You know what we're talking about. You know who we're talking about. Weird Aunt Annabel. You go to Family Gatherings and you see her coming and you cringe. You know that she is going to pinch your Cheek. You know she is going to say "Praise Jesus" after every sentence. You know that she is going to be dressed a little oddly. You know that she is going to tell you how you should be living your life.
Or maybe you see weird Uncle Joe coming. He is just weird. Creepy even. You get vibes from him. People tell you, keep your kids away from him, he is just not right. Or maybe YOU are the Odd Ball out. Maybe your Family are all a certain way, and you just feel different. Maybe you do not even go to Family Gatherings because you feel you do not fit in..
Your whole Family are Military. Or Cops. Or sell Cars. But you? You what to be a Chef. Or you like to bake Cup Cakes. Or you would much rather be taking care of Kids in a Day Care or a Teacher in a School, or a Singer, Whatever. ANYTHING but, what the rest of the Family, would consider "Normal."
The Family of God is the same way. Sad, but true. They always want everyone in the Family to be just like them. So, when someone shows up that is a little different, they sometimes get treated different. People see them coming at Church Gatherings, and they duck and run. "Oh that Peter is weird. He knows The Word, he does good things, but, I don't know. He is just different." "Did you know he watches Professional Wrestling?" "Did you know he listens to those "hard core" music bands?" "You know, I even heard, he Smokes." Gaps ensues.
Want to talk about some Odd Balls?
Noah was a Drunk. Isaiah Preached Naked for Three Years. Peter was a Hot Head. Paul was a Murder. Talk about Odd Balls. Imagine going to a Church Gathering and your Pastor showed up Naked. That would be a little weird. That would be a little odd.
Truth is, we are all Odd Balls. We all have certain things in our lives, or certain things we have done, that may be considered weird, or odd, to others. However, I have some news for you. You are EXACTLY the way God formed you to be.
King David said this..
Truth is, you are the way you are, because God is the one that formed you. It is God that wrote who you were, what you would look like, and even the things in your life that you would come to love, hate, do, ETC. God "saw your unformed substance; in His book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for you, when as yet there was none of them." You are you, because God said so..
Isaiah said this..
"Wait, are you saying that if I am born with one arm, that is God? That God put all these freckles on my face? Or that birthmark here? Or if I have a Child with Down Syndrome, that is God?" Yup. "How could you possibly say God, a God of Love, would want to bring someone into this life that has to suffer their whole life?"
Who says they have to suffer? Have you ever met and spent time with someone with Down Syndrome? They are the most innocent, kind, loving people, that have ever walked the planet. Seriously. They meet people you never will. Their Parents going through the Process of loving them, caring for them, and all that, meet people that THEY would have never met. There is a purpose and plan for them too. Just because they may be different, is that really a reason for you to judge them disadvantaged or declare them a lesser person, than you?
I have shared this story before. Ever met the man with no legs? He was born that way. He never knew he was "Handicapped" or disadvantaged, until people told him he was. But he never saw himself that way. He just grew up doing the things he did. Then he realized that those with legs that lose them, seemed to have a really hard time dealing with that. So when he became an adult, he decided to help teach people how to live without them.
Then one day, a young Football Player went into the Army, he stepped on an explosive and lost his legs. His life was "over." He would never play Football again. He would never walk again. He wanted nothing more than to just die. Until he met the man born without legs.
The man born without legs taught him that life was so much more than Football. Life was so much more than legs. The young Soldier ended up, not only dealing with his Handicap, he started to actually LIVE. He accepted Jesus. He started counseling other Soldiers. He started Preaching. He now sees losing his legs as a blessing. What do you think would have happened to him, had the man born without legs, never been born?
You ARE exactly the way God chose you to be. Paul White can reach people I never will. The man with no legs will meet people I never will. You were born with Red Hair? You were born a certain Body Type? You were born with abilities such as, being Technology Savvy, or, Mathematics comes naturally for you? Do you know Science? Can you throw a Football? Can you Teach? You are the way you are for a reason.
In his letter to the Church in Rome, Paul gave us the Five Steps of an Anointed Life.
"For whom he did foreknow," God knows you before your Mom even knows she is carrying you. As we have been talking about, He FORMED you. He created you EXACTLY the way He wants you to be.
"He also did predestinate." He set up a purpose and a Plan for you and your Life. He wants you to be "conformed to the image of his Son" He wants you to be Saved. He wants you to be His Child. If you accept His Call, you become His Child, "then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."
That is where you come in. He Calls you out. He Calls you to Jesus. He Calls you to be His Child and Heir. You can say "No." Do not be misled. You will not be struck with a Lightening Bolt. The Ground will not open up and swallow you to the Pits of Hell. If you say "No." you will live on. You may have a great Life. You may have money in the Bank. You may be loved by many. You will live until your Appointed Time. Make no mistake about it, there is an appointed time for all of us. You will live until then.
However, you WILL, meet God at that time. You WILL be held accountable for the things you have done, and the fact YOU rejected Him. He will NOT be able to do anything for you. You have Condemned yourself.
Then again, you could say "Yes." Yes to His calling. Yes to His plan and purpose for you and your life. When you do say "Yes," then He Justifies you. If you follow Him and stay in His plan and purpose for you, then He will Glorify you. Again we will talk about Him Calling you out, and what happens then, next time.
Just because you may not speak in tongues, or you may not be comfortable in raising your hands, dancing, or singing, in Church, doesn't make you odd. Just because you may not be able to quote Chapter and Verse, doesn't make you odd, or a lesser Child of God. Just because you may Smoke, which by the way is no where in the Word, or because you may have a Beer at a BBQ, or you like certain Music, or genera of Movies, may make you different, it does not negate the importance of what purpose and plan, God has for you.
You are the way you are, because God chose you to be. If He calls you, He wants you to be His Child. If He convicts you to quit Smoking, then by all means, quit. If HE convicts you to never touch a Beer again, then by all means, don't. He may use the fact you Smoke to reach a Smoker. Ever work in a place where everyone goes outside together to Smoke on breaks? They usually bond. Now I'm not saying God condones Smoking which can and does make people sick and kills people everyday. I am saying God can use what you do, to reach others like you. He may use your love of Syfy to reach others like you with His Message. I'm not sure I would ever go to a Comic-Con. But you might. I may never go to a Country Music Festival, but you will. I will never be able to witness to a room full of Rocket Scientist. But you may.
Oh you may be the Odd Ball Out. But you are for a reason. Find that reason. Find that purpose. Discover God's plan for you and your life, and just, be YOU.
Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..
"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"
That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}
If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. {2 Corinthians 13}
Or maybe you see weird Uncle Joe coming. He is just weird. Creepy even. You get vibes from him. People tell you, keep your kids away from him, he is just not right. Or maybe YOU are the Odd Ball out. Maybe your Family are all a certain way, and you just feel different. Maybe you do not even go to Family Gatherings because you feel you do not fit in..
Your whole Family are Military. Or Cops. Or sell Cars. But you? You what to be a Chef. Or you like to bake Cup Cakes. Or you would much rather be taking care of Kids in a Day Care or a Teacher in a School, or a Singer, Whatever. ANYTHING but, what the rest of the Family, would consider "Normal."
The Family of God is the same way. Sad, but true. They always want everyone in the Family to be just like them. So, when someone shows up that is a little different, they sometimes get treated different. People see them coming at Church Gatherings, and they duck and run. "Oh that Peter is weird. He knows The Word, he does good things, but, I don't know. He is just different." "Did you know he watches Professional Wrestling?" "Did you know he listens to those "hard core" music bands?" "You know, I even heard, he Smokes." Gaps ensues.
Want to talk about some Odd Balls?
Noah was a Drunk. Isaiah Preached Naked for Three Years. Peter was a Hot Head. Paul was a Murder. Talk about Odd Balls. Imagine going to a Church Gathering and your Pastor showed up Naked. That would be a little weird. That would be a little odd.
Truth is, we are all Odd Balls. We all have certain things in our lives, or certain things we have done, that may be considered weird, or odd, to others. However, I have some news for you. You are EXACTLY the way God formed you to be.
King David said this..
"Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."{Psalm 100:3}He also told us this Truth..
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."{Psalm 139:13-16}Think about this for a second. Why is my friend Paul White 7 foot tall, and 400 plus pounds, when his Mom and Dad are of average height and weight? Why are you a Red Head, when everyone in your Family has Blonde or Brown hair? Why do my boys both have Sky Blued Eyes, when neither me, nor my Wife, have blue eyes? Because God said so.
Truth is, you are the way you are, because God is the one that formed you. It is God that wrote who you were, what you would look like, and even the things in your life that you would come to love, hate, do, ETC. God "saw your unformed substance; in His book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for you, when as yet there was none of them." You are you, because God said so..
Isaiah said this..
"And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength—"{Isaiah 49:5}"He that formed me from the Womb." God formed you EXACTLY the way He wanted you to be. Why? Because He has a plan and a purpose for you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. God told Jeremiah this...
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."{Jeremiah 1:5}"Before I formed you in the Womb. I knew you." God knows who you are, what you would look like, how you would be, before, your Mommy and Daddy, even know that your Mommy, is Pregnant. As a matter of fact, who do you think brought your Mommy and Daddy together in the first place? Think about that. Imagine if the only reason your Mommy and Daddy even came together was because God wanted YOU to be born.
"Wait, are you saying that if I am born with one arm, that is God? That God put all these freckles on my face? Or that birthmark here? Or if I have a Child with Down Syndrome, that is God?" Yup. "How could you possibly say God, a God of Love, would want to bring someone into this life that has to suffer their whole life?"
Who says they have to suffer? Have you ever met and spent time with someone with Down Syndrome? They are the most innocent, kind, loving people, that have ever walked the planet. Seriously. They meet people you never will. Their Parents going through the Process of loving them, caring for them, and all that, meet people that THEY would have never met. There is a purpose and plan for them too. Just because they may be different, is that really a reason for you to judge them disadvantaged or declare them a lesser person, than you?
I have shared this story before. Ever met the man with no legs? He was born that way. He never knew he was "Handicapped" or disadvantaged, until people told him he was. But he never saw himself that way. He just grew up doing the things he did. Then he realized that those with legs that lose them, seemed to have a really hard time dealing with that. So when he became an adult, he decided to help teach people how to live without them.
Then one day, a young Football Player went into the Army, he stepped on an explosive and lost his legs. His life was "over." He would never play Football again. He would never walk again. He wanted nothing more than to just die. Until he met the man born without legs.
The man born without legs taught him that life was so much more than Football. Life was so much more than legs. The young Soldier ended up, not only dealing with his Handicap, he started to actually LIVE. He accepted Jesus. He started counseling other Soldiers. He started Preaching. He now sees losing his legs as a blessing. What do you think would have happened to him, had the man born without legs, never been born?
You ARE exactly the way God chose you to be. Paul White can reach people I never will. The man with no legs will meet people I never will. You were born with Red Hair? You were born a certain Body Type? You were born with abilities such as, being Technology Savvy, or, Mathematics comes naturally for you? Do you know Science? Can you throw a Football? Can you Teach? You are the way you are for a reason.
In his letter to the Church in Rome, Paul gave us the Five Steps of an Anointed Life.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."{Romans 8:28-30}We will be talking about God calling you out, next time, but look at the Five Steps of an Anointed Life. There are two before He even can call you.
"For whom he did foreknow," God knows you before your Mom even knows she is carrying you. As we have been talking about, He FORMED you. He created you EXACTLY the way He wants you to be.
"He also did predestinate." He set up a purpose and a Plan for you and your Life. He wants you to be "conformed to the image of his Son" He wants you to be Saved. He wants you to be His Child. If you accept His Call, you become His Child, "then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."
That is where you come in. He Calls you out. He Calls you to Jesus. He Calls you to be His Child and Heir. You can say "No." Do not be misled. You will not be struck with a Lightening Bolt. The Ground will not open up and swallow you to the Pits of Hell. If you say "No." you will live on. You may have a great Life. You may have money in the Bank. You may be loved by many. You will live until your Appointed Time. Make no mistake about it, there is an appointed time for all of us. You will live until then.
However, you WILL, meet God at that time. You WILL be held accountable for the things you have done, and the fact YOU rejected Him. He will NOT be able to do anything for you. You have Condemned yourself.
Then again, you could say "Yes." Yes to His calling. Yes to His plan and purpose for you and your life. When you do say "Yes," then He Justifies you. If you follow Him and stay in His plan and purpose for you, then He will Glorify you. Again we will talk about Him Calling you out, and what happens then, next time.
Just because you may not speak in tongues, or you may not be comfortable in raising your hands, dancing, or singing, in Church, doesn't make you odd. Just because you may not be able to quote Chapter and Verse, doesn't make you odd, or a lesser Child of God. Just because you may Smoke, which by the way is no where in the Word, or because you may have a Beer at a BBQ, or you like certain Music, or genera of Movies, may make you different, it does not negate the importance of what purpose and plan, God has for you.
You are the way you are, because God chose you to be. If He calls you, He wants you to be His Child. If He convicts you to quit Smoking, then by all means, quit. If HE convicts you to never touch a Beer again, then by all means, don't. He may use the fact you Smoke to reach a Smoker. Ever work in a place where everyone goes outside together to Smoke on breaks? They usually bond. Now I'm not saying God condones Smoking which can and does make people sick and kills people everyday. I am saying God can use what you do, to reach others like you. He may use your love of Syfy to reach others like you with His Message. I'm not sure I would ever go to a Comic-Con. But you might. I may never go to a Country Music Festival, but you will. I will never be able to witness to a room full of Rocket Scientist. But you may.
Oh you may be the Odd Ball Out. But you are for a reason. Find that reason. Find that purpose. Discover God's plan for you and your life, and just, be YOU.
Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..
"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"
That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}
If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. {2 Corinthians 13}
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