In His Likeness w/ AntTBri

Before life and love underwent this season of inactivity I was always on the go.  It seemed I lived to find someplace to go.  One I use to hate the city in which I live and two I loved the freedom of being who I am without the scrutiny, skepticism, and scholarly advice of how I should love and live (you have to learn to appreciate unsolicited opinions). Away there were no trustee, mother, or deacon boards to answer or be accountable to…no meetings, deadlines, schedules or questionable discussions about why you’re doing or saying that. Away there were no restrictions on what I could say or do…in actuality the possibilities were vast…almost limitless. I enjoyed being away. I never had to endure being away.  Away was my choice.  I proactively planned, purposed, and even positioned myself to be able to do so as often as I could…and boy did I go. I found reasons and ways to get away…it was my skill-set, my strategy, and even schematic to stay sane in this thing called life and love. When life and love changed I was forced to find a new way to go…to get away from the pressures, problems, and perplexities of life and love. I dare not attempt to live and love without opportunities to recharge, renew, and be rejuvenated for life and love in process.

I had to find away…secure away even that afforded me access to readily departure from pressure, problems, and perplexities…which consequently, caused me to question why I felt the need to leave and get away from the life and love I said I enjoyed but discovered I was merely enduring.   Was I looking to distance myself from my faith, my family, and my fellowship? Or was I in search of my faith, family, and fellowship?  Was the nagging at my core, the (un)settledness, yearning… proof evidence that something was missing, there were deficiencies I was trying to cover up or compensate for? Was the problem, perplexity, or pressure an external or internal reality?  Maybe it wasn’t the people, the place, or even my proximity to both maybe there was a disconnect, a distraction, a discovery that time away could not bring me to unless I learned to get away.

Life and love will manifest an array of possibilities…all of which grant and give us the opportunity to grow up into the things of God.  Positives can prove to be negatives as we live and love and negatives can prove to be positive with the passing of time.  We evolve…we become more…get better…learn to live and love in His likeness upon new experiences and expressions of life and love from varied sources. One of the things I learned in time was  there is more to life and love than 3 selections, 5 hail Mary’s, the bending of the knee, reading the bible, and listening to good messages…there is the actual living of life and the reality of loving to love. There is life and love beyond the picture we try to paint and the portraits we admire in our humanity…life and love that has not been documented or discovered in the confines of self effort and security.  I’ve found that life and love is the continual revealing of God’s heart toward us and that each day is an unveiling of new mercies and graces to be experienced, explored, and expressed where ever we are…with whomever we are with. People, places, and positions don’t make the quality of life…they cannot quantify what can only be equated to a living, loving, and lasting relationship with Jesus Christ.

We are infused with God’s glory, his life and love and as we grow into it we express and experience life and love differently.  I believe that is the believer’s reality and that reality happen as a result of proactively planning, positioning, and posturing our heart’s to go and get away with Him. It is not a result of our going, doing, and being about the business of life and love…even and especially when we acclaim that we’re doing so in His likeness. His Spirit renews, re-energizes, rejuvenates our resolve to live and love according to the Word, Way, and Worship of God.  It will NEVER happen as a result of self effort, knowing, or contriving.  Is your relation to God the reason you are unhappy, not fulfilled, experiencing voids and the need to vacate premises, persons and places? Maybe the pressure, problem, or perplexity is an avenue or opportunity to get away with God.

Getting away physically initially felt like the right away because there were no attempts to safeguard my witness or testimony of faith beyond being accountable to God for my words and actions. Away I did not have to configure the stuff of ministry, the expectations of people (myself included)…I could just be…let my hair down…enjoy life and love without the weight of the responsibility I carried and held.  Life and love before (the freedom of knowing the purpose of away) usually required that I worked to keep the regard, respect, and responsibility of leadership looking a certain type of way. My life and love was laden with the execution of faith but lacked the element of enjoying the life of faith.  People, positions, passions, purposes, and promises (publicly) but no place of refreshing, renewal, and rejuvenation (privately).  Maybe we choose to stay so busy to avoid or are on the go so much to compensate, cover up, and convey a different reality from the truth of our existence. Maybe we are unfulfilled, undone, and failing to understand the breadth and depth of God’s love toward, in, and for us outside of what we do, who we are, and where we go as we live and love.

Is it possible that what we need, what we are desperately searching for is already present and permissible? Is there away to get away that does not require finances, frequent flyer miles, or foul proof travel plans? Can we get away everyday, at anytime because we need to…better yet WANT to or choose to? Do we need a personal intimate relationship with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?  Were we meant to get away with Him? Were we made to go away and be with Him?  Was that the purpose of Adam walking with God in the cool of the day?  Are we Adam messing up and missing out on life and love because we choose to disconnect, not commune or work in conjunction to His plan, purpose, and promise for our being?   If so, the answer to every pressure, problem, and perplexity is in the person of Jesus instead of in the places of justification/jurisdiction.

The only way to truly get away from the pressures, perplexities and problems of life and love is to avail ourselves to the presence, position, and power of God that is ALWAYS available to us through the His son Jesus and the workings of the Holy Spirit in and through us. Believer’s live and love advantageously.  We have access to the Father through His Son Jesus Christ continually/consistently. The Holy Spirit leads and guides us into all truth…the truth of who God is and the truth of whom we are in Him and apart from Him.  When you want or feel the need to get away…to go some place…I hope you don’t limit yourself to physical destinations or personal determinations. Time, opportunities, responsibilities and even finances can limit or impede your ability to do so in actuality.  But…you do have another option…hopefully it will become your first and only option…(there is another reality)…you can get away with Jesus.  People of old often say and sing “…have a little talk with Jesus, tell him all about your troubles…he will hear your humble cry and answer by and by…”  Maybe we (all of us) should go there…be quick to get into His presence…allow Him to refresh, replenish, and rejuvenate what is NEEDED and NECESSARY for both our living and loving in EVERY attempt to live and love God, ourselves and others in HIS LIKENESS.

Get away… you like I have been given, granted, and graced with the opportunity to proactively plan, prepare, and passionately go…get away from it all to recharge, renew, and regain the proper perspective of life and love…through the frequency of  prayer and meditation…a lifestyle of prayer, praise, and proclaiming the reality of the Word of God for our lives and loves. Not as an escape from life and love, pretending that it is not what is and not as an excuse to evade the responsibilities of life of love because we don’t want to or feel like we can’t do…but as the advantage to life and love with Him. He so desperately awaits the opportunity to connect, commune, and collaborate with you. He is ready and willing, knocking at the door of your heart…saying come unto me all you who are heavy laden with the pressures, perplexities, and problems of life and love…I am the only one who can and will give you rest, renewal, rejuvenation, and a new Reality. Won’t you choose Him today? Talk to Him…tell Him the truth of your existence…”Lord I’m undone, unfulfilled, not understanding this thing called life and love…make me into your likeness through the blood of you Son Jesus… I accept you as my Lord and Savior” and acknowledge my need of you… show me how to get away and be with YOU as I live and love”. He is the way, the truth, and the light of life and love… follow Him through every problem, perplexity, pressure, person, and place of life and love. Intentionally, proactively plan to get away with Him whenever you can, as often as you can.

We all (every one of us) have to do the work of life and love…there is no ifs, ands, and buts about it.  How you work life and love advantageously is the determinate of enjoyment. Life and love can manifest strange, there are situations, sicknesses, stalls, stagnates, setbacks, and stays that will bring moments of worry, weariness, and even waywardness that will prompt the desire to get a way, go away BUT GOD has provided us with a viable outlet that only requires a willing and open heart towards Him.   Remember He is our present help. He is our hiding place we can run to Him and find safety and security. He is just a prayer away…talk to Jesus about what you are feeling, your frustrations, and fears and allow Him the opportunity to show and reveal to you His heart, purposes, and plan for both your living and loving in His likeness.  He is a compassionate God and He truly cares for all that is concerning you…as a matter of fact He is perfecting all things concerning you.   Knowing that we are in a living, loving, and lasting relationship with the Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ is the benefit of doing life and love WITH Him and the ultimate advantage of getting away in His presence.  May His love of you renew, recharge, and rejuvenate your resolve to trust Him completely with your life and love…take every opportunity to get away~AntTBri