Significant Encounters 2022 #2 Who Does God Say You Are?

Sep8

Significant Encounters is a place for you if you have experienced drama and trauma in your life. A place of encouragement for you. A place where you know that someone is in your corner. A soft place to land.

Remember when I said that God was a creator and that He created us just the way we were? Let me read you something from Psalm 139:13-16 – For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

If we fully understand these verses, then what we know is that God created us the way He wanted us to be. The way he could use us. The way that delighted His heart over us. The delight that He had over us could be a benefit to others. We know that we are not a mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes. It’s not something He’s capable of.

Now the world that we live in tends to glorify mistakes. They point them out. You’ll see it daily all-over social media. You’ll see it all over the daily news and hear it when you go out. Coming from every direction. Being canceled is a thing nowadays. It doesn’t take much, just disagree with someone’s opinion. This is NOT how God planned it. He wants us to know what he thinks of us.

He created us. So what does He say about His creation? We just read it, right? We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even if we don’t FEEL like it.

Fearfully translated from Hebrew means heartfelt interest, reverence, and respect.

Wonderfully translated from Hebrew means unique and set apart.

God often uses our weaknesses to help others. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10.

Sin and pride mask the part where He said He made us with a purpose in mind. What is that purpose?  Love. To love Him. To love others. To show His love to all the people that we can.

Our identity must be found in God. It cannot be found in our families, our jobs, our homes, our hobbies, our travels, or even our dreams. Looking for our identity there, will still allow lots of room for insecurities and poor self-imaging.

Here is a partial list of just what God thinks of you, and the corresponding scriptures.

If you have received Christ as your savior*, then all of these things apply to you.  

It STILL amazes me that God thinks this of me, after all the lies I’ve ingested over a lifetime.

  • You are saved. 2Timothy 1:9 Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. (NKJV)
  • You are complete. Colossians 2:10. and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (NKJV)
  • You are chosen. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people. (NLT)
  • You are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)
  • You are a child of God. 1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (NKJV)
  • You are no longer a slave. Galatians 4:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (NKJV)
  • You are above and not beneath. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You will always be on top, never at the bottom, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.
  • You are accepted. Romans 15:7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. (NLT)
  • You are healed. Psalm 30:2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. (NKJV)
  • You are not alone. Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (NKJV)
  • God thinks You are special. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (NKJV)
  • You are alive in Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). (NKJV)
  • You are His. Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. (NKJV)
  • In God, you are wise. Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (NKJV)

Read more about it here; How do I receive Christ?

Pray this simple prayer.

DEAR LORD JESUS, I WANT TO KNOW YOU PERSONALLY.  THANK YOU FOR DYING ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS AND FOR RISING FROM THE DEAD.  I OPEN THE DOOR OF MY LIFE AND RECEIVE YOU AS MY SAVIOR AND LORD.  I TRUST YOU NOW TO FORGIVE MY SINS AND GIVE ME ETERNAL LIFE.  PLEASE MAKE ME THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT ME TO BE.

Feel free to like, comment and share with anyone you think might find encouragement from this post.

I hope you’ll join me next time, where we’ll further our conversation on how and why we think of ourselves the way we do.

Significant Encounters 2022 #1

Sep6

I’m so happy that you have made the choice to join me here.

Significant Encounters is a place for you if you have experienced drama and trauma in your life.

A place of encouragement for you.

A place where you know that someone is in your corner.

A soft place to land.

In this session, I’d like to talk about who God is.

If we begin with understanding who he is, then we can understand how He wants to help us.

First, on the list, God is I’m omniscient. That’s a big word, a Latin one actually. What it means is that he is all-knowing. He knows absolutely everything, from beginning to end. There is not one thing that can surprise Him.

Then comes omnipresent. It’s another big word, meaning that he is all-encompassing. This means that God has created a circle around all of His creation. All of it, everyone, everything, everywhere.

Then the word omnipotent, meaning He is unlimited authority and power.

Omnibenevolence. In Latin, this word means all-good-willing. God is always good, and always willing to answer us when we call to Him.

Each of us has likely heard the creation story. It tells us that God is our creator and that He created the heavens and the earth. He created everything. He created it with His voice. He said “Be” and it was. This is what He said about you “Be”. And there you were! And you know what? It was good. You were good. It reminds me of a bumper sticker back in the ’70s that said, “God Doesn’t Make Junk”.  

God is sovereign, which means that He has supreme power and authority. God is eternal, holy, and true. He is love, and full of grace. He is just and full of wisdom.

He is immutable, that’s another big word. It means He doesn’t change. He never changes. Above all, He is faithful. He can be depended on no matter what. He will always do what He says He will do.

Now, if these concepts don’t mean anything to you, then our time together will help you to learn them. Our time together will help you to see who He is. You will learn that He loves you, and you will want to know Him more. You will learn about His character, and why He loves you. You will get to know him, and understand why you can trust Him.

When you know who He is, you will begin to see the expansive possibilities that He has created for your life.

Us knowing Him, Him knowing us, Us knowing Him, Him knowing us, is the perfect cycle. It’s a cycle that we want to have repeated in our lives.

Knowing how He knows us. Knowing how He loves us. Knowing how He created us the way we are. Knowing that He never makes mistakes. Knowing that He has a plan for us, our lives, and for our good, will make the things we’ll be hearing here in the next few weeks much easier to know and understand.

In my growing-up life, I never knew any of this. This just isn’t what I was taught. I felt alone most of the time, and it really did not make a difference to me.

I did have some real issues with believing in a heavenly father.

You see, growing up, I had two fathers. One was biological, and the other adopted me when was small. The bio-dad, I didn’t even know until I was an adolescent. My adopt-a-dad married my mother and adopted me so that I would have the same last name as him. Because in those days it didn’t bode well for a daughter and a dad to have different names. At any rate. Both of these men were abusive in very different ways. Those stories are for another day.

Suffice it to say that when I found that God wanted to be my loving father, I didn’t have a chip for that.

I had a hard time with that because I’d blown through two dads already.  Neither one of those did what they were supposed to do for me. Things like loving and protecting.

The whole concept of a loving father was difficult. Because hey, what if I was just defective? Or even unlovable?

Now, as an adult, I know that that struggle was real, but I also know that was worth the fight.

God is my father, and He has overwhelmingly shown me His love. He loves me so much. You know, He loves you too.  So much more than you know right now. You’re not a mistake.

You were not unknown to Him. He created you in the secret place of your mother’s womb. And He delights in you. He delights in you. Did you hear what I said? He delights in you.

His character never changes, and neither does His love for you. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-encompassing. All the things that we talked about earlier. He is those things. Creator, unchanging, faithful. He welcomes us. He is honest with us. He is kind to us. He loves us, and He forgives us. He is a capable father. And you know what? He is knowable. He actually wants us to know him. And when we know Him, we know we can trust him.

The things that we grew up with that sent us into hiding. The things that caused us shame and guilt, humiliation, and anger, He will use those things as steppingstones for our success in life. In those places He can replace our weakness with His strength. Those things? He is capable of managing them. He can take care of them if we let Him.

Today’s message may or may not be what you thought it would be. But my encouragement to you is to hang on. Keep coming back. Together we can find out, and actually learn to know God the way He planned for us too. We can live a life of peace. The one He’s called us to.

I hope this helps, and I want you to come back next time. We’ve learned about who He is now.

Next, we’ll begin to learn about who he says WE ARE.

In the times to follow, we’ll go on to some other specific things. But first, I really feel like it’s important that we know who He is and who He thinks we are. When we’re armed with those two things, we cannot help but prevail. We can’t help but succeed. It’s important if we want to win.

This is essential stuff. I encourage you to grab your coffee, and join me back here next time, on Significant Encounters.

Psalm 145:17-19 ESV 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

Significant Encounters 2022 Introduction

Sep1

Hi my name is Deb. I want to thank you for joining me today for the introduction to a new series in Significant Encounters.

Significant Encounters is a place for people who have had a lot of drama and trauma in their life,

Maybe they just really need a listening ear.

A way to resolve things in their life.

Maybe they just need a soft place to land.

Be encouraged, this could be that place.

My life was full of drama and trauma.

Cycle after cycle after cycle of abandonment, abuse, rejection, anger, guilt, and shame.

So much shame.

One cycle would end and another would begin.

There was seemingly no way out.

Is this where you find yourself?

With coffee cup in hand, I would like to invite you into some encounters to look at different aspects of overcoming drama and trauma.

Do you do all the right things day after day after day, and still, your life just seems to stink?

I did too.

But, I found a way to be at peace.

I found a way to have joy in my life.

I found a way to be able to keep the peacefulness in my heart, no matter what is going on in my circumstances.

When the cycles try to begin again, not if, but when, I’m able to fight against them.

Your life can be as PEACEFUL and as JOYFUL as you want it to be.

So if you’d like to join me in this, we can figure it out together.

When we begin our encounters in earnest, each session will lead us one step closer to a life of peace and a life of joy, and a life of contentment.

I am not a doctor or a trained consultant.

I am someone who has lived a lot of life.

A life full of drama, and trauma, who wants to help you get your heart healed in much less time than it took me.

I know that if we do a little life together, we can get you to a place where you can be free.

Let me leave you with this.

It’s a scripture from the Holy Bible found in Isaiah 61  

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

Now you may think that sounds a bit like blasphemy, but here in John 14 it says “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

What I’m asking in His name, is that your healing will be complete.

I want to see your heart healed.

I want to see your bonds broken.

I want to see you living the life that peace can provide.

So grab your coffee and comfy seat and join me next Tuesday for our very first Encounter.

I hope to see you then.

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