A Rose Unashamed

"A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to 'accept' Christ without forsaking the world" -A.W. Tozer. Standing up for Jesus isn't an easy thing. We are afraid what others will think of us, we feel we will be treated as an outcast, we think that there will be no one around to stand by us. But have you ever stopped to think that maybe the people around you are thinking the same thing? If everyone let their fears control them, then who will proclaim Jesus' name? How can we expect our roses to blossom? Jesus died for us, and yet we are ashamed of Him? "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name" (1 Peter 4:16). We should be honored to proclaim His name, and we should feel a fire within us that urges us to do so! "It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to Biblical ways" -A.W. Tozer. Letting our rose stand out for Jesus is the least we can do for the one who sacrificed himself for all those who call on His name!

Guns and Roses

The picture above shows a bullet bursting through a rose. Rather than focusing on the bullet, I want to talk about the rose. Many of us, if not all of us, can fall into a dangerous cycle. We only become roses when bad things happen in our lives. What I mean by that is this: we only call on Jesus when our circumstances are not in our favor. The cycle goes like this: life is going great, it seems like everything is just perfect; YAY ME! Life is going horrible, nothing seems to be going right, HELP ME JESUS! Thank You Jesus for helping me! Life is going great now. Bye Jesus. Weeks later, HELP ME AGAIN JESUS! Bye Jesus. Life is going great....etc, etc. We can get caught up in this dangerous cycle where the only time we focus on Jesus is in our bad circumstances. The only time we are a rose is when a bullet strikes us. We call on Jesus to help us and then we don't call on him again until another bullet hits. Instead of only calling on Jesus when we need help, we need to constantly stay in touch with Him! We need to constantly be that rose that reflects the heart of Jesus! We need to thank Him and get to know Him even when everything seems to be going perfect. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above!" (James 1:17). So don't forget about Jesus! 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong." Don't let your rose only appear when a bullet strikes!

When Thorns Outnumber Your Rose

Sometimes a rose patch contains more thorns than roses, and sometimes the person we have the hardest time forgiving is OURSELVES. When you look at a rose patch, which do you pay more attention to? The roses or the thorns? The roses. Why? Because they have color and magnificent beauty. Beauty is what God sees in us, but before that beauty can be magnificent and vibrant with color, we must ask Him for forgiveness for all the wrong we have done. When we ask God for forgiveness, we must mean it with our HEARTS, and there is no fooling God. A lily cannot pretend to be a rose. If a lily is in a rose patch, it will be spotted right away! Just like that lily is easily detected in the midst of roses, Christ can easily detect when we are insincere. Whenever you want to ask God for forgiveness, show the sincerity that David had in Psalm 139:23 where he cried out "Search me O God, and know my heart!" There is no lying to God. He sees our thoughts, and he knows all the bad we have done. So open your hearts to him! Remember that rose with magnificent color and beauty? That's what God sees whenever we have received his forgiveness and cleansing. 1 John 1:9-10 says "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." He overlooks the thorns and sees the rose: what you are meant to be. Be a sincere rose, not a lying lily!

Fake Roses

The roses in the picture above may look real, but they are actually fake roses from China. It can be very difficult to tell a fake rose from a real rose unless you actually get up close and look for the signs that its real. A genuine rose has a wonderful smell and silky petals. Just like we have to look carefully at a rose to see if its genuine or fake, we need to look at our lives to see if we are living a real or fake life with Jesus Christ. There are many different ways we can be fake. When we are fake it means that we aren't living for Christ alone. We may go to church and tell everyone we follow Him, but we don't actually live it out or show a passion for the Word and everything it says. We may compromise our beliefs with friends or in situations. We may go to church and sit in the seats, not really listening to anything that's being said but just thinking about things we have to do the rest of the day and week. This kind of "fake-ness" is something that Christ despises. It is classified in the Bible as lukewarmness. Revelation 3:16 says, "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." When we are not on fire for God, but still going through the motions and doing the "normal things followers of Christ usually do", we are being lukewarm. If you continue being lukewarm, how do you expect your life to change? How do you expect blessings to come in your life if all you are being is fake? Put away the fake rose that you have been holding on to, and bring out that genuine rose that Christ delights in! Only then will you continue to blossom into the gorgeous creation God wants you to be!

When Your Rose Is Falling Apart

After a rose has bloomed, petals can sometimes fall off. Have you ever picked up a rose and taken off the petals? After doing so, it's very hard to keep the rose intact. The rose seems to keep falling apart, never to go back to the beautiful blossom it once was. Just like that rose put in the wrong hands can lose all its petals, we can begin to fall apart if we take our lives into our own hands, or if we put them in the grips of someone else. The only hands that can keep us together is that of Jesus Christ. When we place someone else, even ourselves, before Jesus, we are putting our rose in their (or its) hands. Proverbs 28:25-26 says that "He who trusts in the Lord will prosper. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered". The reason why we can't place our roses in our own or someone else's hands is because let's face it: we are fools! We let emotions and feelings control us, we allow anger and frustrations to get the best of us, we make impulsive decisions without thinking of the consequences. We cannot trust our lives to anyone else but Jesus, because he is the only one who can keep our rose together! Copy and paste this link and listen to the song Everything Falls by Fee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk4A5647xHw When everything falls apart, Jesus's arms holds our rose together!

Roses in the Wastelands

Isaiah 35:1 "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." The ideal place for a rose to bloom would be a luscious garden filled with other blossoming roses which all let off a sweet aroma unlike any other. The fact of the matter is: some roses grow in the wastelands. As seen in the picture above, roses don't always blossom in the middle of a luscious garden, but they still grow to be just as beautiful. Like roses, not all of us live in the best environments or have the best lives. Some of us have less money than others, less vehicles, less technology, less adventures. But God brings out beauty in the most unexpected situations. For example, John the Baptist in the Bible baptized many people in Christ's name. He preached repentance to everyone that listened, and he prepared the coming of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 3:4 it says "John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey." John may not have had much, but he had EVERYTHING with Jesus Christ. He lived a happy life by serving the Lord and letting the Lord use him to reach others. John bloomed, even without a nice big house, fancy clothes, or a buffet of food at his disposal. Another example of someone in the Bible who didn't hold the ideal lifestyle was Mary Magdalene. Mary (not the mother of Jesus, but the other Mary) had been caught in the act of adultery. This was a terrible crime for women back in that day, and the Pharisees wanted to stone her for her sin. Jesus told the Pharisees that the people who have no sin can stone her, but since no one is without sin, they all left. In John 8:10-11 after everyone had left, Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” After this, Mary Magdalene's life was changed. Jesus Christ had completely transformed her life, and she blossomed into a faithful follower of him. Jesus can do the same for us. God saved her and blossomed her into the rose she was meant to be. No matter what we have done or whatever situation or environment we are in, God has the power to make us bloom. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to cast down imaginations. We need to quit making up fantasies and dreams about living the big life filled with sports cars and three story houses, and instead be content with what we have, because Jesus can create a rose out of you no matter what environment you are in! "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" (Colossians 3:1-2). Remember that rose that blossomed in the wastelands? That can be you, if you put down your fantasies and open up your hearts to let Christ transform your rose through his power!

Patience While You Bloom Pt 2

Remember that patience you need to have while waiting for a flower to bloom? Well we talked about how patience is needed during trials and that the trials produce some major blossoming, but we should also take note that all of us need patience when seeing what God has in store for us. We go to concerts and see our role models whether it be singers, musicians, etc, and we look at them with awe. We tell ourselves "I'll NEVER be like them, they're just too great!". We go to school or watch T.V. and see how the world says that to be on top you've got to push yourself there. You've got to get the highest grades, you've got to have the most talents, you've got to rise above the competition, and the sooner you decide what you want to do in life, the better! Well little do most people know, but this isn't the way to approach life according to God's Word. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." It doesn't say WE know the plans for us, it says the LORD knows the plans for us. And what are in those plans? A hope and a future. Just like that little rose bud was made to bloom into an extravagant flower, we were made to bloom into extravagant people. We need to be like David who cried out in Psalm 62:5, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him" When we feel the pressure that the world places on us about the future, we need to trust in God ALONE because He is the one that carries our future in his right hand. Just like we have to trust that on the inside of that flower bud is a beautiful rose, we have to trust that God will give us a hope and a future. We have to trust that God will use our talents and abilities (even the ones we cannot yet see) and make something great out of us so that we may glorify His name. "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). God will make something great out of you just like a rose, but will you have the patience to trust him while you bloom?