Unique Masterpiece

Last week a friend and I went to a paint night.  Perhaps you’ve heard of these events? It is an evening were people sit at an easel with a blank canvas, brushes, a paper plate with dollops of paint and a paint smock —and we pretend to be artists.   

We were not alone on this adventure. There was an instructor who guided us, step by step, showing us how to recreate the painting she had painted earlier that day.  

There were at least thirty of us there that evening.  It was so fun, but here is what was amazing.  All of us were using the same colour paints, we were all recreating the same picture and given the same directions and not one of the paintings looked like the other.  Every single one was different! Every unique artist created their own unique masterpiece! It really was amazing.

And here is the thing, even though we are created in God’s image, we are all unique. God allows for great variety. Today, there are over seven billion people that live in the world. That’s a lot of people and yet, science confirms that each person is different and unique. No two people are or will be exactly alike. Right down to our fingerprints and how each of us thinks, we are all utterly and uniquely different.

You might ask, what makes me unique?  Everything!  

God sees you and God knows you. As a God of limitless power, God is intimately aware of each and every one of our attributes.

You and I come to God as children of different races and nationalities.  You and I have different temperaments. You and I have our own distinctive life experiences, gifts and talents. 

With that in mind I would invite you to consider this important fact: when you are clear about what makes you a unique individual, you can then better understand what it is that you can give to others. You can know your unique place in the world and the purpose that God has for you.

Please never underestimate your significance to the Body of Christ. God gifted you uniquely, and God has a plan and purpose for your life.

And if I may be so bold… if you see that something is not being done at Amberlea, or that there is something missing, it may mean that you are not doing it.

You are a vital and valued part of God’s kingdom!

See you Sunday!

God sees you!

Another horrific incident. This week a white supremacist heartlessly shot down 50 people while they were praying, and our hearts are broken.  They were praying.

How could someone do that?  How could someone, so full of racial hatred, methodically plan to kill people, while they were praying? Praying?

Unfortunately, it happens far too often.  And how does it happen? It happens by the dehumanization and demonization of various people groups.  Frankly it doesn’t matter what colour you are, what language you speak, or where you were born, if a hateful person does not see you as human.  It is frightening.

But have courage, have faith, because God sees you. 

In a world that can be scary and violent, we can feel vulnerable, afraid and confused. Often people will jump to the conclusion that God had abandoned them when things go woefully wrong, but God is always with us.  And, GOD sees you.

May these scriptures remind you that you are seen by your Heavenly Father.

Genesis 28:15 - "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Psalm 32:8 - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Proverbs 15:3 - The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

Deuteronomy 32:10 - In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye.

Deuteronomy 11:12 - It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

Matthew 6:4 - So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Psalm 121:8 - The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

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No Shame

“She made me do it, that’s why….”, “Ya, but he made me do it first, it’s not my fault.” Sound familiar?  Take a moment and read:  Genesis 2:25 - Genesis 3:13.

In case you’re wondering, shame and blame didn’t start on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook! When you read the words of Genesis it is clear that the shame and blame game goes as far back as the Garden of Eden! 

That being said, I think Genesis 2:25 is a very important verse.  It reads, “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame”. 

In this last verse in the Bible, before we step over into the fall of humanity, we learn that God’s intention was that we were never to feel the burden of shame.  We, created in the image of God, were never to know the feeling of shame.

God did not create us to hide from who we are. 

God did not create us to feel wrong about sharing our true self – or becoming vulnerable (naked) – in front of one another. 
It was never God’s intention that we would have to hide our real self from anyone, especially God. 

This lie of shame was introduced by the evil one himself. In Genesis 3, Satan (dressed in snakes’ clothing) strategically plants the seed of doubt in Eve’s mind by asking,  “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” .

Right from the start, he comes at us with seeds of doubt and a twisting of the truth.  As soon as Eve was deceived by the lie of this crafty serpent and took a bite of that forbidden fruit, shame fell on her.

Genesis 3:7 states that after choosing to disobey God, Adam and Eve immediately had their eyes opened and saw their nakedness. The result of realizing their vulnerability was an immediate desire to cover themselves up and hide from God. 

This is shame.

Shame tells us that God couldn’t or wouldn’t love us the same if we make a mistake or fall short of His glory. 

Shame convinces us that there are just certain things you can’t share with others. 

Shame tells us that we have to keep those dark thoughts secret, withhold telling the whole truth about our sin, or hold close the pain of that abuse within the spaces of our heart. Shame keeps us isolated.  Shame says that we will never really be free. 

But what’s so important to remember is that SHAME IS A LIE OF THE ENEMY. 

There is nothing true about shame. There is nothing of God in the secrecy that shame wants us to keep hidden. There is nothing good in shame or in anything that comes from it. 

It is time to lay shame down. 

I love what Psalm 34:5 says, “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered in shame.”  NEVER. 

You are the son or you the my daughter of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

• you are called! 

• you are chosen! 

• you are redeemed! 

• you are loved! 

• you are a child of God created in His image! 

• you can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you! 

The greatest thing you will ever truly know, on this side of eternity, is who you are in God and in that there is NO shame.

Receive it. 

Believe it.

See you Sunday!