Old Testament book of Exodus Moses has the privilege and honor and speaking with Yahweh face to face. When he goes up to Mount Sinai he receives the law for the people. It says in Exodus 34:29, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.” How sweet is that? He was literally shining from being with the Lord.

After you spend time with the Lord, do you shine? Does your joy radiate to those around you? Would people ever have cause to stop and think, “Man. I want what she has!” I sure hope that is true for me. I hope that when people see me, they see the light of Christ.

One of my favorite verses is found in 1 Peter. It says in 3:3-4, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

Now, I’ll be honest. If you had to describe me in 3 words “quiet” would probably not make the list. In fact, it probably wouldn’t make the Top 10… or 20. I’m just not a quiet kinda girl. I love this verse because it challenges me and encourages me at the same time. It encourages me that my focus should not be on looking good every day. It reminds me that I don’t need to have the nicest clothes, the newest shoes, or the best hairstyle. It’s alright if I don’t wear any make up! My worth is not defined by my outward adornment. My beauty is marked by my inner self.

This is where the challenge comes in! My inner self needs some work, girlfriend. I will be the very first to tell you so! I am comforted by the promise in Philippians 1:6 that says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” He’s not finished with me yet! And He’s not finished with you either. He will not stop the process of making you more like Him. That is reason to rejoice, sweet friends!

There are a couple things I want to be sure to mention in the discussion of letting your inside overcome your outside:

– What are the “outside” things to stay away from?

– What are the “inside” things to look for? Desire? Pursue?

Outside Adornment:

– Clothing: Our clothing should never become a stumbling block to those around us. A stumbling block is anything that causes someone else to sin. When you get dressed in the morning, or when you go shopping for new clothes, be mindful of the things that you are wearing/buying. Make sure that your shorts are long enough, and your tops aren’t cut too low. Be careful when you’re buying bathing suits and dresses. Remember that you have brothers in Christ who are counting on you to help guard their thoughts!

– Make up: Be careful not to use make up to cover who you are, or to change the way you look. Use make up to enhance the features that God gave you!

Inner Self:

– Heart: When we set our hearts on becoming more like Christ the rest of our “inner self” will follow suit. It says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Make it a priority to spend time in prayer and reading your Bible. This will align your heart with Christ. Your heart is like your storehouse. Whatever is inside will inevitably flow out into your thoughts, words, and actions.

– Thoughts: I truly believe that the battle we are fighting against sin is either won or lost in our minds. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:2-3 Make a conscious effort to dwell on Scripture, to pray throughout your day (as your walking through the mall, or driving to work).

– Words: This is often the hardest for girls! Like I said before, quiet is not the best description of me!! Luke 6:45, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” If your primary focus is setting your heart after Christ, your words will soon follow. Proverbs is a great resource to read to learn about how powerful our words can be. Proverbs 10:11 says, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…” Make an effort to let your words bring life to those who are hurting!

Here’s a good test: Do you spend more time in the morning in front of the mirror, or in the Word? Are you spending more time preparing your outside or your inside?

Remember, you are made in His image with the purpose of reflecting Him! Let your INWARD beauty overcome your OUTWARD beauty! 

 

Lord Jesus,

I believe that You have made me beautiful. I want to shine so brightly that others look at me and see You. Please help me to focus more on my inner self instead of my outward adornment. Help me to be a woman after Your heart. I love you.

Amen.

Greetings, dear friends! Again, I must ask for your apologies for my slacking off this past week! I was in the whirlwind of weddings as my precious friend, Amanda, married her best friend. It was a beautiful wedding and we had the most fun celebrating! She looked like an absolute princess and it reminded of me of the work of the Lord. Can I tell you something?

You are BEAUTIFUL.

It hurts me to think that some of you don’t believe me.

Here’s the deal, sweet ones, and I want to say it as concisely as possible:

We are at war.

You have an enemy and he wants to destroy you. There is good news & bad news.

The good news is: WE WIN.

The bad news is: We have to fight for it every single day.

Satan knows that in the end he will be destroyed so he makes every effort to steal the everlasting joy and abundant life that Christ came to give you. It says clearly in John 10:10, “The theif [Satan] comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; but I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

You must fight for it. You must defeat the enemy every single day so that the victory of Christ on the cross is made complete in you. The work has been done! Live in the victory.

My deepest prayer for you as you read is that you would not only see the truth, but that you would BELIEVE it.

Darling girl, you are beautiful.

You were made in the image of the Most High and He has made no mistake. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

At the beginning of the Story God created US in HIS image. Man, oh man! What beauty. What glory!

Do you see the weight of that? Do you grasp the power of being made in HIS image? The One who made Alaska cold and Flordia hot. The One who carved the Grand Canyon, shaped Mount Everest, and designed Niagra Falls. He made YOU.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

I’m refraining from rambling on and on and on and on about your worth, your beauty, and the God who made you. I’m refraining because honestly, I don’t think it would do much good. I don’t think rambling would convince you on this one. I think that maybe this time I need to be concise.

I need to tell you that you are a beautiful, radiant, darling creation of the God who does not make mistakes.

When Satan tells you anything other than that, I urge you, sweet girl, to play back Psalm 139:14 in your mind. Say it over & over if that is what it takes. Fight lies with truth.

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

I am no stranger to the voice of Satan. He seems to speak up when I am at my weakest [can ya relate?]. There are times when I feel like I cannot fight any longer. There are times that I believe his lies. But there is sweet VICTORY when I fight them with truth. There is confidence in my heart that I have been created by the Most High King and He has crafted me JUST as He intended to. He did the very same for you.

Never stop fighting Satan.

Replace the lies with truth.

BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Sweet Jesus,

I’m sorry that I am quicker to believe the lies of Satan over the truth You have spoken of me. I commit to You to fight him with everything inside of me. I will learn the truth in Your word and I will combat the lies with the words of Scripture. Please never stop speaking truth to me.. through your Word, or through Your people. I am listening. I love you.

Amen.