Become Who You Have Always Been!

Affirm:
My sacred moments with Jesus remind me of my divinity that connects me to all of humanity.

“…God created humankind in his image in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them…”

Genesis 1:27-28 (NRSV)

Dear Prosperity Partners and Friends,

The month of March is ‘marching on.’ It’s amazing that today is the 12th day of the month. I pray that you and your family are well. Collectively, we hold the highest vision of love and peace for ourselves, our world and especially for the Ukraine and countries experiencing violent distress. May there be peace in our hearts so that peace will be a reality in our world.

How easy it is to forget that life is lived from the ‘inside’ to the ‘outside.’ Let us pray that peace prevails despite all that challenge it. Peace is not something that we wait for, it is something that we accept. God has given us peace and we can choose to accept it for ourselves and for humanity, right now! Let’s affirm: God’s peace rules, right now, for one and all.

Sunday’s lesson, Become Who You Have Always Been, reminded us that God has made us in the image of Itself and blessed us. If we stand around and wait to be blessed, we are essentially ignoring the gift that God has already given. “Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come…from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars.” James 1:17 (ICB) Peace is our gift. Love is our gift. Truth is our gift. Wisdom is our gift. Power is our gift.

Affirm:

‘I accept the gifts that God has given to me. I accept every one of them now.’

In your daily walk with Jesus, you are meeting the ‘Real You.’ The You that the world has told you that you are not and can never be. The You who is strong and bold. The You for whom all things are possible because of your reliance on God. This You knows that there is no loss, only a lesson. This You understands that death is not defeat. This You knows that with God all things are possible. This incredible and undefeatable You is who Jesus wants you to become. This You has faith in God and this faith causes mountains to move.

Sunday’s Lesson Points remind us that:

1. We are God’s creation.
We are not going to be ‘of God’ one day in the future. We are God’s creation, now. When we forget this truth, we ignorantly become a slave to circumstances rather than Master of our circumstances. Break the chain of slavery and assume your position as a Master.

2. Our faith plays a major role in our ability to accept the attributes and qualities that God has already given to us.
Do we really believe that God endowed us with mastery to overcome the greatest of challenges? If God is bigger than the situations in which we often find ourselves, then would it not make sense to believe that even a tiny bit of that ‘bigness’ is inside of us, too? Do we dare have faith in a BIG GOD who is able to sustain us, strengthen us and bring us through life’s storms, earthquakes, and hurricanes? Dare we?

3. As God’s creation, we are one with all of creation.
That means that spiritually speaking, we are all kin. When we harm another, we harm ourselves. What we do to another, we are essentially doing to ourselves. ‘I am you and you are me.’ Now, we can see why Jesus was non-combative with those who sought to persecute him. We see why Jesus didn’t curse the man who betrayed him to Roman authorities. We understand why he didn’t curse the man who, on three separate occasions, denied knowing him. We see why he didn’t blame the men who deserted him after his arrest and crucifixion. Jesus knew that whatever his response, it was just that, ‘his response.’ Events trigger responses from us that are already within us. We must come to know this as well. Our responses to any situation come from us and if we pay attention, they show us who we believe we are and what we believe is possible in any given moment.

In every situation, let’s ask: ‘What is this situation asking of me? Who do I say I am in this hour? What do I say is possible for me, right now?’ As you answer these questions, you come closer to your beliefs about you and your life’s possibilities. A change in a single belief, can change your entire life. Try it!

Let’s pray:

God,
Thank You for the numerous gifts that are available to me. Teach me to use them for the greater good. Show me how to ‘be’ who You created me to be. Strengthen me to lovingly embrace the greater ‘me’ that knows Your will and lives in reliance upon it.
Thank You, God.
Amen.

Seeing Tremendous Blessings for You in 2022,
Rev. Sheila