Beauty Lies Within the Sinner

The following lyrics are the words to the song "Imperfection" by Skillet.

But they go far deeper than mere words.

They are a truth - one that so many hurting, broken and lonely people need to hear every day.

The people that need to be told or reminded of this truth are people that you encounter every day - they may be your friends, your family, your neighbors. Fellow Christians in need of encouragement and love.

You can make a great difference in their life today by speaking this simple truth to them.

Let's discover what truth is told behind the words in "Imperfection".

You're worth so much

It'll never be enough

To see what you have to give

Here, the speaker begins by stating the inexplicable worth of their friend, and the inevitable blindness their friend has to what a significant impact he makes in the world. I know many of us find it hard to fully explain just how vaulable our friends are. Friends who are amazing and awesome in every way possible cannot even begin to comprehend their importance to us and to others, let alone to Christ.

How beautiful you are

Yet seem so far from everything

You're wanting to be

You're wanting to be

The speaker voices the truth about his friend's own self-image. Here, the speaker is in awe at how lovely and radiant and precious their friend is, and yet with disbelief acknowledges the fact that their friend simply cannot see her beauty with her own eyes - she has done so many wrongs, and she doesn't feel like she'll ever be good enough for anyone.

Tears falling down again

Tears falling down

Sadness every one of us are all too familiar with...

You fall to your knees

You beg, you plead

Can I be somebody else

For all the times I hate myself?

Your failures devour your heart

His friend is beating herself over the head. How many times have each of us experienced these same feelings of guilt, of hurt, of pain, of frustration with our own lives? We often wish we could go back and relive the past to reverse the mistakes we have made. We curse ourselves and our stupididty. We live in constant fear of turning into something worse than we have been because of our own previous and present faults.

In every hour, you're drowning

In your imperfection

She's living in the irreversible past full of sins she's committed, for she can't forgive herself for what she's done and wipe the slate clean. She's struggling to find meaning in her "pitiful muck of a life" she's created for herself. With every moment, she longs for freedom from these chains...if only she knew how to get it, for it's obvious she cannot achieve it herself....and yet, perhaps if she just keeps trying, she'll find another way to live in liberty from bondage.

You mean so much

That heaven would touch

The face of humankind for you

Here, the speaker shares with their friend how incredible the Amazing Grace of God is. To imagine, that The Lord of all the earth would allow His Son to come to earth for HER. Christ Jesus Himself knew of her sin and yet He still bore all her sin upon His own body, and He bled and died a horrific death to redeem her! He was the Atonement for her wrongdoings, and as a result, He is her Salvation. He is her True Love, for greater Love has no man than this: That He lay down His life for His friends. Jesus considers her His friend! His love is deeper than the deepest ocean, and it endures forever. For out of love did He give this ultimate gift for His people. HER. She was worth His every pain, His dying breath to Him. That's how much He loves her. So He does with every one of us.

How special you are

Revel in your day

You're fearfully and wonderfully made

You're wonderfully made

The speaker further explains to his friend how great her worth is. GOD really loved her. To sacrifice His all, His Child, for HER. And that Child in turn suffering a torturous death for her of His own free will. Now THAT'S LOVE. He also made her in His own image. Now that's special. To be made in God's image. Fearfully and wonderfully made. To be loved just as she is.

Tears falling down again

Come let the healing begin

Only ONE can rescue her from this mess. It is He who loves her like none else can or ever will. The Redeemer. He who died out of His love for her. She must accept His gift and His promise of unceasing faithfulness. She has to allow Him to break her chains, for He holds the key.

You fall to your knees

You beg, you plead

Can I be somebody else

For all the times I hate myself?

Your failures devour your heart

In every hour, you're drowning

In your imperfection

Echoes her every haunting fear...

You're worth so much

So easily crushed

She is so special, but she falls wearily under her burden. She is disillusioned with life. She bends under the pressure. Feels like the weight of the world...will it ever go away?

Wanna be like everyone else

No one escapes

Every breath we take

Dealing with our own skeletons, skeletons

She wants to fit in with the crowd. To be poured out of a mold. Perhaps then, she will finally be satisfied with life. But she's unaware of the truth; the truth being that everyone struggles with the same sort of failures and past mistakes. We all try to rid ourselves of them, in vain. When we do not succeed of doing so ourselves, we must find ourselves in the all-powerful hope of Christ to erase them, and heal us.

You fall to your knees

You beg, you plead

Can I be somebody else

For all the times I hate myself?

Your failures devour your heart

In every hour, you're drowning

In your imperfection

The ghosts are ever present...

Won't you believe, yeah

Won't you believe, yeah

All the things I see in you

He implores her to open up her eyes and look at her own beauty. She is so precious to him, and precious in the eyes of God.

You're not the only one

You're not the only one

Drowning in imperfection

She's not alone. We all do the same at one time or another, so lost in our endless mistakes. So many others are hurting and helpless, but despite their struggles, they cannot gain their liberation from sin on their own. They, like she, must surrender their chains to Jesus, who is able to set the captives free from slavery to sin. She has a choice to make. To attempt her own escape from the Nightmare, or to breathe and live anew.

Jesus spoke. He said, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

She did.

I did.

The question is, will you?

Will you surrender it all?

Breathe and live anew.

Never Be The Same

I wrote this poem for a someone very dear to me. She is my best friend, my sister, and my gushing buddy. She is...beautiful.

I remember when I looked her in the eyes
It was the very first time
And I couldn't pull myself away
She was a beautiful angel
She was a bundle of laughter
Safely brought into the world
She became calm and smiled
Grasped my thumb with her whole hand
And in that moment I knew
My heart was forever hers
Her innocence was so pure
And I rejoiced, I was glad
I danced in the song of my God
And praised His name
His Joy was mine
Forever

Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive
Oh just think of her
Think of all she can be
She's going to be
Someone's happiness
The reason why
They love God
She'll make a difference
Somehow in some way
And the world will never be the same

I still think back to last December
The night when she first met my eyes
I hadn't felt so speechless in awhile
She was a beautiful angel
She was a radiant beam of light
Reflecting His amazing love
She laughed with me and smiled
Clasped her warm hand in mine
And in that moment I knew
My heart was forever hers
Our friendship would endure
And I raised my voice, I was glad
I danced in the song of my Redeemer
And praised His name
His Joy was mine
Forever

Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive
Oh just think of her
Think of all she is to me
She's going to be
Someone's happiness
The reason why
They're in love with God
She makes a difference
In lives around her every day
And my world will never be the same

I recall the heartbreak I first knew
When I heard the tearful cries
Of a mother so hopeless and afraid
She said she was selfish and unkind
She determined to give her gift up
Before the term "baby" could change her mind
I held that woman and gazed into her face
Pleaded and begged her to retreat
From this deed she could never erase
She asked me what love really meant
And in that moment I knew
God's promise was forever hers
Precious child was safe and secure
It was her choice, and she was glad
She danced in the song of her Savior
His Joy was hers
Forever

She said
Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive
Oh just think of
of what she means to me
She's going to be
Someone's happiness
The reason why
They're in love with God
She made all the difference
In my own life today
And the world will never be the same

Oh
Just look at her
Look at her now
She is alive

Chosen

It's time
It's time to break
From this pattern
I've been stuck in
It's way past due
To wait another day
I've grown so
Accostomed to this place
I seem to be frozen
My mind assumed
All my world was broken
My soul cried silently
Calling out for closure
Couldn't bear to break free
From the life I'd chosen
Now I know truth
And I am alive
Feeling my oxygen
From the inside
I can breathe
Chains are gone
Now I am free
Looking at you
It's hard to believe
You are the one
I've been waiting for
Searching for me all along
He shut what I wanted
And made you the open door
I reach out
Can it be that it is you
Will you care or say
You can live without
It's time
It's time to stand in faith
I dissolve my fear
Let Him guide our way
Somehow we both know
We'll have True Love someday.

The Prize Of Great Price: "A Woman's Question" by Lena Lathrop

This poem is a favorite of mine, and is featured in Joshua Harris' bestselling book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. It serves as a special reminder to keep one's standards high. Though its wording may be old-fashioned, the message is timeless, as it applies to all of us today.

A Woman's Question

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing

Ever made by the hand above?

A woman's heart, and a woman's life--

And a woman's wonderful love.



Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing

As a child might ask for a toy?

Demanding what others have died to win

With the reckless dash of a boy.



You have written my lesson of duty out,

Manlike, you have questioned me.

Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul

Until I shall question thee.



You require your mutton shall always be hot,

Your socks and your shirt be whole;

I require your heart be as true as God's stars

And as pure as His heaven your soul.



You require a cook for your mutton and beef,

I require a far greater thing;

A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts---

I look for a man and a king.



A king for the beautiful realm called Home,

And a man that his Maker, God,

Shall look upon as he did on the first

And say: "It is very good."



I am fair and young, but the rose may fade

From this soft young cheek one day;

Will you love me then, 'mid the falling leaves

As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?



Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,

I may launch my all on its tide?

A loving woman finds heaven or hell

On the day she is made a bride.



I require all things that are grand and true,

All things that a man should be;

If you give this all, I would stake my life

To be all you demand of me.



If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook

You can hire and little to pay;

But a woman's heart and a woman's life

Are not to be won that way.

Reasons I Believe In Life

I listed my reasons for being pro-life and why I stand so strongly against abortion on a discussion forum about two months ago. Here, I have re-posted the very same reasons I stated in order that you may understand my stance against abortion.
Rest assured that there are more posts on this topic to come in the future, but as for now,
I hope this inspires you to examine closely what you believe regarding abortion and why.

I am pro-life because of several reasons.
1. Because I am a Christian, and God has called me as a part of His family to give Him glory by standing up against abortion, and fighting for what's right. God has clearly commanded throughout the Bible that murder is wrong.

2. What Christ did for me on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice; giving up His life so that I could live. I would gladly do the same for an unborn baby that has yet to have a chance to live and breathe and grow outside the womb. Being the voice of truth for souls that are brutally killed every day is the least I can do for my Lord.

3. Murder is illegal in the U.S., with the exception of abortion. But that's just it, the government and society as a whole label this horriffic procedure "abortion" and "choice", instead of calling it what it is, murder. Abortion is murder, and therefore should be made illegal.

4. One of my best friends, Angelique, who works with Survivors LA, was very nearly aborted 18 years ago during her 7th month of development inside the womb. Her biological mother, who was native to India, had just lost her husband in a tragic accident and would be in disgrace with her family because according to the rules of her culture, a woman, along with her immediate family, would be considered an outcast if she had too many daughters. She already had 2 daughters and decided to go to the abortion clinic in Downey California and have an abortion. If it were not for a pro-life activist who stood barring her way outside the abortion clinic and reasoning with her, my best friend would not be alive today. I never would have known her smile or heard her laugh. I never would've met her, because she would have been killed in that abortion clinic a long time ago. Her life makes a difference in this world, and she brings beauty and purpose and meaning and joy into the world every day. She has changed the lives of countless others and saved the lives of beautiful unborn souls through her work with Pro-life activist groups and at the crisis pregnancy couseling center she visits nearly every day. She is determined to see to it that abortion will end during her lifetime. She will not die until it does. She is the best friend I've ever had and the best person you could ever meet, and she is amazing. Angelique is just one example of the hundreds of lives that would make a difference in this world, given the chance to be born and breathe and bring joy into the world. Everyone deserves that chance.

5. Over 1/3 of my generation has been killed as a result of the Roe v. Wade decision on Januray 22, 1973. Since that day, over 51, 734, 692 innocent babies have been brutally murdered in the U.S. alone. 3, 000 tiny human beings are killed every day. This mass murder must stop.

A Promise Is Forever

The past few weeks, I have been doing alot of thinking in regards to marriage and the Biblical commands surrounding the institution of one man and one woman joining in inseparable union with one another.

Notice that I used the word inseparable. I'm using that word specifically in that sentence to primarily clarify that God did not intend marriage to be treated carelessly, and secondly, to address the general perspective that many Christians, myself until this morning included, have toward divorce and remarriage.

Sadly, many of us are altogether ignorant of God's original plan for marriage.
To understand the institution of marriage as God DID create it to be, we need to flip over to Genesis 2:20-24. What we read here is quite simplistic and God-glorifying.

"And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helpmeet for him."
So here's Adam, and he's the only one of his kind. He's the only person in the whole world. Have you ever felt utterly lonely? That's nothing compared to the inexplicable emptiness he must've been feeling. Animals just couldn't cut it, whether they were able to talk or not. Of course he had God, but he still needed someone to help him with all the tasks God bestowed upon him. Having dominion "over all the earth" (Gen. 1:26) is a relatively ongoing , difficult challenge for just one man.

Fortunately, God had a wonderful solution for Adam's lack of intelligent company.

"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead therof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man."

Adam must've done a double take when he saw her. They were made for each other, a perfect union as only a union God could bring together.
He proceeded to make the most beautiful speech in the world.
"And Adam said, " 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' "
This was Adam's dedication speech of his newfound love and marriage in the very presence of God, acknowledging that He had created this holy union of matrimony to be everlasting.


Bone of my bones...
She shared the same species and intricate mind and complex design that he did.
He was amazed, and yet completely understood the concept.

and flesh of my flesh...
They were forever one, united in body and soul. Husband and Wife.
No other earthly relationship can even compare to the intimate bond between two lovers in the marriage relationship. Yes, lovers. When God brought Man and Woman together, He did not intend that marriage should be a state of loveless convenience. His perfect design for marriage included not only respect and companionship but also LOVE! Marriage is meant for lovers. Adam loved Woman the moment God brought her to him in marriage. She was created for him to love and cherish. She was the only one for him. Just as God created the first Man and Woman for each other, He also has created a one and only for you. I know there is a one and only God has created for me, and I pray that I will be everything to him, just as Woman was for Man.
Marriage is a beautiful, pure thing.

God continues with the first love story ever told in verse 24:

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
There's that phrase again!
One flesh.
When two people get married, they are eternally united.
They don't drag their parents or families into the deal.
They are one.
That's God's plan for marriage, the foremost metaphor of His love for us.



Unfortunately, after the Fall, we gradually became apathetic about God's plan for marriage. We continually declined to obey God's standards for holy union. Now, more than 50% of marriages in the U.S. alone end in divorce. Now, even Christians justify divorce for multiple different reasons, instead of referring to God's commandments.
But God hates divorce. He never intended for marriages to fall apart in the first place, for hearts to be broken again and again, for entire families to be divided over it, for the role of the father in the household to be undermined.

Which is one reason why Jesus repeatedly taught about divorce and marriage during His ministry on earth. He wasn't kidding when He repeatedly warned against unlawful divorce throughout the New Testament. In Matthew 5:31-32 chronicling the Sermon on The Mount, Jesus made it clear: "Furthermore, it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."
How can it be that we pay attention to the Beautitudes, but ignore what Jesus has to say about divorce and marriage?
Thousands of Christians divorce every year for many reasons other than unfaithfulness.


But Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 5 that the only lawful divorce in God's eyes is a divorce by reason of unfaithfulness. But He doesn't stop there. In Matthew 19, there's an incident with the religious leaders in those parts where they ask Jesus a question:

"The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?"
Jesus quotes the passage of Scripture in Genesis 2 once again to the Pharisees before launching into His short but powerful explanation of the significance of the marriage relationship.
The two people entering into the marriage relationship become one forever at the very instant the marriage takes place!
That concept sounds so familiar because at the very moment of Salvation, we are one forever united with Christ! Marriage is the primary metaphor God uses to demonstrate His love and Christ's ultimate sacrifice for us.

"So then, they are no longer two but one flesh."
Jesus uses the very same phrase His Father and Adam used at the beginning of Time!
One flesh.


"Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
Herein lies the very inerrency and irrefutability of the words of Christ from His own mouth!!
The very words that are spoken with triumph on the final note of a wedding ceremony today were first spoken by Jesus Himself thousands of years ago!

Holy union in matrimony is an inseparable bond!! It is forever, and the marriage vows cannot be avoided after the union takes place. Marriage is a union so holy and pure that it is unbreakable! Here, Jesus plainly states that there is no justification for married couples to go about trying to tear apart or uproot their relationship. They are ONE. To attempt to injure or deflate their relationship is to hurt both their partner and themself, as well. They are one. God Himself brought them into each other's lives and joined them together in holy matrimony. They took their marriage vows in the very presence of God! From where can they escape His sight? From whence can they hide their intimate bond from His counsel? They cannot ignore God, their avoidance of His statutes only brings them grief. Marriage vows are not mere words of men. They are what one chooses to say with his or her whole heart, knowing that in reciting them to the other person in the sight of God and all witnesses, that from this day forth they are making an active choice to love the other person every day for the rest of their life, that they are willing to work through all challenges that will come up peaceably and prayerfully, that they will stay faithful, forsaking any other romantic relationships so long as they both shall live. All in all, that whatever they do, they will honor God over the course of their marriage relationship with their beloved. Christians should not forsake these promises they make before God on their wedding day.
Because a promise is forever.


"They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
In Dueteronomy 24:1-4, the passage to which the Pharisees were referring to, God allowed Moses to grant a man a divorce if his wife found no favor in his eyes. The wife was actually allowed to remarry once therafter.
"He said to them, ' “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so." '
Israel had turned away from God and hardened their hearts toward His intention for marriage, much like we, both in America and as Christians, have done today. Therefore, God allowed divorce because of their selfishness, pride, and deceit. They treated marriage as petty and careless as we in America presently do.
But Jesus tells them the deal:
"From the beginning it was NOT so."
It wasn't God's original intent for marriage to end up in shambles.
Instead, it was the exact opposite. He created Man and Woman for each other, and meant marriage to last forever.
It wasn't God who ever caused or allowed divorce.
It was ourselves. We, in our own fallen nature, allowed it to happen.

Jesus continues to reiterate:
"And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
God is NOT happy with adultery (He commands against it in Exodus 20: 14), which is why he hates divorce. Divorce for the wrong reasons only results in further sin down the road. In this case, if a man remarries after they divorce their wife for an invalid reason, they are commit not one, but two sins against God! If a divorced woman remarries, not only does she commit adultery (Matt. 5:32), but her new husband does as well! What a mess. A tangled web of broken relationships and bondage in sin. And to think, all this could be avoided if only married couples obeyed God's commands for marriage in the first place!

Divorce is never okay in God's eyes, since His orginal plan for marriage is that the union be eternal. However, because of sin, He does make concessions for divorce under certain circumstances such as sexual immorality or unfaithfulness of either partner. He also makes the exception in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 where Paul writes:

"Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband."
God commands married couples to stay together, but if the wife leaves, she is not to remarry. Instead, both husband and wife should work out their differences and live in peace with each other.
"And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases."
Thus, God commands that if a Christian has a unbelieving spouse, there are absolutely no grounds for the Christian to divorce his/her spouse unless the unbelieving spouse is unwilling to stay in the marriage.
"But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?"
By all means, a Christian with an unbelieving spouse should do all they can to allow their marriage to be kept intact. They should openly witness to their spouse in both their words, attitude, and actions, and in doing so, minister unto their spouse through the Holy Spirit. One never knows what God may allow to come to pass.

God created the institution of marriage to be symbolic of Christ and his sacrificial love for the Church, which is the Bride of Christ. Christians should honor, cherish, and treat marriage as the very thing the Lord God created it to be: a holy, loving union in the sight of the King, a relationship of intimacy sanctified within the inseparable bond of one flesh.

Because a promise is forever...
And I intend to keep mine.
<3

Can It Be True?

I am feeling
I am breathing
Something new
Is coming into being
Someone is looking
At me with their heart
I'm under scrutiny
And I can't seem to find
Anything so unworthy
As the very heart of me
Can't you love one
Can't you think of
Another self to whom you give
Your everything
Don't you see here
Don't you see this mess
You're ignoring it all
It's impossible to convince you
That I'm so dirty
My hands unclean
Are you thinking straight
Do you see what's before you
I'm ashamed to stand here
You say you want me
You know I'm worth your time
These words you speak
Is this real truth
So hard for me to believe
Can it be true
Can you look through
And uncover my true beauty
You tell me you're for real
You're willing to give it a shot
And you ask me
If I want us to be
That hope beyond the heavens
Where Love looks down
I am ready
Are you ready
We'll soon go with God
And take this chance
After all you know
You'll always be my best friend.