As I continue on this path to a closer walk with God I have to make it a habit to stop and evaluate my progress. It is my desire to grow in God so much that I begin to take on more of His characteristics and lose myself. I don't want to spend all of this time with Him and have nothing to show for it. I am a firm believer that you cannot continue to come into God's presence and leave unchanged. We serve a God who is more than capable to heal, set free, and deliver anyone from anything. There is nothing that He can't do! So while you are on this journey with Him, you should be able to see some change coming forth.
This past week I was searching and searching for a topic, and finally I just asked God! I should've started there, right?! I know :) But this week, was all about progress. What I love about God is this, He'll show you where you came from, but remind you that you still have quite a way to go. He is just so good and SO BIG...you can never learn all that there is to learn about Him. That is just mind boggling to me. So if you were ever wondering if you would know everything about God, the answer is no! And I thank God for that. That gives us even more reason to respect Him.
When you checking your progress the most important thing to keep in mind is that you want to line up with the Word of God. Everything that I do, is for the glory of God and not to man. Ephesians 3:17 says, "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father" (NLT). So if you find yourself doing anything where you are more concerned with pleasing man than God, then it is time to reevaluate. I've found myself drowning in people's expectations and I've had to stop and say, "Is God glorified?" If my answer was no, then I had to change how I was doing things. I never want to put anyone above God, even in the little things.
Another thing I check is my attitude. This is a true testimony of my growth because as a young girl I had a horrible attitude and I would have won ribbons at rolling my neck. The sad part was I didn't realize how ugly that made me look! Now, that God has changed my life, and cleaned me up in so many areas I can honestly say that I look beautiful through God. There are some moments where I have to bite my tongue, and keep myself from rolling my neck. Also, instead of constantly focusing on the negatives that life deals me I begin to concentrate on all of the blessings that I have received. Not just material things, but the unconditional love that God continues to pour out on me and my family.
What areas do you want to check? Can you look at your life and see obvious change? If you cannot see differences between the saved you, and who you were as a sinner then something is wrong. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (NLT) So now your life should be a testament to the transformation that God orchestrated on the inside of you. We must allow God to renew our minds and crucify our flesh daily in order to be fully transformed.
One final thing that I like to check is my fruit. Fruit? Yes, my fruit. Matthew 7:20 says this, "Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (NLT) So we should bear fruit; in other words, we should be doing something in the kingdom. God didn't save us to just sit...we have been given a charge. Whether or not you have an official title, you are a minister of the Gospel of Christ. Matthew 28:19-20 is the great commission, which basically commands us to go forth and make disciples of all nations. So we have a great work to do! Take some time today and check the progress that you are making. Is there anything different about you from when you were first saved? If not, then you need to ask God to show you what needs to be worked on. What things do you need to let go of and leave at the feet of Jesus? A progress check is necessary from time to time, but make sure that you use your results to help you improve your walk with Christ.
Be Encouraged,
God's Servant
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
What’s Love Got to do with it?
On this journey to a closer walk with God I have found
myself constantly reevaluating how I do things. It’s a good thing to be active
in your ministry (talking about your church home) but it’s not good when you complete your tasks with a bad attitude. You might think that God doesn’t have anything to say
about your attitude, but I’d like to argue otherwise.
In Philippians, Paul instructs to “Do everything without
complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you.” (2:14-15a, NLT).
Even though this was Paul’s message to the Christians at Philippi it is still
applicable today. Have you ever had someone give you a ride somewhere, and he
complained the entire time you were in the car about what he had to do once he
got home? How did that make you feel? Well, most people would feel disheartened
and would not ask that person for another ride, so imagine how God must feel
when we do something and complain the entire time.
I remember when I was growing up there would be times when
my mom asked my brother and I to do something for her. Sometimes it meant that
we had to stay up a little longer in order to help her put a shelf together, or
using a Saturday morning for a project around the house instead of watching our
regular TV shows. While we worked with her often times we would get tired, or
just plain annoyed. Then we would begin to complain about all that we could be doing. A few of those times she actually sent
us away, and told us that she would rather do it by herself. What if God was
like that? What if He decided that when we wanted to act a monkey while
completing an assignment that He would rather do it alone?
That would be an utter and complete shame. In fact, we
should never fix our mouths to complain (and this goes for me too) when we are
given an assignment. Why, because most of the time when we are completing an
assignment we are just as blessed, if not more, than the person we were
helping! I am so blessed when I see that my brothers and sisters in Christ are
growing, and succeeding at what God has called them to do.
We cannot allow our flesh to dictate how we operate. Again,
when we ask, “What’s love got to do with it?” The answer is EVERYTHING. The
true definition of love is God. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Dear friends, let us
continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a
child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for
God is love” (NLT). That is the key right there! First and foremost God is
love, and we are commanded to act in love. John even goes on to say that if we
do not love, then we do not know God. Hold on let’s pump the breaks right
there!
Have you ever witnessed someone acting out of love? Even
though the person they were helping was entirely disrespectful and out of
order? I have, and I just thought to myself, man that had to be God! When we
act out of love we are able to look past the nasty looks we might get, or poor
attitudes. Also, when we realize that we are serving God and not the man, then
our love for God and our desire to please Him drives us. We just have to be
mindful that without love we are
nothing. What a revelation. Without God
we are nothing. And if we
don’t love others we are nothing. 1 Corinthians 13 is the famous love chapter
in the New Testament. Most people read starting at verse 4, which covers all of
the characteristics that define love, but the first verses are equally
important. They say this: “If I could speak all the languages of the earth and
of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or clanging
cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret
plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move
mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I
have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I
didn’t love others I would have gained nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
You can do all the good deeds you desire, but if you don’t
act out of love you aren’t gaining anything. Also, this shows that you don’t
really know the God that you claim to know because He is love. I have started
to read Crazy Love by Francis Chan and it is a powerful book (even though I am only in the first chapter) that I suggest to anyone trying to
get closer to God. We serve a God that loves us like crazy as Heather Lindsey
says on her blog, and it is a very powerful and true statement. Throughout this
week, just look at how you operate. Is there any love behind the things that
you are doing? If not, then you need to take another look at what’s driving
you.
Be Encouraged,
God’s Servant
The most important commandments that we were given were (1) "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." (2) which he said was "equally important," is to "Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these." Show some love today!
Monday, June 11, 2012
HEY!! CAN YOU HEAR ME UP THERE?!
Have you ever prayed and felt like you didn't get an answer? Or sat and listened, for what seemed like forever, waiting on a response but didn't get one? I have. And it does not feel good. One thing that bothers me is when I feel like I'm being ignored. But as frustrating as these [quiet] times are we must remember that God does everything in His timing. And we must rest in the fact that He will never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). That alone should encourage us because we know that we serve Jehovah, the Most High God. This Jehovah is the same God who spoke the world into existence. Really, there is no problem too small or too big for Him to solve.
BUT just in case that wasn't enough encouragement, let me help you some more (and in the process, I'm helping myself) :). Sometimes, when I can't hear God I allow myself to get a little shaky. But that isn't how God wants us to be. He wants us to continue to walk this walk with boldness and confidence. As long as we are continuing to lift Him up, and we are being obedient to His commandments we don't have anything to worry about. It's when we begin to slack off in our calling (whatever it may be) and drift away from spending time with Him daily that we should worry. You might wonder why you should continue to read your word everyday if you can't hear God. Well, we have to deal with something called the flesh on a daily basis. The flesh is constantly warring against our spirit. The flesh has its own desires, and if we don't renew our minds daily then it will rise up. We renew our minds by reading the word of God, and applying it. If we stop reading our word simply because we feel that we can't hear God, then we are setting ourselves up for failure. It is during the quiet times that we can build our knowledge of the word even more.
And in case you thought you were alone, I am here to let you know that you are not! Every Christian goes through a period where God is silent. Psalm 102:1-2 is an earnest cry to the Lord, the writer is pleading with God to hear his prayer. The verses encompass the feeling of distress that many of us face during the silence. We become so distraught that we cannot hear God that we may begin to lose our appetite (vs. 4). Don't think that if you can't hear God it is only because of sin. Sin is one reason that we stop hearing His voice because God cannot dwell where sin is. But, another reason God is silent is to give us time to grow in our faith. But be careful! Faith without works is dead (James 2:20). So if you are believing that God will do something in your life, while you are believing you also need to walk like it is already done (in fact, it is!). Don't say that you are believing God for a job, but you aren't filling out any applications or going to any interviews. I'm not saying that it's not possible because we serve a God who works the impossible, but you have to put some work in- in order to get the results that you want to see. This is how we find strength in the quiet times.
Also, keep working. We cannot stop working simply because we do not hear Him. Do you think that He wants us to quit working? How will anything get done? Exactly...it won't. Also, don't stop praying. Continue to pray to God. In time you will receive an answer. This is also a test of patience. If you're like me, and I'm getting better everyday (Thank you Jesus!!), I like to have an answer right away. But we have to realize that we are not in control of God. We have to surrender our will to His. Once we surrender our will to His, then He can begin to work in us. I found out that it was a lot easier to walk in my calling once I surrendered my will. When I began to seek God early in the morning, it set the tone for my day. There will be days and periods where you won't hear anything, but that does not mean to give up. And it definitely doesn't mean that you should walk in the opposite direction.
When it is time for God to speak, believe you me, He will speak! And it will be so clear that there will be no way to confuse His message. Just listen to what He has to say. Don't expect God to come to you a certain way either. He's known for operating in the unexpected! But stay prayed up, and ask for discernment so that you can distinguish the voice of God. My prayer is that God will open my eyes so that I can see what He sees, to keep my heart soft and guarded so that it will line up with His word, and to open my ears so that I can hear clearly.
This song, "I Just Want to Hear You" by Deon Kipping, is exactly how I feel! I don't want to be overwhelmed by the stressors of this life, or my trials and tribulations. I want to hear God. The songwriter goes on to say that God can speak from where He is, and things will be done! Now, isn't that awesome?!
God sees all and knows all, so what makes you think that He doesn't hear you? He hears you, now just sit and be patient. His response is coming. But it will come in HIS timing. NOT in YOURS.
Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" (NLT). Take joy in this! We don't serve a man-made God, and we don't serve a man. God does not change His mind about the things He has told us. When He said He would grant us the desires of our heart He meant it. But He never said anything about giving us things in our own timing. We do not control God. Wait on the Lord. And while you're waiting remain strong in what He has already spoken to you. Keep your mind stayed on Him, and you will remain in His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Don't grow weary in the silence, but remain strong in the Lord.
Be Encouraged,
God's Servant
BUT just in case that wasn't enough encouragement, let me help you some more (and in the process, I'm helping myself) :). Sometimes, when I can't hear God I allow myself to get a little shaky. But that isn't how God wants us to be. He wants us to continue to walk this walk with boldness and confidence. As long as we are continuing to lift Him up, and we are being obedient to His commandments we don't have anything to worry about. It's when we begin to slack off in our calling (whatever it may be) and drift away from spending time with Him daily that we should worry. You might wonder why you should continue to read your word everyday if you can't hear God. Well, we have to deal with something called the flesh on a daily basis. The flesh is constantly warring against our spirit. The flesh has its own desires, and if we don't renew our minds daily then it will rise up. We renew our minds by reading the word of God, and applying it. If we stop reading our word simply because we feel that we can't hear God, then we are setting ourselves up for failure. It is during the quiet times that we can build our knowledge of the word even more.
And in case you thought you were alone, I am here to let you know that you are not! Every Christian goes through a period where God is silent. Psalm 102:1-2 is an earnest cry to the Lord, the writer is pleading with God to hear his prayer. The verses encompass the feeling of distress that many of us face during the silence. We become so distraught that we cannot hear God that we may begin to lose our appetite (vs. 4). Don't think that if you can't hear God it is only because of sin. Sin is one reason that we stop hearing His voice because God cannot dwell where sin is. But, another reason God is silent is to give us time to grow in our faith. But be careful! Faith without works is dead (James 2:20). So if you are believing that God will do something in your life, while you are believing you also need to walk like it is already done (in fact, it is!). Don't say that you are believing God for a job, but you aren't filling out any applications or going to any interviews. I'm not saying that it's not possible because we serve a God who works the impossible, but you have to put some work in- in order to get the results that you want to see. This is how we find strength in the quiet times.
Also, keep working. We cannot stop working simply because we do not hear Him. Do you think that He wants us to quit working? How will anything get done? Exactly...it won't. Also, don't stop praying. Continue to pray to God. In time you will receive an answer. This is also a test of patience. If you're like me, and I'm getting better everyday (Thank you Jesus!!), I like to have an answer right away. But we have to realize that we are not in control of God. We have to surrender our will to His. Once we surrender our will to His, then He can begin to work in us. I found out that it was a lot easier to walk in my calling once I surrendered my will. When I began to seek God early in the morning, it set the tone for my day. There will be days and periods where you won't hear anything, but that does not mean to give up. And it definitely doesn't mean that you should walk in the opposite direction.
When it is time for God to speak, believe you me, He will speak! And it will be so clear that there will be no way to confuse His message. Just listen to what He has to say. Don't expect God to come to you a certain way either. He's known for operating in the unexpected! But stay prayed up, and ask for discernment so that you can distinguish the voice of God. My prayer is that God will open my eyes so that I can see what He sees, to keep my heart soft and guarded so that it will line up with His word, and to open my ears so that I can hear clearly.
God sees all and knows all, so what makes you think that He doesn't hear you? He hears you, now just sit and be patient. His response is coming. But it will come in HIS timing. NOT in YOURS.
Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" (NLT). Take joy in this! We don't serve a man-made God, and we don't serve a man. God does not change His mind about the things He has told us. When He said He would grant us the desires of our heart He meant it. But He never said anything about giving us things in our own timing. We do not control God. Wait on the Lord. And while you're waiting remain strong in what He has already spoken to you. Keep your mind stayed on Him, and you will remain in His perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Don't grow weary in the silence, but remain strong in the Lord.
Be Encouraged,
God's Servant
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Follow the Leader
This past week while I was thinking about my blog and how it has become more than I could have ever expected [just how God does things, right! :)] I kept hearing "Follow the leader!" And who is this leader, well I'm glad you asked, our leader is Jesus Christ. When the disciples began to walk with Jesus He told them, "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" ["make you fishers of men" NKJV] (Matthew 4:19). The disciples would become witnesses to the world, and learn how to share the goodness of the Lord with others, essentially, claiming lost souls for the kingdom.
Something to ask yourself daily is, "Who am I following?" and if you cannot clearly answer "Christ" then something is wrong. Like the original 12, we are called to be disciples of Christ. How are we like the disciples? Well, a disciple in the biblical sense is simply a follower of Jesus Christ. They walked with Him, communed with Him, and sat at His feet and learned of Him. As Christians we should be doing these same things. That is why it is important to work on your relationship with the Lord daily. In order to walk with Jesus we have to pick up our cross daily. In Matthew 16: 24 Jesus gave specific guidelines for becoming one of His followers, "...'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me" (NLT). By taking up your cross you are making a "true commitment," come what may that you will stick with Christ. When you turn from your selfish ways you are able to maintain a focus on Him. That is one of the most important things in this walk. We cannot allow our focus to be taken of Christ; in Philippians 3:12-14 Paul says that his goal is Christ. He says that his focus is not on the past, but he is pressing forward toward the "heavenly prize" (NLT).
As followers of Christ we cannot live in the past. This means that we should dismiss our sins that we have been forgiven for just as God forgets them. Psalm 103:12 says, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west" (NLT). So after God has forgiven us our transgressions, it's important to let those things go! You cannot try to live in the present if you are stuck in the past. Also, if you're stuck in the past you can forget about seeing things that God has for you in the future! In order to follow Christ wholeheartedly your focus cannot be compromised. About a month ago my mom preached a powerful sermon entitled, "Eliminate the Distractions." There is so much going on around us in our everyday lives, but we cannot allow our jobs, families, friends, etc to distract us from what God has called us to do. When you answer the call that God has placed on your life you HAVE to stay focused on Him.
If we are focused on Him then we will be able to see how He will transform our lives. Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17), and our old man is now dead. Now this doesn't mean that we won't have some struggles, especially since we will still be dealing with our flesh. But if we renew our minds daily, and take some time out daily to fellowship with Him, then it will be easier to keep our focus which will make it easier to follow Christ. He was the best example of how to live for God. Always in tune with God, and obedient to God's commandments. That is how we should be, and just how Jesus was our example, we serve as examples to others. But ensure that when people are looking at you that they are able to see that Christ dwells on the inside of you.
If we are really following after Christ we should be displaying Godly characteristics. When people look at us they should notice a difference between our actions and the actions of those who are still in the world. Remember that a good tree can only bear good fruit, and a bad tree can only bear bad fruit, so what kind of fruit are you bearing? (Read further: Matthew 7:15-20) We cannot go through everyday life thinking that we are living only for ourselves. We have been called to witness to souls that are lost and in need of a Savior. So as you walk through this life make sure that you are following the true leader, and make sure that you are keeping your focused. Eliminate those distractions.
Be Encouraged,
God's Servant
P.S. Who are you following today? Say yes to Jesus today, and begin to follow hard after Him! It's the best decision that I ever made, and I promise it'll be the best one you make too.
Something to ask yourself daily is, "Who am I following?" and if you cannot clearly answer "Christ" then something is wrong. Like the original 12, we are called to be disciples of Christ. How are we like the disciples? Well, a disciple in the biblical sense is simply a follower of Jesus Christ. They walked with Him, communed with Him, and sat at His feet and learned of Him. As Christians we should be doing these same things. That is why it is important to work on your relationship with the Lord daily. In order to walk with Jesus we have to pick up our cross daily. In Matthew 16: 24 Jesus gave specific guidelines for becoming one of His followers, "...'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me" (NLT). By taking up your cross you are making a "true commitment," come what may that you will stick with Christ. When you turn from your selfish ways you are able to maintain a focus on Him. That is one of the most important things in this walk. We cannot allow our focus to be taken of Christ; in Philippians 3:12-14 Paul says that his goal is Christ. He says that his focus is not on the past, but he is pressing forward toward the "heavenly prize" (NLT).
As followers of Christ we cannot live in the past. This means that we should dismiss our sins that we have been forgiven for just as God forgets them. Psalm 103:12 says, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west" (NLT). So after God has forgiven us our transgressions, it's important to let those things go! You cannot try to live in the present if you are stuck in the past. Also, if you're stuck in the past you can forget about seeing things that God has for you in the future! In order to follow Christ wholeheartedly your focus cannot be compromised. About a month ago my mom preached a powerful sermon entitled, "Eliminate the Distractions." There is so much going on around us in our everyday lives, but we cannot allow our jobs, families, friends, etc to distract us from what God has called us to do. When you answer the call that God has placed on your life you HAVE to stay focused on Him.
If we are focused on Him then we will be able to see how He will transform our lives. Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17), and our old man is now dead. Now this doesn't mean that we won't have some struggles, especially since we will still be dealing with our flesh. But if we renew our minds daily, and take some time out daily to fellowship with Him, then it will be easier to keep our focus which will make it easier to follow Christ. He was the best example of how to live for God. Always in tune with God, and obedient to God's commandments. That is how we should be, and just how Jesus was our example, we serve as examples to others. But ensure that when people are looking at you that they are able to see that Christ dwells on the inside of you.
If we are really following after Christ we should be displaying Godly characteristics. When people look at us they should notice a difference between our actions and the actions of those who are still in the world. Remember that a good tree can only bear good fruit, and a bad tree can only bear bad fruit, so what kind of fruit are you bearing? (Read further: Matthew 7:15-20) We cannot go through everyday life thinking that we are living only for ourselves. We have been called to witness to souls that are lost and in need of a Savior. So as you walk through this life make sure that you are following the true leader, and make sure that you are keeping your focused. Eliminate those distractions.
Be Encouraged,
God's Servant
P.S. Who are you following today? Say yes to Jesus today, and begin to follow hard after Him! It's the best decision that I ever made, and I promise it'll be the best one you make too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)