God's Masterpiece

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
~ Ephesians 2:10 ~

According to The Oxford American Dictionary, A Masterpiece is a work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship ; an artist's or craftsman's best piece of work. We are God's best piece of work. And to know that The Carpenter of Creation has created us in Christ Jesus so that we can do good things, things that He has planned long ago, should give us a Holy Anticipation to live our lives with God-Ordained Passion!

The question is, do we "see" it? Do we see the reality that we are God's Masterpiece? Or are we focusing in on cultures perspective more that God's original design.

God's Plan
God had plans for Mary's life. He planned that she, a virgin, would give birth to The Savior of The World. Her response was, "But how?" Are we saying the same thing for God's plan in our lives? But how?

Holy Anticipation
We must believe that God has already planned for us to do good things, that He has a specific purpose for us to UNLEASH His Glory! We must keep our eyes open and "see" with a Holy Anticipation what God is doing and wants to do through us. Mary kept her eyes open and finally came around to "see" what God was up to:

And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me just as you say. ~ Luke 1.37-38 ~

Living Wide-Eyed In Wonder And Belief
What it comes down to is whether or not we live our lives in "Wide-Eyed Wonder and Belief" or whether we are living "squinty-eyed" in greed and distrust."

From Luke 11.33-36:
"No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It's put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they're going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room." (Emphasis added)

How are our eyes? Do we "see" what God has planned for us? Are we living in a Holy Anticipation with Wide-Eyed Wonder and Belief? Let's accept the fact that we are God's Masterpiece, and then say, along with Mary:

Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's...ready to serve.
Let it be with me just as you say.

Pearls From Luke: "But How?"

Mary said to the angel, "But how?"
Luke 1.34

I want to follow up with the last post, Pearls From Luke:Embracing Fear, with another response that Zachariah and Mary gave when in the presence of The Angel of God. The reason for this is because it is so important that we believe God can do anything, therefore we must measure our response to His miracles!

Zachariah's Response
Zachariah had his prayers answered when Gabriel, the sentinel of God, told him that Elizabeth (Zachariah's wife) would give birth to a son.

Zachariah said to the angel, "Do you expect me to believe this? I'm an old man and my wife is an old woman." (Luke 1.18)

Zachariah's Prayer was answered, but he did not believe. So the angel responds by saying, "I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won't believe me, you'll be unable to say a word until the day of your son's birth. Every word I've spoken to you will come true on time—God's time."

If we are faithfully praying and staying true to God's Word, we must believe that He will "surprise" us on His Time---God's Time.

Mary's Response
God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin named Mary. The Angel Gabriel had a surprise for her. After he told her she would give birth to Jesus, she responds:

"But how? I've never slept with a man."

You know, sometimes the problems we face may not be that God is not listening, it's that we are not believing. God may hand us the answer to our Prayers on a silver platter, but then we respond, "But how?"

I love how Gabriel answers Mary:

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God. (Luke 1.35)

And then we see one of the most faithful verses of the Bible, a verse to find out what we really believe, a seven word verse that we can hang our trust on:

"Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
From Luke 1.36-38

Our Response
So here is the question. Can you and I now have a response (see below), like Mary after hearing those seven words?

Yes, I see it all now: I'm the Lord's maid, ready to serve.

Let it be with me just as you say. Luke 1.36-38

No more hesitation. When God speaks it is time to act. No more excuses, no more "Do you expect me to believe this?"...no more "But How's?"

Ready To Serve
It's time to believe that Nothing is impossible with God. It's time to stop questioning and start serving!

Lord, I see it now: Here I am ready to serve you...let it be with me just as you say!

Pearls From Luke:Embracing Fear

Reading through The Gospel of Luke and I want to share some Pearls that Christ is teaching me through the Doctor Luke!

Today's Pearl: Embrace Fear

It is true that we need to recognize Fear as a warning, that something may be wrong. For instance in the presence of such warnings our sympathetic nervous system kicks in, which is our "fight or flight" response and we must take action.

But what we also must realize is that we need to have an "Embrace" response to fear as well. Sometimes, fear means that we are in the presence of God!

Examples from Luke Chapter One:
1. An angel of God appears unannounced to Zachariah (God can "show" up at any moment! I love that!)..."Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear." Luke 1.8-12 (emphasis added).

And look at what the angel says to Zachariah in response to Zachariah's fear:

"Don't fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard."

Could it be that if we are feeling fear, that it means that we are right in the sweet spot of God's answer to our Prayers? I think so...

2. God sends the angel Gabriel to Mary..."She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. Luke 1.29-33 (emphasis added)

God answered the prayers of Zechariah and Elizabeth...God had a surprise for Mary and Joseph...They go on to give birth to John The Baptist and Jesus The Christ, respectively...

What are we praying for and desiring to do with our lives for God's Glory? Do any of these hopes and dreams stir up a little fear in us? If so, it is probably the Fear we must "Embrace" because God might just have a surprise for us!

Embrace This God-life

Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life.
Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you.
Mark 11:22-25

If you ever had a question about if we should pray or what should we pray about, then question no more! We have the answer from Jesus Himself through Mark's version of The Gospel!!! Continuing from the verse noted above, Jesus says the following:

"...This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. (emphasis added)

Look, many of us say, "Why won't God speak to me?" The answer might be because we are not praying. Jesus is URGING us to Pray for ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!

• Embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything •

But...I like what Jesus says, next...

And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins." (emphasis added)

We must approach God Almighty with a spirit of forgiveness. According to Mark 11.22-25, If we have a bitter and unforgiving heart, then God will not wipe our slate clean...

Pray + Forgive = God's Best

That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything.

A Safe Distance

"Peter followed at a safe distance until they got to the Chief Priest's courtyard, where he mingled with the servants and warmed himself at the fire." (Mark14:54; MSG)

Jesus had just been taken by force from the Garden of Gethsemane to be murdered on the Cross.

Where's Peter?

• At a "safe distance"
• "Mingling" with those who want Jesus dead
• "Warming" himself at the fire

I am glad he was so "comfortable".

Where are you? Where am I?

May we not follow Jesus at a "safe" distance, mingling with those who hate him while making ourselves all nice and cozy.

Let's get right up on Jesus' heals and be crucified with Him (Galatians 2:20)!

There Are No Ifs

Cool passage in Mark 9.14-32 ...

A man brings his demon-afflicted son to Jesus for Healing. The man says, "If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!"

I love the response of Jesus...Jesus says, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

The man goes on to say, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!"

Jesus goes on to heal the boy...the disciples (who initially tried to heal the boy) asked Jesus, "Why couldn't we throw the demon out?" Jesus answers, "There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer."

Like the the child in this story, we all have our "demons," whether it be the economy, temptations, etc...and like the boys father, we all have our doubts. But as Christ Followers, we all have Jesus who can heal us all...

The word "If" has just been eliminated from my Prayer life!


"...There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

Who Do You Say I Am?

What if Jesus was to walk up to you today at work, at school, or perhaps sipping on a fresh brew of Organic Coffee at Starbucks, and he asked you, "Who do you say I am?"

This is the question He asked His Disciples as they walked towards the villages around Caesarea Philippi in Mark 8. A few suggestions were given as answers, but then Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Messiah."

Is that the answer I would give? Is that how you would answer? Is Jesus really the Christ in our lives? He goes on to say in Chapter 8.34-37, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat, I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how."

The Good Life
If we want to live a life of blessing and wisdom, the life God calls us to, we must answer this foundational question of who Jesus is. Psalm 111.10 says, "The good life begins in the fear of God— Do that and you'll know the blessing of God. His Hallelujah lasts forever." Knowing that Jesus is The Christ is having the fear of God and respecting the fact that we are to follow Him, which includes our private worship as well as our public witness.

Our Witness
One way we will know the answer to this question is how we act around others...essentially, our witness and our example of being a Christ Follower will show us if our answer to this question is authentic and full of integrity. For example, Mark 8.38 is a very convicting passage, one that should be meditated upon when understanding our answer to "Who do you say I am?" Take a look:

"If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I'm leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you'll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels."

Foundational Core
Just like in athletics, academics, or your occupation, we must know the foundations, the very core of what we believe, if we want to unleash God's purpose for our lives. As we enter Holy Week and prepare for Easter, we must re-evaluate our answer to the question Who is Jesus? so that we can walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2.6).

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
Joshua 24.15