LETTERS… (you know–the 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, or stationery on which you send a message, an invitation, or a celebration note)
…Writing a letter is intentional; it is taking the time and the effort to communicate and share a part of someone’s life. It wasn’t that long ago (really only a little over twenty-five years ago) that we began getting email addresses and cell phones, which made communication instant.
Throughout history, humans have used language of letters, in some fashion or another, to express love, ideas, dreams, life events, beliefs, achievements, sadness, and victories. But think of the waiting–the waiting for the message to be delivered—and then anticipating the response. This would involve days, weeks, months. Letters are mentioned over sixty times in Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, from Jeremiah the prophet to the apostle Paul. I believe it is why Paul would express the following passage the way he did:
2 Cor 3:2-6:
“For your very lives are our ‘letters of recommendation,’ permanently engraved on our hearts, recognized and read by everybody. 3 As a result of our ministry, you are living letters written by Christ, not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God—not carved onto stone tablets but on the tablets of tender hearts. 4 We carry this confidence in our hearts because of our union with Christ before God. 5 Yet we don’t see ourselves as capable enough to do anything in our own strength, for our true competence flows from God’s empowering presence.”
In other words, your life is a message engraved not on paper, but a message declared out loud daily, impacting the hearts of humanity. We get to be the carrier of God’s Kingdom message of from Heaven!
FREEDOM-Live out Loud
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free, because of Jesus we finally have freedom. We must cherish this truth; stand firm and refuse to go back into the bondage, and be burdened by our sin.”
By its very definition, freedom gives us permission to be free without restraint. The question is, are we walking into freedom that brings death, or freedom that brings life?
We have the message of JESUS our Savior, the hope for the whole world. When we choose to LIVE, it speaks life to those who are broken and hurting. We can lead them to Jesus!
AUTHENTICITY-Love out Loud
When something is authentic and real, how do we know? Only a professional could tell you if the piece of art is an original, if the gemstone is flawless, or if the antique furniture is actually of the time period, not a reproduction.
In Luke 10, Jesus is asked a question: “How can I inherit eternal life?” Most of us would immediately begin thinking about what we could do or perform in order to receive the reward of eternity in Heaven, but Jesus’s response is still resounding as strongly as the day He spoke the words: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. The next sentence gets me every time: “Do this, and YOU WILL LIVE.” (Luke 10:25-28)
ACTIVATION-Lead Out Loud
When we live in a continual pursuit of Jesus, faith is activated, and the Spirit within us becomes the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
Ephesians 3:20
“Now to HIM who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us…..” NIV
There is something GREATER within you! Living from this place requires living in and out of the Secret Place, and allowing HIS Kingdom-righteousness, truth, and holiness, to be the standard that sets you apart.
This is the place of the inevitable cross-road….. the fork in the road…..
There is always a decision to be made in the face of adversity and there is always an overflow of something. When we are pressed, and squeezed from outside circumstances, we want the overflow to be the presence of Jesus.
HE desires relationship not religion
HE desires intimacy not tradition
HE desires a relationship not an occasional visit
HE desires this to be our lifestyle not just something we do on
HE desires relationship not religion.
HE desires intimacy not tradition.
HE desires a relationship not an occasional visit.
HE desires this to be our lifestyle not just something we do on occasion.
Freedom is to LIVE OUT LOUD.
Authenticity is to LOVE OUT LOUD.
Activation is to LEAD OUT LOUD.
