Changing views

      Don't judge this season of your life by last season. God's taking you on a journey and the view is always changing. One of the biggest mistakes we can make is  to miss out on what God's doing now because we are busy reminiscing on what He did.

        Just because our relationship has changed does not mean we are out of alignment. Think about our relationship with people. Within our relationships we have different events and experiences. We may attend a birthday party, a wedding, or a quiet night of dinner and intimate conversation, maybe a movie, a funeral, vacation etc. There are many different activities  involved in relationships, everything from big to small. Each activity evoke different emotions in us and different parts of our personality.

        The excitement you display at a party will not be the same as a quiet night at home or during a tragic lose. See what I'm saying. We have to see our spiritual relationship with God the same. If we don't we may assume something is wrong when a season is not as exciting or the same. This will cause us to keep looking backwards or even try and mimic what used to be.

        I'd like to encourage you. I've had powerful, exciting and wild seasons with God and I've also had quiet, still, seasons with God. In the quieter seasons I'd get insecure and wonder what happened, but God would tap me on the shoulder (spiritually) and let me know He was still with me and I with Him. Nothing had changed between us. Be encouraged by this. I can imagine others have felt the same way. Don't allow yourself to grow insecure and live your life looking out the rear view mirror.

       Trust that God is taking you forward. Seasons change, feelings change, and even activities change, but that does not mean something is wrong.

Church relationships

      " Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor." - James 3:17-18 THE MESSAGE

       In church we  usually hear about loving the lost, money, or personal growth. But what about our relationships with each other - church members - the body of Christ? There is a lot written about how we should treat and love each other in scriptures, yet I never hear leaders give a message about it. It's no wonder people are being hurt and leaving church. How are they to know if no one is teaching them?

       Obviously God thought it important enough to put in the Bible. We should consider it important too. How are we to love outsiders if we can't even get along and love each other? Many I've met who don't go to church, are people who have been to church, but stopped for whatever reason. It's easy to put the blame on them, tell them to toughen up, or get over it, but that's not right. Is it really their fault? I personally don't think so.

           It's not like they or the offenders have learned how to handle a dispute in a Godly way, or how to confront one another in love, or anything else the Bible speaks of about our relationships with each other.  If we don't teach the Body how to handle one another in a Biblical way we will simply carry out what we've learned in the world.

           This is one of my passions because most people I meet are not against the idea of church. Most of them have already been members at some point -they've been there and done that. So, what's that say about us?

          Look at me, I'm in transition and don't not have a church home (fellowship) in this season. I'm a perfect example. Much of the brokenness we went through may have easily been prevented or mended if we all knew how to respond to hurt in a Biblical way. But no one on either side has heard or seen it modeled. All we know how to do is walk away. God forbid we confront someone and try to resolve anything without being ignored, called judgmental or sensitive.

          My hubs and I could give a list of hurtful things that we've experienced in church over the last 13yrs and most of which are not petty. Your mouth would drop on the floor if we were an open book. You'd realized we really did stick it out for a long time but grew weary and decided we were healthier, happier, safer and more fruitful on our own (at least for a season).

         Some people leave church for shallow reasons, of course we can't go around and waste time over people's issues like paint color etc. (but again we shouldn't' roll our eyes and let them leave in a huff, these people need a shepherd to teach from scripture how to be grateful and not nit pickers so they can grow and mature.) I know leaders hear all sorts of complaints and maybe learned to block it out. But some have not left over such silly things, they left over things that could be resolved if we as a body matured. If we are taught what the Bible says about conflict within our walls. There are many letters to the churches in the Bible exhorting, encouraging and teaching the Body how to get along. It's important.

          My question is who is teaching this from their platform? If my hubs and I ever have a church we've talked about dedicating a weekend message every month or two about loving our church family and how to handle conflict. We are people, all with different personalities, ideas, hurts, and expectations. We need to learn how to get along, not just put on a fake smile and pretend to like each other.

        The Bible says we must put in the hard work it requires to get along. The reason the Bible talks about us getting along so much is because the outside world is going to know we are HIS by the love we have for one another. 

Nothing is Wasted

Such beautiful lyrics. I pray it encourages you!! 

Broken hearts are beautiful hearts

       I heard someone says, "God wants to keep your heart whole", even help us avoid things that could break our hearts. I don't agree with this completely. God wants to mend our hearts, He does not want us "bleeding to death" emotionally or spiritual, but brokenhearted people do the most good in the world. They are the God chasers, earth shakers and they are the ones that put action behind their passion. Look at the people in the Bible, did they have whole hearts or did they face brokenness?

      Some of the most passionate, sold out, loving people you will meet are those who have had broken hearts. Of course, some broken people turn bitter, but that's only because the process of brokenness is still underway. When it's accomplished it's work they are usually tender hearted, gracious, merciful, and love others in a way that brings healing to all they meet. Broken hearts are beautiful hearts.

       We can't spend out lives running from brokenness or protecting our loves ones from it. A child who grows up perfectly, not needing, wanting or experiencing some sort of emotional pain is a shallow child that grows up into a shallow adult. Don't resent the pain you've walked through, look at how it's made you more compassionate and gentle to all you meet.

      It's easy to try and avoid pain. It's easy to look down on a season of our life that's not full of sunshine and laughter, but the truth is, it's the broken seasons that have contributed the most to who we are. It's the tears that cleansed our soul and it's there we found how to depend on God in new ways, ways others may not even realize they need Him yet.

        

Prayer paves a road

        "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" - Philippians 4:6 NIV

        Why pray? Because prayer moves the hands of God. There are things God wants to do in the earth, but can't because we have yet to pray about them. Prayer invites God onto the scene. It paves a road where there was none.

       Can you imagine  a neighborhood with no roads? How will the mailman deliver your mail? Prayer paves a road to whatever the issue is you are praying about. It paves roads in and out of every detail of our lives, into areas that would be unreachable otherwise. The roads we pave with our prayers allow God to move and work in our behalf. We are opening a way for miracles and divine answers.

     Pray about everything. Invite God into the situation and watch things change. One prayer can change everything. But when you pray, have faith, because faith is the currency of Heaven. Just as we buy things on the earth with money, heaven requires faith. We must believe it is so, believe that God can, will and wants to. In some cases we must believe that God already has. So, don't forget to mix some faith in with every prayer.

      God is for us. But we must be people of prayer. We must pave roads were there are none.

     

We are going east

      I was going through some of my old website links and found my old myspace account. That season feels so long ago. I miss it. It's like an old bedroom that's been untouched with dusty shelves and pictures of what used to be. The anointing from those times still lingers when I go through old revelations, dreams, music, words of encouragement etc.
      My husband and I have been through so much. So much has changed. It's been really hard emotionally and spiritually. Though we still pursue God's presence and have an intimate relationship with God, it's not the same as it used to be. We have been shaken quite a bit and still haven't found that spiritual solid ground within the church. Who knows if we will ever return. We know God is pushing us to start an in house bible study fellowship. Many upon hearing that we may open our home up have already let us know they would want to come. The need is great. But will that turn into our full time church? We aren't sure yet. We'd like to join a church again, but we are so raw and broken. Many don't know all we've been through, we are pretty private when it comes to that. We don't want to discourage anyone with our brokenness.You'd think the Lord is preparing us for something bigger? I mean, we've never had a normal church experience, even in our youth. It's like He didn't want to wait and teach us these lesson gradually. We learned them fast and early.
      The Lord did give me a dream where we wanted to go west, but He blocked it and held up a sign  that pointed and said "EAST".  He wants us to go East the direction of the sunrise. It's a new day. A new season. The past is behind us. We have tremendous hope for tomorrow.
      I know the fire that once was ablaze will reignite again with the same strength as before. Seasons change and relationships change, the same goes with our relationship with God. But He is faithful to carry us through those times. That's why I'm not worried. I trust Him with our brokenness. He's been our strong tower.These years of bumpiness will prove to be the greatest spiritual muscle pumping workouts ever. The wind pushing against us will soon be the wind blowing us forward.

It still only takes ONE

     You are never too far gone, neither are your friends or loved ones. Sometimes when we feel we've strayed miles from God it can be overwhelming, "How do I get back?" or when we see our loved ones drifting farther and farther away from God it breaks our heart, "is it too late?" Without realizing it we have made "returning" to God something confusing - like a maze.

      Think about weight loss. People often say, "You didn't gain it overnight, so don't expect to drop the weight over night." or " It's much harder to lose it than to gain it." We carry this sort of mentality into all areas of our life. As if returning to something healthy, productive and fruitful is harder than slipping and will require days, months, years of striving.

        Thankfully God is not like this, so let's make sure we don't unknowingly make the road of return harder than it is. "No matter how many steps you take away from God, it still only takes ONE to get back."

      I'm constantly being made aware of how easily we assume God's relationship with us is like our relationship with other people. I mean, in a sense it is, but it's holy. God's not dysfunctional, hurtful, spiteful etc. He is good. And He does not require all the hoop jumping most of us knowingly and unknowing require in our relationships. In a sense He's easy going. He wants intimacy with us and is constantly beckoning us and chasing us down even in our running.

       If God stood still and let us run, then when we turned around to finally return, we'd have a long road to travel. But I believe God is chasing us and is right on our heels. So when we turn, BAM, He is right there in our face to embrace  us.

      Running from God and rebelling has many roads and consists of many steps, but no matter how many steps in the wrong direction we take, it still only takes one step to return. So don't allow the road of return intimidate you and postpone your repentance. He's only one step away.

Just One Drop by Jonathan Helser

When I look back at my spiritual journey there are certain things that stand out to me, things that changed my walk with God forever. One of those seasons is when I discovered Jason Upton and Jonathan David Helser. I'm so thankful God crossed my path with their ministries many years ago. If I used only one word to describe their music and ministry it would be: intimacy. If you don't have an intimate relationship with God, or if you desire more intimacy I encourage you to check out Jonathan's music ministry.

Voices & Echoes

"God's raising up voices not echoes" - Perry Stone

     More and more people are beginning to speak up about copy cat messages. One man even compared it to a radio station wearing out a song (perfect example). It seems God's speaking to many about this. He's spoken to me about it and I've often tweeted about it and encouraged others to spend time with God,listen for His voice, engage with Him, don't merely copy someones message. Develop a deeper relationship with God and allow Him to put a message in you.

       Today I heard a quote by Perry Stone, "God's raising up voices not echoes." This is exactly what the Holy Spirits been telling me and many others. The problem with this is that some think if you repeat what someone else has said you're echoing/copying them. This is not true. How many times has God spoken to you about something, then when you went to church the pastor is speaking on the same issue? Why is that? Is the pastor copying you? Are you copying the pastor? No. You're simply tuned into the same God. You are both filled with the same spirit, the Holy Spirit. 

        So, this got me thinking. What makes one a voice, and one an echo or copy cat? The difference between a voice and an echo is not a matter of content but source. Echoes copy and study other people. Voices spend time with God. The key is always source over content. This means voices may share messages without meaning to because they are spending time with the same God. But the source of the content is always God, not man.

     I know that when God inspired me with the title of my 2nd devotional several years earlier I had no clue so many things about "light" would be released in movies, books and music. To me it's confirmation that I'm on point with what I'm hearing from Him. That's one of the beauties of us tuning into Him. On the other hand, echoes see that there is a repeated theme being released and jump on board simply to be relevant and take part in what's happening, not because God filled their spirit with that message. 

Big difference.

In the middle of nowhere

    

         We can search, keep ourselves busy, and continually climb the world's ladder of promotion and still not know what God's put us here to do. Yet, time and time again I hear testimonies of people who were laid off, kicked out, and forgotten about one way or another. Having no next step planned their weary hearts roam in loneliness and despair. It's there they say they eventually discovered their purpose. A whole new road opened up to them.

        They didn't find what they were looking for at their job, in promotions, pay raises, big houses, new cars or friends. They found it when they felt forsaken by all else. I think my testimony is somewhat the same. In the middle of nowhere, we find our true selves. The person God created us to be.     

         I encourage you not give up if you feel dumped in the middle of nowhere. It's weird how this happens. Some situations feel as if people literally pull over, open the door, and kick us out without notice. That's happened to me. Emotionally shaken we look like lost puppies not knowing which way to go. Other times we follow God and the road literally leads to the desert, but why? It doesn't matter how you ended up in "nowhere", what's important to remember is it's there where some of God's most amazing treasures are hidden. Trust Him. Know He's trying to do a work in you. He's on your side.

          If you allow brokenness to run it's course, you will look back and rejoice. "Nowhere" will prove to be the best place you've ever visited. Brokenness can be our friend if we let it work and we don't run from it or self medicate it away.  Sometimes it's in the middle of nowhere that God chooses to wait for us. When we lay all we are down, all we have, our hopes and dreams and look to Him, that's when we find what we need.

Nowhere may prove to be somewhere life changing.

Great love

Angie!

         Do you watch American Idol? Wowzers! If you haven't heard Angie's original song check it out.

             Powerful, right? Look at the judges faces. The hit you feel when she opens her mouth is the the Holy Spirit.  And the judges were receptive to it. You'd think Angie would recognize her gift. She is a worshiper, and her voice is created to bring glory to Him. She may not want to sing worship songs, but she should defiantly stay within the Christian genera. Her voice brings healing to people and carries a spiritual weight.  

        Yet, as the competition rolls forward it seems she would rather be a sexy secular artist? Flash back to Katy Perry's beginnings? I hope not! I'm trying to believe the best, that maybe the American Idol producers are controlling her a bit and giving her bad advice? Or maybe she's not much of a leader and living in a house with the other contestants is rattling her a bit since she is without her spiritual support system? Maybe it's a character issue? Only God and Angie know what's going on. I'm personally tired of seeing spiritually gifted people throw it away for sex, money and fame. It's seducing and many fall prey to it.

        The goodness of God keeps chasing her down though. I wish I could find clips of each example to show you. You know God is desperately trying to get your attention and speak to you when Nicki Minaj (of all people) is telling you to stop being sexy and to go back to the way you were because she liked it. Wow! God can speak through anyone. These walls keep rising up to block her from traveling the road of compromise. I pray she sees and heeds these road blocks. God disciplines those He loves. It's His love trying to direct her steps.

           Angie you have the ability to reach people others may not. You have influence with and respect from secular artists. They actually enjoy and beg you to worship without even knowing it. Every song they praise you on is a worship song at the piano. Give them Jesus, they are begging for it. The raw passion they speak of is the Holy Spirit you gave them in the beginning. You have an open door to minister to a unique audience if you will take it and keep your eyes on Jesus. We are praying for you Angie, that you would walk the holy road He's paved for you.

         I ask other Christians to pray for her during this time as well. Whether she wins American Idol or not, her music career is bound to take off and she will be tempted to use her gifts in all sorts of ways. Pray she is sensitive to His voice during this vulnerable transition time. I've seen many Godly people sell-out during this time. I pray Godly women in the industry will scoop her up quickly.

Jason Upton- 2012 Winter Jam

Obedience, success or both

         Is it possible to be in God's will and not be "successful" as the world labels success? Yes! We must do what God asked us to do even if that means walking alone. As it's commonly known, "What's popular is not always right, and what's right is not always popular." We can't determine whether or not we obey God based on people's applause. What if we never get man's approval? Are we never to obey God? Will we stand before God or man on judgment day? It's in our best interest to obey God.
        Often times people become insecure when they move into what God's asked them to do and they find no one cheering them on. They think because they are obeying God that man will rejoice, but this is faulty thinking. Many times the opposite is true. We must remember this, lest we hand our baton to the next runner to finish our race.
       I believe God will make a way for us to accomplish His will for our lives. This does not mean that man will make a way for us or even celebrate us. For some reason in America we are hooked on being famous. Our goal even in the church seems to be becoming famous. If God's will for us does not lead to fame we pout, have a pity party and even throw in the towel. And yet, there are people all over the world doing spiritually important things and we will never know their names or see their faces.
       If your ideas of success means "fame" then you may miss out of God's will for your life and the role He's planned you to play in this world. Only a select few become famous. This does not mean they are better Christians or more loved by God. It's simply the path He's chosen for them. And I bet many who are famous will attest, it come with a price too. It's not always so glamorous. There is stress, heartache and struggles.
       The point is, obey God, and leave the ending to Him. If He takes you down a road of popularity, great. But if He takes you down a quiet back road that no one knows about that's great too. Our main goal should be maintaining intimacy with Him. Everything else is minor.

Sex, Love and Fairytales

Books, books and more books

     What's next? I have many books I'm working on. Several in their infancy, others several years old. I find myself jumping around depending one what inspirational wave I'm riding on each day. I have two published discipleship devotionals that contain short, quick-read articles. I love quick- reads.
     Most people don't read and wont spend money on books unless it's Harry Potter, Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm the same way, though I don't read any of those book, I'd rather spend my time reading my Bible or something about prophetic ministry, dreams or the Holy Spirit.
     My point is, nothing is more annoying than getting a five page long devotional in your inbox. Who has time for that? I love that my devotionals are quick and to the point. I even read that making paragraphs shorter helps the reader to read more quickly and gives them a sense of accomplishment, which encourages them to keep reading. They may feel less overwhelmed when seeing a page of words when it's broken down into shorter paragraphs. I always take this into account in my books. I even had a dream that I was to write short articles like this. Very encouraging!
       I have a third devotional in the works. I'll eventually join all my devos together and form a year long devotional. I'm also working on several non-devotional books, but those take time and much more studying. The time of their release is in God's hands. As we know, He has a time for everything and He will not be rushed nor held back. There is peace knowing this.
         So, that's what's next. If you haven't read my devotionals you can purchase them on my personal website http://www.AmberRoseNewman.com . They've gotten a lot of good reviews, and are great for new Christians, and those wanting to grow.

Forgivness

   The more I grow and interact with the world around me, the more clearly I see how forgiveness is the key to everything. Some of us are easy going, others of us are extroverted or introverted, some of us live life with hidden rules others have to abide to be in our good graces, others of us have no rules at all etc. We are all different. Not only are we different but some of us live out of opposite extremes - we are an ocean apart. Yet, God placed us all here and now. He expects us to get along and love each other anyway.

I forgive you:
for not understanding me
for offending me
for being different
for living life in a way I dislike
for using words I'd never use
for having those friends
for watching those shows and listening to that music
for going to that church
for having a different personality
for blah, blah, blah,
And the other person is saying, "Yea and I forgive you for being offended by all those things." (ha-ha)

      We build walls over stupid issues, yet important (important only because we allow them to get in the way). Even though life is not about us, we tend to hold resentment over the most self absorbed things, like, "We don't click." Forgiveness is key. Many times we use these petty offenses to righteously justify our distance with some people. But there is nothing that "righteously justifies" shutting people out of our lives. Again, forgiveness is key.
      Ask God to reveal to you who you've shut out, lifted your nose too, ignored and felt justified about doing it? Then once God gives you their face, ask Him to show you what is it about them that's caused you to be cold. After that I challenge you to forgive them. Let them off the hook. See them with fresh eyes.We need to look a little deeper within and pay attention as to why we build these invisible walls if we are ever to mature into spiritually healthy vessels God can use. Some of the ones that need our love the most are the ones we are shutting out.
        Maybe just maybe the enemy has planned the whole thing, so the two of you wouldn't connect, because he's looked ahead and sees you could do great things together. You never know.

Light my fire

      When we are on fire we help others catch fire. Have you ever felt defeated? When I'm feeling defeated the best remedy is to find someone who is on fire. Just as a lit match can light a candle wick, so we are to one another.

Discount: New Book

Until April 12th you can get $5 off my new book, "Living As Children of Light" by entering discount code "S2WF4M47" when checking out. http://www.AmberRoseNewman.com/

Worthy of Affection