Purple HUR!

So today I woke up wanting to color my hair, and had no idea that is where God would want to speak to me at! As I applied the bleach I was thinking about what my hair was going to look like when I am completely finished with it all. In that, I felt God say people always see the finished product and not what it took to get there! It hit me so hard because it's so true, we look at peoples lives in the good times and the successful times, but do we ever look at their journey to get there? Or the sacrifices it took for them to be where they are? I always use my life as my examples because when I was wild and crazy I was so unhappy I hated myself and life, I wished my life would change. But I didn't want to do the steps it took for me to get to that changed person! So I want to compare my hair transformation to a life transformation.

The Application of God's way - You can't just think that because you asked God to save you, you can just still do what you have always done and expect a different life. So what you have to do in this Christian life is you have to apply God's word and principles in order to transform who you are today!! This takes Faith and this type of faith involves rejecting and abandoning the sin in your life!! Romans 6:16 Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 

The old Stripped away - This process is very important to your end result. You have to let God wash away all the stains from your sinful life. I couldn't just put purple on top of the dark hair it, wouldn't show up. I had to apply something else to it in order to make a change. You have to be stripped from your selfish desires! Just like I had to strip this down in order to make it shine bright, that's what God is doing in your life!! I know you feel as if you won't make it through the pain and that stuff is being taken away, but just hold tight, something better is coming in to fill your life and make you happier than you could have ever imagined!! 
Ephesians 4:22 Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

The filling Process- If you just have a stripping session then you will still not be complete. You can throw off your former ways and sinful nature, but if you don't go thru the filling process of the good stuff you will feel defeated! As you saw in the bleached picture, it looks bad, it looks like I was not victorious in my coloring job. That's how so many Christian look. They get saved and they quit smoking, drinking, drugs and sex and whatever else they felt they should stop and then they don't get into a relationship with Jesus Christ and wonder why it's not working! You have to get in the Bible and let it renew your mind and totally make you into a new creation not just a religious chick! That's where the victory happens!Philippians 4:8-9, Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me. Everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Ephesian 4:23-24, Let the spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God, truly righteous and holy.
Psalms 103:6, He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle's!

Cleaned-  Isaiah 1:18 … though our sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. God is in the business of cleansing our past sins and making us white as snow, but I have to tell you there will still be consequences from our past choices. Like I had my son and got on drugs, so he lives with his dad. Doesn't mean God didn't wipe my past clean, it just has some of the effects still that I have to deal with!! Our life isn't going to be perfect!! Like my hair in the shampooing stage!! It's going to look amazing, but there will still be purple stuff I have to deal with for many shampoos to come!

Renewed - When you are renewed you feel alive, you glow and have a light about you that people want to know what is causing it! That's where it gets good!! 2 Corinthians 5:17, Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; and a new life has begun 18. And all this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. This is what it is all about, living a victorious Christian life and having a daily relations ship with Christ draws people to us and thats where we can point them to… Christ. We can share what we have found in His word to help us along the way. Just like my purple hair, everywhere I go people stop me and ask "where did you get that done, what kind of color is that, I love your hair I wish I could wear that"! That happens to Christians who shine with Jesus. People ask them, "what is different with you, why are you so happy, where is your shine from, I wish I could be happy and peaceful like you"…… WELL YOU CAN. GOD IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PEOPLE, ROMANS 2:11 For God does not show favoritism. WE CAN HAVE AN ABUNDANTLY FULL LIFE, Jesus said in JOHN 10:10 …. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!!!Don't look at someone's life and want what they have. CREATE THE LIFE YOU WANT TO HAVE BY STARTING TODAY IN YOUR TRANSFORMATION PROCESS!!!