Why Your Brand of Unique is Perfect

By:  Amy Carroll, Proverbs 31.org

“Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; but my dove, my perfect one, is unique …” Song of Solomon 6:8-9a (NIV)

I look back at photos of my teenage self with a smile and a shake of my head.

My favorite look was funky. There are pictures of me in costume with a T-shirt held together with safety pins and hair faux-hawked to perfection. Other shots show my penchant for shoes in the colors of the rainbow and a prom dress carefully chosen not to be like anyone else’s. Without shame or fear, I chose what I liked, and I didn’t care if anyone else saw it as a fashion statement or a fiasco. My clothes were a reflection of how I felt about myself — confident and carefree.

When we girls grow into women, however, sometimes we lose confidence and find comparison. Later in my life, there was a phase when I only wanted to be the version of myself that was widely accepted — what everybody else was buying into. I concentrated on blending in, because that seemed like the best way to fit in. I wanted to be the size of other women, to dress like other women, to act like other women. I tried and tried to be just like everyone else, when I’m actually like no one else.

And neither are you!

God is the Creator who made us to enjoy variety, because He loves multiplicity and uniqueness.

Think of this … a utilitarian god would have created just one organism to pollinate flowers. Even though only one is technically needed, our creative, diversity-loving God created over 10 types of organisms including bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and even bats to do the pollinating. Within that group, there are more than 17,000 species of butterflies encompassing every imaginable color, size and shape.

And God was just getting started with the butterflies. When you’re in a crowd today, appreciate the wild beauty of the women around you — straight hair and curly hair. Ebony, mocha, ruddy and ivory skin tones, with every hue between. Wide noses, thin noses and noses turned up at the end like mine. No face or body is the same, because God doesn’t make duplicates.

God created diversity, and He loves diversity. Uniqueness delights our God!

When King Solomon spoke to his love in Scripture, he praised her for being unique in a way that surpassed even queens. Scholars say that these words were written to be a picture of how Jesus, the lover of our soul, sees us individually. Do you hear Him saying to you, “My dove, (fill in your name here), my perfect one is unique …”? (Song of Solomon 6:9a)

I’m not a mass-produced woman, my friend, and neither are you. God labored in hand-crafting each of us, one by one. Perfection as defined by God means that we’re unique. We’re at our closest to perfect when we’re living most fully as the one-of-a-kind woman God made, not when we’re conforming into the sameness the world around us wants to prescribe.

The things that make you different are what make you beautiful. Is it your humor? The gentleness of your spirit? The kindness of your heart? Is it your taste for funky clothes or the way you connect instantly with children? Is it your analytical brain or the music that flows from your fingers? Whatever your special blend is, embrace it.

Let’s live as our most perfectly unique version today. Let’s be our rare, beautiful selves, allowing our creative God to shine His glory through us.

A Prayer for Unity in Our Nation

By Debbie McDaniel, from: Crosswalk.com

“I in them and you in me–so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:23

Often in times of greatest need, we may find ourselves giving way to the stress and strain by battling one another, and forgetting who the real enemy is. Harsh words spoken, friendships broken; we choose sides and draw lines. Feelings get hurt. Betrayal runs deep. It gets harder to forgive and keep moving forward. And sometimes we get stuck, right there in the muddy mess of it all.

Yet it’s in those very times of tension and struggle, that we need, more than ever, to come together as one, unified, and strong.

And we can be assured, it’s in those times, that Satan is fighting the hardest. For he knows that’s when we have the greatest potential to make a difference in this world.

He knows that we’re stronger together as we encourage one another on. He’s aware that we’re courageous and brave when we’re covering one another in prayer. He understands that the unity of believers through the power of Jesus Christ, is a force that can’t be reckoned with. For it’s hard to tear apart a cord of three strands, which can’t be easily broken.

That’s why he’s determined to fight harder. And he’s there, in the midst of it all, cheering on the battle. He loves it when we target one another. He laughs at evil, riots, and violence. He gains momentum when we forget that he’s the cause.

Don’t be unaware.

His schemes are cunning and cruel. He’ll twist words and truth, trading them for lies, and stirring up fires.

Let’s say “No more.”

Let’s choose to set aside our differences and look to the greater purpose in this life. To honor Christ as King. We’ll never agree on everything. And that’s never been the goal anyway.

Let’s choose to live out the Truth that says, “Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

All that you do. All that you say. All that you stand for. Let’s do it with love. For perfect love, which comes from Christ, casts out all fear. And that is what gives us power to move forward, propelled with His strength, surrounded in peace, eyes on the One who gives us breath each day, filled with greater unity in our land.

May God bless us with His peace and unity in our Nation.

A Collector’s Heaven

 

By: Joe Stowell, Strength For the Journey

July 3, 2019

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Matthew 6:19-20

People love to collect things—from baseball cards to stamps to coins. And while collecting can be a fun hobby, it is sobering to think that once we leave this earth, everything we own becomes part of someone else’s collection. What value would it be to have collected much on earth but little or nothing for eternity?

Jesus had something to say about this. Speaking to His disciples, He said: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt. 6:20).

Eternal treasures never lose their worth. They can never be spoiled or stolen. And just think—we can actually stockpile them! How? Through acts of service. Through leading others to Jesus. By being compassionate to those in need. By living according to the will and ways of Jesus. In the gospel of Mark, we read that the Lord tested the rich young ruler’s heart when He asked him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. The ruler’s response revealed what he really valued (Mark. 10:21-22).

It’s easy to become enamored with earthside stuff, but when you make the choice to follow Jesus, He’ll show you the joy of collecting eternal treasures. Nothing on earth can compare!

The treasures of earth do not last,
But God has prepared us a place
Where someday with Him we will dwell,
Enjoying the riches of grace.  —Branon

Hold tightly to what is eternal and loosely to what is temporal.

Daydreaming About Heaven

By: Pauline Hylton, cbn1.com

“When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, ‘We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.’” Acts 11:18 (NLT)

My pastor in Florida is Jewish. One Sunday, he looked out at his congregation of 30 plus years and said, “You look at me and wonder how I could be saved. I look out at you and wonder how you could be saved!”

He has a point. The gospel was given to the Jews. They never fathomed it could be offered to the Gentiles.

Until it was.

The good news of salvation through Jesus Christ is offered to all.

Sometimes, without even realizing it, I think something like, They don’t deserve salvation. Or, They could never be saved.

That is when I forget the passage in Romans 5:10 that states,

“For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.” (NLT)

I was an enemy of Christ. Running from Him.

Until He saved me.

How could I look down on someone else because they are a different culture or color?

I like to imagine what heaven will be like. I especially like to think about the music. I have a feeling we will be shocked by it. Of course, “The Hallelujah Chorus” will be there. Along with “The Old Rugged Cross”. But I tend to think there will be African music accompanied only by a drum—perhaps from the 15th century.

Or a tiny chorus with no rhyme, sung by a saint who sat alone in a dark prison cell awaiting execution. We have probably never heard of them, but we will in heaven.

And when we gather for worship there, it will be like Revelation 7:9,

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” (NLT)

That will be marvelous.

Lord, help me never to look down on others or think I am better. Thank You that while I was Your enemy, You saved me!

Operation Rescue

By: Joe Stowell, Strength For The Journey

Jul

01

2019

“The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials.” 2 Peter 2:9

I recall counseling a woman who had just come to know Christ. She was interested in becoming God’s kind of woman, so we were studying passages of Scripture that had to do with what a biblical wife is like and talking about the whole matter of gracious cooperation with her husband’s leadership. She came to me one day and said, “Pastor, I’ve got a major problem. I have been saving up my money for a dining room set. I love the one my mother-in-law has, and I’m looking for something just like it. After I’ve gone through the used furniture ads in the paper, my husband and I drive around and look at them. But he doesn’t seem to be real interested. He’s so insensitive. We’ve been to a couple of places where I really liked the furniture, but he just says, ‘No, I don’t like those. And besides, it’s my money.’ He couldn’t care less what kind of furniture we have in the house. He doesn’t know if we have French Provincial or Early Salvation Army! He’s basically interested in his newspaper, easy chair, and the TV.”

A couple of weeks later she came back and said, “You’re not going to believe this, but my mother-in-law called me and said that she had bought a brand-new dining room set and wanted to know if I wanted hers.”

God does not always work like that. But it’s clear that when we submit to doing things His way and wait on His timing, we’ll get a chance to see how He works. And while shopping for furniture with an uncooperative spouse doesn’t exactly qualify as a trial, the principle of waiting for God to work in our difficulty remains an important part of dealing with difficulty.

King David understood this. He knew that he was to be the next king of Israel. Rather than staging a dramatic takeover, he faithfully served in the army and played his harp in the palace to soothe King Saul’s stress. Things were going great until Saul developed an insane jealousy that drove him to try to kill David. When David was being hunted by Saul, he found himself in a cold cave crying out to God, “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm 13:1-2 NASB).

Like David, when we feel that God has forgotten us we are prone to plan our own escape. We say, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll—no, that won’t work. Here’s what I’ll do—no, I don’t think that will work either.” It’s the total despair of seeming to be locked in with no apparent way out.

Take courage. God already knows how He is going to deliver you. In fact, He is in the business of making ways of escape! Peter assures us, “the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials” (2 Peter 2:9). So you can count on it: When you are faithful and patient through trouble, God will, in His time, exercise options of deliverance that are far beyond what you ever dreamed!