Don't Be Labeled

Don't Be Labeled

Who are you?  Really, really you.  Have you stopped to think about what makes you...YOU?  Why are you the way you are?  What makes you act in the way that you do?  Are you concerned about what others think of you?  Are YOU one of the ones that put that pressure on someone to be concerned about what others think?  OUCH!  Tough questions, but things that we must ask ourselves in order to dig deeper into whom we are and whose we belong.

Image is huge in today's society.  We are trying to reproduce or imitate things that "society" says is 'hip' and 'cool.'  By living this way, labels are developed and slapped onto people that do not "fit" in the current image society has set or they're slapped on so that we can "fit" in.  There are so many labels that the world puts on you...too many to list.  Not all labels appear to be in negative form.  Some may set such unrealistic expectations for you that it is impossible to ever be that.  Others are very much ugly and hurtful.  Ones that exclude, isolate and set you apart from what is considered 'living the life!'  Are you striving to live up to those labels?   Maybe not so much on purpose, but perhaps it's just been said of you for so long that you begin believing it for yourself.  So you begin living according to the label or labels that have been slapped onto you.  Is it true of what's on the inside?  Positively...NO!  I have an analogy that I had the opportunity to share with a young lady just about 4 years ago about how we do not have to live according to what the world has labeled us with.  Here's what I shared with her...

I asked her what her favorite canned food was and she replied with, "Peaches."  OK.  How do you know how to buy a can of peaches?  She said, "By seeing the label."  Of course that's how we know that, but do we absolutely believe that to be true by just the label?  What if I took a can of peaches and took off it's true label slapping on a "not so appetizing" one...say dog food.  "Eeeewww, gross!" she said.  Of course it's gross but stick with me.  I take that can of mislabeled peaches and put them in their rightful place on the shelf at the grocery store.  How many people will judge that can by its label?  Probably... most likely... every person who goes to buy peaches.  That can will be pushed aside, reached over, scooted with dislike to the back of the shelf.  Is the contents of that can of peaches any different than any other can of peaches?  ABSOLUTELY NOT but no one knows this until the contents are revealed when it has been opened up.  Then and only then the truth of the can is discovered.  The trueness of the peaches are pleasing and enjoyed.  Why, peaches were you hiding behind a label that contained you to a point that you were not able to enjoy or be enjoyed?

We are very much like that can of peaches.  We get stripped of who we are through hurts and/or disappointments in our lives and we feel very vulnerable in a weak way.  The world, which always has its label maker handy, begins to slap different labels on us.  Labels that are not true of us.  They hide what is truly inside.  But if we allow God to take us, go through the process of label removing with Him then our trueness begins to be revealed.

God's Imprint

You have a creator who designed you just the way you are and YOU ARE ENOUGH!  Psalm 139:14 declares, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."  You are a unique expression of God's love in this world.  Nowhere on Earth is there anyone with exactly the same bright eyes, loving arms that hold, hands that do, feet that go, life to live. You...are...uniquely...you!  Every physical quality...or flaw as we sometimes call it,  is absolutely designed to fit just you.  Inner qualities are also very much designed specifically just for you!  These are what make you special and different.  The way you laugh, the tenderness of your heart, the care and concern that show through your bright eyes as you listen to others, your smile alone...warms and welcomes others.

You do not need to be labeled to be like anyone else.  You do need to be YOU just as God imprinted Himself all over you to be just YOU!  Absolutely no one else can do that except for YOU!  You are an original, which is priceless...YOU are priceless!  Be the wonderful YOU that God has designed for you to be, being confident in yourself through Christ.  2 Corinthians 7:16 says, "I am glad I can have complete confidence in you."  And Jeremiah 17:7 says, "But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him."

We will be blessed by God when we allow Him to remove the labels from our lives so that His Perfect imprint on our lives will be exposed, seen and able to be lived out.  God's imprint is not removable.  It does not come off.  It is YOU.  He created your inmost being; He knitted you together in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13.) He knew you before You were YOU!

You are wonderfully, uniquely, fantastically, wonderously...YOU!  Live it.  Only you can!

Take Care and Be Blessed,
Christy Krezman
Rosette Ministry 

Hope in God's Promises

Hope in God's Promises

God 's character is:

 Holy, Just, True, Gracious, Faithful, Pure, Righteous, Steadfast, Loyal, Honest, Loving, Good, Honorable, Merciful, Compassionate, Almighty.  

These are just some of the amazing and wonderful truths about God and most of us have heard all of the attributes listed, but have we really stopped to consider what these "words" truly mean?  I love to open up the old Webster Dictionary just to see the meanings behind words that we use so loosely on a daily basis.  What I found was amazing...especially when I knew I was looking up words that describe our God.

God is HOLY : exalted; worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine=supremely good; of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God.

God is JUST : acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good; Righteous; genuine=actual, true.

God is TRUE : Steadfast; Loyal; Honest; Just.

God is GRACIOUS : godly; pleasing; acceptable.  Marked by kindness and courtesy.  Graceful.  Marked by tact.  Characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit; Merciful; Compassionate.

God is FAITHFUL : full of faith; steadfast in affection or allegiance; Loyal; firm in adherence to promises; given with strong assurance.

God is PURE : spotless; free from what vitiates (corrupts, misdirects), weakens, or pollutes; containing nothing that does not properly belong.  Free from moral fault or guilt; ritually clean.

God is RIGHTEOUS : free from guilt or sin; morally right.

God is STEADFAST : firmly fixed in place; immovable. Not subject to change.  Firm in belief, determination, or adherence; Loyal.

God is LOYAL: unswerving in allegiance; faithful to a private person whom fidelity is due.  

God is HONEST : free from fraud or deception.  Legitimate, truthful; Genuine, real.  Humble; Reputable, respectable.  Good.  Worthy, creditable, praiseworthy, marked by integrity.

God is GOOD : of a favorable character or tendency; that can be relied on.  Honorable; deserving of respect.

God is HONORABLE : Deserving of honor.  A showing of usually merited respect; recognition.  An evidence or symbol of distinction;  Purity.  Integrity=(an unimpaired condition; soundness; the quality or state of being complete or undivided.)

God is MERCIFUL : full of mercy.  Compassion or forbearance (patience) shown especially to an offender.  A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion.

God is COMPASSIONATE : having or showing compassion=sympathetic consciousness (the quality or state of being aware of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.)

God is ALMIGHTY: God =the supreme or ultimate reality; as the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe.  

Is not such a God to be trusted?  Why is it so difficult for us to joyfully trust and rely upon Him?  To trust Him in ALL things...not just the big things or the things that we know that we need His help with?

All of these things that God are, are also His Promises to us.  If we only would put our hope in Him as we fix our eyes upon Him.  There's so many reasons why we drift our focus from the Lord...perhaps it hurts, disappointments, impatience, guilt and shame or just the idea of thinking that we can handle it ourselves (we do with everything else anyway.)  So, we move ahead steadily...so it may seem.  We become almost mechanical in our living just to get through our day..."Get that done...check.  Drop kids off at school...check.   Work...check.  Clean...check.  Do this...check.  Do that...check.  Repeat, repeat, repeat...check, check, check!!

Where is our hope when we live like this?  When we put our hope in our spouse, children, family or in our awesome problem solving skills we are let down everytime when they don't meet our need. Let me tell you, these were not meant to be the true everlasting hope that God intended for us to strive for.  Proverbs 11:7 says, "Hope placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing."  It's not fair to our loved ones or even to ourselves when we put all our hope in them.  They're incapable to meet the need that Christ has set only for  Himself to meet.

What is hope?  According to good ol' Webster, it's the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled; it's where we look to someone on which our expectations are centered.

Wow, it's where our expectations are centered!  Who is the center of your life?  Who is the One that will be Immovable, Trustworthy, Honorable, Compassionate, Good, Honest, Loyal, Steadfast, Righteous, Pure, Faithful, Gracious and Almighty in ALL of your times?

Hope is a promise=a declaration that one will do something specified; a reason to expect something.

Christ and Christ alone is the One who can truly keep ALL His promises.  We can trust and expect that in our lives today.  When we are struggling in some difficult trials, hard circumstances or we are just somewhere dark and have lost our way for a bit, God's Word is FULL of His promises which should encourage us to place our Hope in Him.

Psalm 119:50 says, "My comfort in my suffering is this:  Your promises preserves my life."

When life is sour and getting bad, Jesus just pours Himself over us preserving us for His Glory while we are being filled in abundance of all that He is.

Hebrews 10:36 says, "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."

Following Christ in our struggles and trials is hard.  It's not always an easy road to take.  It may even require us to face fear head on.  Grab hold of His extended Hand.  He will show us where to walk and how to walk.  There may be times that we are at a crawl because things are just too thick to take steps but that's alright because as long as we keep moving forward we are moving closer to Him through Him.  Little is much when God is in it!

Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful."

Take hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.  That means a steady, firm, unfaltering grip.  We securely and solidly fix ourselves in place of that hope and don't let go because of God's faithful promises.

Psalm 145:13 declares, "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations.  The LORD is trustworthy in all He promises and faithful in all He does."

Christ's finished work upon the cross secured this True Hope for you and I.  It is absolute, constant, and immovable...all this is yours and mine.  Jesus is enough. Nothing else will do.  When we fix our eyes upon Christ with a blessed hope, no matter what circumstance is happening or what journey we are on, Jesus is enough...He will fill our hearts with JOY! Unspeakable joy.  Joy everlasting.  1 Thessalonians 2:20 tells us, "Indeed, you are our glory and joy."  Jesus is our joy!

All things in our life, big or small, is important to Christ.  He is always there for us.  Always ready and more than willing.  We need reminded often of just how Massive He truly is.  All those Truths of God's character is more than anyone or anything else could even possibly try to promise us and remain faithful in that promise.  The same God that sent His only Son to die upon an old rugged Cross, only to be raised to life on the third day is the same God that loves you so tenderly, genuinely and completely.  The same power that enabled Jesus to shed His blood for our sins is the same power that lives in us should we accept Christ as our Savior.

Problems, situations, circumstances don't change or lessen in this world, but as we trust God more the more confident in our faith in Him will be.  Trusting God for the ability to enjoy our days despite all else.

"When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Psalm 94:19

"Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy."  Psalm 126:5

"...yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior."  Habakkuk 3:18

Friends, God does not waste anything!!

There is one last Scripture that I would like to leave you with as an encouragement to your hearts, but know that this is a sweet promise from your Heavenly Father for you...

"We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust His holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you."  Psalm 33:20-22

Take Care and Be Blessed,

Christy Krezman
Rosette Ministry