Not A Victim

I am not a victim anymore.

I bring joy to a place, situation, person...I bring peace, I bring love.

What I bring is too important to slink around with it in any way.

I am surprised at the power of deception to which I was prey. This is my message - Don't believe the lies. Let your identity be the identity God has placed in you. Don't even flirt with anything else. It may feel comfortable but the slavery, the decay, the death it brings...

I am not a victim anymore.

Copyright 2014. Leah Lambert Smith

My Voice

My voice sounds like love.
It tastes and feels like love.
It is intertwined with the Divine.
It radiates beauty, peace and joy.
It is good and kind and gentle.

I put it forth before I am sure of its mixture.
But I must put it forth.
Releasing my voice brings peace.
I cannot only inhale,
I must exhale.
I must allow it to fulfill its purpose.

My voice was trapped.
It was not allowed.
It bore such shame.
No more.

I can see it better when I put it forth.
Does it include some old fear?
Is it true?

Some reject it.

Educate me.
Influence my voice, if you can.
I do not want the stagnant, the culturally limited, the prejudiced.
I will consider your views.
I don't want to stay small.
I want to be blown out of the waters.
I want my boundaries to only be limited by the boundaries of love itself.

Copyright 2014  
Leah Lambert Smith

The Value of the Lost

In Luke 15:2, Pharisees and scribes complain that Jesus is receiving sinners and eating with them. Strong’s Concordance shows that the word translated sinners, G268, comes from another word, G264, meaning simply “to miss the mark.” Jesus then tells three stories which show the great value He attributes to those who have missed the mark (Lk 15:3-32).

Jesus says that whenever a change of heart occurs (repentance) in a“sinners”, heaven celebrates. He speaks of them as beloved treasures that are lost. There is no rest until each treasure is found; then celebration is required. Jesus ends each of the three stories with an invitation to friends and neighbors to celebrate also.  

Jesus continues in Luke 16 to tell stories chastising the religious leaders for their greed and lack of concern for the people. That which God considers treasure is not at all what they consider treasure.

I cried the day I realized I would have made the perfect Pharisee, full of judgment and scorn. The Pharisees had no idea they were the ones truly lost, truly missing the mark. I had been equally clueless. However, when a Pharisee has a change of heart (repentance) heaven celebrates. That is the love of God.

“for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Lk 19:10 NASB)

Copyright 2013  Leah Lambert Smith

"Lift Another Up" Lifestyle

...in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 
(Ph 2:3b NKJV)

I am to lift another up as Jesus lifts me up.  I am to humbly lead others to the higher life that Jesus paid for us to walk in. There should always be those in my life that I am lifting up and those that are lifting me up. This is the lesson that I see in the above scripture.

I came to understand this verse in this way after looking at the meanings of the words in the Strong's concordance.  This is what I found:

       in lowliness of mind - G5012 - humiliation of mind, i.e. modesty
       let - G2233 - to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figuratively, to deem, i.e. consider
       each - G240 - one another
       esteem - G2233 - to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figuratively, to deem, i.e. consider
       other - G240 - one another
       better than - G5242 - to hold oneself above, i.e. (figuratively) to excel; participle (as adjective, or neuter as noun) superior, superiority
       themselves - G1438 - him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etc.

So, Philippians 2:3b could read:

Humbly lead one another to lead one another to hold oneself above him.

This wording, though awkward, ministered to me. 

The writer of Hebrews wrote similarly, And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities. (Heb. 10:24 AMP)

This is a function of the church of Jesus Christ. We are to offer our ceiling to be another's floor, lifting each other higher and higher in love, in wisdom, in understanding...

I love this life!


Copyright 2013  Leah Lambert Smith

Limitless

My God will never leave me nor forsake me (Dt 31:8). I am grateful that I can call on Him at any time.  However, I want a fuller relationship with Him than one in which I call on His presence when I need Him.

My Lord is a gentleman.  He does not force Himself upon me.  He is the all powerful king of heaven and earth and can do whatever He wants but because He unconditionally loves me, He constrains Himself to honor me, to honor my wishes, to honor my boundaries.

I want no boundaries with my God. I want full immersion in the limitless abyss of His love.  I want my life to be abandonment of all else to be one with all that is my Lord. If this requires the process I am living, let the process be quick, God.

Holy Spirit teach me to be aware of limits I may place upon the freedom I allow God in me, around me and through me. Open my eyes to see, my ears to hear, my understanding to embrace truth.

Your will be done, Lord, on earth as it is in heaven - Your kingdom manifest fully on earth.

Copyright 2013  Leah Lambert Smith

Even Greater Things

Jesus said, before He was crucified and went to heaven, “I can guarantee this truth: Those who believe in me will do the things that I am doing. They will do even greater things because I am going to the Father...I will not leave you all alone. I will come back to you."  (Jn 14:12, 18 GW)

Jesus said, after He was crucified and went to heaven, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”   (Mt 28:18-20 GW)

Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him, and He would be with us until the end of time. Jesus had now been given greater authority than he had while He lived as a man on the earth. He manifests that greater authority through us who believe so we can do the things Jesus did and even greater things. He guaranteed it.

I love this life!

Copyright 2013  Leah Lambert Smith

Being a Girl

Growing up, I did not like being a girl. The males in my life were powerful. They could take from me and I wasn’t strong enough to protect myself.

As an adult, I see the wonder and power that is woman and am delighted to be one. God is my protection; in Him, all my needs are met and I am strong. Being a girl, a woman, is a high calling with supernatural benefits. God made no mistakes in creating us.

God certainly did not create woman to be of a lower class than man. Man and woman are of God, made in His glorious likeness and image. He would never have created us to be used, His glory cheapened. The differences of God’s children are meant to reveal unique aspects of His glory on the earth. The light of His glory should never be put under a bushel (Mt. 5:15). The abuse of girls, of women, throughout the world is unconscionable