The story of 12 year old Jesus, mistakenly left in Jerusalem by His earthly parents (Luke 2:41-52), has repeatedly shown up over the last week – in my Pastor’s sermon, in my study time and in my devotionals. After the Passover festival, Joseph and Mary were a day into their trip back home, to Nazareth, when they realized that Jesus was not with them. Days later, they found Him doing our Father’s business.

In this and given the busyness of life, I recognize that it is so easy to leave Him behind and out of our day; out of our thoughts; out of our actions; out of our plans; and, in turn to wander off and lead our own lives. It’s actually effortless to allow things and circumstances to win over our hearts, our time and our attention. Thus, in everything and in everyday, we must be intentional and so careful to remain in His presence, allowing Him to reside in and lead our hearts.

He wants us to live each moment with purpose. Without Him, we cannot. Yet, with Him we have every chance to (Matthew 19:26). So, I charge you, and challenge myself, to be on purpose in pursuing Him! Do not forfeit your time with Him for what is temporary and fleeting (2 Corinthians 4:18), but choose to incessantly dwell in Him. Choose to heed to the desire, He’s placed in you, for Him.

Almost a year ago, today, we acknowledged that “the Creator of like the whole universe just wants to talk with you”. He simply wants us to acknowledge and embrace His omnipresence; to connect with and spend quality, not just quantity, time with Him; and to actively seek after His heart with our whole heart like David did (Acts 13:22). And, when we do so, He candidly promises to show up. No airs. No fluff.

“When you come looking for Me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want It more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” Jeremiah 29:13

In the midst of your to-dos and circumstances, resolve. Resolve to converse with Him. Resolve to praise Him. Resolve to thank Him for all that He is. In doing so, you agree that His presence in your life is real; you permit Him to give you His heart; you make the way for Him to meet you at your desires (Psalm 37:4); and you allow Him to exceed your expectations.

“Refuse to be content…Insist on experiencing His presence” – in everyday, in everything.

Thanks to each of you who entered in the Made For His Glory t-shirt giveaway! It warms my heart to learn and discover the ways God has made and intends to use each one of us for His glory.

THE  GIVEAWAY WINNER IS:

Congrats, Faith @faith_gross7! To redeem your prize, please email your shipping address and desired unisex t-shirt size to me, at shekea@jesusbea.com. As a reminder, you have 48 hours to claim.

P.S. If you’d like to place an order for your own Made For His Glory t-shirt, please feel free to send an email to madefhglory@gmail.com. Be sure to tell the Made For His Glory team that Jesus Be A blog sent you

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

In this week, I have been inspired, far beyond my expectations, by the transparency and encouragement in your responses to what you believe know God has made you for. Thank you for sharing with me. Thank you for energizing one another to live for His glory #ironsharpensiron

Press play to listen, and simply ask that He will:

Take my life and let it be
All for You and for Your glory
Take my life and let it be Yours

P.S. Don’t forget to enter into the Made For His Glory t-shirt giveaway by Saturday, if you want to show what you’re made for!

I stumbled upon this amazeballs t-shirt while listening to/watching a recent Jesus Culture YouTube video. I loved it, the meaning of it and the encouragement in it so much that I wanted to share it with you!

Thus, with the help of the Made For His Glory team, Jesus Be A is offering the opportunity to receive a free one of your own. All you have to do is follow the guidelines below. I hope you’re as geeked as I was still am!

“Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for My glory. It was I who created them.” Isaiah 43:7 (NLT)

ENTRY GUIDELINES
To enter for the chance to win a Made For His Glory t-shirt, in your selected size:

1. Become an email or WordPress follower of Jesus Be A blog – You can just hit the “Follow” button on the right navigation. If you already follow in this way, you’re one step ahead!
2. Follow @Jesus_be_a on Twitter - Simply hit the “Follow @jesus_be_a” button at the bottom of the right navigation. Again, you’re ahead of the game if you already follow in this way!
3. Leave a comment on this blog post, sharing what you believe God has made you for

ENTRY DEADLINE
The deadline for entry is 11:59pm EST on Saturday, May 18th. The winner, who will be chosen at random, will be announced here on Jesus Be A blog on Monday, May 20th.

Please check back to see if you’ve won. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize.

As for you…promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.

Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized… Titus 2:1-8 (NLT)

At anytime a topic, that I know nothing about or just want to know something more about, comes up at work, while watching TV, during a conversation or even in the time I spend reading, I almost immediately pick up and/or log into my nearest device to google it. If I need to locate an address, buy a new top at the lowest possible price or simply find something to do, the Google search engine is my go-to. I’m a self-proclaimed searching machine. Give me an item, and I can find it. Admittedly, my hunt to become more knowledgable about and more intimate with a subject or item almost always includes a Google search at some point in the journey.

As I hurriedly took some time out of the joyous task of tracking budgets at work one day last week, to google the answer to some random question that SH. asked me (never mind the fact that she could have easily googled it herself #anybreakisagoodbreak #thatswhyiloveher), I was reminded of the return on investment we’re promised in fervently searching for Him.

“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” says the Lord, “and I will bring you back from your captivity…” Jeremiah 29:12-14 (NKJV)

We essentially get in what we put in. The more time I spend looking around the world wide web, the closer I get to the result of a perfect deal or an optimal reference. And, that warm, fuzzy feeling that I recently got when I found that $70 pair of shoes for $15…priceless!

Likewise, the more energy and tenacity we put into our effort to seek, find and draw near to Him, the clearer, louder and closer He promises that we will be able to recognize Him to be (James 4:8). Ways to seek, find and draw into a closer, more intimate relationship with Him include:

1. Prayer: Talk with Him
2. Praising Him: Tell Him how good He is and thank Him for it
3. Believing in Him: Have faith (Hint: faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God – Romans 10:17 NKJV)
4. Studying His Word: Get to know Him and what He says
5. Obeying His Word: Do what It says, and don’t do what It tells you not to do
6. Repentance: Turn from sin and turn to Him, His grace and mercy

Simply put: seek and you will find. What are you spending your time searching for?

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9

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.” Jeremiah 29:11

…All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

I cannot be (well, I hope I’m not) the only one that immediately starts singing “Wake up, wake up, wake up it’s the first of tha month; To get up, get up, get up so cash your checks and get up” when they look at the calendar and realize that it’s actually the first of the month. (Random admission: I did not know that the Bone Thugs N Harmony verse said “so cash your checks” until I just looked up the lyrics. I just kinda hummed through that part all this time #shameful)

All that to say, since the song popped into my head this morning, I’ve been listening to every Lecrae, Da’ T.R.U.T.H., Trip Lee and Andy Mineo song that I can think of #alldayjamsession

As Your Stylist, Karen commented, I am recently passionate about sharing our stories. This song further charges and motivates me to be a billboard of His glory! Press play to listen. Be encouraged!

Ever find yourself in the middle of a conversation when you suddenly realize that you’ve said just a bit too much; revealed a little more than you intended to; or wish you would have stopped talking about 2 minutes before you actually did? Well, I tend to experience exactly this in more than enough instances. When I click with someone, I easily become chatty (to say the least) and have noted that my tendency for transparency can serve as either a gift or a blunder.

In recent weeks, I’ve found myself in several discussions about discussions. As VS and I brainstormed ways to better connect with friends that we see and talk to less often, we asked each other whether or not we’d ever taken time in our gushing moments and long winded conversations to simply share our story with them. With NS, I vetted my internal back and forth in whether I’m being too open, should be more open or am not being open enough with my JBA supporters and  friends. During a D-group call, we talked about relationship stewardship and the importance of discerning what to and what not to unveil about our own lives within discipleship. And, in conversing with MT, we recognized the struggle we sometimes face in choosing to be unreserved or politically correct in our friendly dialogues within the purview of our workplace.

In a moment, it dawned on me. The common thread in each discussion was the charge to make a conscious decision about the level of transparency to walk in with each person that God had given us. It can be so easy to be talkative about the trivial things; and in turn, it can be so easy to keep quiet about those things that are truly meaningful. Thus, the focus of our decision in each relationship that we have is not only about how transparent we are, but what we’re transparent about.

Publish His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does. Psalm 93:6 (NLT)

Testifying seems to be the most common and natural means to attest God’s goodness. Just as we once were, our family, our friends, our co-workers and even strangers that we encounter are searching for change, joy, peace, love, answers, provision and solutions. Therefore, regardless of what we currently think, someone out there can and is waiting to benefit from our story.

I was encouraged to give my testimony after experiencing freedom through hearing a testimony so akin to my own journey. Initially, the task seemed daunting. But, the memory of how I first felt in realizing that God is for me, just as He is for the woman with that testimony, kept me invigorated. Just as she had done, in obedience, I wanted to be bold; I wanted to encourage others with what He was doing in my heart and in my life; I wanted to defeat the enemy by sharing my victory. And, in doing so even in the first time, He proved that His Word does not return void. One young lady openly let go of her conviction after hearing the story of how He allowed me to do the same.

When we are open, He’s able to use our chattiness for His glory…not just in formal settings, but even in the day to day conversations that we have. The more we share of how He became real and alive in our lives, and the more we share about the positive changes He has made in us, the greater the invitation is for Him to show up.

I encourage you to find and tell someone your story this week. Whether in front of a small group or with one friend, do it. It is one of the easiest ways to brag on our loving Father, and it is one of the greatest ways to sow seed. Here are a few brief steps on how to share your testimony, below. For additional tips, please click here.

1. Briefly describe your life before Christ
2. Carefully explain how you came to the point of submitting your life to Christ
3. Joyfully describe your life since Jesus became Lord

Someone is waiting on your testimony. Be ready to publish and proclaim it. If He did it for us, He’ll do it for them. Let’s not keep that truth ourselves!