God is bigger than great and better than incredible, stronger than indescribable and way cooler than unimaginable. I.LOVE.HIM.
This past Sunday, it was put on my heart to challenge my middle school girls.. if they weren't feeling the love of Christ, that they ask Him to show them He loves them. Or if they weren't confident He was there, ask Him to show up. God used me to challenge them to pray for a heart of Christ, eyes of the Lord and a mind of God. Needless to say, the things God lays on our hearts aren't just for teaching, but for learning and growing our own spirits.
It's 2:18...and I'm wide awake. The thing about just laying here is that my mind runs a million miles an hour. But there's some nights that the flesh wins and I get stuck in this rut of thinking of the past, how I should've changed something, what mistakes I should've seen coming... But tonight is different. I've been praying to have a mind like Christ's. Just as I was about to jump back into my rut, I promise you there was this tug on my heart. I started playing with my phone...hit the Bible app...and a reminder for one of my old study plans pops up, "Battlefield of the Mind".
This is when the chills kick in because this is what it says
"The Mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)
Paul tells us, as believers in Jesus, the Son of God, we are given the mind of Christ. That is, we can think spiritual thoughts because Christ is alive within us. We no longer think the way we once did. We begin to think as He did.
When we have the Holy Spirit living and active within us, the mind of Christ is action. The mind of Christ is given to us to direct us in the right way. If we have His mind, we will think positive thoughts. We will think about how blessed we are--how good God has been to us.
Jesus was positive, in spite of being lied about, lonely, misunderstood, and a multitude of other negative things. He was deserted by His disciples when He needed them most, yet He remained positive--always able to offer an uplifting, encouraging word. Just being in His presence would suggest that all fear, negative thoughts, and discouraging hopelessness would evaporate into thin air.
The mind of Christ in us is positive. So when we fall for the opportunity to be negative about something, we should instantly discern that we are not operating with the mind of Christ. God wants us to be lifted up. It's the enemy of our soul who wants us pressed down--depressed. We have many opportunities to think negative thoughts, but that's not the mind of Christ at work in us. We don't have to accept those thoughts. They are not ours!"
God knows our needs, He knows our wants. God has the power to fulfill both. His timing is impeccable, better than our own. This is overwhelming because my thoughts usually don't find peace when I'm laying here thinking about nothing. But God has healed that in this very moment. :) I'm so thankful for Him,
He's answering my prayers to be all Spirit-led.
He's showing me what it is to have the mind of Christ,
the eyes of Christ and the heart of Christ.
And it all started with this Divine Romance,
thank God for God
:)
Monday, September 17, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Snake Bite
I feel like I haven't sat and written with God in forever. My loss for written words has been a smaller portion of a bigger picture. Coming home from all the work the Spirit inside of me was doing this summer, I was so ready to stand strong against complacency and continue to grow stronger and stronger spiritually. I was striving to be Spirit led, instead of led by the flesh.
If one is genuinely filled with the Spirit, it's never difficult to
stay head over heels for God. But, it only
takes one flesh-led move to hinder that focus.
Find strength in Gods faithfulness and comfort in His grace.
The thing about the world is that we're in it...constantly. There's no escaping it. No doubt we should constantly be surrounding ourselves with spirits that are alive, words from the Word that's full of power & that's sharper than any double edge sword. Our spiritual feeding is more important than our physical food. So why can I get to this place of complacency so easily? This place where I feel I don't need to be in constant step with God?
I went on a date with this Ultimate Lover of mine. Picnic blanket, the Word, the park...perfection. and I fell asleep. I fell..asleep. Because for some reason I think that my life and what I have to do is more important than what God has to teach me. So I keep myself constantly busy and I miss out on my divine plans & appointments. My devotion to God is shown by my priorities. And by this...I'm embarrassed. In losing the Spirit of fulfillment, I've really been starting to see myself go through the motions...
Go to small group
Teach small group
Go to church
check, check, check.
I've been going where I see members of the body of Christ in need to try to stay close to my Love, but...losing the whole point. The point of going to serve for the purpose of bringing light to dark situations. The point of saying I'm coming to help in Jesus' name. Because working for the Lord and serving in the name of the Lord is when eyes are directed to Him and can see Him really move. THIS is when a task is completed, when God is BEING SEEN. This is when fulfillment takes place and the idea of being used by God is real and so strengthening.
The foundation of complacency is selfishness. It's flesh winning over the Spirit, it's the body taking over the soul. If we aren't striving to be Jesus to EVERY person we're in contact with, we're leading by our flesh. C.S. Lewis says this "You don't have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body." I'm starting to learn how sensitive the Spirit inside of us truly is. If we're not feeding the Holy Spirit, then our steps start to slowly redirect.. not even seen until the realization that we need the Lord again. The tiniest bit of the world can take a beating on this Spirit if we're not constantly juicin' up.
2 God stories to share..out of many..
ONE! :)
I don't religiously check my verse of the day app, but was led to it a few days ago. God spoke right to me..so I wrote to Him:
"God, When I'm frustrated and you don't seem real to me..when the world's darkness seems to suffocate your light in me..when it makes more sense to live for me than an invisible perfection in the sky...you show me you in a lot of ways. The verse of today, God,
'Hebrews 10:35-so do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings! Patient endurance is what you need now to carry out God's will."
That makes me smile HUGE just thinking about how He pursues. When the world comes at you strong and it seems too much to take on,
Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
TWO! :)
I feel like God put this blog on my heart to keep me accountable because I'm constantly looking for things to learn, even if I can't feel the fulfillment He brings. I flipped open my notes from this summer's past lessons and landed right in the middle of what this spirit needed to be reminded of. Amos 5 is the pronouncement of God's judgement on Israel for its lifestyles of complacency. These Israelites were self-righteous people that were so sure that God was going to save them on the day of the Lord because of their exceptional works. When in reality, Amos says, (amos 5:18) "It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house...only to have a snake bite him."
So these complacent people expected God to come save them. However, their lifestyles weren't those of the early Christians, but lifestyles these believers had ordained Godly. How often do we do this...how often do we live according to what 'seems' Godly without even reading the Word to see what is and what's not. Even if we're not complacent, we tend to allow it. Which brings about my favorite verse in Amos..verse 24 "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream." The Spirit of God would be concerned for the world, He wouldn't stand by and watch injustice happen. Injustice...we'll save for another blog. But if we're truly taken over by God's spirit, this faith, this love, this hope, can't be kept quiet. We serve a just God and we are not here to pick and choose who hears about it...who's saved by it...and who's brought justice by it.
"Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned,
be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless &
fall from your secure position.
Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord." 2 Peter 3:17-18
These past few weeks have been a weakening into complacency. But in writing, God is faithful. 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And in order to stay out of this complacent, unfulfilling, self-rightous life, I pray to be pushed out of my comfort zone. When we are pushed out of our comfort zones, we cling to what we know..to what's comforting to us. This is God. I need to need Him. Without Him, we are nothing.
So, Lord, let me be something for you. Let me change the world...change lives...in your name!
:)
If one is genuinely filled with the Spirit, it's never difficult to
stay head over heels for God. But, it only
takes one flesh-led move to hinder that focus.
Find strength in Gods faithfulness and comfort in His grace.
The thing about the world is that we're in it...constantly. There's no escaping it. No doubt we should constantly be surrounding ourselves with spirits that are alive, words from the Word that's full of power & that's sharper than any double edge sword. Our spiritual feeding is more important than our physical food. So why can I get to this place of complacency so easily? This place where I feel I don't need to be in constant step with God?
I went on a date with this Ultimate Lover of mine. Picnic blanket, the Word, the park...perfection. and I fell asleep. I fell..asleep. Because for some reason I think that my life and what I have to do is more important than what God has to teach me. So I keep myself constantly busy and I miss out on my divine plans & appointments. My devotion to God is shown by my priorities. And by this...I'm embarrassed. In losing the Spirit of fulfillment, I've really been starting to see myself go through the motions...
Go to small group
Teach small group
Go to church
check, check, check.
I've been going where I see members of the body of Christ in need to try to stay close to my Love, but...losing the whole point. The point of going to serve for the purpose of bringing light to dark situations. The point of saying I'm coming to help in Jesus' name. Because working for the Lord and serving in the name of the Lord is when eyes are directed to Him and can see Him really move. THIS is when a task is completed, when God is BEING SEEN. This is when fulfillment takes place and the idea of being used by God is real and so strengthening.
The foundation of complacency is selfishness. It's flesh winning over the Spirit, it's the body taking over the soul. If we aren't striving to be Jesus to EVERY person we're in contact with, we're leading by our flesh. C.S. Lewis says this "You don't have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body." I'm starting to learn how sensitive the Spirit inside of us truly is. If we're not feeding the Holy Spirit, then our steps start to slowly redirect.. not even seen until the realization that we need the Lord again. The tiniest bit of the world can take a beating on this Spirit if we're not constantly juicin' up.
2 God stories to share..out of many..
ONE! :)
I don't religiously check my verse of the day app, but was led to it a few days ago. God spoke right to me..so I wrote to Him:
"God, When I'm frustrated and you don't seem real to me..when the world's darkness seems to suffocate your light in me..when it makes more sense to live for me than an invisible perfection in the sky...you show me you in a lot of ways. The verse of today, God,
'Hebrews 10:35-so do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings! Patient endurance is what you need now to carry out God's will."
That makes me smile HUGE just thinking about how He pursues. When the world comes at you strong and it seems too much to take on,
Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
TWO! :)
I feel like God put this blog on my heart to keep me accountable because I'm constantly looking for things to learn, even if I can't feel the fulfillment He brings. I flipped open my notes from this summer's past lessons and landed right in the middle of what this spirit needed to be reminded of. Amos 5 is the pronouncement of God's judgement on Israel for its lifestyles of complacency. These Israelites were self-righteous people that were so sure that God was going to save them on the day of the Lord because of their exceptional works. When in reality, Amos says, (amos 5:18) "It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house...only to have a snake bite him."
So these complacent people expected God to come save them. However, their lifestyles weren't those of the early Christians, but lifestyles these believers had ordained Godly. How often do we do this...how often do we live according to what 'seems' Godly without even reading the Word to see what is and what's not. Even if we're not complacent, we tend to allow it. Which brings about my favorite verse in Amos..verse 24 "Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream." The Spirit of God would be concerned for the world, He wouldn't stand by and watch injustice happen. Injustice...we'll save for another blog. But if we're truly taken over by God's spirit, this faith, this love, this hope, can't be kept quiet. We serve a just God and we are not here to pick and choose who hears about it...who's saved by it...and who's brought justice by it.
"Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned,
be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless &
fall from your secure position.
Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord." 2 Peter 3:17-18
These past few weeks have been a weakening into complacency. But in writing, God is faithful. 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And in order to stay out of this complacent, unfulfilling, self-rightous life, I pray to be pushed out of my comfort zone. When we are pushed out of our comfort zones, we cling to what we know..to what's comforting to us. This is God. I need to need Him. Without Him, we are nothing.
So, Lord, let me be something for you. Let me change the world...change lives...in your name!
:)
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