Today I decided we needed a breath of fresh air. With all the heaviness and turmoil going on around us we needed a pick me up, an encouragement.
I changed my blog background to...Cinderella's Castle.
Anyone who knows me well is not surprised. I LOVE Disney. I ADORE Disney. I am CRAZY about Disney. Mainly Disney World in Orlando. You can have your cruises (I don't like water and I don't like heights-which to me depths are the equivalent and I'm claustrophobic so the thought of not seeing land FREAKS me out). I will take a trip to Disney World any time!
I love the sight of Cinderella's Castle. I love the color blue. I love the gingerbread work. I love the turrets. I love the massive size. I love the huge wooden door. I love the windows. And I love being able to imagine what it looks like inside.
Now Cinderella herself brings many things to my mind.
Once adored by her father, he marries a woman with two daughters and she bids her time until the man is dead. Then she takes over Cinderella's rightful inheritance and lavishes it upon herself and her daughters and renders Cinderella basically their slave. Mistreated, manipulated, made fun of and scorned, Cinderella has a pure heart and she does what she is told and dreams of a day when things will be different. She longs for her knight, her prince to come and take her away. She ends up having a night to remember, a night of romance and intrigue and excitement and beauty and love at first sight. But all that she is that night is an illusion and at midnight she is right back where she started. Yet the prince is looking for her and he is scouring the kingdom trying to find her. He isn't going to rest until he has made her his own. Cinderella is found, the slipper fits and she goes to be with the prince and her happily ever after.
You and I are adored by God the Father but His enemy has his hooks in us. We are slaves to our sin and our selfcenteredness.
Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love for us even
when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (for by grace you have
been saved)"
You and I have had our rightful inheritance stolen from us by satan. We are slaves to him and the ways of this world until we commit to Jesus.
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your enemy the devil walks around like a
roaring lion seeking someone he can devour"
Romans 6:19-22 "Just as you used to offer yourselves slaves to impurity and ever
increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to
holiness...But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is
death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
The good news is that we have a lover of our soul that is all that we could ever hope for and more.
Isaiah 61:1-3 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me
to preach good tidings to the poor (meek), He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners...to
comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve..."
Jesus has the perfect garment and accessories that He is waiting to give us, it's a perfect fit.
Isaiah 61:3 "...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy
instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness or despair..."
Why does He want to bestow upon us these things?
Isaiah 61:3 "...for the display of His splendor, that He may be glorified..."
Just like Cinderella accepted the glass slipper and his request for her hand in marriage, so Jesus wants us to accept His free gift of salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast."
Jesus is the Prince of Peace, He is our prince, the lover of our soul. He died in our place to redeem us and set us free. Jesus is the only way to our 'happily ever after'.
John 14:6 "Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the
Father except through Me."
John 14:2 "In My Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told
you; I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am you may be also."
When we accept Jesus free gift of grace, when we commit our lives to Him, when we take His hand and walk in Him we become the princess our hearts have always longed to be. We become the King's daughter and we have a rightful place in the kingdom.
We are accepted.
We are wanted.
We are loved.
We are valued.
We belong.
We are His.
1 Thessalonians 2:12 "That you would walk worthy of God, who has called you into His
kingdom and glory.
Colossians 1:10 "That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him; being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God"
So hopefully the next time you see any reference to Cinderella you will have a different take on her story; that no matter what your walk in life, no matter your personality or likes and dislikes, no matter whether prissy or tomboyish you will realize there is Someone ready to fulfill all the hidden desires of your heart.
I'm oh so grateful that I am a Princess and my Daddy is God, Elohim, Yahweh.
Until He comes...
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