Sunday, October 25, 2009

COMPASSION

Luke 19:41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…

Whenever I read about Jesus, the one thing that stands out the most, for me, is his heart of compassion. When you read in the New Testament of the accounts when Jesus healed people, it always says, he had compassion.
Matthew 4:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 20:34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Isn’t that one of the motives behind the act of love… compassion. The two go hand in hand. You can’t have love without compassion and you can’t have compassion without love.

There are times when I get this overwhelming heaviness in my heart. This sense that comes from the depths of my soul and I begin to weep. Not just weep, but it’s this uncontrollable cry from my belly. At the time, I might be thinking of someone who I care for deeply, who may be going through some struggle in their life, or I may hear of the injustice of children around the world who are suffering, or see a movie that touches on this. It’s as though my heart has been given the compassion of Jesus when he stood on that hill and wept for a lost world. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit grieving inside of me, or groaning, as the scripture describes.
Romans 8:26&27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

I don’t know why this feeling comes upon me at times. It’s not something that I have control over, it just happens on various occasions. I do believe it’s as though God is giving me a glimpse of seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus, and that He is just reminding me of His enormous love for the world and keeping my heart right. I pray I never lose a heart of compassion for others.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

I am always amazed when I hear a follower of Christ say that they don’t want the Lord to come again, just yet, because they have too much work still to finish. I think, “Wow, what a selfish thing to say!” How can anyone want the world to keep suffering, because you think you still have some great work to do? Do you actually think God is waiting for you to save the world? Can you stop all the suffering in this world? No, you cannot! When I see or hear of the world’s suffering, I pray, “Lord come quickly!”

Matthew 6:1-4 Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

How do you see the World?

Friday, October 16, 2009

Life of Freelance

Most of my friends tease me because they say, “When Rhoshan isn’t working, she’s traveling!” I guess that is my motto. I’ve learned to not sit around and live in fear thinking, “But what if someone calls me for work while I am away? What if I miss out on the next big project?” What kind of way is that to live your life? I believe God gives me rest and time for myself to enjoy and appreciate the greater things in life.

During the summer most of the Entertainment Industry goes on hiatus. This is a common practice in our business. This year I have had an extended summer vacation. I’ve learned through experience to prepare myself for these times, when business is slow. However, this year many have been affected by the recession due to the economic state of our country, or the world for that matter. Many of my friends and colleagues don’t understand why and how I prefer to work as an independent contractor, rather then having a full-time staff position with a company that provides all the benefits. I had that once. I was working for one of the major Networks and after four years I left to enter the world of freelance…. and to this day I have no regrets. It was the best thing I ever did in my professional life and personal life. Stepping into the world of freelance truly opened my eyes to the more significant things of life, like spending more time with my family and friends, reading that 600 page novel that’s been collecting dust on the shelf, going to Africa to build a home for abandoned children, or simply just sitting at a cafĂ© sipping my latte while journaling. It truly changed my perspective and my priorities. Some people live to work, but I work to live. Maya Angelou put it like this, "Making a living is not the same thing as making a life." There are very few who can actually say they love their job and are doing what they always dreamed of doing professionally. But, like anything, it too becomes a routine and loses its appeal, or it seems once we’ve accomplished one thing, it no longer satisfies and we set our sights for the next thing that we think will satisfy our desires. I believe until our desires are in alignment with God’s will for our life, we will never be satisfied. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The greatest thing for me that has come out of living the life of an independent contractor is that it has taught me to live by faith. I am pretty much forced to live by faith on a daily basis. I am completely trusting God where my finances are concerned, even more so in this time of uncertainty. Matthew 6:25 do not worry about your life what you will wear or about your body what you will eat…. The scripture continues to say that worrying doesn’t add another hour or day to your life. I know that God is my provider, not the world. God has given me talents and yes, it is up to me to develop them and do my part, but then He does the rest. Deuteronomy 8:17&18 You may say my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me, but remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…
It seems just when there is an opportunity for me to go back to being on staff, something unforeseen happens and the position has been dissolved. I believe it is not by coincidence. It’s just not meant for me to go back to that life. God wants me totally and completely dependant on Him. I think it’s easy to get into our comfort zone and become complacent in our jobs and life in general. I’m not saying this is for everyone. Obviously, if you have a family and kids to support, then most definitely, it’s crucial to have security in that area of your life. I am a single woman, living in Los Angeles, working in the Entertainment Industry and have only myself to take care of. My life is a testimony that the Lord has provided for me above and beyond. When we are faithful to Him, He is faithful to us. Time and time again, God has made provision. At times it seems like the eleventh hour, but God’s timing is always right on time. His ways are not our ways, His thinking is so not our small way of thinking.

For example, as soon as I took the steps of faith to start writing this blog, the Lord brought a dear friend back into my life who is now my roommate for the time being. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect! I can now exhale knowing I don’t have to worry about paying those never ending bills. My friend had a need, I had a need and now we are meeting each other’s needs. I love how God orchestrates it all so beautifully! He blesses us so we can be a blessing to others.

One Sunday afternoon, I had lunch with a couple of my girlfriends after church. We were discussing the amazing message we had just heard in church. My friend posed a question to me and asked, “If I don’t get a job in my line of work would I be willing to just take any job? “ Assuming she meant a job as a receptionist, production assistant, retail sales, waitress, etc. I replied, “Absolutely not. That is not even an option.” I think she was a bit taken back by my response, and asked if I was too proud? I replied that it has nothing to do with pride. God has already dealt with me in that area. Trust me I have had my years of taking jobs beneath my skills and doing whatever was needed to make ends meet. It was a very humbling time, but that was for that season of my life. If I had said yes to my friend, what would that say about my faith in God? If I accept that, then I am saying God is not bigger than my circumstance. I am putting God in a little box and that would not say much about how I see Him and how He values me. I so love in the book of Job when God sets Job straight of his arrogance by questioning him, “where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand…Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades, loose the cords of the Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons….Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Wow, it just takes my breath away every time I read this passage. How can we ever question God who is the creator of all things!

The message that my friends and I had heard that Sunday was about this very thing. Do we really know who God is? Ephesians 3:20-23 We serve a God who is more then able to do above and beyond our greatest imagination! Amazing how our minds think so small and we forget who He is.

So in conclusion, I continue to live by faith, expecting God for extraordinary things for my life. I am not looking back but looking ahead at the prize that is set before me!


Thursday, October 1, 2009

God is in Everything

I’ve been posting my favorite movie lines on Facebook. It’s been kind of fun waiting to see who can guess which movie the line is from. Some of my favorites are: “You have bewitched me body and soul.” – Pride & Prejudice, “You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.” “I am a writer, I give the truth scope!” – Knights Tale, “I always love finding new places to wear diamonds.” – Gentleman Prefer Blondes. Such great lines! One that I just recently posted is from The Count of Monte Cristo – “God is in everything…even a kiss.” I am so moved by that line, especially, in the context of the film. Here is a man who has given up on God, and after much suffering he is reunited with the love of his life. She says to him that God has given us a second chance, and the Count replies with unbelief, “Can I never get away from Him?” She caresses his face and gently says, “God is in everything…even a kiss” and then she kisses him. Now that’s romantic! It’s so beautiful and yet such a profound statement. God is love and a kiss is an expression of love. I remember the first time I watched the film and heard that line. It took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes, as it is doing now as I write this.

Psalm 139 - Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

God is in everything. This quote made me think of an experience last year when my mother and I were in Scotland for a month visiting my grandmother and family. We had been shopping all day in downtown Glasgow. We got on the bus to head back to my Uncle’s home. The bus was packed with people on their way home from their day of work. It started raining outside. Bucketing down! The bus windows were steaming up inside. The passengers were all so serious and seemed to be in their own thoughts, not very cheerful looking. I’m sure tired from a long day of work. I think my mother and I were the only two talking to each other and laughing. We were driving on a long stretch of road that had grassy hills on either side. As the rain let up, my mother and I looked outside the window and we saw a huge rainbow in the sky. It wasn’t just half of a rainbow, but we could actually see one end of the rainbow all the way to the other end. It was breathtaking. It painted the entire sky. I’ve never seen a rainbow that massive. We both looked at each other as tears welled up in our eyes, and smiled. We were both thinking the same thing. My mother said, “and that’s God’s way of reminding us of His promise that he will never flood the earth again.” We both at that moment felt God’s overwhelming love. I looked around at all the miserable faces and leaned over to my mom and said, “I think we are the only ones who see it.” We kind of chuckled, and I said, “Well, they probably see this everyday and think nothing of it.”

I’m sure some of the folk must have thought that we were two crazy American’s getting all excited over a rainbow, and yet if they only could see what we saw, and felt what we felt. Recognizing God’s magnificent creation and His way of expressing His love to us. It was as if God was kissing us on the cheek.

Psalm 8:3&4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your finger, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him…