ROOTED RENEGADE

I was sitting at my desk, I felt led to really pray that you were able to see things in your life differently and not as a reflection on who you are.  While in our frustrations of people not showing up like they should, doing their tasks, like they should, and so forth, we often take that as a stab or jab at who we are and the work we do.  That comes from deep within us and what we have been through.  As we go through our lives and our recovery, we often find that people’s lack feels like they are targeting us.  “Hey man, why don’t you pick up the pace?”  “Hey man, why don’t you do you share?” These statements often are what we think because deep down someone has once sent us the message of “it’s your fault if it doesn’t get done”, so we take ownership of everyone’s faults and frailties when in reality, we can only do what we can do.  We must leave the rest up to those who make their own decisions unless the Spirit leads us to pick up that slack.  We must remove the frustrations in it also and give that over to the Spirit as well to be reconciled back to Christ.  In that reconciliation, Christ wants every part of who we are, not just the broken pieces, which is often what we choose to give him.  He wants the day-to-day frustrations, the lack we feel inside ourselves, the inconsistencies with who we are versus who He says we are, the joys of sharing with others, and the happiness of being with a friend.  He wants everything.  To reconcile means to “restore a friendship or harmony”, “settle or resolve”, “to make consistent or congruous” according to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary.  In order to completely reconcile to Christ, to have harmony and friendship with the one who died on the cross to give us brand new life, freedom, and a pathway to heaven, seated in heavenly places with him, we must be willing to empty all that we are and hold nothing back.  

We may find this an impossible task; however, it simply is not.  We complicated our lives with meaningless, worldly visions and tasks, but the Lord sees beyond those things into the heart of who we are, because the heart is what speaks and cries out to Him.  The very organ that beats to give us life, is the very thing that can cause us death if not properly reconciled back to the maker.  “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34) and how true a depiction it really is.  Jesus knew then that our hearts would speak the loudest within us and through us.  Just as they do now and will continue to do.  So it is with reconciliation that we are able to properly give ourselves back unto Him, so that our hearts can be healed and whole.  Understanding that what then begins to come out of the heart is the gospel truth of who Christ is, who we are in Him, and what we have been ordained to do.  This means not looking at what everyone else is doing wrong but looking more at ourselves and how we can daily be renewed so that we are the ones changing for the world to see Jesus.  Finding ourselves outside of our own brokenness allows us to see Jesus in a new way.  The human and divine.  The culturally competent and the holiness both pure in heart and Spirit teaching what only we have yet to grasp but are able to with the capacity with which we are already given.  The only thing we are lacking, the ability within to grasp the understanding that we have the dunamis power that raised Christ from the dead living inside of us that reconciles us back to Him.  We must begin to die to self, give everything up, and see that even Jesus did not care about who came against Him so much as He cared about doing His father’s work.  

What then shall we say to the Lord when He says….”come to me child, be reconciled unto me and I will hide you in the shadow of my wings and in me you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:1-2)?  It is my prayer that the cry to the Lord will be to “choose me Lord”!  “Hide me in the shadow of the Almighty because you are the God in whom I trust, and I will give my life over to you as a testament to your faithfulness, goodness, kindness, grace, and mercy”.  My prayer is that you will find it in your heart to reconcile yourself back to the Lord by giving everything to Him freely, without strife or grief, but out of your own free will.  Making the conscious decision to lay it at the throne of grace and believe that there it is safe, because you are safe.  Trust and know that you are taken care of even if your circumstances say otherwise.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8 paraphrased) as the rest of the world continues to see through a lens of strife and contention, fear and chaos.  Let your lens be cleared by a loving God who wants all of you, after all, He created you with love and sings over you every morning so embrace the truths of the Heavenly Father in your life.  His love for you is everlasting to everlasting.  

Today and in the days to come, seek reconciliation and the truth of who you are in Christ.  Who you were created to be apart from what the world says and find joy in knowing that each day is a new day to get to know that person.  Find joy in the moments with the one who made you out of love and created you for worship.  Praise and honor be to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  Let us come to know our Creator and let us remember that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  May your day be full of love, hope, joy, peace, kindness, and goodness as you embark on a new journey.

                If you don’t know Christ and would like to know him, then I encourage you to get with someone to pray a prayer of salvation and renounce the works of the devil in your life.  Come to know Christ and the works of the cross and the blood that was shed for your precious life.  The word says in Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved”.  Once you do this, pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit because you cannot operate fully in your faith without the Holy Spirit.  The word says in John 14:26 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”.  The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and will guide us in truth and speak what the Father speaks to us.  Then seek discipleship.  Don’t stop at salvation, dive into the scriptures, and get plugged into a Holy Spirit filled church that will walk you through the gospel.  My prayer for you on your journey is that you come to know Jesus and that Holy Spirit is your advocate while on your journey to reconciliation.

                May your days be filled with the truth of who you are in Christ and may the Holy Spirit fill you with the truth of the Father and guide you on your journey.  May your hearts be reconciled back the Christ, and may you find that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and that you are loved by the Most High God.

                Faythe Kadona