On Wednesday evening at Christian Life Worship Center, Pastor Matt Adams led our adult study class in a lively discussion based on the book of Max Lucado, Fearless. It was refreshing to see adults spontaneously sharing their experiences as a Christian. One of the things we talked about was how we see ourselves as persons--who are as Christians and how God sees us.
Brenda Milligan, an ordained minister in the IPHC and a member of the LifePoint Conference (Georgia), shared from memory a poem she had written some years ago that revealed how she saw herself at that time:
"I am what I am,
And that's why I am so sad."
(1972)
Later in 2012, when she and her husband, Jace Milligan, pastor of Living Way Fellowship (a Pentecostal Holiness Church) in Monroe, Georgia, attended an Encounter Conference (a weekend event), she was able to write the following poem after a spiritual and emotional experience, a breakthrough, at that conference:
"I am what God says I am,
And that is why I am so blessed."
(2012)
What a difference in attitude and perspective. She found love and acceptance in this encounter group that lifted her spirit and enabled her to see how God sees her as a person of worth. We learned from Jesus that He notices every sparrow that falls to the ground, and knows the number of hairs on our head. God places value on every person. No one is excluded. He loves us all.
We learn about our creation by God in Psalm 139. I love the rendition that the Living Bible gives us:
Psalm 139:13-16 I have given a title to this section of this Psalm: "The Satisfaction of God's Presence"
13"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother's womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it. 15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! 16 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!"
TLB
Brenda Milligan, an ordained minister in the IPHC and a member of the LifePoint Conference (Georgia), shared from memory a poem she had written some years ago that revealed how she saw herself at that time:
"I am what I am,
And that's why I am so sad."
(1972)
Later in 2012, when she and her husband, Jace Milligan, pastor of Living Way Fellowship (a Pentecostal Holiness Church) in Monroe, Georgia, attended an Encounter Conference (a weekend event), she was able to write the following poem after a spiritual and emotional experience, a breakthrough, at that conference:
"I am what God says I am,
And that is why I am so blessed."
(2012)
What a difference in attitude and perspective. She found love and acceptance in this encounter group that lifted her spirit and enabled her to see how God sees her as a person of worth. We learned from Jesus that He notices every sparrow that falls to the ground, and knows the number of hairs on our head. God places value on every person. No one is excluded. He loves us all.
We learn about our creation by God in Psalm 139. I love the rendition that the Living Bible gives us:
Psalm 139:13-16 I have given a title to this section of this Psalm: "The Satisfaction of God's Presence"
13"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother's womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it. 15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! 16 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!"
TLB