The Hidden Places Of Our Heart

 Staring down the face of fear, Got to keep breathing, When the negitive is all you hear, Got to keep believing, 'Cause in the darkness there is a light, Your truth it keeps on burning bright, Brave enough to fight the fight, Shout the battle cry, You'll never stop me, I'm a warrior, When I fall down, I get stronger, Faith is my shield, Your love is the armour, I'm a warrior (I'm a warrior), I'm a warrior (I'm a warrior), I'm a warrior (I'm a warrior), Every scar on my skin, Is a beautiful reminder, Of a moment when I didn't give in, And I walked through fire, 'Cause in the dark there is a light, Your truth it keeps on burning fight, Makes me brave to fight the fight, Shout the battle cry, You'll never stop me, I'm a warrior, When I fall down, I get stronger, Faith is my shield, Your love is the armour. When he told you you're not good enough, When he told you you're not right, When he told you you're not strong enough, To put up a good fight, When he told you you're not worthy, When he told you you're not loved, When he told you you're not beautiful, That you'll never be enough, Fear, he is a liar, He will take your breath, Stop you in your steps, Fear he is a liar, He will rob your rest, Steal your happiness, Cast your fear in the fire, 'Cause fear he is a liar, When he told you were troubled, You'll forever be alone, When he told you you should run away, You'll never find a home, When he told you you were dirty, And you should be ashamed, When he told you you could be the one, That grace could never change, Fear he is a liar, He will take your breath, Stop you in your steps, Fear he is a liar, He will rob your rest, Steal your happiness, Cast your fear in the fire, 'Cause fear he is a liar. I shared these two songs because I'm focusing on how the fears we have our bigger than us but the fear we may have can open up the hope and the hidden places of our heart to a whole new world where we can live in Hope, Joy, Compassion, The peace that God gives us daily to know we can do all things through Him that gives us the Strength to do those things. I watched a movie that released to Pureflix called The Girl Behind The Door. It was a very powerful movie and it lead me to try and do a study around it but also to have it also be how in the most Hidden Places Of Our Heart or in our Hearts, we still have God helping us through every step of the way. Psalm 91 verse 1, Matthew 6 verse 6, Psalm 27 verse 5, Psalm 31 verse 20, Psalm 32 verse 7, Isaiah 32 verse 2, Luke 12 verse 3, Mark 4 verse 22, Deuteronomy 29 verse 29, John 14 verse 27, Psalm 139 verse 13-16, Hebrews 4 verse 12, Psalm 44 verse 21, 1 John 4 verse 16. In these scriptures we see How God gives us unconditional Love, how He gives the peace that surpasses all understanding, that the things we may fear, He is our Hiding place, our refuge, our Strength, and that He is a strong and mighty tower showing us the hidden and greatest desires of our heart or hearts to know that He has never left and He is always with us because no matter what we have learned in these past few weeks, what I take away from that movie I watched is we may have the hidden places of our heart where sometimes our fear, our anxiety is trapped, but when we let go and we let God take over, we see the bigger picture has been with us all along. We see the open door that leads those hidden places of fear, anxiety, stress, confusion, worry, the feeling of not being strong, or even good enough tucked away to where the new and open places of our heart filled with love, joy, compassion, strength, and humility can enter in. Isn't that wonderful in knowing all of that? That we can have God take the reign of knowing who we were Uniquely, Fearfully, and Wonderfully Made to be in His Image and to do the great work in Ministry to let others know about God, but to also let them know that God can turn the Impossible into all things Possible. You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart, With songs of deliverance, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You, I will trust in You, Let the weak say I am strong, In the strength of the Lord, You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart, With songs of deliverance, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You, I will trust in You, Let the weak say I am strong In the strength of the Lord, I will trust in You. Nothing Is Impossible, The Word Itself says I'm possible. Let these be a reminder this week that we don't ever have to let the enemy win or in our heart to know that the Hidden Places of our Heart that can be filled with fear can easily be brought back with Joy because as long as we have God, we can open up our Heart to Him daily.

Story Telling Of Our Heart

 There's torn up pages in this book, Words that tell me I'm no good, Chapters that defined me for so long, But the hands of grace and endless love, Dusted off and picked me up, Told my heart that hope is never gone, God is in this story, God is in the details, Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails, When I'm at my weakest, I will trust in Jesus, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, God is in this story, So if the storm you're walking through, Feels like it's too much and you, Wonder if He even cares at all, Well, hold on tight to what you know, He promised He won't let you go, Your song of healing's written in His scars, God is in this story, God is in the details, Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails, When I'm at my weakest, I will trust in Jesus, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, God is in this story, If it reads like addiction, If it reads like disease, He's the One who frees the prisoner, He's the healer of all things, If it reads like depression, If it reads broken home, He's the One who holds your sorrow, He won't leave you here alone, God is in this story, God is in the details, Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails, When I'm at my weakest, I will trust in Jesus, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, Always in the highs and lows, The One who goes before me, God is in this story (you're in this story), God is in my story (right here in my story). Is this the end? Or only the beginning?

The second chance, You never thought you'd get, The question is, Will you do something with it, Or spend your days, Lost in your regret, This is the story of your life, You decide, How the rest is gonna read, This is your chance between the lines, To redefine what kind of legacy you leave, This is the story of your life, And it's a story worth telling, Breathe in deep, Feel your heart still beating, Let's go see the reason you're alive, Oh you are here, And love is up to something, So take your fear, And leave it all behind, This is the story of your life, You decide How the rest is gonna read, This is your chance between the lines, To redefine what kind of legacy you leave, This is the story of your life, And it's a story worth telling, This is the joy And it's the pain, And all the pages in between, Your finest hour, Your weakest moment, It where you've been, It's where you are, It's where you're going, This is the story of your life, You decide How the rest is gonna read, This is your chance between the lines, To redefine the kind of legacy you leave, This is the story of your life, Go tell the story of your life, 'Cause it's a story worth telling, It's worth telling, Is this the end? Or only the beginning?

Psalm 78 verse 4, Exodus 10 verse 2, Exodus 13 verse 8, John 14 verse 6, Isaiah 38 verse 19, Luke 1 verse 37, Luke 8 verse 17, Joel 1 verse 3, Daniel 2 verse 21, Hebrews 11 verse 1, Hebrews 12 verse 14, Hebrews 4 verse 12, Titus 1 verse 2, 2 Timothy 3 verse 16-17, Romans 15 verse 4, Romans 12 verse 12.

In the scriptures we see how our Stories which are our Testimonies are being told. We see how we can be a walking and living testimony of where we see how in 2 Timothy 3 that all the scripture is God breathed. Think of that for a moment, and I mean truly think of that for a second. We are talking about God's Word here, where a scripture is talking about all scripture that is God breathed but then it goes into how it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. When you hear that again, and I mean you truly hear it again, you take a look at all the other scriptures, the lyrics I shared in the beginning and you see it all come together and how our God, Our Savior is in this Story that the question of the song by Matthew West of is this the end or only the beginning, that our Story that is our Testimony is far from the end, and that it's only begun. God has never left us guys, He's here with us in this place. He's here with us in our hearts, in our brokenness, in our times of seasons we go through. He was in every person of the Bible's Story, He was crafting their testimony to where He was preparing for them to tell of the Word, The Truth, The Gospel. He was preparing them to know that when He sent His to die on the cross, that His Son would rise again 3 days later from the grave. He's coming again, we may not know the day or the hour as the Bible says it is unknown when He returns, but we know He's still crafting and perfecting the scrapbook our Story which is our Testimony. He's calling us as Beloved children to be a light in this world to know that our God is bigger than our fears and our anxieties. See the enemy would want us to live our stories, our testimonies in fear and anxiety as to where God wants us to live in Faith, Hope, Trust, Love, Compassion, the Peace that surpasses all understanding to know that we are not a mistake, we are not a problem who the enemy may try to make us think we have a problem of being a mistake, when God reminds we are not that, but a new creation in Him because we are Beloved children who are owning our Belovedness daily to be reminded that this story has just begun and that this story of which is our testimony is being crafted in the Eyes of our Savior who has a plan for us because just like in Jeremiah 29 verse 11 it says: For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you but to give you a hope and a future.

That's what StoryTellers do. We Restore Order with Imagination. We Instill Hope again and again.

My Life Is A Story About Who God Is And What He Does In A Human Heart.

Whenever You See Darkness, There Is Extraordinary Opportunity For The Light To Burn Brighter.

So in these quotes God calls all those who are is children to be the light and not in the dark. He calls us to use our imagination to see how we can instill Hope in those who want to know about How God uses our heart to share our life story which is our Testimony to know that the desire of our Heart can be mended through the Testimony of our Faith Journey, and can tell us how we have the strongest of Love through our Savior that is giving us Life to help us Breathe but also remember how tonight we learned that all Scripture is God Breathed. Isn't that amazing in how God is giving us a brand new life to be a new creation? Only God can write a story that resonates not just in the power of the imagination or the heart or the mind, but in the very soul; only God can write a story that brings dead things to life.”

When you close your eyes, do you go back there, To a bended knee and a "Lord, I need you" whispered prayer?, Remember the moment you let Jesus in, Would you give anything to go back there again?

You feel like a million mistakes and a million miles, Away from the first time faith of a child, But oh, I want you to know, He's making you new, He's making you new, He's healing your heart right where you are, If only you knew, He's lifting your shame, He's changing your name And when you look back, The only thing that you'll see is His grace, Has been making you brand new, He is making you brand new

When it just doesn't feel like the old you is gone, The shame keeps telling your heart that you should be further along, You can fix your eyes now on the truth you know, That you are held by the hands of a savior that won't let go, He's making you new, He's making you new, He's healing your heart right where you are, If only you knew, He's lifting your shame, He's changing your name And when you look back, The only thing that you'll see is His grace, Has been making you brand new, He is making you brand new, Anyone in Christ is now a new creation, Every day you're closer to the you He's making, So take one last look back and see your past erasing, You're not who you were, that's over and done, So lift up your eyes to the one, Who's making you new, He's making you new, He's healing your heart right where you are, If only you knew, He's lifting your shame, He's changing your name, And when you look back, The only thing that you'll see is His grace, Has been making you brand new, He is making you brand new, Yes, He is making you brand new.

I thought I knew what I was talking about, When I testified of Your great love, Well, I was a soul on fire, there was no doubt, Bible believing, saved, and washed in the blood, But it wasn't 'til I stumbled and made my mistakes, That I could know in my soul how amazing was grace, You brought me blessings out of a tragedy, You turned my old song into a symphony, And with Your spirit living inside of me, I'm a new creation, I'm a new creation, And now I know what You were talking about, Went from my head into my heart, When I was broken at the bottom, I found, You're my Healer and Redeemer, Jesus, that's who You are, You brought me blessings out of a tragedy, You turned my old song into a symphony, And with Your spirit living inside of me, I'm a new creation, I'm a new creation

Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, But it wasn't 'til I stumbled and made my mistakes, That I could know in my soul how amazing was grace, You brought me blessings out of a tragedy, You turned my old song into a symphony, And with Your spirit living inside of me, I'm a new creation (oh, oh-oh, oh, oh), You brought me blessings out of a tragedy (You brought me blessings), You turned my old song into a symphony (I hear a symphony), And with Your spirit living inside of me, I'm a new creation, I'm a new creation, (Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh), I'm a new creation, (Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh), Oh, a new creation, And with Your spirit living inside of me (oh, oh-oh, oh, oh), I'm a new creation (oh, oh-oh, oh, oh), I'm a new creation.

Heart Of Our Savior

I want to share a song called Gracefully Broken by Matt Redman where the lyrics of it say: Take all I have in these hands And multiply, God, all that I am And find my heart on the altar again, Set me on fire, set me on fire, Oh, take all I have in these hands, And multiply, God, all that I am, And find my heart on the altar again, Set me on fire, set me on fire, Here I am, God, Arms wide open, Pouring out my life, Gracefully broken, My heart stands in awe of Your name, Your mighty love stands strong to the end, You will fulfill Your purpose for me, You won't forsake me, You will be with me, Here I am, God, Arms wide open, Pouring out my life, Gracefully broken, Pouring out my life again, Here I am, God, Arms wide open, Pouring out my life, Gracefully broken, Oh, gracefully. The second is a song by Daniel Doss called Stained Glass Windows. The lyrics say: Last week I walked on water, Today I'm sinking low, Can your hand reach down to me and pull me up once more, The dreams I had are shattered, scattered on the floor, The last time you picked up the pieces helped me dream some more, Cause were making stained glass windows, Every piece a different shade, Broken and then put together like a big mistake, But when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how you keep loving me. Each moment you are with me, Each word I hear you say, Help me understand and trust in your higher ways, The road that goes through valleys help me cling to you, And when we find a mountain top we'll dance the whole day through, Cause were making stained glass windows, Every piece a different shade, Broken and then put together like a big mistake, But when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how you keep loving me, I don't know why, I don't know why, You keep loving me. Yeah, yeah, Broken and then put together, Were making stained glass windows, Every piece a different shade, Broken and then put together like a big mistake, Oh and when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how, And when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how you keep loving me. Let these songs be a reminder this week that beyond us feeling broken at times God is using us to form that tapestry to show us how He keeps loving us daily as Beloved Children of Him.

Which brings me to what I want to talk about tonight that continues from what I shared in the beginning of what I wanted to share at the end of last week's study. Tonight I want to continue how Love and Brokenness can be something that leads us to Our Savior. I want to talk about the Love that we feel in our Hearts, where the Brokenness of the Heart can lead us to The Heart of Our Savior where we can see that our scars our made whole, and that the Love we feel is God's Love because God is Love. The brokenness we feel at times can be difficult, it can be scary, but when we are lead to The Heart Of God, Our Savior then we can see how God is giving us what we need, before we ask or think it. Let us look at some scriptures now where it talks about Our Savior, Heart, Love, and Brokenness. The scriptures we are going to look at tonight are: Acts 4 verse 12, 1 John 4 verse 14, 1 John 2 verse 15-17, James 5 verse 14. Psalm 51 verse 10, Matthew 5 verse 18, 1 Samuel 16 verse 12, Psalm 37 verse 4. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 14, John 15 verse 13, John 14 verse 15. Psalm 31 verse 12, and Matthew 11 verses 28-30.

In these scriptures we see how when we have Love that God can mend the Brokenness of our Hearts. We see how Our Savior shows the Love, The Compassion, the timing of knowing we our coming back to the Heart of Our Savior who doesn't let us go, who doesn't let us down, and we are lead back to the Heart of what is known as The Love and The Heart Of God. We are having a time of where we can Worship our Savior with Song, We are having a time where we can pray to our Our Savior. We are even having a time where we can talk with Him to let our Hearts pour out to Our Savior who is with us daily.

Last week we talked about Love and Brokenness, the week before that we talked about many different things that related with the word Love, and many things that were a reflection and reminder of God's unfailing Love and Redeeming Grace. We know that Our Savior is Ruler, King, and that He will continue to do many great things. We know that God is doing a work in our lives for those who Love.

While some things may be similar to what we've learned last week, and the week before that, it's always a great reminder to go over some of these things, as well as know that God is working in our Heart for us to see that He has a purpose and plan in place for everything at anytime for everything we do that is according to His Will, and that is being done in His Glory. We know that God is watching over daily to help us get a better understanding to know how to come back to the Heart Of Our Savior if we are lost.

See we as leaders, followers, Disciples of Christ can be that person that reaches out to those who are lost, hurting, and don't know God at all. We can help them find the Heart Of Our Savior again. We can pray for them, we can pray with them. What happens after that is between them and God. No matter what we face in Life we know everything can lead back to the Heart of God. I want to end on two things. The first thing I would like to share is Zach Williams song The Heart Of God. The lyrics say this: I know you're hurtin', I can see it in your eyes, So pull back the curtain and take off your disguise

Whoever told you, you ain't worth the fight, The cross tells a story that'll change your mind, 'Cause there's only love in the heart of God, No room for shame in His open arms, There's beauty from ashes, so come as you are, And there's only love in the heart of God, Come, prodigal children, it's never too late, Run home to the Father, let Him clothe you with grace, And bury your burdens, break free from your fear, Step out of the shadows, there's no judgment here, There's only love in the heart of God

No room for shame in His open arms, There's beauty from ashes, so come as you are, And there's only love in the heart of God, No, He's not sittin' there shakin' His head, Writin' you off, leavin' you lost

He's not sittin' there shakin' His head, Wishin' He'd never went to that cross, He's not sittin' there shakin' His head, Writin' you off, leavin' you lost, He's not sittin' there shakin' His head, He went to that cross, He went to that cross. We see that God has Love for us so much that He sent His Son to die on that cross so that we could have everlasting life. You have the Savior of the world on your side. If you seek His help and follow His directions, how can you fail? I wanted to end on this quote so that we could be reminded this week about all the things Our Savior does for us, and how much Love there is to give when we seek, and come to the Heart of Our Savior who shows that we can come together in Love.

Love and Brokenness Study

 Take a look at the mountains, Stretching a mile high, Take a look at the ocean, Far as your eye can see.

And think of Me, Take a look at the desert, Do you feel like a grain of sand? I am with you wherever

Where you go is where I am, And I'm always thinking of you, Take a look around you, I'm spelling it out one by one, I love you more than the sun And the stars that I taught how to shine, You are mine, and you shine for me too, I love you yesterday and today And tomorrow, I'll say it again and again, I love you more

Just a face in the city, Just a tear on a crowded street, But you are one in a million And you belong to Me.

If grace was a kingdom, I'd stopped at the gate, Thinkin' I don't deserve to pass through, After all the mistakes that I've made, Oh, but I heard a whisper as Heaven bent down, Said, "Child, don't you know that the first will be last And the last get a crown", Now I'm just a beggar in the presence of a King

I wish I could bring so much more, But if it's true, You use broken things, Then here I am Lord, I'm all Yours, Whoa-oh-oh-oh, Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, The pages of history, they tell me it's true, That it's never the perfect, It's always the ones with the scars that You use, Oh, it's the rebels and the prodigals, It's the humble and the weak, All the misfit heroes You chose, Tell me there's hope for sinners like me.

We see here how God can love us more than the sun and the stars in the sky that He created. We see here that He can take the broken things and craft them into something beautiful.

I want us to look at some scriptures now. The scriptures we are going to be looking at tonight are 1 John 3 verse 1, Matthew 22 verse 37-39, 1 John 4 verse 7-21, Ephesians 2 verse 4-5, Psalm 86 verse 15. 1 Peter 4 verse 8, 1 John 4 verse 11. Isaiah 53 verse 6, John 3 verse 16, Hebrews 4 verse 12, and Hebrews 11 verse 1-40. We see in the scriptures, how God is using us for His Glory and how we can walk by Faith and not by sight. We see how God loves all His Children and how He takes the broken things, the pieces that are shattered, and picks them up because just like in that last scripture we read tonight, our Faith and our Faith alone is an assurance of things hoped for and of things yet not seen. We don't ever walk this Faith journey alone. We don't go through the broken chapters that is our testimony and that is still being crafted in the scrapbook of which we can look at how we feel at times sad because the enemy tries to remind us that we are not worthy or that we are unloved, or we can look at it as a way of seeing how God reminds us that we are loved and that we do have worth in the eyes of Him. You see the difference between the enemy and God, is that the enemy will do anything to say the things that you go through of the broken chapters that are things that are beyond repairing, and that You're unloved because how can God love us despite our brokenness of things we deal with. See that's where God reminds that He still loves us beyond all that and that He loves us more than the sun and stars He created because the broken chapters are worth repairing in the eyes of our Savior and He reminds us that the enemy doesn't matter as long we continue to listen to the voice of truth which is Christ because as long as we have that in our hearts, what more can we ask for than to know how God continues to love beyond our broken pieces, imperfections, and continues to love us no matter what despite when we at times all go through some way or another of feeling down, or even hard on ourselves. The enemy may try to knock us down, but God picks us right back up and loves us more than anything and because of that just like in the other Matthew West song I shared, if it's true that God uses broken things, than here I am Lord I'm all yours. Let this be a reflection of how God is using us this week, so that we can be a light to others in need. Let this be a reminder to us this week so that we can be the light to others who don't God but want to know who He is because we need to be the light but be the change in how we can not lean on our own understanding but on the promises of God's Love and Goodness because God is Love.

These are the last three things I would like to end on tonight cause I feel this is important to share.

The first is a song by Stars Go Dim and the song I would like to share is called You Are Loved.

The lyrics say this: We hide pain in the weirdest places, Broken souls with smiling faces, Fighting for surrender, For now and the after, yeah, Just look around and you'll see that people, Are scared to say how they really feel, Oh, we all need a little honesty, You are loved, If your heart's in a thousand pieces

If you're lost and you're far from reason, Just look up; know you are loved, Just look up; and know you are loved, When it feels like something's missing, If it hurts but you can't find healing, Just look up, know you are loved, Just look up, know you are loved.

The second is another song called Gracefully Broken by Matt Redman where the lyrics of it say: Take all I have in these hands And multiply, God, all that I am And find my heart on the altar again

Set me on fire, set me on fire, Oh, take all I have in these hands, And multiply, God, all that I am, And find my heart on the altar again, Set me on fire, set me on fire, Here I am, God, Arms wide open, Pouring out my life, Gracefully broken, My heart stands in awe of Your name, Your mighty love stands strong to the end, You will fulfill Your purpose for me, You won't forsake me, You will be with me, Here I am, God, Arms wide open, Pouring out my life, Gracefully broken, Pouring out my life again

Here I am, God, Arms wide open, Pouring out my life, Gracefully broken, Oh, gracefully.

The las one I want to share is a song by Daniel Doss called Stained Glass Windows. The lyrics say: Last week I walked on water, Today I'm sinking low, Can your hand reach down to me and pull me up once more, The dreams I had are shattered, scattered on the floor, The last time you picked up the pieces helped me dream some more, Cause were making stained glass windows, Every piece a different shade

Broken and then put together like a big mistake, But when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how you keep loving me. Each moment you are with me, Each word I hear you say, Help me understand and trust in your higher ways, The road that goes through valleys help me cling to you, And when we find a mountain top we'll dance the whole day through

Cause were making stained glass windows, Every piece a different shade, Broken and then put together like a big mistake, But when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how you keep loving me, I don't know why, I don't know why, You keep loving me. Yeah, yeah, Broken and then put together, Were making stained glass windows, Every piece a different shade, Broken and then put together like a big mistake, Oh and when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how, And when the light shines through the colors form a tapestry, A hundred different images of how you keep loving me.

Let all three of these songs be a reminder this week that beyond us feeling broken at times God is using us to form that tapestry to show us how He keeps loving us daily as Beloved Children of Him.

Outreach Study

 When we think about our Imperfections, when we think of how we grieve and mourn the loss of our loved ones, and when we think of those who go through difficult times we see how God can pull us through by comforting those who mourn and grieve, and  can help us see that we have beautifully broken pieces of our testimonies that are still being crafted in that scrapbook to know that our imperfections don't define who we are but the Love of God defines who we are made in the Image of Him. 

We go through seasons in the times of feeling hard on ourselves to where we feel like we are not good enough, strong enough, or brave to do what we have been called to do in what God has planned for us to do. We don't have to let the enemy win in our life because it's God who fights our battles and it's God who reminds us that we are loved. It's God who reminds us that we can be strong in Him because it's Him who gives us strength. We think of the traits that God has given us to overcome obstacles. 

We can humbly walk in Faith and see that when we humble ourselves before God that we can endure the great things He has done to help us through. If we were to name or define who we are in Christ of the traits  that He has given us, we would come up with traits of being Loving, Kind, Compassionate, Noble, Respectful, Joyful, and I'm sure we could come up with others, but these traits here, show us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind because with Him all things are possible and nothing is impossible for Him. These traits here show us that the good parts of our testimony that is being crafted daily by our Savior who shows unconditional love. He shows unconditional love because He is Love. We think about the Delegation of God's Authority where we trust and obey His Word because His Word and the Words He says remain true. If we were to take what the enemy says and apply it to our life today we would feel miserable because what the enemy says doesn't apply one bit to the testimony that is greater in the eyes of God. We would be miserable because we would follow the lies the enemy put in our head to hear the voice that says we are not good enough. Although if we hear the voice of truth, what God's truth is then that is what we will see how the good parts of our testimony are still a work in progress. We will see that He reminds us we are enough. I pray that no matter what we do, or what we think the enemy says, that we will still remain in the Heart of God to where we can see that He is showing us we are a new creation in Him. I want us to look at some different scriptures now. 

The scriptures I would like to look at are Ephesians 2 verse 8-9, Romans 5 verse 8, 1 John 4 verse 12, Matthew 5 verse 48. Matthew 5 verse 4, Revelation 21 verse 4, Psalm 147 verse 3. Genesis 1 verses 26-27, Genesis 2 verse 7, Genesis 9 verse 6. 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Timothy 3:16, Colossians 1:16, Romans 8:28, Romans 6:23, Acts 20:24. The last scriptures we are looking at are: Isaiah 41:10, 1 John 4:18, Psalm 34:4, 2 Timothy 1:7, Joshua 1:9, Philippians 4:6, John 14:27, and Psalm 27:1. So we see in these scriptures that God is helping us see His authority, the traits that He has given us, how He still loves beyond our imperfections, and how when we grieve that He gives each one of us comfort.

I want to share just some lyrics with all of you tonight. The first one I want to share is this: All of my life I've been making a list, Of all the things about me I'd change if I could And the longer I live, the more I'm convinced, The bad and the ugly will outweigh the good, I beat myself up, I tear myself down, And it's never been harder to understand how, You perfectly love me and all my imperfections, Still can't believe that it's true, How You perfectly love me and all my imperfections And all my imperfections You'll use. The second one I would like to share says: It is through suffering I find the strength I need, it is through suffering I know that you are faithful, so even when I can't see the change around me, God I know you're changing me, your changing my heart, cause your the only way. The third one says: Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see, Your majestic love and authority. We see with each one of these lyrics that we are perfectly loved by our Savior who doesn't let us go. We see that the scars the beautifully broken scars just like in a different song that we don't have to be afraid in the work that God is doing in our lives to show us that His Mercy, His Grace, and His Love will endure forever and ever.

I want to end on this tonight: Who said that you weren't beautiful And that you didn't belong in your own skin? Who said that you were all alone And that you're never gonna find love again? So many little words, so many little lies That have followed you all of your life, Looking for the truth, look into your eyes And you'll see it's been there the whole time, Ooh, even when you were running, Even when you were hiding, Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved, When you barely believed it, When your eyes couldn't see it, Every single moment, you've always been perfectly loved, Ooh, perfectly loved, You've always been perfectly, In the hands of the Infinite, As the wounds of the world became His, See the kindness Heaven has for you And how He's always been drawing you in, So many open doors (so many open doors), so many miracles (so many), That have followed you all of your life, Looking for the truth (looking for the truth), look into your eyes (oh), And you'll see its been there the whole time. I wanted to end on this tonight because I want us to remember this week in everything we talked about and what we read from the scriptures that we belong as Warriors in the Kingdom of God. We belong as the Beloved child that we are who are perfectly loved in the Image of which God made us Uniquely, Fearfully, and Wonderfully made. We have our imperfections, we have scars, but we are Perfectly Loved in the Eyes and ways of God. We are Perfectly Imperfect as a child of God who is a work in progress becoming that brand new creation each and every day to serve God and be the light.

Let us take this and I mean truly take this to heart this week and remind not only ourselves but others that God's Love never fails and that God can make all things new and that He's perfecting our Testimony and showing us that our scrapbook of that is far from over because God's working in us.

What The Bible Says About Imperfection

 I want to talk about What The Bible has to say about Imperfection. There is a song I would like to start out with called Imperfections by Matthew West. The lyrics of the song say: All of my life I've been making a list, Of all the things about me I'd change if I could And the longer I live, the more I'm convinced, The bad and the ugly will outweigh the good, I beat myself up, I tear myself down, And it's never been harder to understand how, You perfectly love me and all my imperfections, Still can't believe that it's true, How You perfectly love me and all my imperfections And all my imperfections You'll use, I'm clumsy and foolish, I'm reckless and clueless, If there's a wrong turn, I'll take it, But You keep on raising me up from my ruins, And tell me I'm something worth saving, The story of me is a story of grace, Every chapter's a new list of all of the ways, You perfectly love me and all my imperfections, Still can't believe that it's true, How You perfectly love me and all my imperfections, And all my imperfections you'll use, All of my life I thought You had a list, Of all the things about me You'd change if You could. But here in Your presence my heart is convinced, There's no part of me that you can't use for good, Lord, You perfectly love me and all my imperfections, I'm finally believing it's true, How You perfectly love me and all my imperfections, And all my imperfections You'll use, All my imperfections You'll use, So, I give all my imperfections to You. A second song I would like to share is one I've shared before in a study and it's by an artist named Amy Picard and it's her song called Perfectly Imperfect and for me when I think of this song, I take it in a way, that all of us are perfectly imperfect children of God trying to lead by the example God has given us to minister to others who are not only feeling lost but how God will take the perfectly imperfect parts of our testimonies to turn them into beautifully broken pieces that are a piece of the puzzle that is being crafted by God with knowing that He is still perfecting the imperfections of that Scrapbook of our testimonies to live by Faith alone, and to not walk by sight. I want us to look at some scripture now. The scriptures we are going to look at tonight are Ephesians 2 verse 8-9, John 10 verse 10, James 3 verse 2, Philippians 4 verse 13, Philippians 3 verse 12, Psalm 120 verse 1, James 1 verse 4, 2 Corinthians 2 verse 9, Luke 1 verse 37, and the last two we will look at are Colossians 3 verse 14 and 2 Chronicles 7 verse 14. We see in these scriptures that God takes our imperfection and turns it around to something that is Beautifully Broken in the eyes of Him. I would like to share Plumb's song Beautifully Broken with you and the lyrics say: Every tear, every doubt, Every time you've fallen down, When you're hurting, feeling ashamed, When you're numbing off your pain, When you've lost your way, And feel so far away, You're not, You're beautifully broken, And you can be whole again, Even a million scars doesn't change whose you are, You're worthy, Beautifully broken, Every fear of being loved, For who you are no matter what, When you're stumbling,, And you're haunted by regret, And the darkness closes in, Just listen, You're beautifully broken, And You can be whole again, Even a million scars doesn't change whose you are, You're worthy, Beautifully broken, You're beautifully broken (beautifully broken), You're beautifully broken, Oh, the God who made the stars, Is the God that made your heart, And He's holding you right now, He can heal the broken parts, And make beauty from the scars, the scars, Beautiful scars! There are a few things that I would like to close on tonight. The first thing that I would like to close on is this. “Remember God is not surprised by your inabilities, your imperfections, or your faults. He has always known everything about you that you are just now finding out, and he chose you on purpose for himself.” The second thing I would like to share is a song called How He Loves and some of the lyrics I want to share say this: … He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy, When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me … And oh, how He loves us, oh, Oh, how He loves us, How He loves us all … He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy, When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realise just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me … And oh, how He loves us, oh, Oh, how He loves us,  How He loves us all. The third thing I would like to share is another quote. The quote says this: It is in your most broken places you are most often used by God. The next thing that I would like to share is DC Talk's song called What If I Stumble and the lyrics say: What if I stumble? What if I fall? This one for the people? Is this one for the Lord? Or do I simply serenade for things I must afford? You can jumble them together, My conflict still remains, Holiness is callin', In the midst of courting fame, 'Cause I see the trust in their eyes, Though the sky is fallin', They need Your love in their lives, Compromise is callin', What if I stumble?, What if I fall? What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all? Will the love continue, When my walk becomes a crawl? What if I stumble? And what if I fall? What if I stumble? What if I fall? (Fall, fall) (O Lord) You never turn in the heat of it all What if I stumble? What if I fall? (Fall, fall, fall, fall, fall) Father, please forgive me, For I cannot compose, The fear that lives within me Or the rate at which it grows (rate at which it grows) If struggle has a purpose On the narrow road You carved, Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar?, Did they see the fear in my eyes? Are they so revealin'? This time I cannot disguise, All the doubt I'm feelin', What if I stumble? What if I fall? What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?, Will the love continue When my walk becomes a crawl? What if I stumble? And what if I fall? What if I stumble?, Everyone's got to crawl when you know that you're up against the wall, It's about to fall, Everyone's got to crawl when you know that... Yeah, Everyone's got to crawl when you know that you're up against the wall, It's about to fall, Everyone's got to crawl when you know that..., Yeah, I hear You whispering my name, You said, "My love for you will never change" (never change). Another quote that I would like to share says this: “God uses broken things beautifully; Broken clouds pour rain, Broken soil sets as fields, Broken crop yield seeds, Broken seeds give life to new plants. So when you feel you are broken, be rest assured that God is planning to utilize you for something great.” We see here in all of this that God is using us to the best of our abilities to utilize us in what we can do and to use us in how He sees us as Beloved children of God who are completely loved and known by Him. Here is the last quote I want to leave all of you with tonight. The quote says this: “There is nothing more liberating than being fully known and still loved.”  I wanted to end on that quote tonight because I want us to be reminded in how God sees beyond the imperfection or imperfections of our past, to help us be reminded in how we can be loved, are loved, and how we can take the good parts of our testimony to share with others, because when we think about it and truly think about it, we know we were made in the Image Of God, that our testimonies are from over, that it is the beginning of something beautiful because just like in Jeremiah 29 verse 11, God reminds us that the plans He has for us are to prosper us, not to harm us, but to give us a hope and a future. We need to know that what God has in store is what He will keep revealing to us in His Timing because our ways are not perfect, but God's ways are perfect. So tonight as we leave, let us remember that we are truly Loved. The song I started out with by Matthew West is a nice song, and it reminds me a lot of the time that beyond my imperfection or imperfections, God's got me in His hands and He will always love me without end because as a Beloved child of God, He sees beyond our imperfection and imperfections to give us a beautifully broken picture of how we are made whole in the Image of Him. Let this be a reminder for all of us this week that we don't have to be perfect in anything we do because our ways are not perfect, because God's ways are. Just a like Land of Color song says: We don't have to win, we don't have to lie, we don't have to always get it right, we will find the strength when we let go to be your warriors. As God's Warriors, we may feel like we are broken and that we have to be perfect, but God reminds us that we don't have to be because like another song says: We Are Perfectly Imperfect.

Thankfulness

 Tonight I want to talk about Thankfulness. I would like to start off with a song by Charity Gale called Thank You Jesus For The Blood. 

The lyrics of the song say this: I was a wretch, I remember who I was, I was lost, I was blind, I was running out of time, Sin separated, The breach was far too wide, But from the far side of the chasm, You held me in your sight, So You made a way, Across the great divide, Left behind Heaven's throne, To build it here inside, And there at the cross, You paid the debt I owed, Broke my chains, freed my soul, For the first time I had hope, Thank you Jesus for the blood applied, Thank you Jesus, it has washed me white, Thank you Jesus, You have saved my life, Brought me from the darkness into glorious light, You took my place, Laid inside my tomb of sin, You were buried for three days, But then You walked right out again, And now death has no sting, And life has no end, For I have been transformed, By the blood of the lamb, Thank You Jesus for the blood applied (thank You Jesus), Thank You Jesus, it has washed me white, Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life, Brought me from the darkness into glorious light, There is nothing stronger, Than the wonder working power of the blood, The blood, That calls us sons and daughters, We are ransomed by our Father, Through the blood, The blood, There is nothing stronger, Of the wonder working power of the blood, The blood, That calls us sons and daughters, We are ransomed by the Father, Through the blood, The blood, Thank You Jesus for the blood applied, Thank You Jesus, it have washed me white, Thank You Jesus, You have saved my life, Brought me from the darkness into glorious light, Glory to His name, Glory to His name, There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His name. 

I want to share another song called Thank You Lord by Chris Tomlin and the lyrics say: Thank You Lord for the small things, Like me and her on the porch swing, For summer nights and fireflies, And the sound of my old six string, Blessings, on blessings, on blessings, on blessings, If I still got breath in these lungs, And that's all I need to get down on my knees, And be thankful for all that He's done, For my mama, for my friends, For Your love that never ends, For the songs that make us dance, On this ol' dirt floor, For my babies, for my girl, For the way they changed my world, Waking up today, Yeah, I just gotta say, Thank You Lord, Yeah, I just wanna say, Thank You Lord (oh, now), Thank You Lord for the hard times, For lighting the way in the dark times, For pulling me in, forgiving again, The times that I took it too far, I Gotta thank You for keeping me humble, For picking me up when I stumble, And although I change, You stay the same, And I don't say thank You enough, For my mama, for my friends, For Your love that never ends, For the songs that make us dance, On this ol' dirt floor, For my babies, for my girl, For the way they changed my world (changed my world), Waking up today, Yeah, I just gotta say, Thank You Lord, I just wanna say, Thank You Lord (oh yeah), Praise up, Eyes closed, One thing I know, I just wanna thank You Lord, thank You Lord (thank You Lord). 

With these two songs we say how we give God thanks and how we are thankful for what He has and continues to do in our lives. 

I want us to look at some scriptures now. 

The scriptures I would like to share are these scriptures.

1 Thessalonians 5 verse 18 says: Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4 verse 2 says: Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Ephesians 5 verse 20 says: Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 100 verse 4 says: Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 107 verse 1: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 69 verse 30: I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 28 verse 7: The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.

Philippians 4 verse 6-7:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Then the last scripture we will take a look at tonight is this one.

2 Corinthians 9 verse 15: Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 In the scriptures we see how when we have a trait like Thankfulness, we can be humbly thankful, grateful, and blessed in knowing how God has had His Hands in everything that He has done and continues to do for us. 

I want to share three quotes with you. The first quote I would like to share says: ''Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.'' 

The second quote I would like to share says: Thanksgiving to be truly thanksgiving, is first thanks, then giving. 

The last quote I would like to share says: ''Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude.'' 

In these quotes we see how when we are thankful for what we have and receive the blessings that God continues to give us, that we truly start to see what we are thankful for. 

Here are the things that I would like to end on tonight. The first thing I would like to share is a song called Give Thanks and some of the lyrics say: Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son, Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One,  Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son, And now let the weak say, "I am strong", Let the poor say, "I am rich, Because of what the Lord has done for us", And now let the weak say, "I am strong", Let the poor say, "I am rich, Because of what the Lord has done for us", Give thanks with a grateful heart (with a grateful heart), Give thanks to the Holy One (to the Holy One). Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son, Give thanks with a grateful heart (with a grateful heart), Give thanks to the Holy One (to the Holy One), Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son, And now let the weak say, "I am strong", Let the poor say, "I am rich, Because of what the Lord has done for us", And now let the weak say, "I am strong", Let the poor say, "I am rich (I am rich), Because of what the Lord has done for us", Give thanks, We give thanks to You. 

The next thing I would like to share is another quote and the quote says this: Gratitude, ''Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.'' 

Here is the last thing that I would like to share with all of you. Be thankful for what you have, be grateful in what you do, and be humbly blessed in all the things that God has done and continues to do for you, as God gives you the thankfulness in your heart to know that you can do all things with Him that gives you the strength to do those things. You don't have to be afraid as God will show you the gratitude you need in order to grow daily in your relationship and in your faith walk with Him. So let's show that gratitude daily.