“You know what’s funny?  Paintings of Adam and Eve where they both have belly buttons.” ~ HigherThoughts.com

Cute, funny, thought provoking.  After all, of course Adam and Eve did not have belly buttons because they were created by God, not born from man.  Each one of us came into this world attached to an umbilical cord which had to be cut by a doctor or some lucky father first thing after birth.  We all have that much in common.  Today, however, I got a new revelation of them.  I was worshiping God, really focusing on Him, when into my head pops an image of an umbilical cord, kind of cartoon-ish, like in the image above.  I thought this was rather strange, but it was really apparent God was trying to show me something so I began to ask Him what He wanted to share with me.  I just love what it was.

Like I mentioned earlier, we were all born with an umbilical cord that had to be cut.  We were basically cut apart from the source that gave us life because we were ready to live and breathe on our own.  What God showed me today is that when we are born again, when we are spiritually born into the Kingdom, we are given a cord that is never cut.  We are forevermore attached to our Source.  Isn’t that an awesome thing to picture.  Our Creator God, Father of the Universe, has provided a life source pouring into you His awesome and wonderful life and breath…forever.

Therefore if you have been born into the Kingdom of God, you now have a cord connecting you to your Abba Father.  He is and always will be your Source.  And just like your physical umbilical cord was connected to your belly, so your spiritual cord is connected to the innermost parts of your being where your spirit lives.  You are and will always be connected.  Take time and praise Him for that!  Now take a minute and picture Him connected to you and feel His life being poured into you.  His life in us is what transforms us into His image.  Be transformed and let His life flow into you continually!

At one point in our conversation Diana mentioned some insight the Lord had given her friend.  He had asked her to picture a field of grass.  As she pictured this He spoke to her and pointed out that the grass is not perfect.  It is not meant to be perfect.  Yet it is beautiful and purposeful.  I can’t remember exactly what else was said, but picturing this field was enough to make me realize that it would be good for me to relax a bit and look at things from a higher perspective.  If we would look down upon our lives like we look down at a field of grass, we would realize that it really does look beautiful even though it is not perfect.

Take a moment and do this.  Picture a field of grass and then picture yourself looking down on your life from a higher perspective.  What areas in your life do you strive towards perfection?  Is it keeping you from seeing how beautiful life really is?  It may very well be keeping you from seeing that you are perfectly beautiful.

As I was driving home I ‘connected’ again and was so blessed as God’s presence and peace surrounded me.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  (James 4:8)  So sweet, so simple, so powerful.  I doubt He would ever tire of us connecting with Him.  After all, He created us so He could have relationship with us.

So if you are feeling discouraged…take a moment to connect with God.  If you need comfort…connect.  I you need wisdom…connect.  The most awesome thing about it is that you have all the ingredients to make this work anytime, anywhere.  You have you and you have God who is always with you.  Be so blessed as you connect throughout the day.

God’s word says much to oppose these kinds of statements.  Here are just a few to ponder:
~ We are made in His image (Genesis 1:27).
~ We have been given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).
~ God gave His one and only Son for us (John 3:16).
~ We are chosen, made holy and dearly loved by God (Colossians 3:12).
~ We are the righteousness of God through Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).
~ We are children of God (Romans 8:16).

This above list could go on and on and on because God did so much for us so that we could be His representatives here on the earth.  He is pleased with us and proud of us.  Speaking of ourselves as unworthy comes directly from the pit of hell, not the gates of heaven.  This does not honor God our Creator at all.  I really wonder what people are REALLY thinking when they say these kinds of things.

I do understand that at times we think we are unworthy to be called sons and daughters of God, but even this stems from an incorrect understanding of who we are now that Christ is living with in us.  Look up some of the verses I listed above and speak them over yourself.  Personalize them and say them until you believe them.  Then, the next time you hear someone make a slanderous comment about being unworthy, you can speak truth into them.  Only the truth can set us free.

“Give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.  Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”  Romans 6:13-14

You are now FULLY alive!

I just love this!  It says to use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.  God is giving us permission to be fully alive, to embrace righteousness NOW, not in the future.  Right now we are in right standing with God.  Romans 5:21 says that instead of sin ruling us, “now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God…”  Do this for me.  Close your eyes and picture yourself fully received by the God of the universe.  Just take a moment and envision this.  Ask yourself what you are feeling.  You may notice your whole being feels lighter or you may feel like you glow.   This is because you do!  You have been declared righteous.  You are beautiful and you have with in you the very nature and glory of God.  This is truth now. Don’t let condemnation or shame or anything keep you from seeing yourself as fully alive, in right standing with God.  What you focus on you become.  Become fully alive!  It’s already in you, just access it…right where you are, right now.

After having broken up with her husband, Ashton Kutcher of 6 years, Demi Moore has been spiraling downward.  In this months issue of Harpers Bazaar Demi talks candidly about her life and fears.

“I would say that what scares me is that I’m going to ultimately found out at the end of my life that I’m really not lovable…that I’m not worthy of being loved, that there’s something fundamentally wrong with me.”

This made my heart beak!  However, this struck me not necessarily because Demi thinks this way, but because I have heard so many who I love and who have faith in God say this very thing…and I have to admit, I have too.

I think it is one of the scariest thoughts….to wonder if you are truly lovable.  I also think it’s the biggest lie we tend to entertain.

I want to get real here for a moment about this, because I believe that in the church community we struggle with this as much as anyone else out there even though we shouldn’t be.  We all know the scripture in John 3:16 that says God loves the world that He gave His only Son, yet question His personal love for us.

Why?

I think like for most questions, there’s a number of answer that factor into this.  One of this I believe we don’t necessarily preach God’s grace IS really enough for us and that we do still need to “do” for God’s approval some how.  Another one, which I would like to expand on is that we don’t know God as “Father”.

Hear me on this.  We talk a lot about Jesus in our churches, and in charismatic circles, we love our conversations to revolve around the Holy Spirit and what HE does, but what role does our Heavenly Father play in our lives?  Who is He to us and Who should He be?

I read a book by Henri Nouwen years ago called, “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, when I struggled with my perception of who my Heavenly Father is.  It completely broke the box I put God in and put me on a journey to developing a relationship with God in this way; my Father.

Besides hearing an emphasis placed on “The Lord’s Prayer” in church circles, I had never heard sermons preached on the relatiosnhip Jesus had with His Father and never, that I can recall, had a convestation with someone where they shared about their own relatiosnip with their Heavenly Fahter.

Needless to say, over the past 6 years I have spent hours reading through the gosples and devouring every scripture that shows Jesus relatioship with His Father an have not come to develop my own, very personal relatiosnhip with Him.

I believe it’s vital “The Church” understand God has Father and stresses the importance of having our own relationship with Him otherwise we will be no different that the rest of the world who has no answer to a heart-wrenching and valid cry!

This is true of us too.  As I am on this journey to becoming real I realize some of my biggest hurdles have been to convince others of who I really am.  Some of this is my fault because for years I did not really like who I was so I became a person who I thought could be loved and respected.  I was very well liked, however… I was not happy.  I always felt fake, like I was a poser.  Deep within me there was so much potential left untouched and often I felt misunderstood and misjudged.  It was not a very rewarding existence.

I have now come to a point in my journey to becoming real in which I am convinced that there is only one person who knows who I am and that is God.  He carefully crafted and made me, creating me in His very image.  He is beckoning me to be ‘up close and personal with Him’.  As I venture forward on this odyssey I am on I find I can see the real me in the eyes of the One who first beheld me and if I tune in to hear His voice I can hear the endless thoughts He has towards me.  Take a moment, quiet yourself and listen.  You have a life awaiting you that is more than you can ask or imagine.

It begins with a couple “Do you ever feel’s”, and then progresses to an exhortation to “ignite your light and let it shine”, to the big boom at the chorus which encourages you to “show ‘em what you’re worth, let your colors burst”.

We have all been there…that place of feeling insignificant and desiring for others to see the potential that lies within.

The thing is, nobody will believe in yourself more than you do; and what you believe about yourself directly affects how others view you and what you make of yourself.

So instead of throwing a pity party about whether people see significance in you or not, why not show them what your made of?

Because like the song goes, “it’s always been inside of you, and now it’s time to let it through”.

As a side note, Coca-Cola has used the word ‘real’ in their slogans 6 times in the past century.  I think they realize that people hunger for the real.  They understand that if people will link their brand to the word real, then all other brands must be copies or ‘posers.’  Pretty genius I think.  Listed here are their slogans referencing the word real:

• 1969 – It’s the real thing.
• 1974 – Look for the real things.
• 1985 – America’s Real Choice.
• 1991 – Can’t Beat the Real Thing. (for Coca-Cola Classic)
• 2003 – Real.
• 2005 – Make It Real.

I think our formulas have been altered also.  I know I have veered directions a few times, actually quite a few times, trying to see what works, what people will like, what will make me happy and feel valuable, etc.  The original formula for each one of us can only be found in knowing God because He fashioned and created us.  My friend Jonathan Welton’s status this morning on his Facebook page was,

The creator determines the identity of the created.

So why do we try to alter who we are and veer from being REAL?  I’d love to hear your responses…

For most of my life I became or I was who others thought I should be.  In a nutshell, I was a people pleaser, I did not value the real ‘me.’   I know I am not alone in this because I honestly believe very, very few are the real deal.  I looked up the word real at Dictionary.com and the definition is: genuine, authentic.  An antonym of real is ‘fake.’  I just read an awesome book by Mike Frank called, Prosperity with Purpose, and in it he shares that he was not real, he was a poser.  That was the word he chose and I think it is a word many of us can identify with.  I love it when these sort of things get exposed.  Bill Johnson always says that what you can’t identify you cannot overcome.  As soon as Mike Frank identified he was a poser, he was open and willing to become real.  I have realized that I am willing too.  As I write this I realize I have already made great strides but I want it all.  I want to be real.  I want to be the same person at home as I am when I am out with friends or at church or where-ever.  I believe that being real will eliminate a lot of conflict and strife we carry, therefore allowing peace and freedom to reign in us.  I hope this has triggered something in you too.