The Masterpiece Beneath

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FREE eBook 12/14/22 – 12/18/22

As my first-fruit offering to the Lord, my latest release is free on Amazon 12/14 – 12/18! Download for #FREE on Amazon Kindle Unlimited or buy for free –>  https://amzn.to/3FNdaM0

For decades, Veronika’s past stayed hidden. Yet the repercussions of what was done to her and what she had done continued to ripple through time.

As her secrets come to light, will they destroy those she loves or reveal God’s masterpiece beneath?

To the reader:

Your life canvas may have been smeared with dirt and grime, and others may have used and abused you, but God’s masterpiece remains untouched. No matter what you have gone through in your life, no matter what is happening now, God’s love can weave a golden bond of restoration and redemption within you. Jesus holds out His nail-scarred hands and beckons you. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Someday, we will all see the God-created masterpiece beneath.

 

Show them the Way Home

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Years ago, I was blessed to interview a man whose ministry used airplane parachute drops into the Columbian jungle to share the gospel of Jesus Christ by distributing packages containing Bibles, Christian books and movies, and radios tuned to Christian radio stations. Can you imagine the delight of those who were isolated by their environment when they heard the good news of Jesus Christ?

There is such wonderful joy when a person turns to Jesus, and forgiveness is received, the weight of sin is removed, and fellowship is given with God, His Son, Holy Spirit, and other believers.

Why is there hesitation in sharing this wonderful news?

Tell others that God loves the world so much He sent His Son to save those in the world. Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

Tell others about Jesus “to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in Christ (Acts 26:18, NLT).

When Andrew encountered Jesus, he ran to tell his brother they had found the Messiah, and Andrew brought his brother (Simon) to Jesus (John 1:41-42).

Have you shared the good news with your family?

Jesus told the man who Jesus set free from a legion of demons to go and tell what God had done for him (Mark 5:1-20).

Has Christ set you free? You, too, can share what Christ has done for you.

George Mueller wrote in 1829, “Deep within my soul, I was moved to feel compassion for perishing sinners and for a world lulled to sleep by the wicked Enemy. And I began to think, ‘Should I not do whatever I can for the Lord Jesus and try to awake His slumbering church before He returns?’”[i]

Are we moved to compassion for those who don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior?

“A great sorrow has come into the heart of God. Let it be told only in hushed voice—one of His worlds is a prodigal! Hush your voice yet more—ours is that prodigal world. Let your voice soften down still more—we have consented to the prodigal part of the story. But, in softest tones yet, He has won some of us back with great gladness—we won ones may be the pathway back to God for the others.” ~ S. D. Gordon[ii]

Will we be one who shows others the pathway Home to God through Christ?

Each of us has a calling, a place in the here and now to tell others about the Savior who died to set us free. Tell others about Jesus and bring others to Jesus. Go in your own home and tell your family. Go at work and tell your co-workers. Through letters, texts, online, or in person, go and tell of our amazing Savior and wonderful God. Tell them so they also can find the pathway Home.

God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (John 3:16, Romans 5:8)

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. … For “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.” (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).

“Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God” (1 John 4:15, AMPC).

“May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, that you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; that you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and ]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! (Ephesians 3:17-19, AMPC).

The post, Show them the Way Home, first appeared on lisabuffaloe.com

 

[i] Cowman, L. B., Streams In The Desert, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan) 2016

[ii] Gordon, S. D., Quiet Talks on Prayer, Barbour and Company, Inc. Westwood, New Jersey

Insecurity

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Sweet hubby and I watched an old movie with Audrey Hepburn. Stately, elegant, beautiful yet approachable, Audrey Hepburn. The next day, insecurity jumped all over me. I don’t look like Audrey Hepburn, my hair isn’t as cute as hers, and I can barely walk straight in high heels. Whimper.

Comparing myself to Audrey was not a smart move. I’ll be honest, I wasted an entire day internally whining about my inadequacies. The more I thought about her and her beauty, the more I compared myself to her, the more insecure I became.

What was I thinking? Audrey Hepburn was an actress with perfect lighting, professional makeup artists, tailor-made clothing, and scripted dialogue. Under those conditions, I probably could look and act pretty good myself.

Insecurity is a tool from the enemy to keep us so self-focused we can’t see the reality and beauty of our God-created uniqueness. Insecurity keeps us from enjoying today, enjoying God, and enjoying others.

I want to get rid of insecurity by remembering I am in the eternal security of Jesus. It’s not about being conformed to the image of an actress or person, but about conforming to the image of Christ.

The good news is, as a Christian, the process is an inward change, we are predestined to be conformed, called, justified, and glorified. The change is inward, taking place within the soul radiating out, transforming, renewing, redeeming, making whole – wholly loved, wholly accepted, and wholly restored.

Insecure? Remember you are secure in Christ. You don’t have to look to other people, compare yourself to others, but keep focused on Jesus, He is the author and perfecter, The One who takes and makes you His beautiful, transformed, renewed, glorified, wonderful work of art.

“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, … and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Therefore, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith … do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 8:29-30 (NASB), Hebrews 12:2 (NASB), Romans 12:2 (NASB)

“For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].” ~ Ephesians 2:10 (AMP)

From We Were Meant for Paradise by Lisa Buffaloe https://amzn.to/3UlhBSn