I loved the movie Despicable Me; I especially love the Minions! I am so excited for the second one. I hope it is as good as the first, but this is not a movie review. This is a letter of thanks to the one and only God, my Savior. You see, I was in Sunday school a few weeks ago and we were talking about our favorite hymns. Some said, "Blessed Assurance." I said, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Our teacher said, "Amazing Grace." I have a lot of favorite hymns, but when the teacher broke down Amazing Grace, I thought, "How can that not be every Christians battle cry?"
You need only look at the first line to be in awe of God, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!" Grace is unmerited favor and many people can recognize that we do not and did not deserve the sacrifice of God's only Son, Jesus Christ as our substitute. There is nothing we did or ever will do that can repay such an awesome, and well, AMAZING sacrifice. The part I think I, and possibly others gloss over is the "wretch like me" part. I have sung this verse countless times in my life and I never stopped to think what wretch even means. But, our teacher broke it down, and the meaning that stuck out to me was "despicable." We don't like to look in the mirror and see the parts of our lives that are despicable to God. We love to compare ourselves to other people because they make us look fantastic! We pray more than they do. We give more than they do. We serve more than they do. But, what happens when we actually hold ourselves up to God's standard of human living; the way Christ lived on Earth? Then, we look pretty despicable. And yet, in spite of our messy, mistake-ridden lives, God offers His amazing grace. What makes it so amazing? The fact that someone as despicable as me (and you) has the ability to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and made whole and live forever, and not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of the love of God through Christ Jesus. I cannot speak for anyone else's life, but knowing what I know about me, I cannot understand why He loves me; I am just forever grateful that He does! Ms. EV
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For the foreseeable future, Ms. EV's Blog will feature music from Toni LaShaun Music. Today's song is Soul Satisfaction. I wrote this song after listening to a sermon by my uncle. I started thinking about how I had often looked to everything and everyone else for satisfaction, rather than turning to God. I have not recorded the song yet, but I plan to feature it on my upcoming CD because it is a great testimony of my journey as I fell in love with Jesus. These are the lyrics: Soul Satisfaction Copyright © 2012 Toni Wortherly Come to the Water that won’t run dry Drink in all His love; it will satisfy If you’re thirsting and yearning from deep within If you go through the motions feeling unfulfilled Come and Drink Come and Drink Him In He is the sole satisfaction for the soul He can take all your broken pieces and make them whole There’s no greater peace, no greater joy, No greater love to find God alone will meet your needs He satisfies… He satisfies Come get your fill of the Living Bread Those who dine at His table will leave well-fed If you’re starving and weary, in Him, you can rest Accept His invitation and receive His best Come and Dine Come and Dine with Him He is the sole satisfaction for the soul He can take all your broken pieces and make them whole There’s no greater peace, no greater joy, No greater love to find God alone will meet your needs He satisfies… He satisfies Oh Lord, You alone will satisfy... Oh Lord, You alone will satisfy me He is the sole satisfaction for the soul He can take all your broken pieces and make them whole There’s no greater peace, no greater joy, No greater love to find God alone will meet your needs He satisfies… He satisfies Do you have an Android phone? Download the TLWMusic App HERE!!!
Friday FUSION will be back next week, but because we are celebrating Resurrection Day this Sunday, I felt it apropos to re-post this blog on Good Friday. If you live in the Jacksonville area and you are looking for a church to attend on Sunday, check out New Friendship in Atlantic Beach. If you are not in Jacksonville, a house of worship is only a Google search or a browse through Facebook away. So, read this and then, make plans to Celebrate Jesus!!!
Good Friday is a celebration of hope and expectancy. That may sound weird considering that it is when Jesus was crucified, but if we understand that this was all by God's design, we can have peace and joy about that Friday. Can you imagine what it was like on that fateful day? Just a week earlier people were praising Jesus. And, those same people that cried, “Hosanna,” were now yelling, “Crucify Him!” One of His own disciples sold Him of thirty pieces of silver. Can you fathom knowing that one of your best friends would betray you and still showing him or her love? Jesus even asked the Father to take the burden of our sins away from Him if possible, but was willing to do the will of God no matter what. Peter, my boy Peter, cut off the ear of the soldier that grabbed Jesus, and then, denied him three times before daybreak. And, as the sky turned dark, Jesus cried out, “Father, why have you forsaken Me?” Then, He took His last breath and died…for me. Can you imagine the despair? Because after He died, and the earth shook and the tombs were open, some finally realized that Jesus was who He said He was and that they had killed the Son of God. Can you picture the grief of those who believed all along? The Savior, their Savior, was dead. He was to be buried in a borrowed tomb. He was their hope, their peace, their joy. And though, He spoke of rising from the dead, if these humans were anything like me, in that moment they felt a deep despair. They probably felt that all hope was lost. And then, they rolled the stone away on Sunday morning and He was not there. At first, they thought someone had stolen Jesus’ body, but the angel reminded them that Jesus had foretold this miracle of Resurrection. In our lives, our Friday nights are those times when everything goes dark. Friday nights are those times when we think that God has forgotten about us. Friday nights are those times when we need our faith the most because it seems like everything we believe is being tested. But, if we can hold on until Sunday morning, then our miracle can happen. If we can trust God, then our healing can happen. If we can be patient and faithful, then our deliverance can happen. It may not be literally three days. It could be weeks or months or years, but if we can just wait until our Sunday comes, everything will be as He planned. And, no matter how dark it looks right now, Sunday’s on the way! Ms. EV On Friday night, they crucified the Lord at Calvary, but He said, “Don’t fret because in three days, I’m gonna raise again. You’re gonna see…So, when problems try to bury you (six feet deep) and make it hard for you to pray, they may seem like that Friday night, but Sunday’s on the way. - Take 6 After the Last Supper, Jesus went up into the mountains to pray. He took some of His disciples and instructed them to pray that they would not fall into temptation. After giving this command, Jesus went up the mountain a little further to be by Himself and pray to His Father. His prayer was not, “I am ready to face whatever is coming my way. Bring it on! Let’s do this!” He humbly sought His Father’s face and prayed, “Father, if You are willing, please remove this cup from me; nevertheless not My Will, but Yours be done.”
Though none of us will ever face anything nearly as horrid as what Jesus was getting ready to face when He prayed this prayer, we do come to a point when we know we are going to face hard times. Perhaps, the doctor gives us a diagnosis that we were not expecting. Maybe our boss gives us some grave news about the future of our careers. It could be that a spouse or loved one decides he or she no longer wishes to be a part of our lives. Jesus teaches us that it is acceptable to not want these things to happen in His prayer. He asked His Daddy if it was at all possible that His future could take a different route. I truly believe that there is nothing wrong with saying, “Lord, Father, if You are willing, please don’t make me suffer like this.” The part that we forget is that second part of the prayer, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.” I know I like to forget it at times. When situations are not going the way I want them to go, I can be quick to ask God to change the situation into one I am with which I am more comfortable. Who chooses suffering? Well, Jesus did. In saying, “Not My will, but Yours,” Jesus chose to trust that whatever suffering God allowed would work out for the greater good of all. As human beings it is our nature to focus on the temporal pain or suffering that we will face and to forget about the bigger picture of what could happen. We might suffer from a disease, but through our suffering a cure or treatment may be found that benefits others. We could be let go from a job, but perhaps, it gives us the push and the opportunity we need to focus on the job ministry into which God has called us. Our loved ones may leave, but our testimony about how God worked through the situation could save another family. His Will is for our good. Yes, pain and suffering may be involved, but there will be victory on the other side. After this prayer, Jesus gained strength from the presence of an angel from heaven. Yet, He was still in agony; Jesus prayed so hard that His sweat fell like blood to the ground. It is not strange if you are agonized by your burdens, but you must cast your burdens and cares on the Lord. He may not take them away from you, but He will make a way for you. Just pray, “Not my will, Father, but Yours.” Ms. EV I know that there is no possible way for me to fully know what Jesus went through in the week leading up to His death, burial, ad resurrection. Yet, this week, while I really have time to focus, I want to try to my best to understand His sacrifice. The basis of my faith is Jesus’ salvation of me through His death and resurrection. I know and believe that I will meet Him one day face to face because He cared enough for this sinful world to lay down His life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Yet, I still cannot fathom what it must have been like to know everything that was going to happen and still go through with it.
In years past, we used to sing a song in our church devotions that said: This may be the last time This may be the last time This may be the last time It may be the last time I don’t know This may be the last time we all sing together It may be the last time I don’t know This may be the last time we all pray together It may be the last time I don’t know That is the difference between us and Jesus. When we gather together with friends, family and fellow worshippers, we have no idea if it is the last time we will see them, sing with them, pray with them, or eat with them. But, Jesus knew that when He entered Jerusalem and was celebrated, honored, and heralded as a king and savior, that it would be the same people who cried, “Hosanna,” that would later cry, “Crucify Him!” Jesus knew when He sat to eat with His disciples that it would be the Last Supper. Jesus didn’t waste time lamenting over what He could have done or should have been. He prepared His dear friends for the battle that they would face. He made sure that they knew how to remember Him. He confronted the issue of betrayal without callousness or cruelty. He gave the example of how to be a servant leader when He could have demanded that every one of them bow down to Him. He remained calm, even though He knew what would happen. As I read this account of what Jesus experienced in those last days, I had to examine my own heart. Would I be able to dine with a dear friend who I knew would stab me in the back for some money? Would I be able to let that person know that I knew without calling him out and confronting him in front of others? Would I be able to comfort and console others knowing what I was about to face? Would I be able to continue to be a leader and not totally fall apart? I can absolutely say that as much as I want to answer, “Yes,” I could not imagine facing death as Jesus did. I realized yesterday that I am still hurt by betrayals that happened in my adolescence and my early adulthood. I nearly came to tears recounting one particular episode that happened in high school. And, when I see the people who hurt me, love is not the first feeling that I feel. Yet, nothing that any person has ever done to me has lead to me being unjustly killed. I simply do not know how Jesus did it. Nevertheless, I am so glad that He did. I can never repay the debt I owe for the sacrifice that He gave; and, God is so loving that He does not request reimbursement. He only asks that we trust Him and obey Him; that is how we show our love to Him. What if you knew what would happen? Could you go through with trading your blameless life for people who did not deserve your sacrifice? Ms. EV So, it’s not a secret that I love music. And, Stephanie Mills’ song, “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” is currently stuck in my head. No, you did not miss the newsflash; the kid is still single. Nevertheless, I am celebrating the love that I sometimes take for granted; the love of Jesus Christ.
You see, sometimes, I get caught up in the world and what it has to offer. Sometimes, I look around and feel sorry for myself because I don’t have the kind of relationship that I desire. Sometimes, I feel sad because I think I have never truly experienced what it means to be in love. But then, I am reminded that, although I am single, and my earthly relationships have not been successful, I do know what it feels like to fall in love. There is something so awesome about falling in love with Jesus. When I think about what my life would be like without Him, I cannot help but love Him more. When I think of all the times He has forgiven me, I cannot help but fall deeper in love with Him. When I think about how He has never given up on me, even though others did, I cannot help but feel a sense of joy and peace from the inside; the likes of which no man can give. This kind of love, peace and joy can only come from Jesus. One more piece of amazing news is that you can fall in love with Him over and over and over again because, everyday, He gives us more and more reasons to love Him. He gave His life, so that we could live despite our faults, flaws and failures. He still believes in us. Even the best love this world has to offer is no match for that kind of love. You can search your whole life for the perfect wife or perfect husband or You can open up your heart to Jesus and let Him supply all you will ever need. I choose Jesus…’cause I never knew love like this before!!! Ms. EV In one of my latest writings, I came up with several new definitions of what it means to be a single servant of the true and living God. S_____ IN G_____ L_____ E_____... And, since we're only one day from Single Awareness Day (a/k/a Valentines Day) let’s take our final look at some a new definition of SINGLE:
Supplicating IN God’s Listening Ears – Philippians 4:6-7 So, how does God know what I want and need? He is listening. God hears my prayers, both spoken and unspoken. He reads my heart. I have been in and around human relationships my whole life and there is no one who knows your every desire like God does. A relationship is meaningless without communication, and unlike with another human being, I know God listens to every word, every whisper and every thought. I know this because he has given me peace just like His Word said He would. At eighteen years old, loneliness nearly killed me. I literally considered ending my life because I could not deal with how lonely I felt. But, in His own way and in a recognizable voice, God reassured me that He would NEVER leave me and that He was ALWAYS with me. Now, I know I am never alone. I am able to embrace my singleness and trust God with my life rather than try to work things out on my own. And, I thank God for that. It comes from taking all my cares, anxieties, and burdens to Him, praising Him and thanking Him for what He has planned for me. As the hymn says, "Oh, what peace we often forfeit! Oh, what needless pains we bear! All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." Use this time of singleness to commune with God. Adore Him for who He is. Confess who you are not. Thank Him for what He has done in your life. Supplicate to Him your every need and desire. Then, have faith that He hears you and He knows. I pray that this series on Redefining Single makes tomorrow a bit easier for you. Just remember that those who REALLY love you, love you every single day and show it every single day and don't need a special holiday to prove how much they care. Ms. EV When I moved into my condo, I was the first person in my building. It was wonderful and quiet; a perfect place for me. Eventually, more people moved in around me. My neighbors were the party hosts for the entire neighborhood. They would have cookouts in their driveway, even though it violated the condo association bylaws. They would stay up until all hours of the night playing loud music and talking loudly.
I have mentioned several times that I am an introvert. By nature, I am pretty anti-social, so although the neighbors would invite me to join their little soirees, I always politely declined and prepared to wear my earplugs through the night, so that I would try to sleep. One night, I arrived home rather late and they were outside. I pointed out to them that my window was right above where they were sitting and even quoted back to them some of the conversations that they had with one another to prove how loudly they were talking. We agreed that if they were too loud, I would call one of them before I called the police. Well, that agreement didn’t last very long. I called, but they didn’t get any quieter. I would call the police, but they did nothing to stop it. I prayed and prayed that they would just move, but they stayed there and the issue got worse and worse. At one point, I asked anybody who would listen if when Jesus said love your neighbor, He meant your literal neighbor because surely, I could not be expected to be kind to these people who had no respect for me. After about three years, the main culprits of the noise broke up and moved out. The other neighbors had a baby and settled down quite a bit. One day, I noticed that the environment had changed. Now, though I still don’t attend their parties, my neighbors and I speak and are cordial with one another. I believe we have grown to respect one another. And, although I used to call the police on them, I never lost my cool with them. We never got into an argument or a shouting match. I never lost my religion in front of them. I just continued to pray for them (and for my sanity). Loving people who are nice to you is easy. Loving people who hate you, have little to no respect for you, and love to inconvenience you seems impossible. But, it is not with God’s help. I did not like my neighbors’ actions, but I knew that I could never let them pull me out of my godly character. So, that stopped being an area where the evil one could pick at me. In order to be more like Christ, we have to learn to love some people that seem pretty unlovable. The easiest way to do that is to consider how unlovable we are at times, yet God still loves us and blesses us. Love God. Love people. The struggle will never be in vain; you will grow another level of character that you never knew existed within you. Ms. EV Since I talked about my Joy Bella on Christmas Eve, I will use her as a subject again today. Because I got Joy a few days before Christmas, her annual cat exam is always a day or two after Christmas. I do not know if this only applies to my cat or if they are all like this, but Joy hates being in her carrier and riding in the car. The only way I can take her to the vet, though, is to subject her to both of those things. So, the annual trip causes a bit of anxiety for both of us because I can’t stand to hear her cry (in case you are not aware, cat cries are quite pitiful).
This morning, as I prepared to take her to the vet’s office, which is literally across the street from my house, so if we catch the light it takes about three minutes to get there, I tried to calm myself down, so she didn’t feel my anxiety. After the first two years that I had Joy, she has been pretty healthy, but, unlike a child who can communicate when something is wrong, there is no way for me to know if there is something going on with her health until I take her to the vet. In my head, I was thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong, not to mention the wailing on the way to the vet and I started to get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then, I remembered that God said to cast ALL my cares on Him. And, when He said ALL, He meant ALL. So, I picked up my cat and I said, “We’re going to pray about this before we go.” Of course, she looked at me like I was being ridiculous because I swear she understands everything I say. Nonetheless, I prayed that God would calm her down in the car and in the vet’s office. I prayed that she would be healthy ad receive a clean bill of health. I prayed that the bill would be something that I could handle. Different people have different stances on how God feels about animals, but it does not even matter because I know how God feels about me and I love and care for that little animal and He loves and cares for me and that for which I love and care. So, I trusted that He would answer my prayer. And He did. In five trips to the vet’s office, my cat has never been calmer. It only took me one try to get her in her carrier. She did not cry in the car. She was a little talkative in the waiting area, but quickly calmed down. She was sweet with the vet. As I waited for all her test results, I started to feel some nerves, but I prayed again. I asked God to let everything come back normal, and, if it was not normal, to be the Provider that I know He is so that I could take care of my cat. Everything was normal; Joy is completely healthy. I even found a way to save some money in taking good care of her health. All of my prayers were answered and I just kept thanking Jesus! Sometimes, we don’t ask God for things because we are afraid that they seem ridiculous. But, even when it seems ridiculous, whether to you or someone else, if it is a concern of yours and you are a child of God, He wants you to bring it to Him. Just as there is nothing too big or too small for God to handle, there is nothing too mundane or too ridiculous for God to handle. Trust God to be who He promised He would be. He does not lie; He listens and He is faithful. Ms. EV Four years ago, I decided that I would adopt a pet. I have been living in my own home for a year and a half and I was just six months into getting over a breakup. I needed someone to love. When I was little, I had a puppy, Blackie. He was a runt and we promised our dad that we would take care of him, but, of course, my dad ended up taking care of Blackie. Blackie got sick and had to be put down and I always wanted another puppy, but as I analyzed my lifestyle, I realized that I really needed a more independent pet. So, I talked with a friend who loved all animals and we agreed that a kitten was the best option for me.
I looked at the local humane society website for kittens that were up for adoption. I saw a beautiful little black kitten named Nathan and I was determined to have that little guy, so two days before Christmas, I went to the shelter to find him. When I got there I filled out the paperwork and waited for my turn in the cat room. I told them I was there for Nathan, so a volunteer took Nathan from his cage and gave him to me. I fell for the little guy, but he did not like me. I tried to pet him, but he wanted nothing to do with me. So, the volunteer put him back in his cage. I was bummed because I had my mind all made up that Nathan was the one. Then, the volunteer said, “There are three cats here that are a little older than Nathan; two girls and a boy. They are siblings and they are really sweet.” I wanted a male, black cat, but only one of the females was black. Her name was Joy. I agreed to hold her while I figured out what I wanted to do. See, it takes me a long time to make a decision. Once I do, if anything interferes with my plan, it throws me completely off, so I needed to time to decide if I should scrap the whole idea of getting a cat. The volunteer handed me the little kitten, Joy. Joy snuggled up next to me and laid on my chest and I knew she was the one for me. We cuddled and played until all of the paperwork was done and I took Joy home. It was Christmas time so I gave her the middle name Bella as in joy bells. I had no idea how to care for a cat, but I figured it out. I wasn’t great with discipline, so she was and still is completely spoiled. She also had some health issues in the beginning, but we got through that rough time. Now, she is my little princess, and true to her name, she brings me joy. This morning, I was thinking of how she’s changed my life over the last four years since I adopted her and I thought of how the Bible says God adopts us into His family as joint heirs with Christ. I thought about how God wanted us to be His, but we sometimes reject him, little Nathan did to me. I thought about when we come to Him, we can find comfort in His arms like Joy did with me. I thought about how hard it is to get us disciplined sometimes, but God knows best. And, I thought about how we come to God with all kinds of ailments and vices from our former life, but He just keeps loving us until we are healed and delivered. As much joy as my sweet baby cat brings me, there is no adoptive relationship like the one between God and His children. His love brings us joy, peace, and wholeness, not just one season a year, but every single day of our lives. Ms. EV |
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