I’m slowly becoming me.

1 John 5: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

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Combing my hair wasn’t my strength and my clothes may have been a little tattered but I still wanted to participate in “the group.” I changed my clothes, combed my hair and soon found out it wasn’t good enough. I then changed my glasses, lifted weights and I fit in a group I didn’t like.

Will I ever be “accepted” in this world?

·         Sometimes I don’t feel like I fit in.

·         Sometimes I think I would be better off if “that group” would just accept me.

·         Sometimes I fall into the trap of running after people who are not worth running after and I leave GOD out of the relationship.

Many times I beat myself over the head trying to be what someone else wanted me to be. I tried to fit in and found myself not liking “me.” Even in church I had a difficult time being “me” because I felt wrong all the time. I mean it seemed like I was never going to reach my destination anyway so why try? BUT GOD says different.

·         GOD says “Everyone who believes that JESUS is the CHRIST is born of GOD.”

·         GOD says “Everyone who loves the FATHR loves HIS CHILD as well.”

·         GOD says “Everyone born of GOD overcomes the world.”

I then realized GOD made my relationship easy.  HE didn’t lump the burdens of physical buildings and structured programs on me, rather HE gave me a simple message “GOD loves me and HE loves you.” You mean I don’t have to be like those people over there? Yes!

GOD made me special and only I can do the tasks HE planned for me. It matters not how accepting the world is of me, what matters is my belief in HIM who saved me.

·         Are you tired of running after people who are not accepting you?

·         Are you tired of trying to please everyone?

·         Can you stop trying to be something different and be what GOD wants you to be?

GOD wants “you” just the way you are.

John 1: ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

 ⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

   “Come and see,” said Philip.

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My house where I grew up was pretty average but it was light years ahead of where my parents grew up. In fact compared to where they grew up our house was a palatial estate. The school I attended did not crank out graduates who went on to become Pulitzer prize winners but it was fine for me.

Our neighborhood was not on the news for having sent anyone into space or for having someone develop a new radical way to build skyscrapers. So how can anything “good” come out of my neighborhood?

• I have looked down on those who I considered “less fortunate.”
• I have categorized others as being poor and dirty so therefore they must not be intelligent enough to get themselves out of “the mess they are in.”
• I have avoided people who did not look like me or act like me and put people into large buckets.

It’s funny, how I treated others was how I was being treated. The people of wealth could care less about me or my neighborhood, BUT GOD cares.

• GOD made me unique.
• GOD gave me specific, special abilities.
• GOD made me in a way that I and I alone can reach a specific group of people HE sent to me.
• GOD doesn’t care where I came from but HE is concerned about where I am going.

Since the beginning of time GOD has used the highly underestimated. HE took weak, feeble, uneducated people and made them stand above kings and those who are extremely credentialed. GOD makes fools of the arrogant, self-proclaimed genius by favoring the humble and the meek.

Can anything good come from my neighborhood? Yes! Anyone who is GOD’s child is extremely gifted and talented just the way HE made them.  In fact when I think someone is stupid I’m actually calling GOD stupid for making them the way they are. GOD wants me to believe I can do HIS work just as I am and HE wants me to accept others “just as they are.”

• Are you trying to change “that” person?
• Do you consider yourself special?
• Can you realize GOD made you specifically to reach a person only “you” can reach?