Trusting God

I find it amazing that Jesus knows me better then I know myself.

• Matthew 10:30: He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head!

I don't know about you but I have no idea how many hairs are on my head. (But Jesus does!) A God that knows me that well it worth of my trust. (If you can't trust Jesus, who can you trust? People will fail us, and as I'm sure you all know, we can't trust ourselves, so that leaves only Jesus  :) )

I love how Jesus teaches us in a way that we will understand. I'm the type of person that likes to think. I tend to ask a lot of questions. Jesus knows this a plans according. I'm also the type of person that likes to know things, know why and methods behind processes. I have what I like to call "the-need-to-know-syndrome"

Jesus is teaching me that I DON'T need to know everything. He will give me details as I need to know them and until then I need to trust him and not stress out.

Jesus is in control and that is all that matters!  :)

I pray that you will learn to trust him more everyday! Walk in the knowledge and details that he gives you, as he gives them to you. I pray that we will be "healed" of the "need-to-know-syndrome". Remember that Jesus loves you and he knows what is best.

Be encouraged and be blessed!  :)

All for Jesus!
Nessa

Never Really Alone

Here is a short story I wrote based off of a vision the God gave me:

Take My Hand

The words that he was saying were the same words that I had heard for years, but today their was something different about them. The words that he was saying, they made sense, like I was hearing them for the first time. I was in awe that someone would love me so much to die for me, and in utter gratefulness, I finally accepted what he is saying. This is the turning point. This is the moment that would change my life, forever.

I kneel at the alter, humbled at the news that I was just told. I see this man walking towards me, I watch as he gets closer and closer to me. He looks familiar to me.

“JESUS!!” I scream, “Is that you?” unable to see very well because of the bright lights in my eyes.

“It is I, ” Says Jesus. “ I love you.” He says gently. For a second, I doubt what he has just said and what I know to be true.

“What? No, wait. What about all the bad things that have happened, all of the struggles that I have?” I ask.

“I have never left you, come with me and I will show you that I have always been by your side, and I always will.” Says Jesus, as he stretches out his nail pierced hand to me. Hesitant, I take his hand and we walk together, we step out of the church and disappear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, I remember this,” I say as I watch myself, sitting in my room, with only a dim light coming from my T.V, and hard Christian rock playing in the background. I watch as I grab the knife that sits next to me, and start to tare into myself, angry and violently I rip at my skin. Unable to cope with all the stress, I start to cry as blood starts to appear, and I realize what I had just done.

“Where were you then?” I ask Jesus, who is standing next to me. “ Why didn’t you stop me, if you cared about me so much? Why?” I ask again, “tell me!” I say, demanding.

“Take another look,” he says in a calm voice. I look and to my amazement I see Jesus standing right in front of me, he is crying. Right then I grab the knife and start my violent frenzy.

“Why didn’t I see you before?” I ask.

“ I didn’t want you to hurt yourself, but you were just to busy and preoccupied to notice me.” He says.

“Oh, well that was just one time, what about all the other times?” I say bitterly.

“Come with me and I will show you.” Knowing that he is right, I take his hand and we disappear again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Theme: Always loved, even when you don’t see it.

Deuteronomy 31:8:
 It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

So remember in the good times, in the bad times, and all the time; you are never really alone! No matter how you feel, how your circumstances look, or what people say; Jesus is ALWAYS by your side!

Be encouraged and be blessed!  :)

All for Jesus!
Nessa

We all need the Son

I have been thinking the past couple days about the effect the Sun has on us (or the lack there of). I have noticed that I feel a lot better when the sun is out and shining. (Even if the outside temperature is -20 degrees out) Even if the Sun doesn't help warm the Earth, it still serves a purpose. It produces light, which God created our brains to be sensitive to.

What do you think of when I say the word Beach?: Warm? Sunny? Kids playing? Relaxing? Peace? All are correct. I think of relaxing on the beach with the sun shining.

The exact same thing happens with Jesus.

When his light shines in our lives, we can have many wonderful effects. He provides light, shining in the darkness, provides heat, love and warmth, we can rest and relax in him, and even when we feel like our lives are -20 degrees, Jesus light helps us feel better and keeps us going.

The opposite is also true. When the Sun is not shining, we feel tired, blah, depressed and feel like hiding in bed. Our lives can feel like that when we don't have Jesus.

I pray that the light of Jesus will shine brightly in your life!

All for Jesus!
Nessa

Joy of the Lord

I was reading in Nehemiah and came across this verse.

Nehemiah said," Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (8:10)

Also in Psalm 21:6: "Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence."

When I put these two verses together I got this:

• The joy of the Lord (of being in his presence) will be our strength!
• Strength for what? to overcome temptation and live how Jesus lived. It is only by his grace that we live like he lived! 

So you put these two statements together and you get this:

The joy of the Lord (of being in his presence) will be our strength! (To overcome temptation and live as Jesus lived! His grace gives us the power to do so!)

Lets live in his joy!!!

Blessings!

All for Jesus!
Nessa

Back to the Basics

Don’t forget about the basics!

I played soccer for ten years and I had so much fun doing it. One thing that I remember most is that no matter how well our team did and how old we got, one thing that our coach would always tell us at every practice was,” Don’t forget about the basics!”

I remember asking (several times throughout the years) why we had to do the same basic drills over and over again. (I would get tired of doing them) My coach told me that we had to keep doing them because if we forgot how to do the basics, them we might as well go home. Once you forget about the basics, them the more advance techniques and the more complex ideas fail to exist.

The same thing happens spiritually with our walk with Jesus. If we forget about the basics (Reading our bibles daily, spending time in prayer and worship, and keeping Jesus first in our lives.) then the rest just fails to exist.

I pray that 2010 will be filled with many blessings! I also pray that you wouldn’t forget the joy and love that you had when you first found Jesus. Don’t forget your first love for Jesus! Stay close to Jesus! Its all good with him!!

 Don’t forget about the basics!

Happy New Year!

All for Jesus!
Nessa

Spiritual Hair Dye

Have you ever been overly ambitious or excited about trying something new that you made a lot of dumb mistakes? Yeah I think we all have.

So I was trying to dye my hair recently and this is what happened:

It all stated when I went and bought some dye in the form of shampoo. (You know the stuff that washes out in 6-12 washes and isn't permanent) I got a bottle and decided to put it in my hair (it was my first time every using the stuff) and so I mixed it up and started applying it. Just then I stopped and panicked for a second. I thought that I had gotten the wrong color. (My hair is a dark ask brown, and when I went to put the dye on my hair, it looked jet black) Not knowing that it was suppose to be like that (and it being my first time using it) I decided to only leave it in my hair 10 mins. (The box said 20) (I only left it 10 mins fearing that it would turn out to dark and not the write color) Much to my surprise (after the 10 mins) I washed and dried my hair and noticed that it didn't do anything. (This was because I didn't leave it in enough time and that I really shouldn't have been trying to do this at 12:30 in the morning) Ok so having that attempt fail I asked my friend to help me. (She wanted to dye her hair also) So we went and got a light ash blonde to put in her hair and mine. After 45 mins I washed my hair and was very surprised by what I saw in the mirror. The dye wasn't strong enough and had turned my hair orange. (I was trying to highlight my hair) I got another bottle of the shampoo dye and tried to fix my hair. (I left it on for 30 mis even though the box said 20) I washed my hair and I was unpleasantly surprised. It didn't take! Not even a little bit. (Sigh) Another failed attempt. Ok so the next day I finally decided to ask my mom what I should do and ask her to please fix it. We go and get the highlighting kit (the real stuff and the stuff I should have used right off the bat.) and she highlights my hair. Great no problem right? Not exactly. After looking at my hair for a day, I decided that I don't like it and way to do it over. (The highlights were to much and to thick) So I go and get dye to match my hair color (permanent this time.) I dyed my hair back to its normal color. The next day I decide that I want y highlights just not as much. So I go and highlight my hair again. Finally I look in the mirror with my new highlights and start thinking. I really like them but they are too bold (they are to while blonde, I wanted more of a golden blonde). So once again I get more dye and tone them down. Finally my hair is fixed and looks perfect right? Not quite. I am very happy with my highlights but I notice one small thing. They aren't even. I have more on one side then another. (Now it is not noticeable, and if I didn't mention it, you wouldn't know the difference but because I looked really close, I noticed.) I can tell you that I am just leaving it that way and not messing with my hair anymore. (After all it is not noticeable.)

Why am I telling you all this? Well remember that the Physical parallels the Spiritual. So here are some lessons that I learned that I think will be helpful in your walk (and mine) with Jesus:

• It was my first time using that shampoo dye. I was fearful of what was suppose to happen and did what I wanted to despite the directions on the box. We do the same with Jesus. The freedom that we find in Jesus can be a new experience for us. We can be fearful of what is suppose to happen. (because we have no idea that it is normal) In tern we do what we think is best despite the instructions that we have been given. In doing so, it doesn't work and we wonder why. We do the same with Jesus. We do what we want or think is best and totally ignore or change the instructions that Jesus has given us. When it doesn't turn out the way it was suppose to, we wonder why. (Sometimes we have to spend more time with Jesus for things to really take effect)

• The light ash blonde dye wasn't strong enough to finish the job. (it started it but quit half way) Same thing with Jesus. Sometimes when we do something we start is but don’t finish it. (like breaking a bad habit) Sometimes it’s because we aren't quite strong enough to finish the job. Jesus will give us all the strength and power you need to find (and keep) true freedom in him!


• I got a second bottle of the shampoo dye. I tried to fix the problem on my own. After several failed attempts, we can try to fix it on our own. Let me tell you that Jesus is the only one that can truly fix your problem and give you true freedom! We can't do it on our own!


• I asked my mom for help. Finally I admitted that I needed help (from someone who knew what they were doing.) There is nothing wrong with asking for help. My mom was able to guide me and tell me what I needed to know to not only fix it, but not do it again. We need to be the same way with Jesus! Trust me when I say that Jesus knows what he is dong! He can and will fix it!

• I highlighted my hair. Finally we did what I wanted (or suppose to) to do. We can do what God wants us to do but when we are done we know something just isn't right.

• I had to start over from the beginning. (Re-dye my hair back to the color it was.) When we don't do things right the first time we have to start over from the beginning. Same thing with Jesus.

• Finally we do what we were suppose to do in the way it was intended to be done.

• Finding little flaws. We all have them. Some are noticeable and some aren't. Stop looking for them and you won't find them!

• Doing things on your own can be costly. (for me it cost me $30, for something that was suppose to cost me $10) Addiction (and sin) will cost you more then you want to pay.

• Redemption and Freedom in Jesus! It’s true. You have total and complete redemption and freedom in Jesus! (Although it did cost me more then I wanted to say, my mom was awesome and gave me the money back that I had paid.) Jesus will give you back what you lost and then some!


• Healing and finding true freedom is a process. It takes time. (This didn't all happen in one day, it took several days.)

Just like the hair dye I pray that you will make the change for the better permanent! Stay focused and stay strong in Jesus! Learn form your mistakes and from the mistakes of others. Keep Jesus first in your life and follow his instructions closely. It’s all good with Jesus! (Romans 8:28)

All for Jesus!
Nessa

Christmas Everyday

Christmas. This was not to long ago. What did you get for presents?

Well if your Christmas was anything like mine (and I am assuming that it was) then it was pretty "typical". I got together with my family, we sat and talked for a while, had a nice meal together, gave and  received gifts and we all went home. (It wasn't exactly like that, but you get the idea.) Like I said, I thought it was a "typical" Christmas, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was really special.

There are a few interesting things about that night:

• We were celebrating Christmas
• We were able to be together as a family
• We were able to spend some time talking and catching up with each other.
• We had a meal together
• We gave and received gifts

Now one thing that I am a firm believer in (and will say a lot) is that the Physical parallels the Spiritual. (We are talking about 99.9% of the time.) So keeping this in mind, I want you to think about a few things:

•  That we were celebrating Christmas (the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!) Jesus is the center (and main reason) of the party. Keep Jesus first and everything else will work out!
• We were able to get together as a family. Just like we have a physical family we also have a spiritual family. It is nice to be able to get together with people and worship Jesus. (On Sundays, Wednesdays and any other time of the week.) We not only gather physically, but also spiritually. It is many people becoming one in spirit as we worship (and become one with) Jesus. 
• We were able to spend time talking and catching up. It is nice to have time to spend with other Christians. We get to know each other and build strong, lasting relationships with each other. It is really nice to spend time with and get to know Jesus! The more time you spend with someone, the more you get to know them and the more you become like them.
• We were able to have a meal together. It is nice to sit and have a meal as a family. The same thing goes with God's family. We sit and have a meal together by learning from and applying God's Word to our lives.
• Giving and receiving gifts. It was fun to watch as everyone was so excited about the gifts. All of the gifts that we give and receive have spiritual influence. (For example, I got a new pair of shoes (it was unexpected but I pleasant surprise) I received shoes and God is saying (right now to me) (according to Ephesians 6:15) that I am giving you preparation. (I am preparing you) [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.)

There were several other things I got, but I think you get the point.

So in Summary: 

• Keep Jesus the first priority in your life!
• Don't forget to go to church 
• Spend time getting to know other Christians, (and most important) spend time getting to know Jesus!
• Regularly spend time learning and applying God's word to your life. (with others and daily by yourself)
• Enjoy and use the gifts that God has (and will) give you. 

I don't know about you but I want Christmas Everyday!

Remember Jesus loves you and so do I! Stay strong and continue to learn from him!!

All for Jesus!
Nessa