You are Beautiful and Priceless

Too often the message we hear is one of disdain and disapproval. We hear words that imply we’re not good enough in beauty, intelligence, or behavior. We experience judgment instead of grace, condemnation instead of mercy, and anger instead of mercy and compassion. Beloved, the accusations against your heart are not God’s. His heart is so tender toward each one of us, filled with incredible love, joy, and forgiveness as well as delight in simply who we are: who He created us to be.

Psalm 139:14 says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by the same God who flung the stars into space and created the majesty of mountains and oceans.

Isaiah 62:3-4 declares, “You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken…for the Lord delights in you.”

Furthermore, Zephaniah 3:15, 17 radiates the passion of our Daddy God for us, “The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall see disaster no more…The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

For anyone struggling to believe God’s delight in you today, below are the lyrics to several powerful songs about your worth, value, and beauty. Don’t listen to the accusations and condemnation of the enemy. Saturate yourself in the joy of Jesus in who He made you today, Beloved. 

·         1GN - Guard Your Heart

·         From the album UNITE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_xZtdlYlMw

In the middle of this crazy messed up world we live in
Surrounded by voices pressuring us to give in
Believe me, I get it
I know you wanna fit in
Everybody's telling you
What you're missing
But don't listen to anything but the truth

Know your worth ‘cause you are priceless
More than gold, more than diamonds
Be the light inside the dark
Keep your faith and guard your heart
It's where life, it's where love is
Every beat has a purpose
It holds everything you are
Above all else
Guard your heart
Your heart
Your heart
Your heart
Guard your heart

Maybe you feel all alone like something's missing
And all of your friends have found their prince charming
Believe me, I get it
You're so tempted
To settle or give up on love
But it's in God's timing
You can't rush it, don't believe you are not enough

I'm not saying to build a wall
Just to trust that God won't let you fall
I'm not saying to build a wall
Just to trust that God's in control of it all

·         FOR KING & COUNTRY - Priceless

From the album Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPgSrMOTnqM

Mirror mirror
Mirror on the wall
Telling those lies
Pointing out your flaws
That isn't who you are
That isn't who you are
It might be hard to hear
But let me tell you dear
If you could see what I can see
I know you would believe
That isn't who you are
There's more to who you are

So when it's late
You're wide awake
Too much to take
Don't you dare forget
That in the pain
You can be brave
Hear me say

(Chorus)

I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
Oh so priceless
Irreplaceable
Unmistakable
Incomparable
Darling it's beautiful
I see it all in you
Oh so priceless

No matter what you've heard
This is what you're worth
More than all the money all the diamonds & pearls
Oh this is who you are
Yeah this is who you are

So when it's late
You're wide awake
Too much to take
Don't you dare forget
That in the pain
You can be brave
Hear me say

(Chorus)

I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
Oh so priceless
Irreplaceable
Unmistakable
Incomparable
Darling it's beautiful
I see it all in you
Oh so priceless

Sisters
We can start again
Give honor till the end
Love we can start again
Brothers
We can start again
Give honor till the end
Yeah we can start again

(Chorus)

I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
Oh so priceless
Irreplaceable
Unmistakable
Incomparable
Darling it's beautiful
I see it all in you
Oh so priceless

I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
We can start again

I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
Oh so priceless

VERIDIA - Furious Love

From the album Inseparable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts_osvAzEhA

He said that I would never be
A silhouette that he would want
I shifted shape and recreated me
The girl I was, I soon forgot
A love like that won't last long
So suddenly it all goes wrong
When beauty starts to fade

But you say I am beautiful
I don't need the world's approval
Only you madly pursue me
And jealously tell me
I am worthy of
Furious love

With all you have and all you are
Your universe was incomplete
In a sea of silver stars
Still the sky was dark
And so you dreamed of me
A love like that is all I want
I don't ever have to be what I am not
God, I love the way

You say I am beautiful
I don't need the world's approval
Only you madly pursue me
And jealously tell me
I am worthy of
Furious love

Your passion is a fire
An all consuming fire
I can't get enough
Furious love

You say I am beautiful
I don't need the world's approval
Only you madly pursue me
And jealously tell me
I am worthy of
Furious love

Your passion is a fire
An all consuming fire
I can't get enough
Furious love

Your passion is a fire
And all consuming fire
I can't get enough
Furious love

Come out!

Books. Television. Movies. Music. Video games. Arcades. They transport us into another world, open portals into other realms.

Granted, those realms are fantasy, imaginative, unreal. But they seem real. They even become real to us for a little while…for as long as we can focus completely on the scenes and feelings and characters in them rather than the irritating, depressing, or demanding ones in the real world…the one realm where we all have to live and interact.

Maybe it’s okay to escape into these fantasy realms for awhile. Maybe we learn something important and take away a lesson that we can apply to our relationships and responsibilities in the real world. But what happens when we don’t want to leave these other worlds? What happens when the lessons they teach aren’t about goodness and kindness but about greed, lust, and instant gratification?

Values become distorted when fleshly-centered fantasy realms capture the imagination. Staying in the game or focused on the movie or lost in the book becomes more important than the needs of others around us. We learn violence gets us what we want, aggression forces others to our will, destruction recreates our world to suite our fancies.

How terrible. How sad.

Children are lost in self-exalting fantasy realms filled with blood and gore, cursing and shouting while their parents think, “It’s just pretend, and it keeps them busy so I can get my stuff done.” Teenagers and young adults release their pent-up pain, frustration, and anger on “bad guys” as well as helpless victims in games or watch it done on TV. They don’t realize they’re partnering with evil by approving it in the lyrics, and they’re participating with immorality by experiencing it via the characters. They disconnect more and more from healthy relationships and react to family members as well as total strangers the way they do to obstacles in the fantasy realms.

King David said, “I wil behave wisely in a perfect way… I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes. I hate the work (movie, game, music, book) of those who fall away. It shall not cling to me… He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house. He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence” (Psalm 101:2-3).

King David—man after God’s own heart—isn’t just talking to people in his day. The Scriptures are written for our instruction, and God expects us to apply them according to our present situations. What lies do movies and TV shows tells us? What wickedness do combat video games portray? What perversities do we listen to in music glorifying sin and sinful desires? God is against it all. He wants our hearts pure.

Jesus said, “The pure in heart will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Our heart refers to our minds, wills, and emotions. Purity is a gift from God. Our righteousness is from Him, declares the Lord (Isaiah 54:17). But what do we dump into the heart He has cleansed? Have we made our wills and emotions a toxic waste dump from all the violence, cursing, hate, and immorality we let in? 

The Apostle Paul implores, “What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What communion has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? …Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean.… Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).

He instructs all of us who are new creations in Christ, “Fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks… Therefore do not be partakers with them…have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:3-11).

Thank You, Jesus, that when we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Thank You, Holy Spirit, for filling our thoughts and emotions up with Your lovingkindness, Your goodness, Your mercy, and the beauty of Your holiness. Thank You for bubbling up within us joyful songs so we can rejoice and proclaim praises sweet to the heart of our Savior (Ephesians 4:19).

The Purpose of the Law

When Adam and Eve sinned, God spoke a curse over man, over woman, and over Satan (Genesis 3:14-19). The Curse’s purpose became immediately obvious: it identified each one as rebellious. It’s purpose was to punish that rebellion, but it could never cure it. Nor did the sacrifice of the lamb to make the outer coverings for Adam and Eve atone for their sin (Hebrews 10:3-4). Rather, the sacrifice and the punishment were to show guilt and remind them of how terrible it is to listen to the wrong voice, to disobey God.(Romans 5:12-19).

In Genesis chapter 4, another curse is pronounced. This time, God declares to Cain, “Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Therefore, you are cursed…” (v10-11). Cain cries out, “My punishment is more than I can bear!” (v13) His cry is the echo of every heart when a true understanding of the penalty for sin occurs (Romans 3:19, 6:23). When Israel becomes a nation and receives the Law from the Lord on Mount Sinai, curses and blessings are pronounced upon the people according to their behavior. The curses are meant to stigmatize and punish anyone who disobeys the Law while the Lord promises to bestow blessings on those who adhere to the Law and show that their hearts are set on obeying His voice (Deuteronomy 27:11-28).

The Apostle Paul explains much later in history, as a redeemed Pharisee, that the Law was designed to identify everyone as sinners but it could never save anyone out of that sin (Romans 3:20, Hebrews 7:18-19). In point of fact, the law condemned us all and etched an eternal identity of ‘hopeless sinner’ upon each and every one of us, because there is no one who meet the perfect standards of Heaven (Rom 7:7-24). Because of this stigmatism, this hopeless state, Jesus stepped in to pay for our sins with His own blood and place a new heart in us by the power of His Spirit. This is why Paul so fervently and joyfully declared the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection, because He offered us what the Law could not: a new identity as children of God, forever free from condemnation when we accept the payment of Jesus' blood upon the Cross and the power of His Spirit giving us a new heart(Galatians 3:13, Romans 8:15, Ezekiel 36:25-27).

However, between the time of Moses and Jesus, the Israelite nation began to view the Law as a way to separate ‘sinner’ from ‘righteous’. They took the requirements, placed upon outward behavior (for only God can see the heart) and based their judgment completely on people’s outward behaviors. This is why, when Jesus began His ministry, He spoke ruthlessly against the attitude of a Pharisee. He exposed the sins of their hearts, not allowing them to hide behind the appearance of good behavior (Matthew 15:18-20). He called them white-washed tombs, full of dead man’s bones. He said they needed to cleanse not only the outside but also the inside (Matthew 23:25-28). And He preached the entire Sermon on the Mount with the intent to expose every flaw in a self-righteous person’s thinking. He said, “You haven’t committed outward adultery, but you’ve lusted in your heart, and to God, it’s the same thing” (Matthew 5:28). He said, “You haven’t physically murdered anyone, but you’ve lived hating that person and using all your power to hurt him in all other ways. To God, it’s the same thing!” (Matthew 5:21)

In all His dialogues with the nation of Israel, Jesus’ message is strong, personal, and clear: “God sees the inside. God judges righteously (John 5:30). It’s all the same to God. He cares about the heart attitude and not just the behavior (Luke 11:40). You’re wronging people and creating new traditions to call it good (Matthew 15:3-9). But the purpose of the Law is to show you how much you need a Savior (Romans 7:7). Yet you’ve turned God’s commandments into a cudgel that you wield upon others instead of falling to your knees in repentance (Luke 11:46).  David said a broken and contrite heart is what God desires, and he was right (Psalm 51:17)! I told Samuel the prophet, ‘Man looks at outward appearances but God looks inside the heart’ (I Samuel 16:7). I’ve come to this Earth to die for your sins, but you won’t receive Me if you don’t believe you’ve sinned!”

The whole point of Jesus’ strange harshness is to get the nation ready: ready to cry out in repentance and desperation for the mercy He was about to offer at the Cross (John 7:37-39). He ate with sinners because they already recognized their deep need for healing, mercy, and restoration (Matthew 9:12-13). They longed to be in fellowship with the One they had always been ostracized from. But the Pharisees, who upheld all the Laws and kept ‘sinners’ out of God’s holy presence, needed to know that they were in the same boat (Matthew 23:13). Jesus longed for them to recognize their need so they, too, could receive forgiveness and a new nature (II Corinthians 5:17).  

Freedom

Jesus, Jesus,

There’s a playground built up in my mind

All the free rides a girl could want.

Except there’s chains attached and I feel the weight upon my soul.

The devil lies and says the price is paid

For every ride I take.

But a lifelong pass to self-indulgence,

shreds my joy and robs my faith--

stealing everything that's You.

It's sad to say the playground's here

When You've torn it down before.

The lures, the taunts, the whispered lies,

The counterfeit image waltzing like grace.

Addictions don’t stop with stronger resistance,

Not when the playground music’s still playing.

You come with a sledgehammer

to smash up those rides.

But it’s my mind and I get to choose.

Grace traded in for a license to sin.

Oh, God, did I do it again?

“You’re part of Me,” You say and swing that hammer high.

“My lovely bride; I want you pure and without blame.”

Oh, Jesus, I choose: I relinquish all hold

On masquerades that only poison the soul.

So shatter these thoughts, the proud imaginations of my heart.

Replace with good the ugliness, and take me in Your arms again.

"So since we’re out from under the old tyranny [of the law], does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits."  Romans 6:15-17, The Message Bible (brackets mine)