Come to Your Senses, Turn to the Father

 Hello faithful readers! I feel that God put this blog on my heart to share. So sometimes we turn to sin and run away from God. This got me thinking about the parable of the prodigal son. So the son asks the father for his inheritance of the estate before his father even dies! He takes the money and goes out and lives wildly and spends all his money. He winds up being a servant to someone during a severe famine. One day he’s feeding the pigs (which this man is so far from his Jewish ways which would forbid having any dealings with pigs) and he wants to eat what the pigs are eating because he’s starving. Then he comes to his senses. He realizes his father treats his servants well and it would be better to be a servant in his father’s house than be a servant here. So he says he will say to his father,  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” Luke 15:18-19. Get this he realized that he had sinned both against his Father and against God. When we sin we need to come to our senses and realize that sin is against God and others as well. Even though the son did not feel worthy to be his father’s son his father didn’t feel that way. The father always sees him as his son. Much like God always sees us as his son or daughter. So the son returns to the father.

²⁰ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.^[a]’ ²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. Luke 15:20-24

One thing that stands out is the father saw his son from afar off meaning he was waiting on a daily basis for his son to return. God waits for us too and he is waiting to restore us into a right relationship with him. He wants that relationship with us. He longs for us to draw close and yes he longs for us to come to our senses and realize he has a better life for us, a life of redemption in place of sin. He is waiting for us to repent and he is waiting for us to rejoice with him when we return. He will celebrate when we return and he will clothe us with the robe of righteousness. The robe represented the favored son and was a covering to show others he belongs to his father and that he is his father’s son. He will give us sandals that represent the gospel of peace. The ring would be used to seal letters in wax bearing a message of his father’s words. The ring represents the authority that the son comes in the name of his father; much like we go in the father’s name when he gives us a mission. He also will give us his Holy Spirit which gives us authority to speak against the darkness in Jesus name. It is when we feel lost that he is waiting for us to be found.

One thing that stands out to me too is the father let the son have his inheritance and he let his son leave and go his own way but he never lost hope that his son would return-he waited for him to return. It is when we repent and turn from our sin that we can return to our Heavenly Father. He is waiting in anticipation with open arms. He is waiting to rejoice with you. Don’t allow the sin to keep you from your heavenly Father, repent, turn around and you’ll see he’s been waiting for you all along.

Don't Run Jonah!

             Ok you guys I’ve been away from my blog for a long time. I just felt like God wasn’t giving me material for a blog but he has given me so many insights in my journal. These blog posts may just be straight out of my journal with little editing. I want to download it to you the same way it was downloaded to me! It’s definitely going to be different. I’m writing a second and third book. My third book is called Get out of Your Boat and it’s about letting go of the past by getting out of your boat and stepping into your future which is the boat that has Jesus as a captain. So I feel like this new way of blogging will be me sharing excerpts from my books that I’m working on. So God gave me something really good from the book of Jonah. So here goes!

                Jonah on the boat what did his boat represent? Fleeing from God. Jonah had a purpose on that boat-he was a witness to God’s power. God was more powerful than they when they tried to get to shore they couldn’t. Jonah tells them to throw him off the boat. Jonah would rather die than obey God. Jonah did not know he would be swallowed by a fish and have to go to Nineveh anyway. Just because Jonah ran it didn’t change his assignment.

This is resonating with me. You’re trying to run from the library and being a leader. You can run it’s your choice but the assignment of being a leader won’t change. God called you to be a leader and you are a leader at work and in Life Group. Your assignment won’t change no matter how much you fight it and God it won’t change until You change. You have to change your mind about being surprised that you are a leader. You’ve been a leader at the library for 8 years! 8 Years! Get over your fear and disbelief. It’s time. You are the boss-accept it-stop complaining!

So Jonah disobeyed God much like you are doing when you snooze (I’ve been struggling with getting out of bed and getting into God’s word and I believe God told me to stop snoozing so I’ve been sinning and disobeying God by snoozing). I’m working on stopping the snoozing and living the full life God has for me. So getting back into Jonah. What can you learn from Jonah? When God gives you an assignment accept it and don’t run from it. Allow God to work a miracle through you. God has sent you to the library so many will give their hearts to Christ just by interacting with you.

Another thing you can learn from Jonah: You can’t run from God. The assignment will still be there once you repent and turn back to God. When you cry out to God he will intervene on his timing. Don’t wait three days, repent now, don’t make God use drastic measures to get through to you. Be a witness of God’s power. Don’t sleep while God is trying to speak to you. Jonah was asleep on the boat, on the run and sleeping. Don’t have a pity party. Don’t play the victim. Don’t value your comfort zone more than you value following God. Don’t value your past more than God’s future for you. Don’t be dramatic, Jonah would rather die than follow God’s commands. Don’t let your pride put you in a tough situation. Let your pride go. Don’t let your idea of what you want out of life get in the way of God’s plan for you. Don’t wait for God to bring a violent storm before you follow his voice and his command! Don’t make God angry! Be accountable, be responsible for your own actions. Someone just may come to Christ by witnessing how you react to the storms of life. What if a specific person will give their heart to Christ based on how you treat them?

Don’t delay, cry out to God now, don’t wait. You can lessen the storm by obeying the Lord. Wow Jonah’s prayer:

But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone. Jonah 2:9

Then the Lord caused the fish to spit Jonah out, it was when Jonah sought the Lord and after he said he would fulfill his vow, it was after that he was spit out. It was after that, that he was delivered out of the fish.

When you repent God changes his mind about the wrath he would pour out. I know since Jesus God’s wrath is kept back by the blood of Jesus. Jonah complained to the Lord, didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this Lord? Jonah 4:2

Why was it so important to bring the message to Nineveh through Jonah? It was not just for the people but for Jonah to learn something too!

That is why I ran away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God. Jonah 4:2

Jonah did not want the people to repent, he wanted them destroyed. I have felt this way too about my enemy. My enemy is the thorn in my side and I want them gone but I feel there’s a lesson I need to learn from my enemy so God will not release me from that person until I learn the lesson.

Slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. Jonah 4:2

He is eager to save my enemy!

 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed. Jonah 4:8

Change is better than living like this. It’s time to change before something worse happens. When people see what the Lord has done for you and through you they will give their hearts to Christ and make vows to the Lord.

Does Jonah fear the Lord? I think not! He was not afraid to run in the opposite direction from Nineveh. What did the waters represent for Jonah? Death. An escape from responsibility, an escape from the calling God place on his life. He was a prophet. Sleep for me is an escape from the calling God has on my life. No more snoozing! What did the waters represent for God? Life, obedience of his servant, an instrument of his peace for the men on the ship when the sea was calm. An instrument of his power. Water was a conduit for his prophet to fulfil his purpose. The library is a conduit for you to fulfill your purpose. God has a great calling on my life and I’m having a hard time accepting that he can use me to fulfill that calling but as the quote says,”God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”

Plant Your Feet and Gather Your Stones

           When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’” Joshua 4:1-3

I’m reading Joshua and God impressed this word upon my heart so here it is! They took the stones from where the priests feet stood firm in the Jordan. There’s something to be learned here. It wasn’t just anywhere it was where the priests stood with the Ark of the Covenant. It is an example for us to stand firm on God’s word. Why? As a reminder of the goodness of God, of the miracles of God. So plant your feet and gather your stones. What stones do you need to place in a place of remembrance. Stand firm in remembering what God has done.

Stone 1: God was with me in the psych ward and surrounded me with good people.

Stone 2: He connected me to my church home and to people who were true followers of Christ and who showed me the love of Christ.

Stone 3: He’s been with me every step of the way into getting into an apartment and being out on my own.

Stone 4: My job literally saved my life and saves my life every day in that it gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning each day and gives me a sense of purpose.

Stone 5: He reminded me that I’m a child of God when I was in a mania.

Stone 6: He gave me time off while I was in a mania to protect me and my job.

Stone 7: He gave me the courage to step out and get a job and to get my driver’s license and to get my bachelor’s degree. I hadn’t given my heart to Christ yet, but he still watched over me.

Stone 8: He stopped me from drinking by showing me it wasn’t good for me and that I didn’t like how I acted when I drank.

Stone 9: He came to my mind a few months before I gave my heart to Christ that I did deserve better than I was being treated by the man in my life.

Stone 10: He gave me the courage to get new glasses and see the eye doctor.

Stone 11: He gave me the courage to go to the dentist.

Stone 12: He gave me the heart to forgive some people in my life.

So what stones do you need to set up in remembrance? Where do you need to plant your feet?

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

When the Giant Calls Your Name

            When the giant calls your name do you quiver or tremble or do you say my God is able to defeat you? Do you have the air of David? How dare you defy my God?

What’s your giant? Mine is anxiety. He calls my name and too often I shake in my armor and cower. The armor is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18). That’s right it’s the armor we’re told to put on as Christians and so often we Christians tremble in our armor and don’t call on our God to defeat our foes.

There’s the lie that is never voiced, but still people believe that being a Christian means one is perfect. That once you become a Christian your troubles are over. That is a lie. You are just better equipped to fight your battles. Too often we allow ourselves to be more fearful of the battle than being confident that our Lord will save us. He’s at the helm waiting to provide the help we need. We need only call on him and he will show up and show off. God is a big God who loves us. He sent Jesus to die for us. What won’t he do for us yet day after day I forget that he is for me and not against me.

I’m so sick and tired of cowering in my armor and throwing up the white flag to the battles that surround me. My enemies shall not prosper, they shall not overtake me. Why? For my God is for my good and he loves me. How can I put aside the trembling and be confident in my God? These are things I need to put into practice. For one – read my bible every day- study it- become a bible scholar- know it like the back of my hand. For two – memorize scripture. For three – pray not just for myself but for others too. I haven’t been praying as much and it makes a difference.

We must get close to the heartbeat of God. David knew that heartbeat because God had come through for him. He had delivered David from a bear and a lion that tried to devour his sheep. He tackled these foes with his bare hands. He was confident. He knew his God had come through for him before why wouldn’t he come through for him now? We must get this and feel it deep within our hearts.

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he rose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down  both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 1 Samuel 17:34-36

So what’s your giant?

What lie are you believing?

Will you share it with me?

I’m here. I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

Beauty in the Struggle

           We don’t change all at once it happens in increments. Step by step. I was thinking about the butterfly and the process it has to go through to go from being a caterpillar to spreading its wings and flying. We  are like that caterpillar when we come to Christ. We are in a season of growth and we will prevail. We will have the victory. We will come out a rare form of beauty that the world has never seen before.

Caterpillars go through a metamorphosis which is a transformation or change in shape. There are four phases of a butterfly’s life: Egg, larva, pupa and adult. Pupa is the transition stage. Caterpillars are in a cocoon or a chrysalis. Some pupa stages take two years. In the pupa stage cells grow rapidly, legs, wings, eyes and other parts of the butterfly grow. Butterfly’s can’t grow. In the adult stage a butterfly mates and lays eggs. It has a different purpose than the one it was initially created in. Butterfly’s may not even feed as adults. A caterpillar’s job is to eat and grow. Butterflies can’t grow they are already equipped with what they need to mate and lay eggs. They live for 1 to 2 weeks. The caterpillars end purpose is different from the purpose it was born with. It goes through a transformation so too do we go through a transformation. God will bring his purposes through us. I got this information from www.Ansp.org.

So like I said I believe we are all like that butterfly. Before we know Christ we are on a particular path and once we know Christ our path changes. We become a new creation in Christ. Christ gives us the wings we need to soar in our lives and to overcome the challenges and different stages. What stage do you find yourself in? Are you like the butterfly are you soaring with your wings spread wide? Are you like the caterpillar in the chrysalis? Are you waiting for your body to grow and mature into the soaring stage? Or are you like the larva where you’re just devouring God’s word and being prepared to grow even more? I think I’m in the chrysalis stage. I’m waiting to mature and grow in my walk with Christ. I do believe I’m a new creation. I have changed so much from who I used to be and growing in my walk with Christ. I so cherish the Lord and what he’s doing in my life. I used to be very shy and depressed. I didn’t know Christ at the time but he knew me and he helped me come to him in increments. My understanding of who he was  grew until I finally gave my heart to him.

                Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

So what stage are you in? I’m so in the growing stage of getting those eyes, legs, wings so that I will soar with God’s word and spread it to others. That’s the whole point is showing the love of Christ to others. No matter what stage you’re in eventually you will come out of this struggle and be a rare beauty and soar. You will fly, set free from everything that’s been weighing you down.

Will you share your stage with me?

I’m here.

I’m listening.

Genuinely Yours,

Amy Z

Build an Ark

                Steven Furtick said, “You’ve gotta build an ark when you’ve never seen rain.” This was so profound to me. What does that mean? It means you’ve got to have the faith to do it even if it’s never been done before. You’ve got to have faith even if you’ve never done it before. You’ve got to believe that when God tells you to do something he will give you the strength to do it. You’ve got to believe that God has a purpose and a will for your life. Believe God. Build an ark.

                What is the ark in your life? What is God telling you to build? Is it a stronger marriage? Is it a better relationship with your kids? Is it communicating with your boss? He’s telling me to build a road to being a better leader. I cannot take my old mindset into my new blessings. I need to change the way I do things. All the things that led me to here were meant for that time but now it’s time to mature and grow in leadership. I have to do this for a time such as this because I will be leading thousands and if I can’t lead four people then I can’t lead a thousand people. God is giving me an opportunity to be a good steward of little so I can be a good steward of much. What is God calling you to be a good steward of?

                Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10 NIV

                I’ll leave you with this thought. Believe God is for you not against you. Believe he will equip you to do what he’s called you to do. Step out in faith even if you don’t know where that step will take you. Take one step at a time. He is faithful in all things.

                What’s your ark?

                What is God calling you to be a good steward of?

                I’m here.

                I’m listening.

                Genuinely Yours,

                Amy Z

What To Do When God Gives You Lemons

                Have you ever heard the saying when life gives you lemons make lemonade? Well what do you do when God gives you lemons? I believe God gives us lemons to test and strengthen our character. I believe he wants to see what’s left of him in us when we get to the end of us. What I mean is what will be left of our character when we have trials? Will Jesus shine through us? Will we walk in Jesus authority and show people how he’s working in our lives and who he is or will we succumb to the trail and give up?

                I personally don’t want to give up. I want to see if I’m going to let Jesus shine through me.

                God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

                I so need this verse right now because I’ve been so fearful lately. I’m afraid of the unknown. My pastor says to think of the unknown as above and beyond what God is going to do in my life. I know that the trials that I face, the lemons, are to refine me and equip me to be a better solider in Christ’s army.

                So what can we do when God gives us lemons? We can praise him. We can worship him. We can seek his guidance and will for our lives. We can appreciate what he’s done for us. A heart of gratitude goes a long way.

So are you in a season of your life where God is giving you lemons?

Will you share it with me?

I just encourage you to not give up. God’s word says,

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 NLT

                Do you see that? Right around the corner of your trial is a blessing. And not just one blessing it’s a harvest of blessing. I don’t know about you but I want to see that harvest of blessing come through in my own life. I know that God has big things headed my way. So too does he have big things headed your way. Don’t give up dear readers and just know there is a crowd of witnesses up in heaven watching our progress.

                Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT

                Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Endure the trials for there is such a huge blessing on the other side of your trial. Keep persevering. Keep praying. Keep serving. Keep on keeping on. You can do this. Keep turning to God.

                I’m here.

                I’m listening.

                Genuinely Yours,

                Amy Z