WHO ARE YOU? | INSPIRATION FOR EACH DAY

WORDS TO THINK ABOUT!

You were brought into the world and given life. Whether you are now old or young, you are still you.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Exactly WHO AM I?”

What special gifts do I have?

How am I different from my closest relative?

What will I be in the future?

Knowing WHO I am is a most important question. People often spend their entire lives searching for the answer to that question. Some feel bewildered… while others feel confident in their own skin. I found the answer to “Who Are You?” as I searched the Holy Scripture and saw that this question was also asked of the Apostle John. He must have been extremely confident to announce who he was, because in some cases, he went against the religious hierarchy of the day. It is evident that his confidence only came from God, who had given him a job to do. He simply knew that he knew.

How about us? God's purpose for each of us will only be revealed when our hearts are ready to listen to the small still voice that we can’t seem to make go away. It is His Holy Spirit drawing us into His love.

The answer then to the question, “Who are you?” is this:

WE ARE TO BE WHAT GOD HAS SENT US TO BE...A CHILD OF HIS. WE ARE TO BE A LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD.

Certainly, we know that this world is filled with darkness, but there is also light, hope and confidence that God will care for us.

“What if I have missed what God wants me to be?” you may say. He wants you to know that you have not missed it. It might be a little...or alot late, but He has a plan and an open door that He wants you to walk through.

We measure everything in our time frame. Time is irrelevant to God.

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2nd Peter 3:8

He sees your heart as it is today. If you ask forgiveness for any past things that do not measure up to God’s purpose for you, He will forgive and remember them no more. The Holy Scriptures promises us that. We have to trust that fact.

“I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25 (Old Testament)

In the New Testament, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Hebrews 10:15

St. John knew exactly who he was…a MESSENGER from God that the Jews should know the truth…that their MESSIAH, of Whom they had been waiting and looking for since the days of the prophets, was living and walking among them. He said that he, John, was only a “VOICE”….”crying in the wilderness.” His message was simple. “Make straight the way of the Lord.”

Ask yourself, "Does God want me to be a messenger?"

You may be saying, at this point, "A messenger to who!" It could be a messenger to: Your neighbor, a person who is sad and troubled. It could be someone that needs a helping hand. So many places and people we are a part of each day...and God needs a messenger in this troubled world. We are living in a wilderness today, maybe not like John's wilderness, but a wilderness of technical concerns. Many do not know how to put down their phones or stop living off the internet. It often leaves the mind and soul in a type of “wilderness", an inhospitable region. Inhospitable means harsh, difficult, unfriendly or unwelcoming. It fills the minds of our young people and children with thoughts that parents would never say in a household. Doesn’t that describe much of our world today as one faction also raves against another. We need to find our way out of the WILDERNESS into the LIGHT that God has for each of us...HIS LOVE AND DIRECTIONS.

Being the messenger of God’s love and hope does not mean that one has to be a minister, who preaches in a church, on a mission field or some other Christian group. St. John was not seeking a prominent position or popularity, but to be faithful to the message he was given by God to share with the world.

We may only be the voice of hope to someone who shares with us their difficulties in life. Just be ready for that encounter! Remember, God’s timing may take you by surprise. It may be at the grocery parking lot; when walking in your neighborhood and meet someone you haven’t seen in a while or a fellow worker.

You may say, “I’m too shy to open up to someone about faith” or “I think religion is their business” or “That seems a little bold to me.” Yes, you are right. Some of us are by nature on the shy side, but God has promised to supply the boldness needed.

Even if we believe that everyone’s business is their own…especially about “religion,” we must remember that sharing God’s love is not talking about a particular “religion,” but about your own personal walk with Christ. As a Christian, you are called to be ready to give the hope that is within you.

The Apostle John was known as the “beloved disciple.” We all want to be loved. How wonderful to be the loved of Christ, who speaks of you to His Father in heaven. We must all ask ourselves as Christians, “Are we faithful to being what God wants us to be?” It is never too late to surrender ourselves to His perfect love.

TEACH and DISCUSS HISTORY WITH YOUNG PEOPLE.

History is a teacher, if we will learn from it. Kingdoms and governments, were, and are, filled with greed, ambition, power…and it overcame them to the point that they never found the true person that God wanted them to be. They, perhaps, never thought to ask themselves the question: WHO AM I?

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME PEOPLE OF HISTORY and THEIR AGES. YOUNG PEOPLE, TAKE NOTE!

Leaders led others to think that they should follow their ideologies rather than God. A few examples come to mind:

Napoleon Bonaparte, having made himself an emperor of France, died in exile on the remote, British-held island of Saint Helena at age 51. Adolph Hitler, after losing WWII, committed suicide at age 69.

Saddam Hussein was captured, tried and hanged for his crimes…age 51.

These are only a few examples. Each of these men were once the little boy that God wanted to have a good life, but they chose to neither listen to nor accept the Holy Words of God. They thought they knew better about who they were, but they didn’t. Their eyes became blinded to God’s truth through their own choices.

Dedicate this day, this hour, your next breath to being His in all walks of your life…and you will find that you are what He wants you to be. He will lift you up and give you the voice, heart and soul that He wants of you.

You will have the ASSURANCE TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE...A CHILD OF GOD.

I would like to share with you some pictures of PEOPLE AND THINGS I LOVE. Many of them make up who I am.

Think about what is important to you!

LOVE OF ANIMALS

LOVE OF CHILDREN AND INFANTS

LOVE OF RELATIVES, LIVING and GONE TO GOD

LOVE OF FLOWERS

LOVE OF NATURE

LOVE OF WRITING and CREATIVITY