Church

It's fun -awesome really to consider what a real Spirit filled service would be like. Everyone contributing what it is they have been blessed with. People prophecying. People building each other up all for the glory of God. What a fearsome sight to behold. Can you imagine if we did Church this was? I know there are places where they do,  which is crazy to me.

What would be my role in said service. Paul clearly believes I shouldn't have one because of the whole being a woman thing. But surely there's a place for me and my gifts...whatever those may be.

I wish the Church wouldn't fear doing church this way. There's nothing to fear. Except the presence of God.

Lord, I pray that somehow this type of passion might begin to appear on you church. I pray we would not fear the awkward or uncomfortable-rather that we would embrace it. Let us seek true worship and true abandonment to you. Be in everything I do today let it all bring You fame.

Amen. Amen. Amen

Shtaaap

There are so many things we can do to block the message of the Gospel. It's so easy for our selves to get in the way of the Good News of Jesus. It's so difficult to be discerning enough to see what is ok and what is not. In some situations, some things are fine. In other situations, those same things are a total road block to the Gospel. We are called to be so in-tune with the Spirit that we have no trouble recognizing these moments. We can see where a person is and what they need to hear. Jesus was the master of this. He always knew just what a person needed. It's not that the message ever changed, but He was always changing His presentation. It's incredible to watch. Paul says he became all things to all people. He says that he would rather forgo wages if it would block the Gospel. He is clearly willing to sacrifice anything to win souls. You hear his passion in every word. Why aren't we all like him?

Lord, let my heart burn with passion for the lost. Let my mind be constantly thinking about furthering the Kingdom. I do not desire a life that is so focused on self it forgets others. Let my heart be open to You and Your will. give me wisdom and discernment today to see how to honor You. Let everything I do bring You glory. Let that be my goal!

Amen. Amen. Amen.

What makes a brother stumble?

So I like to drink sometimes. It's not the best habit but I certainly never drink to be drunk. However, recently I have been reconsidering my logic. There once was s time where I wouldn't because I felt that the world's relationship with alcohol was not something I wanted to be associated with. Upon reading 1 Corinthians 8, I begin to see the logic in that train of thought. It's not bad; it's not even discouraged, but one does have to be careful who knows you drink. I probably do have friends with weak consciences who don't know better and I have to be careful how I conduct myself with them. I still enjoy a drink now and then but I definitely still calm it down.

In other news, one thing that has really gotten to m e lately is just how privileged i am. I woke up this morning to an alarm on a nice new cell phone. I took a hot shower and ate breakfast. I have unlimited access to God's Word. I even have several study books I'm working through to help me understand the Bible better. All this is at my finger tips because I live in America. Why me? Why here? This is what I wonder.

God show me the plan you have. Why have You put me where I am to live through what I luve through? My life is incredible thanks to You. I praise You for the rich bkessings in my life. Help me to see each of them. Guide me in Your will today! I love You. I need You!

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Wishdum

God does not want us to thing we are wise. God does not want us to fill ourselves with wisdom of the world that we might boast in this wisdom. God has done something that doesn't make sense in the world's eyes in order to make it that much harder to believe. It doesn't make sense that Jesus would die on the cross and then come back to life. Why? That's just silly. But that's the point. God doesn't want us to believe in Him because it makes sense. He wants our complete faith-driven devotion. This happens when we believe in something that isn't logical. Then, He took it a step farther. God doesn't always call the wise or the strong to do jobs that require wise and strong people. At least not people who fit these molds by the world's standards. No God chooses the weak and the uneducated to shame those who would think themselves great. Many a great evangelist has struggled with speech problems. People born with disorders of various kinds are called to awesome Kingdom work. God gives wisdom where it is needed and strength where it is need. God is after all the ultimate source of these things. Books, universities  TV none of these possess any wisdom that matters in the Kingdom of God. Not to say they are totally worthless, but I did just say it. There are so many other things that matter so much more, and funny story, they ALL come from God.

Lord, help me to be wise in You. Grant me Your wisdom and discernment. Let me walk in humility like Christ. Let me only boast in what You have done for me. Let my thoughts be on Your Kingdom. Let me heart break for the things that break Your heart. Let me seek the things You seek. Let me be like You.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Warn a Brother

Do not regard him as an enemy, nut warn him as a brother.

It is so easy to run away when the lives of people around us get messy. If we watch someone living a life of sin, it's easy to hang out on the sidelines, judging them from a safe distance. What's not easy is doing what Jesus would have done; put yourself in their lives and don't leave until they are back on track. Convict them. Help them. Steer them back to the straight and narrow.

God does not want us to condemn the people of the world, either believers or non-believers. When we are witnessing, this is doubly true. Those who are lost have a lot of sin and junk to deal with. It is not helpful to point it out from any place but love. Nobody likes to air their dirty laundry for everyone, but they will listen to you if you are talking in love. People want to be loved and not judged. Fortunately, I know somebody who is very good at this.

Even though I've totally been this person, I hate to see the "Holier than thou" Bible-beaters who go around yelling doom and gloom on anyone and everyone. There message isn't a lie, but it's still far from the Truth. Though the world is black and white, not everyone can see or believe this. If you start forcing that on someone, they will be turned off. But if you come to them in love and with nothing but a desire for their eternal well-being, they may listen.

Christianity stopped being about you the second you let Jesus into your heart. It no longer matters about the person called "me". We are called to serve others and live as one. I has no place among the Church.

Lord, show us how to live in love. Let love be the backbone of everything we do. Let us forget all other things as we seek to know You more. Let our own desires melt away as we seek to love You first. Let the needs of others supercede our own needs. Let our own desires be far from our minds. Let Your will be first in my heart. 

Amen. Amen. Amen.

To an Unknown God

You know there is a God who you have yet to name. You know that He is real and deserves worship, yet you ignore Him. I feel this is still true today. Many people are "spiritual". They know there is something bigger, something to serve, but they ignore Him. There is one God, and He is the God of Israel. I know it's hard to swallow because of the thousands of years of hypocrisy and ludacris-ness of the Church and Christians, but those dark moments aren't God. No, God is above those moments. God is more than those moments. God has made us and is over all of creation. Everything points to His existence. We can't deny Him.

My agnostic friend and I were talking the other day. Her life is screaming for a Savior. She even admitted how much she wants what I have. But what got in the way? Christians.

Do you hear my heart breaking? What have we done? How can we claim to love and serve the Most High God and still be the way so many in the Church's history have been? What have we done?

I'm not sure how all this relates in my head. I'm probably just rambling. I guess it's that so many in our world long to worship the One True God, but they don't know who He is or they haven't truly met Him because of the terrible witness of believers. I know we can't all be like Paul, but come on, Church. Get it together.

Lord, guide Your Bride back to You. We have wandered so far from the calling You've given us. We've wandered so far from what You want to do in us. Please remind us of what it means to live for You. Please show us that all this material crap doesn't matter. All this stuff that we think is so important is dust. All is vanity! All we need is You.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

For Freedom

It is for freedom that you have been set free.

It always get confused when I read this part of Galations 5:1 becuase I don't understand how for freedom's sake we have been set free. But if you read other translations, it starts to make more sense. We have not been set free for freedom's sake but by and because of the freedom found through the Cross. We are not set free by our own doing, but because Christ died once and for all on the Cross, thereby releasing those who are called by His name from the bondage to the law. We are set free by this freedom. And we are told to stand fast in this freedom. For if we falter, what are we?

If we accept Christ's freedom, but then run back to our old ways of slavery to sin and death, we are worthless. Who, after being set free, would run back to their abusive master? But it's a struggle. That abusive master is also very alluring. He promises great things, but at what cost? But no, for freedom, you have been set free, so that you don't have to submit to the law anymore. Freedom was given freely to us. We don't have to submit to the law of sin and death anymore. Does that hit home? Do you realize what a change that is? Before we accept Christ, an impossible standard and burden is placed on us. We can never be righteous according to the law. And yet people try, and fail, all the time. People long to be made right by the law. People long to earn their way in.

But Christ has set us free. Not because we did anything but say I believe. Our faith is our righteousness. We are called to be nothing more than faith working through love. God does not want a bunch of self-righteous phonies - of which I was once one - no! He wants children, sons, and heirs. He wants us to accept His freedom and pass it on.

Lord, help us to accept Your freedom! Let us live as though we are free and let us not submit to our old ways. Please protect me from the temptations that come my way. Sometimes they are too much to bear! But praise be to God that He is with me to save me from them! Lord, live in  my heart today. Let self-pity and haughiness be far from me. Let me heart be totally focus on You.

Amen. Amen. Amen,

Children of Promise

There is niether Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, the you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

All the lines we've drawn between groups throughout our lives, even within the Church, they don't matter. You see, when Christ came and did His job, He took away everything that might could divide us. In the law, when we were slaves, there may have been Jews and Gentiles, but now, there is only Christ and His Church. And as a result we are all Children of Abraham. I am a child of the promise. I may not have a Jewish mother, but I have a claim to the inheritance. What good news!

So we must live in this unity. People as a default want to draw lines between groups. It so much easier to understand the world if everybody fits into neat little groups. Wouldn't you rather organize and stereotype? I know it's easier...

Lord, help us, Your bride, find unity. Let us be as one Church across the world, spreading Your Gospel! Let nothing separate us from the good news that we are children of promise.

Promise made. Promise kept.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Citizen

Long time no see...

I find it fascinating that Paul was a Roman citizen. Something not common but so valuable. God could have chosen anyone to use the way He used Paul. He also could have used Paul in any form but the perfect plan was to have him be a citizen of Rome. It came in handy so many times. Now here's where it becomes a stretch...God has made our lives a certain way for a reason. One thing I struggle with is why He made me a girl. Why middle class, white, American? I am NOT complaining at all but of all the things I could have been, why am I who I am?

What awesome plan does God have in store? How is He going to use the fact that I am a wasp woman? It's so exciting to think about because there are so many possibilities.

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