"Be Mine", what a beautiful offering our God extends to us....for us to be His! Each time I hear the whisper I am overwhelmed. I know I will never be worthy enough, but He calls me to be His anyway. And He calls you too! This is last in the "Be Mine" series for Mini Mondays in February. If you haven't read the first three posts in the series, just click the buttons at the end of the post. I hope you have found some encouragement and that you hear the whisper, respond to it, lean into it, and Make Him yours as well. Keep reading for a little more inspiration..... He is my God.
He is your God. He is our God. Isaiah 41:10 says it so beautifully, "So do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God." This verse does not say "sometimes" He is our God. No, God tells us He IS our God. He loves us unconditionally and eternally. My mistakes? His love says they don't define me. Your past? His love says it covers it. Our doubts? Our frustrations? He says give it to Him. Our pain? He says, "Be Mine" and His love will take it up and replace it with comfort and peace. Be Mine.....I hope you hear the whisper everyday. I pray that in it you see the offer the Lord puts before you. The next time you see these simple words, may they be a reminder, that we -that you, that I - have this choice in front of us to be His. To lean into Him. To give over our thoughts and let Him be in control. To give him our whole hearts and trust where He will lead. To bury ourselves in the comfort of His embrace. To use our will to honor and praise Him. Be bound with all that you are to our Heavenly Father; the one who molded our hearts in His image. For He is so good and so worthy. There is no greater love than His. It is a beautiful gift when He whispers to us, "Be Mine". And it is a beautiful and heart changing response when we, like David professed in Psalm 119:94, whisper back to Him, "Save me, for I am yours." Be blessed today and everyday, Elizabeth Want to read the first three posts in the series? Just click on the buttons below.
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" Be Mine..." I hear the whisper over and over again. "Will you belong to me?" Over the last two weeks we have discussed belonging to the Lord and the heart. If you have missed those, links are provided at the bottom of this post. This week I'd like to talk about saying "Yes".... As the Lord whispers, " Be Mine..." do we fully embrace what He is offering us? Do we put Him before the world daily? Let Him lead us daily? Say "yes" daily to belonging to Him?
Do we say "yes" and then pull back that answer? Do we say "yes" when times are easy, and following Him has no challenges? Do we say "yes" and then turn away? Do we say "yes" and place Him on the back shelf until we need Him again? It is so important to say "Yes" not just today. But everyday. Over and over again. When the days are rough, say yes! When life is going smoothly and beautifully, say yes! When there is no understanding why things happen, say yes! When dreams come true and when they don't, say yes! When the direction of life is unknown or when doors are opened, say yes! We need to say yes from the depths of our hearts-with our emotions, our thoughts and our wills. To belong to Him with the entirety of our hearts in all circumstances. And when we stumble? We stand back up again, in perserverance, and say yes. We allow the well of our hearts to be deepened with the Lord's love and healing, with His strength and comfort. We stand up and say yes again, and His peace overflows our hearts and our souls beyond our understanding. Why? Because there is no other who can fill that well, such as the Lord! And when we say "yes", let us also say "You are mine." For in belonging to Him, He dwells in us and becomes ours. Isiah 41:10 says, " So do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God." (Bolding mine) And John 14:23 says, "Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." I am His, And He is mine. Will you say "yes" today to belong to Him? To be His? To embrace Him as yours? Will you say yes tomorrow and the next day too? Each day deepen the well. Fill it with the echo of daily affirmations of your belonging to Him. Let it overflow, in a multitude of waves that spill over the edge of the well with whispers of "you are mine, Lord". And let the love of our faithful Father wash over you. Blessings, Elizabeth "Be Mine". I hear it whispered often now. Not just when I see a candy heart but when I see any heart. If you missed the first post in this series, you can click at the end of the post and it read about what I learned from a little piece of valentines candy. But today we are going to look at that place we deem the heart... The shape of a heart permeates the stores this time of year. But, we also post them on social media when we like something. We sign cards with them. We hang up photos of them, draw them, the list goes on. Society uses the heart symbol to replace the meaning of love. For some it conjures thoughts of a deep, abiding love. For others, perhaps some brokenness. No matter the end of the spectrum of the images it conjures, they all stem from something we feel in our innermost beings. Emotions. But what about the biblical heart? The Biblical heart encompasses more than emotions. It is the place where our thoughts and our "will" reside as well. This place we deem the heart? It is the place joy comes from. Where hurt is felt. From here that both affection and regret live. It is a place that kindness and humility grow. A place where jealousy and bitterness fester. But it is also a place where our emotions meet our mind. A place where our thoughts dwell. A place where our will chooses, stands up, and takes action. A place where we decide who will we follow? Ourselves? The world? Jesus? Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Most of us know that the physical heart pumps blood through the body to the vital organs; sustaining life. Our spiritual heart does the same. What we think about, what we dwell on, what we choose to partake it in, what we choose to act on, who we choose to lead us-affects every aspect of our spiritual walk. When Jesus is at the center of our heart, life is pumped out into the rest of our life. Present and eternal. When our heart is aligned with Jesus, when our will allows Him to lead us, when the Spirit dwells in us and our minds are filled with pure and loving thoughts? Our actions reflect this. A different kind of light shines out. It affects our work, our family life, our relationships. It calls us to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
When Jesus calls and requests, "Be Mine. Belong to me." It is not a request just of an overflowing emotion. It is a request to direct your thoughts to Him. It is a request to willing let Him lead you. A request to love Him. Follow Him. Seek Him. Know Him. Accept His will. And praise Him. Where is your heart today? Have you given it to Him? Do you need to give it to Him again? Will you be His? Blessings, Elizabeth Did you know that race cars, when lined up closely behind one another, go faster? They do, and the reasons may or may not surprise you, but it did make me think about my own walk in faith; my own race each day. What kind of race do you want to be a part of? Me? Read on as I talk about the kind of race I want to be in. I'm hoping that you, too, want to be a part of a race such as this.... My 8 year old son LOVES Nascar. He talks about it every chance he gets. He watches Nascar documentaries and old races. He collects the cars and studies their drivers. He caught my attention on a different level when a few weeks ago he told me something about race cars that I had never heard before. I'm no race car expert, that's for sure, so feel free to research it yourself, but what caught my attention was this: Race cars, when lined up closely behind one another, move faster. The technical word is drafting. And when two cars are only inches apart, the air actually goes over them as if they were one vehicle. This reduces resistance and enables them to move faster. These cars are exemplifying a kind of race we are called to race in as well. Not a race where we are focusing solely on our own purposes and destination. Not a race where we are looking at our sisters next to us and comparing their faith walk to ours, comparing their gifts or talents, clothes or social status with our own. Not a race where we try to outshine the woman next to us. But rather a race that is done side by side of our sisters. One where we build them up, encourage them, strengthen them, make them "go faster". A race where, when a sister falls, we stop immediately in our tracks and help pick her back up rather than leave her in our dust. This my friend, is a race where we become one in heart, just like the early church in Acts (4:32 "all the believers were one in heart and mind). When we are linked arm in arm, each in our determination to bring glory to God and to be the best versions of ourselves (growing in the desire to be more and more like the image of God), while at the same time desiring to help our sisters in their race just as much as our own, this is when we reflect one heart. This is when the "air" go over us together and we are able to stand against resistance, the enemy, more strongly. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor; If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Paul talks about a race in 1 Corinthians 9:24 that needs training and self-discipline. And as I read it, I reflect on "the race" Jesus himself was in.
Training. Self-discipline. Jesus knew this well. His journey exemplified endurance, perseverance, hope, and focus. His eyes may have been fixed on His purpose and the victory that was going to be won, BUT along the way, He gazed to the side (not in comparison) and saw those around Him. He stopped to touch them, to heal them. He felt them tug on Him and He didn't ignore it. He addressed them and taught them. He walked with them and discipled them. He built them up for the rest of the race. Let the race we enter be one that demonstrates the love of Jesus. Let it be one that reflects his goodness, his willingness to lay down His life for us. One that is raced with the desire to build up others in truth and light. One that carries another when they cannot race another step, when they fall behind, or break down. One that stops to hold out a hand, to embrace, to wipe a tear. One that lovingly corrects, and puts aside our own ambition to feed another soul what they need to be fed. A race where we love others, and are willing to sacrifice along the way. Because, with one heart, when we are the hands and feet of Jesus, we are stronger. Our light burns brighter and reaches out farther. Race in this way. Race in love. Because in this race it is not about who crosses the finish line first, but that we finish, finish well, and that we have many sisters finish the race beside us. Hebrews 10:24 " And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Blessings, Elizabeth Mini Mondays for the month of February is taking on a short series - "Be Mine". Each Monday during the month of February, I will be sharing a short devotional, which I hope encourages you and has you looking at those little valentine candy hearts a little different than before.... For as many years as I can remember, each February, I buy those cute little candy hearts that have the valentine sayings on them, and put them in a bowl for the kids to eat as a treat. But there was a year that those candy hearts weren't just a little Valentine's Day treat. A year, that changed the way I see this holiday; changed the way I look at those tiny little hearts.
That year, like usual, I poured them out into a pile in a glass bowl on the table. As I nonchalantly went to grab one to pop into my mouth, I stopped. A yellow candy heart was staring back at me. Or rather the words on it did. "Be Mine". They were etched into it and they almost seemed to call me. Normally, I would see this as a cute endearment to my husband, but at that moment I saw it as a love note. A love note from the One who loves above all others. A love note from the One who loves faithfully and eternally. The One who loves the worst and the best of each of us. These two little words, "Be Mine", sat on my heart that day. I pulled the little piece of candy out of the pile and kept it on the counter. As I began to regard it as a love note from my heavenly Father, I pondered the significance of such simple words. The simple definition of "to be" means to belong to. And "mine"? It refers to something that belongs to the speaker. These two little words became more than just "be" and "mine". A question mark hung on the end of them. Not a statement but a gentle calling. A nudging. Will you be mine? Does not the Lord ask each of us this very question at some point? "Will you be mine?" He asks, "Will you belong to me? Will you put me before the world? Will you let me lead you? Will you have a relationship with me?" We have a choice. A choice to be His! A choice to draw closer to Jesus, to discover our identity in Him, to build a relationship with Him, to believe, to be a child of God. He wants us to be His! And because we have the choice, He extends his hand, and perhaps is not actually holding a candy heart, but still He whispers, "will you be mine?" Will you be His today? For the first time? As a recommitment? Be His! Choose this over and over again. Every day. And place a candy heart somewhere you will see it often. Let it remind you, that He wants you to be His. That He calls you, on the days you feel near to Him and the days you may not be feeling so close. Let it remind you that YOU ARE HIS. Isaiah 43:1 says, " Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; YOU ARE MINE." (my emphasis) and John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God-" Blessings, Elizabeth |
Meet ElizabethWife. Mother. Writer. Photographer. Child of God. Encouraging others in faith through a lens of grace and seeing beauty in the ashes. All images and content belong to me (Blue Jean Gypsy), unless otherwise noted. You may use an image ONLY if it is linked back to this blog! Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
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April 2020
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