believe

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~ Patrice A London ~ 1 Comment

I just wanted to share some love notes from a class led by Francois Du Toit, author of The Mirror Bible translation. I hope you take the following thoughts to heart and know you are, have always been and will always be, deeply and immeasurably loved.

No one looks for something they’ve never lost possession of in the first place. You were always His. You can’t be lost if you did not belong to begin with.

My prayer for you today is that you would agree with God about you.

I pray that more than pleading with God to know His plan for your life, that you realize that your life is His plan.

I pray that you would rest beside the still waters and see yourself as He does. Your spirit remembers who you truly are.

I pray that you remember that whatever is true of Jesus is true of you too. As he is, so are we, in this world. (1 John 4:17)

Enjoy your day!

Love, Patrice

Who Do You Say I Am?

~ Patrice A London ~ 1 Comment

Recently, I drove along with my children, basically preaching to them about their identity in Christ.  We’d heard some things that were a bit off and I wanted to clear it up right quick and set them on a different path than what was proposed.

I believe this is a time where we who say we believe, really need to get to the business of believing God.  We know the Bible verses that say we are a royal priesthood. We boldly declare that we are more than conquerors; we are the head, not the tail; we are above only, never beneath.  We quote that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  We know these things by heart, but do we believe them?

I remember a song I heard growing up that I thought was kind of a cute play on words at the time.  The lyrics went, “I’m just a nobody, trying to tell everybody, about somebody who can save anybody.”  I couldn’t forget that song if I tried.  I also remember a song that started out with “I’m only human, I’m just a man…”  These songs are stupid.  They diminish our identity in a very crafty way and keep us from truly believing we are who God says we are.

Consider this, in John 14:12, Jesus said that we who believe will do what he did and greater.  How can one who sees themselves less than who God says they are, set themselves to do anything?  We are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons and more, but if we are running around, talking about how we’re only human, prone to mistakes, how can we do anything?  If we feel we are nothing, nobodies, etc, how do we take that mindset over to the sister or brother who is struggling with addiction and in need of a touch from God, and heal them?  Jesus didn’t say to pray for healing for others.  He instructed us to heal them. How does one heal anyone when they see themselves so low?

We must remedy this awful perception of ourselves.  It isn’t humble or cute or even true.  It’s religious nonsense that I believe comes straight from the pit of hell.  We need to spend time in God’s presence, asking Him to pour into us.  We need to allow His perception of us to become ours.  We need to see ourselves for who we truly are and move in that knowledge.  We need to get away from this pitiful, self deprecating way of seeing ourselves and others. It isn’t right and we won’t get anywhere with this mindset.

God is merciful in that He meets us right where we are, so I don’t pretend to speak for Him when I say that I am so tired of hearing people in church services and events, inviting Holy Spirit to come as if He left and needed someone to call Him back.  I am tired of hearing this pitiful, “More of you God, less of me!” cry.  I guarantee, He is very secure in who He is.  You are here beloved, because He wants you!  He thinks you are the bees knees and wants you here.  He doesn’t have any problem at all with you, your disposition or your idiosyncrasies.  He loves you, deeply.

Also, He never held back anything from us.  He literally gave us His all, and just to be sure, there is nothing left out of all.  He gave us everything, so why do we keep crying out for more of Him?  What part of Himself did He withhold from us?  Was it His right pointer finger that He held behind His back? My goodness!  Jesus said it is finished, yet we find so much to do in order to obtain this or that, not realizing that we are completely bypassing the finished work of Christ in favor of some thing we (the little old nobody human, prone to mistakes and folly) must do in order to fix things so that we can get something that God forgot or left out of the equation.  If this is the case, why did Jesus die?  Why did he say, “It is finished!”?  Did he lie?  Was there some little caveat that is in fine print that some have missed?

All that to say, get in His presence dear one.  Stay there.  Be ever and always aware of Him and allow Him to love on you and fill you with His truth, the truth, about you.  You are more powerful than you think.  You are more magnificent than you realize.  Let Him tell you and show you.  Allow Him to blow your mind and rid you completely of all the enemies lies about you.  You are not your family history, prone to this sickness, disease or that.  You are not merely human.  You are His, made in His image, His likeness.  Will you believe Him?  Ask Him, “Lord, who do You say I am?”.

Done With “Do Do”

~ Patrice A London ~ Leave a comment

A few months ago, in a meeting, a dear friend challenged a small group of us to find our life verse. I loved the idea, but I definitely felt it would not be an easy feat to choose one verse from the entire Bible that would be the verse that stood out so much to me that I would feel comfortable saying, “Here. This is the one right here.”  I prayed about it and forgot about it, well not completely, but I didn’t pressure myself to figure it out.

Wouldn’t you know, God has given me my verse!  So here’s the thing, I will share my verse with you of course but don’t be all anticipating that it will end up being yours too, it may very well be, but I know now, it’s mine.  This is not to say that I’m throwing out the rest of the Bible, that would be stupid, but this verse really speaks to a place deep in my being and just strikes me.

My verse is John 6:29 but I have to include at least John 6:28 as well. The New Living Translation of these two verses says, “28. They replied, ‘We want to perform God’s works, too.  What should we do?’ 29. Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.'”

The Amplified says 28. Then they asked Him, “What are we to do, so that we may habitually be doing the works of God?” 29. Jesus answered, “This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.”

The Mirror says, 28. They immediately wanted the recipe! Tell us then what we must do in order to accomplish God’s work? 29. This is the work of God; your belief in the One whom he has sent! Then it goes on to say, “Even your ability to believe is God’s work!  Realizing your authentic sonship on exhibit in Jesus is God’s gift to you and cannot be earned! How can your labor compete with what God’s rest celebrates as complete!”

In all three translations, the idea was that there had to be some formula, some plan or recipe that we must follow and execute in order to do the works of God.  Jesus’ answer was that we are to simply believe.  He didn’t rattle off a to do list or anything of the sort.  Even in believing, Jesus referred to this too, as God’s work.

As I sat for a moment and considered different situations others I know are dealing with, and my own, I kept hearing, “Be still.  Be still. Be still.”  Then, I heard Godfrey Birthill singing, “Living in the unforced rhythms of grace” and the light bulb turned on.  When I first heard the song, probably a year ago, I loved the words.  I didn’t understand the line, “living in the unforced rhythms of grace” but my spirit loved it immediately.  When I say loved it, I mean loved it.  Admittedly, my mind had no idea though. I’d just sing happily, along with my children who also love the song.

Now, I get it.  Grace is free, unearned, a gift, and I can live from that state of being.  I don’t have to pull out formulas, hoping something will work.  I don’t need to say this special prayer or do this special thing or that, I can simply trust.  I can just believe.  I can truly live in the unforced rhythms of grace and receive all my Abba has for me.

I get that not everyone will understand this just yet or experience the “Aha” moment I have, that’s OK. My prayer though, is that we would simply trust Him and stop trying to conjure up whatever we are believing Him for, by trying this “recipe” or that.  If He said it, it is so, and I for one am going to believe, because Jesus himself said to do so.  If we could do all the work ourselves, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to come.  Thank God, Jesus did come, and, he said it was finished.  He did all the work, even that of enabling us to believe as he chose us first.  So, I’m done, friends.  Done with the do do’s. I will simply trust, as Jesus said.  Hope you will too.

Where Are These Thoughts Coming From?

~ Patrice A London ~ Leave a comment

Post partum hormones can sure make a fool out of a woman.  One moment, you’re blissfully happy, enjoying your new infant and then the next, all hope is gone and you find yourself crying out in despair, lol!  It’s so ridiculous.  I can be fully aware that I am in one of those unreasonable moments but still, if I’m not mindful, I can be swept along that wave of depression as if my life is absolutely awful.

God has been working with me on pinpointing and speaking the opposite of the negative thoughts that come my way at times.  I have felt at times that I am useless, not doing anything productive with my life, just allowing life and opportunities to pass me by.  Of course, the truth is, I just had a baby, am in the post partum period, which should be a time of rest and just being.  It’s not at all the time to run around doing things.  It’s a time of recovery and discovery as I get to know my newborn and settle into my new normal.  Another truth is, there are no missed opportunities for me in Christ.  I believe that anything that is for me will come right back around when I am able to take full advantage of it so I’m not missing a thing.  Furthermore, what I’d be a fool to miss, is this time of getting to know my baby, that would be the dumbest opportunity missed of all and his newborn stage?  I can’t get that back.

I have also been alerted by Holy Spirit that I have been holding myself to my past.  Growing up, I used to fight a lot and I still have referred to myself as violent and unpredictable when angry.  The truth is, I have grown and I am not that scared girl who feels backed up against the wall and fights her way out any longer.  The truth is, with each passing day, each passing moment even, I am becoming more and more like Christ.  I am more and more the real Patrice.  The one my Abba sees when he gazes upon me. Also, what’s nuts is that my Abba does not hold me to my past, so why should I?

Thank God for mind renewal! He is teaching me to pay close attention to the source of the thoughts that come my way. Whether they are from me, the enemy, or both, I am to reject and declare the truth.  I’m committed to doing just that.  What about you?  Are there areas you need to make declarations over?  Ask Holy Spirit to help you to not participate in self deprecation and other negative behaviors.  Get your mind right and be who God created you to be.  Be who He sees and enjoy life from that perspective. With His help, pinpoint where your thoughts are coming from and declare and rejoice in the truth.  He knows exactly who you are, He created you.  Get His insight, grow and be that glorious you that God refused to live without.  The truth is, you are magnificent! So walk and talk like it!