Almost 40 years ago when I was 8 years old at Cedar Tree Baptist Church shortly after my mother passed away I was sitting in church like any other sunday before and this day was different, it was the day I heard no one, not the pastor, not the congregation singing, not even the silence of prayer. What I heard was the voice of Christ speaking to my heart so loud that it was impossible to ignore. Every day and night I prayed the same prayer not ever realizing I had not ever really spoken to God until that glorious day when I kneeled before the pew I was sitting in beside my aunt and was deep in conversation with God. Since that moment I have lived, loved and experienced more life than some will ever even imagine and one thing I am certain of is that through the years of sleepless nights with God as my counselor, the hours on my bicycle with God listening and pushing me through the mountains and the countless opportunities to give back with a feeling of gratitude to those who gifted me by accepting a hand up that on judgement day the lord Jesus will ask one question and only one question: Did you believe that I loved you? That I desired you? That I waited for you day after day, that I longed to hear the sound of your voice? The real believers will respond, I believed in your love and tried to shape my life as a response to it. Many of us, faithful to our ministry, our practice, and church going, will answer, no Sir, frankly, I didn’t believe it. That’s the difference between a real believer and a nominal Christian bound in churches across the land. No one can measure, like a believer, the depth and intensity of our God’s love. Then again, no one like a believer can measure the effectiveness of our gloom, pessimism, low self-esteem, self-hatred and despair, that block God’s way to us. That’s why it’s so important we lay hold of this basic truth of our faith, because you’re only going to be as big as your own concept of God. When we see God in our OWN image, He ends up being as fussy, rude, narrow minded, unloving, and unforgiving as we are. God is too small for most believers, He is not the God of the word, he is not the God who has been revealed to them by and in Jesus Christ who comes at this very moment to your side and says I have a word for you I know who you are, I know your whole life story, I know every skeleton in your closet, I know your every sin and your every kindness, I know your every shame, I know your dishonesty and degraded love that has ever darkened your past, right now I know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life, your inconsistent discipleship, and His word to us is this: I dare you to trust that I love you JUST AS YOU ARE, not as you should be, because none of us are as we should be and we never will be because we are human. The best we can be is a better version of ourselves as we continue to grow in Christ’s image. we are all battling darkness. A ragamuffin is not ashamed to be a ragamuffin, he is a beggar at the door of God’s mercy, realizing he is a lover and seeker of God. Boast in your weakness and God will be your strength. As for me I am just a girl, a child of God who realizes that I fall short of Gods grace everyday and I recognize that God gives it to me out of his amazing grace. I am blessed each day that I awake and choose to share it with all of God’s children…

I was inspired to write this when someone dear to me said this to me… “How can I honor the one who loves me so deeply when I display the character that I do for I am only human, how can I display any other character than I do when it is who I am, only God can change me for I cannot change myself as all I can do is choose to surrender to his grace and even surrender seems challenging sometimes and I realize it is through his amazing grace that will continue to carry me through to brighter tomorrows”. I realize everyday I awake I fall short of God’s grace, I also recognize God blesses me with his amazing grace each and everyday through his eternal love and everlasting life…

~Lisa Christine Christiansen

Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”