Message to the redeemed!

"I , even I am the Lord and apart from me there is no Savior" Isaiah 43:11

Being called out of dark places to behold a light that will break forth to show the faithfulness of God! Faith endures because there is a light at the end of the tunnel! However, on the journey, we get weary and sometimes discouraged. But Christ says endure! He says look at me! He wants to be the center of attention. "..fixing your eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.." Hebrews 12:2 He gave the perfect example! He set you as a joy before Him and endured the cross! While in pain, He thought of YOU!

Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore since we have such great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2. fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart." (NASB)

Perfect example! What Jesus did...was for me! I am going to be selfish for a moment! He thought of ME! He thought of the sins I would commit and how I would need a Savior to forgive me! He thought of how He wanted me to be free from sin and free from condemnation when I messed up (again)! He knew I was going to sin. I was reminded one day during worship that God sees the blemish free and spotless blood of Jesus when He looks at me, He doesn't see the sin and shame I should feel when I sin. Oh what peace and joy covered my heart. I am covered in righteousness because Jesus took on my shame. I am the righteousness of God in Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man in in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (NASB)

2 Corinthians 5:21 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (NASB)

Peace will grasp your soul when you realize the liberty you have because of Christ. Peace will rest on your heart when you take hold of the consistency of our God. The consistency of our God is that He is a very present help in time of trouble. The character of our God is to help His redeemed when we face trials. The fact is He knows we will face hardships and He actually told us several times in scripture that we would face various trials (James 1:2, 1 Peter 1:10, Philippians 1:29)! He knew that disheartening situations would come and fight to wear us down...but He reminds us I AM REDEEMED!

Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the Lord your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God The Holy One of Israel, your Savior...."

I am convinced...I have no question in mind that I the redeemed of the Lord will come out of the flood, fire, river or whatever I find myself in, whole and refined for the purpose of the Master! I wrote this for you! I wrote this for you to know that You are His no matter what! It is vividly obvious that you will pass through a great deal of trials but He says He will be with you. When you pass through the waters He WILL be with you, when you will pass through rivers theywill not overflow you, when you will pass through fire, You will not be scorched, and the flames will not burn you! God's love is a whole lot bigger than we understand! He says Hardships yes. Defeated NO! As you look to Him, You will see a picture of perfect love and endurance that says victory is a promise "... (Jesus) has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.." that my friend is VICTORY!

There is an old song that says " Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look straight in His wonderful face, and the things of this world will go strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace..."

"I encourage you...look straight to the cross, focus on your redemption through the power of the cross, all your shame, all the hardships will fade away..."

Grace and Peace to God's redeemed.


~Renee Jael

Dream Deterred

"A dream deterred will lead you away from the vision that has been orchestrated to distract you from the destiny you have been created to walk in."


Sometimes I hit and miss, sometimes my failures attempt to over power the freedom to try again and succeed! What happens to a dream deferred beyond that, what happens when a dream is deterred. There is a dream inside that keeps me alive so that others will experience life worth living. It wont be pushed back to the deep dark place where it will long be forgotten and there won't be a day when I will regret the path I have taken. The path I have taken is a road less traveled and a road bravely walked on with courage and faith. Don't misunderstand, I am not courageous apart from Christ. My existence is found in Him and I am forever grateful for it. I am privileged beyond my own comprehension to be His own. You see my life is not my own and I have given up all rights to live "my life". I LIVE FOR CHRIST Galatians 2:20! A dream beheld has become a dream deterred because my life is so engulfed in doing the will of the Father. To live with everything I have to bring Him glory and walk into the destiny that He has so beautifully planned before the foundations of the earth Psalm 139:16. You see everything has been summed up in Christ. Ephesians 1:10-11. His will, perfect, flawless will be fulfilled. Unless of course if one decides to follow after their own desires that are outside of Christ! I almost followed that course of pursuing my will but God by His unrelenting love, mercy and grace pulled me out before I got too deep to realize that I walked outside of the painting He has so intricately designed for my life. Life as I knew it would have grown to be miserable because I was too scared to "man up" and face the giants of my personal will! Along with fear, I was curious to see what was ahead. Life as I knew it would have been tainted because I was depending on my understanding and not that of the omniscient God! Indeed His jealousy for me to be His own wouldn't allow me to follow my will that stemmed from my anxiety. He carefully directed me to His word and isolated me from taking the easy way out of extensively seeking advice from the wise. Not that its wrong but His word should be first, He should be first. I could not understand why I couldn't go after those particular desires of my heart, I couldn't understand and then it hit me, "lean not unto your own understanding Proverbs 3:5". We could be blinded so much by our own dreams that we forget the gospel centered dreams that should drive our life. Christ power is so alive in me that the gospel centered dream never left the forefront of my mind. It never left my beating heart for others to know Him and experience His love. A dream can become a dream deterred for the purpose of fulfilling the destiny that has been designed my the Greatest Artist this world can ever know.

"Trust God with your life especially when you can't see your way and especially when you can't understand. Listen to Him speak and read the scriptures 2 timothy 3:16-17. He knows best and in the end it will all make sense. You have been created to worship God with your life. Do it & do it with obedience. Walk in the freedom of being Christ beloved and know the best He has for you is yet to come, purpose will be fulfilled. Don't settle for only what you can dream of but live to see what beautiful picture God has designed for your life! His dreams are bigger than ours. Live to proclaim the gospel that others will know Him and see Him when they see you. Live for His glory!"

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Love, Peace Mercy and Grace sustain you until the coming back of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

~renee jael

Indeed...The Cross of Jesus The Christ is Enough

While situations seem disheartening, I am reminded that the cross of Christ is enough and truly ,Jesus is all I need. No, it doesn't mean we become complacent because Christ is our King. It surely doesn't mean when "life" happens we sit around and wait for God to work on our behalf for faith without works is dead! It means that though you strive to make the best out of your circumstances the power and love of Christ keeps you when sometimes, your efforts produce little to no results. It reminds you of the hope you have in Him. It keeps you sustained with grace and His compassion. It keeps you from going crazy!!!! If it wasn't for His grace, where would you hope, what would you hope, why would you hope!?? sayings heard someone say "The cross came to change us and not our situation." Christ changed me so when "life" happens I can act in a Christ like manner! When circumstances seem to weigh heavy day after day I can endure because Christ endured. With eyes fixed on the author and finisher of our faith we can press on because We hold fast to His promises.

I originally wrote this blog in 2010,only to leave it unpublished! But here I am again at another "life" situation :) what can I say...it happens...often! I'm comforted by hope, because when feelings set in, hope remains....one thing I pray that I'll always have my friends is hope, I smile as I think about my scripture memory this week! Jesus said to his disciples "Have faith in God!"

I love Jesus! He's incredibly profound..and undoubtedly true!

Listen to Him....
"truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,'be taken up & cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he SAYS is going to happen, it shall be granted to him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you." mark 11:22-26

Can I be brutally honest.....sometimes faith is scary...maybe Jesus knew that! He knows every thing about our flesh, because He too was flesh(word became flesh John 1:1-14) He knows that faith itself could be a challenge...but before He states mark 11:23-26 he says "have faith in God" v.22, it's God who answers, God who makes the spoken word in faith come to pass. Faith without works is dead, and I believe faith without God is no faith at all! Jesus continues to tell the disciples about forgiveness.

Forgiveness is easy in light of the cross, because I see myself and my sin in light of a humble Christ now risen in glory! Just as I'm forgiven, I also should forgive!

His humility To death on the cross says I love you more than I loved being God in heaven! Philipians 2:6-8.

A friendly analogy would be as if Queen Elizabeth came to live with me, taught me everything she knew about living successfully in England! leaving her throne to live a humble life, experiencing all my struggles..but would never count it a loss but gain.....and never blamed me for coming to help me! Forgiveness requires faith and without the cross faith is null and void!
How beautiful is the cross to you?
How lovely is Christ's resurrection?
How comforting to know He HAS overcome the world!

As Jesus told his disciples of departing from them, He comforted them:
Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with Me. “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:31-33


Take heart friends, Jesus has overcome that which seeks to discourage you!
Love
-Renee Jael

Life does not have an easy button

I always heard my Jamaican friend say, "Life's not easy, its full of rocks!" Well i've been walking on my share of rocks lately! The bottom of my feet hurts! It's a season where I know that God is listening but it's like He is saying, Renee, I cant give it to you now, you just wont get it yet! or Is He saying, Renee, I want to teach you how to wait on My perfect timing, I want to teach you how to submit, I want to teach you how to not break under pressure, I want to teach you how to praise me in your brokenness. It's like He's constantly whispering my name, saying daughter I GOT YOU! I am reminded of His unrelenting purpose, that all things were created through Him and for Him, Colossians 1:16 and that I was created in Christ Jesus for good works which He already prepared for me beforehand, Ephesians 2:10 . Each day I strive to be better than I was the day before. Today, I asked "Did I make you smile today Jesus?", as I maneuvered my life throughout the day serving! (Selah) And though the thoughts of I have to look for a job, I have to get a job, I have to work hard taunts my membrane every waking moment of every day, the times where I can hear someone say "thank you because I didn't know what I would have done without you", or the look on someone's face that lets them know they are important to you when you showed up, that my friend makes me know it was worth it. It was worth it to think of someone in the midst of personal trial. The time I gave, the Love I gave, it wasn't in vain. The rocky places reminds me that it's not about me, but about the sacrifice of love that speaks for Christ that lives in me. Well tomorrow is a new day, a day that I may not live to see, but today I lived, not for myself but for my Father in heaven! Today I lived and walked on rocks that built my strength for the future! Tomorrow...O don't worry about that! There will be food on the table, there will be wind to blow on your face to ease the heat of the bright burning sun, there will be bright colored birds to fly across your car to remind you, God is watching over you and thinking of you so much that His thoughts out number the sand, psalms 139:18. Rocky places, Yes they come and Yes you have to walk on them because if you just stand there waiting for it to smooth out, you wont endure, you wont produce, you wont progress, you wont learn! My friend the road of life is a journey that doesn't give you the expected but the unexpected! I just can't wait to see what God has in store. Until we meet again! Peace, Love, Grace and Mercy from the Father of Love!

P.S take time to behold the beauty along the way....

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask of God who gives to all generously, and without reproach, and it will be given to him~James 1:2-5