Photographer & Mentor for Creatives
download the brand photography guide
Maryland & Tampa, FL brand photographer available for travel.
“2020 Vision” may sound cheesy or overused, but I believe that many are seeing clearly what God is doing on the earth right now.
It has been almost a month since the Oh freebird fly WIDE AWAKE 2020 Vision Workshop. I’ve needed time to process all that happened that amazing weekend in Tampa. It was encouraging and inspiring to me that a group of women gathered in person and online for the sole purpose of seeking God’s vision for their dreams, businesses, and ministries!
I want to share just one take away as I’m continuing to process it all.
It’s time to live “from”, not “for”.
Kimberly Woods, Founder of Oh freebird fly and my dear friend, opened the workshop with the declaration that we ARE “wide awake” to Christ. We were not there to “become” awake. We were there to receive clear vision and our next steps because we are awake.
During her opening declaration, I felt this sense of “Wow, YES!” and freedom sweep through the room and faith rise. It was like she gave everyone permission to step into, or further into, a room that has everything they need. Kimberly has a gift of being able to lift the veil off of others’ eyes that keeps them from seeing everything that they have rightful access to in the Kingdom in Jesus Christ.
We get to live FROM the Kingdom, not FOR it somewhere far off in the distant future. Jesus himself said when he walked the earth that the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3). We don’t need to continually wander through life. We can actually live from the place of Jesus’ victory and walk with clarity in this life with Jesus.
It’s time to see Jesus clearly and rightly.
We have always been invited to see Jesus clearly and rightly. But, many, including myself, have listened to and read The Word and not responded to all of it. We have chosen to embrace what is comfortable and created belief systems that allow us to reject what makes us uncomfortable.
James 1 tells us that looking to The Word of Truth is like looking into a mirror. In the past, I’ve interpreted that to mean that it’s going to show me my blemishes and when my hair is a mess because that’s what a natural mirror does. But I was so wrong! James is talking about a Supernatural mirror – The Word of God who is a Person: Jesus. We are told in John 1:14 that Jesus is the Word made flesh: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (ESV). Through encountering the Word (Jesus) we will discover our divine origin and purpose in God.
22 Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life! 23 If you listen to the Word and don’t live out the message you hear, you become like the person who looks in the mirror of the Word to discover the reflection of his face in the beginning. 24 You perceive how God sees you in the mirror of the Word, but then you go out and forget your divine origin. 25 But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it—they experience God’s blessing in all that they do! James 1:22-25
When we look at The Word, which is Jesus, we discover our true selves.
We are meant to look to the Word and say, “That’s who I am!” If we look to The Word and come away with anything less than being filled with hope, righteousness, peace, and joy then we need to invite Holy Spirit to take off the “lenses” with which we are reading Scripture.
Everything that Jesus was and IS is who we are. John wrote, “all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world” (from John 4:17). The thing that blows my mind about this statement is that John made this declaration AFTER he saw Jesus in his resurrected and ascended glory in heaven as documented in the book of Revelation.
It’s time. It’s time we see Jesus rightly, embrace The Word fully, and live FROM the Kingdom of Heaven that we already have in us.
So, friend, I invite you to join me. Let’s dig into Scripture seeking to see Jesus rightly, and in turn, discover ourselves. Let’s not shy away from anything in Scripture that we’ve been told “isn’t for today”, isn’t comfortable, or isn’t popular. Let’s not create belief systems around our comfort zone, but instead step out of our comfort zone to risk to experience the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
I encourage you to say to Holy Spirit right now, “Holy Spirit, I invite you to remove any lenses I may be wearing that are causing me to not see Jesus or myself rightly. I invite you to reveal all Truth to me. I ask for the courage to step out of my comfort zone and embrace ALL Scripture. I ask you to help me to embrace the Word fully. I want to partner with Jesus and live from the Kingdom of Heaven that he has deposited in me.”
I leave you with this blessing and promise from James 1:25, “But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it—they experience God’s blessing in all that they do!”
If you’re like me and like visual reminders, you’re welcome to download this graphic. If you’ve decided “you’re in” and you want to invite others to join us, share this graphic or blog post with your friends.
Sign up for my e-newsletter here.
Leave a Reply
I love this Jenna! It’s beautiful. I love the part in John 4:7! Woohoo!
Your words make me smile. Thank you for sharing the inspirational message. I love you and what you do!