I went out today with a friend and my daughter who both wanted to get some ice cream. Two doors down at the shopping plaza I saw the most recent attaction; Five Guys Burger’s. Of course I was hungry b/c I never took the time to eat earlier when my daughter did, and saw this as the perfect opportunity to grab one of these famous burgers. I must admit, it “filled the void”, as my one brother always likes to say and joke about; and not once did I think about someone else who may have been hungry or for that matter ever tasted a burger before. Now it’s true, we don’t go around everytime we get hungry and think of the acutal folks out there that are hungry, we are just trying to fill our own appitite at the moemnt. But what if the next time we got hungry for something we actually considered the millions of people around this world who don’t have barely anything at all to eat. I know it’s hard to do; even sitting here, I am chugging down a bottle of water to quench my thirst (must be from all the salt in that burger I had earlier) and think of some one literally dying of thirst in another country far far away, but it happends, everyday. I know it’s hard to change our thinking, and if you want a good book on it I recomend “Thinking For A Change”, by John C. Maxwell. I know it has helped me in my personal life. But more than that, As a Christian, The Bible Comands us to: Proverbs 28;27 ” He who give to the poor lacks nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses”. 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each man should give what he has decided to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. There are many more, but those 2 seems to stick out to me the most and helped me remember that it is part of my responcibility to help the poor and hungry, to cloth the naked, to house the homeless. No one can do it all, and I know at times the needs seem so overwhelming, but together we can accomplish great things. I know it’s no accident that found my way over to Bloggers Unite tonight, and it’s no accident that they happen to be blogging for Hunger in less than 3 hours, and it’s no accident that I felt a need to be a part of this. I don’t have all answeres, as a matter of fact, I don’t even know where to start; but as God as my witness, I have slowly been comming around. This past Christmas I wanted to get away from all the commercialism and asked my parents to donate an act of charity for me of some sort. On Christmas I was pleasently surprised when I received a card with a donation made in my name for Chickens to help feed a family through Heifer International. Now you may be asking yourself ” what good are chickens”? but for a family in another country it will provide eggs, and meat; the chickens can reproduce and, the cycle continues. It doesn’t seem like a lot to someone like me who can go to the grocery store that is open 24 hours a day and get my needs met , but I know it was a very important part of this famillies livelyhood and utter survival. So I invite you to become a part of something bigger than just what is around you at the moement. I dare you to think about the lost and the forgotten. I ask you to think about the hungry, thirsty, and poverty stricken the next time you open the refrigerator or hit the drive threw. If you don’t feel like you can give, if you feel overwhelmed, and don’t know where to start; how about just take some time and pray for those that have less than you. I know this too might be uncomfortable, but doing something new, usually is. If nothing else, stop by the links listed below and hear the stories, learn about the issues, just see how the other parts of the world live. Perhaps it will move your heart, to move your hands and feet. God Bless.
Category: Growing In My Walk
The more my heart is burning to know more of God, and have more of His heart, I have been recently reminded of a very important aspect of living out our faith for Christ; that as much joy and fellowship our faith can bring us with God and our fellow believers, it is also often times lonely. It is in these recent times of solitude for me, that I learn to lean my whole self onto Christ alone, learning over and over again that He is always and ever will be more than enough for me. A month or so back, our pastor did a sermon series called “foundations of ministry-helping people”. Ministry is nothing more than loving, serving, and healing people in the name of Jesus. As a person who has a huge heart for serving, and jumping on every opportunity that I get, this really spoke to me. As I helped a friend lead a girls retreat for some local teenagers recently, my heart was so engaged, and I knew God was affirming some things in my life through serving here as well. But there are many times when God tucks our gifts away and lets us really get close to Him in our solitude. As it turns out, this is happening to me on a daily basis in my current season. As I try my best to reach out to family and friends for Jesus, I am quick to remember how Jesus must have felt in the garden as He prayed and his very own disciples fell asleep on him. Even though He was surrounded by His very own circle of friends, he was left to just trust God, hear God, and wait on God, while everyone else did what they wanted, which was sleep. As I serve and show love to others there is no one standing there affirming what I am doing, nor does there need to be, but we as humans are wired for relationships; which may or may not always be there in the ways that we feel that they should or need to be. I find this in my some of my Christian cirlces, not all of them, but some. I have come to better accept people where they are in their spiritual walk, but often find myself alone, trusting God, and once again relying on Him that He is more than enough. I am blessed to have some Christian brothers and sisters who take the time and communicate with me, but then there are times there too, when people don’t always respond as quickly as we would like, or they may misunderstand our point all together. This can leave us frustrated and asking God what is going on with these people, but once again, it is a lesson in becoming more and more like Christ. Remember how Jesus was amazed so many times at the disciples for not understanding what He was saying, or when he’d use parables? He said “how can you understand the more important things of the kingdom and gain wisdom and deeper understanding if you can’t even get a simple little parable?” Ever been around a Christian like that? I know that I’ve had my share, but once again, here we go with learning humility, love and patience. Learning that we are going to be misunderstood as Jesus was. That we will face rejection and loneliness, like Jesus did. It’s all in becoming more like Christ. This too is why I am so grateful to God in giving me understanding and the gift of prayer. A friend recently read an excerpt of Charles Spurgeon where it said that God does not need our prayer, but He allows us to pray for us to learn to rely and trust in Him completely, and to grow us. I know for me, prayer has been an area where God teaches me in many areas of my personal and my spiritual life. It has also been a great comfort in times of loneliness of misunderstanding, and feeling like what is the point of all of this some days. It helps me to connect with God in the trinity and to be loved and reminded of what I am being taught by Him right now. So next time you feel misunderstood, unappreciated, or lonely know that you are growing in Christ-likeness, and that should change you whole mindset to a happiness of really understanding that “Wow, I really am becoming more like Christ, Cool!”.
Psalm 37:23 (New Living Translation) 23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
I’ve always been one who has struggled to achieve certain things in my life, perhaps we all do. I am not the most focused or organized individual when it comes to what my priorities should be, but I think it goes back to not wanting to do those things that are uncomfortable or unpleasant in our lives like keeping my finances in order or working out, both of which I am trying to get better at one day at a time. These are areas that I have to constantly surrender over to God. It’s easy to surrender the easy stuff, the stuff that we plan on doing anyway, like making our devotion and prayer time a habit and desire every morning; this too, was a long time coming, but now I see it as an area that I can’t live without. As I am reading more and more and learning more about myself and my relationship with God, I am humbly reminded time and time again that I am pretty darn useless in my own strength. I am also learning that it is in those uncomfortable, uncertain times that we grow in different areas of our lives and our character. In Psalm 37 :5 it says 5 Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. Easy enough right, but we need to be wise and remember how easy it is to forget such simple truths in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Commit Everything; Everything! This is the good, the bad, and the ugly areas of our lives. The fears of the unknown, our futures, our dreams, and desires. God has really been giving me some big ideas lately, but he is also teaching me to put first things first, and get done what I need to get done. I can get pretty overwhelmed mentally if I let myself, and so I have been finding myself constantly letting go and letting God in as much as I can. I say all this to help remind us all that our job is to seek Him and obey what it is he tells us to do and He will honor that and bless our efforts when we give Him our issues to handle. I know for me, learning to do more of this has been extremely freeing. It is so good to know that God oversees every little detail of my life, and that He only has good plans and purposes for my life. He delights in every detail of our lives! and all we need to do is listen and obey! A beautiful example of obedience was shown to me this morning in Luke 1, where Mary, the mother of God, gets the big news that indeed she will bear the son! Mary wonders how this is going to happen and gets her questions answered leaving her quick to obey and rejoice!
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.[a]”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Oh, isn’t that beautiful! Nothing is impossible with God. We say things like this over and over, and it becomes cliche even, but how much power we would have if we truly let ourselves believe it! I know I am trying to as I continually learn to live surrendered, giving God every last little area of my life. I love too, how Mary responded: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Yes, Lord, I am your servant, have your way with me!! Beautiful!! That is rock solid faith and obedience right there folks! And that is what I want my heart to look like!! Awesome!!
Later, when she goes off to visit Elizabeth she was again praised for her obedience to do the will of God; v. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” After Mary realizes how big this blessing of obedience really is she breaks out in song :
Mary’s Song
46And Mary said:
”My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”
So let us too, trust in our Lord with every area of our life! Let us know that He is watching over His beloved children and that He will only bring goodness to our lives when we give him all of us through our surrender and our hope, belief and obedience. Father God, thank you for all your goodness that you shower over our lives. We know life is hard but you make everything easy when we choose to obey you and your ways. Help us to always put you first in our lives and give us a constant desire for righteousness and work that is pleasing to your sight. Help us trust you and obey as you lead us in becoming more like your son Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen!!
The story in Mark 14:1-12 is one of my favorites. It is the story of a woman who came to Jesus and poured out an expensive perfume onto his head in preparation for His burial. Many were outraged and thought the woman was wasting such a luxurious item, but Jesus corrected their thinking and found the woman’s actions to be pleasing, sacrificial, and promised that this act would be remembered always. Below is Matthew Henry’s Commentary, which helps us to better understand this as well :
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible
14:1-11 Did Christ pour out his soul unto death for us, and shall we think any thing too precious for him? Do we give him the precious ointment of our best affections? Let us love him with all the heart, though it is common for zeal and affection to be misunderstood and blamed; and remember that charity to the poor will not excuse any from particular acts of piety to the Lord Jesus. Christ commended this woman’s pious attention to the notice of believers in all ages. Those who honour Christ he will honour. Covetousness was Judas’ master lust, and that betrayed him to the sin of betraying his Master; the devil suited his temptation to that, and so conquered him. And see what wicked contrivances many have in their sinful pursuits; but what appears to forward their plans, will prove curses in the end.
This past weekend I was blessed to help my dear friend co-lead a girl’s retreat for an area church. It was awesome to be used by God, and to be able to reach out and impact some of these girls lives who have some hard backgrounds. Me and my friend poured out hours of our time in preparation and prayer for this b/c we have a desire to make a differnece in the lives of others for Jesus. Is that your desire too? I hope so, because this is what God calls us to do, to pour out our lives, our time, our money, our resources, and everything He puts in our path to share the love of Jesus with others and to help eachother stay strong and faithful to the one who is always faithful to us. We need to always be desiring to give God our very best, whether we are serving others, or spending time with Him in the Word and Prayer. So as we start another week in this world, full of problems and hardships; are we surrendering our lives over to Christ? Are we giving Him our best? Our first fruits? Our precious possessions, desires and dreams? He deserves every area of our lives for what He gave to us! So let us continually put our trust in Him, take His hand and let Him guide our every step as we walk in obedience an love, giving Him nothing less than all of us. Lord Jesus, we thank you for all that you do in us and through us, making us more like you one step at a time. We love you and desire to serve you with our lives. Strip away our pride and our personal issues and make us to be holy as you are holy. Let us be light and shine through us for your glory. In your holy name we thank you and pray, Amen!
As I sat at the feet Jesus this morning, He was quick to remind me of humility. I know it’s easy to get “preachy” with others when we are being blessed. “Just have faith, God will get you through….” or other surface coated phrases like that. It’s true our trials indeed strengthen our faith, but we will always have something new to over come, just wait a moment or two. I had written a blog post in draft about how sometimes I get fed up with others “lack of faith”. Well, it will be getting deleted for the simple reason that as God continues to humble me, he reminds me that I too, exhibit my very own and very real lack of faith, anxiety, and fears at times. I may not outwardly express them as much as others may, but I think that is because (and this is just my own take on it), as I deal with my own issues in private with God, and sometimes confiding in a close friend or two, God will strengthen me, so that I can go out as a strong member of the body and help the weaker members with positive encouragement, sympathy and empathy. Many times, God indeed lets me share my struggles and how my faith gets worked through it all. I have learned too, that many times when I do share my struggles, it will teach me something new about myself as well. This morning I was crying out to God, literally, b/c I am so overwhelmed with the math class that I am taking. It’s a huge challenge for me, and I feel like I am grasping at straws. Now, the “old me” (about a half hour ago), would say, “Come on Robin, God is the God of the impossible, He will see you through this, just have faith, get in the Word, soak yourself in every Christian song or serman that comes along your path, that is how we stay rooted”; or something along those lines of self – preaching. It is in these times of struggles, and loss that we learn to throw open our arms to God and seek more of Him, and why would I want to hinder anyone from doing that by giving them a “faith” band-aid?, if you know what I mean. I caught myself doing this yesterday, as my friend shared her struggles of a physical injury that she has been plagued with and her very real fears of a possible corrective surgery. Of course I was doing my best to listen, but quickly jumped in with something along the lines of, “now don’t forget to surrender it to God” and”Don’t worry too much about it b/c God’s Word tells us not to worry, but live by faith”. Hmm, sounds like I should be taking a bit of my own preachy medicine this morning as I found myself upset over my own issues of my math class. Alright God, I see, you are teaching me some valuable lessons here and that I too need to practice what I “preach” and to continue to shut my mouth and open my ears of compassion and understanding instead of judgement and trying to explain away other peoples very real issues. If that’s not humbling to me, well I don’t know what is? Thank you Jesus for reminded me of this very important lesson this morning, and may I truly learn to be more compassionate to others needs as you are, and may I continue to see others needs as they see them and not be quick to spout off my opinions or views. Amen
As I sat in a meeting last week, it was apparent that who I am at the core was coming out in full force. I vented my frustrations and lack of understanding when it came to things such as ministry leadership. We have meetings and only a few show up. We have weekly ministries that need volunteers and there is never enough help. It’s frustration when you make something like church leadership (even on a volunteer/servant level) a priority, and you sit week after week with many who don’t share that passion, but try and justify with excuses. I think my roots of leadership have been formed deep within me as a child. I watched my dad, an extremely successful and professional business man climb the corporate ladder, and finally reach his desired destination as the President of The Institute of Internal Auditors, located in Florida. He has taught college classes, co-authored a book, traveled the world, met with high influential leaders and officials around the globe and has built a highly respected reputation throughout the business world and is at the forefront of the auditing sector. It is this foundation and consistent and proven example that drives me to become all that I can be in this life for Christ, may daughter, and for others. Church leadership is a conversation I have had with some of my church’s pastoral staff and is part of my daily prayer time with God. Occasionally looking back at my blog, (which is basically a way for me to better understand myself and where I am at a particular moment as a follower of Christ) helps me to remember some of my core characteristics and how they all seem to be tying together as I grow. As I have learned to encourage others through my words, and now, learning to be more careful and watchful of my actions, I have a built- in desire to help people become all that God has intended them to be as Christians. I know this sound like a really tall order, and yes it is, but if you think about it, isn’t it what Christ calls us to be to one another; to love each other, to encourage eachother and support each others walk, and to help each other up as we stumble throughout life. This too, is why I think I had blogged previously about my “church issues”, and why so many others may feel aloof from their current church situation. I have reconciled with God, my Church, and my notions of what church should and / or shouldn’t be, and I have learned to not expect so much from people, even from church leaders, even though mine have been extremely supportive and tolerant of my growth and growing pains. I have been blessed with a church full of leaders who have been strong examples of this, even when it has sometimes been in silence. It has been in these difficult times of wanting my answeres NOW, and packaged to my preferences, that God has taught me many lessons of true leadership. We are looking for someone to come along side us and guide us, to support us, and to mentor us in a way. It is obvious, just from our distant cries from the recent political campaign trail that so many (even non-Christians) are looking to be led by someone. As someone who always went out and made things happen for myself, I think I was thrown into my own understanding of what leadership is and why it drives home so much of who am as a person. I think for so many of us, we are looking for those leaders; and for me, my desire is to now learn how to become one of them myself, and serve others with the love of Christ. Obviously, not all that we think and feel can get blogged; at least for me, I’d be posting on a non-stop basis; but a certain underlining them of whom I am is detectable. I am one of 2 very wide extremes. When I am passionate about something, I will put my whole self into it and begin taking charge. This is seen in my career as a professional nanny and also in my 2 1/2 years as a hotel front desk rep. In these two positions I would give my employers 110 %, going the extra mile, working over, coming in early, bending over backwards for their every whim, and some how finding it drove me to preform. The other extreme my sheer lack of motivation at times. This occurs especially when I don’t want to complete a specific task; say do my math homework, or take the necessary time to spend with my daughter; whether it be fun or discipline. Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter, but at this age of 3, and being stuck in the house during a cold winter has been challenging to say the least. We do get out w/ family and friends from time to time, but I think things will be better for the both of us when we can hit the parks and playgrounds on a regular basis. It is becoming apparent that my history of being a procrastinator in this area is serving me no good, but just leading to unnecessary frustration and anger. I point out my short coming b/c I feel that is what good leaders do. I can recall already a few times as our new President has even said, that he messed up, he did not pick the right person, or make a right choice, but that he was human, and trying to learn from the mistakes that he did make. Isn’t that just like all of us a Christians? We are trying to live this life, support our families, be pro-active in our communities and churches and yet mess up from time to time. One thing I have noticed too, is that sometimes, just like in President Obama’s case, there are always going to be people out there to point out our short comings. This is not only true but expected as we become more elevated as leaders. I remember a conversation I had with my pastor which rings true; He said how we as people love to put our leaders on a pedestal and then just as quickly knock them down. It never ceases to amaze me how eager some are to put our well respected Christian leaders under the microscope of judgement and criticism. I remember during election week, our pastor had brought up the topic of abortion while trying to also share his excitement for the historical landmark of the possibility of having the first African American president. That following week, we received an apology letter from him because so many took what he had said out of context and twisted it. I remember sitting with a friend in church the following Sunday, and how we both agreed that we didn’t feel like he has said anything wrong in the first place, and saw no need for an apology of any sort. This drives home the point that when we take on leadership positions, no matter how large or how small, even as small as serving as a volunteer, people are always watching, and they will be quick to judge you and I for what we stand for and believe. This has happened to me a few times recently with fellow Christians who had called me out on something I said or the way I came off, even though they don’t know me; but I am glad that they did b/c it allowed God to reminding me that indeed people are watching me, even people I don’t know. It has even made me re-think the way I act in public, and in my car, maybe sitting in traffic; Am I yelling at my daughter in the back seat, or am I patiently waiting for the car ahead of me to clear the intersection? It’s not hard to notice this in me; I’ ve even noticed that the stronger and more courageous I get in my faith, the more my true colors and passion for Christ starts pouring out of me, to an uncontainable and hopefully contagious manner. I think that being able to write these type of thoughts and to be aware of their reality and gravity is crucial to becoming an effective leader any any level and in any capacity. I think too, of people like Rick Warren, Joyce Meyers, and countless others who are constantly in the public spotlight and hold their own very professionally. I think for the Christian leader, whether, paid or volunteer, we need to always be aware of our surroundings professionally and privately, and seek wisdom and discernment for our thoughts, words and actions, by prayer and being in the Word of God on a daily basis. My prayer today is that I first want to thank God for this increased knowledge and understanding that He does give me in being relational with others and I would ask Him to continue to help all leaders better understand themselves and their own walk with God, including their short comings, so that we can be held accountable in the righteousness of who we are in Christ. May God continue to rise up Godly leaders in every area of our lives and help us always have a passion to lead others in the adventure of becomming more like Christ. Amen!
After I read my devotions this morning, God led me over to the book of Galatians. With only 6 chapters, I was able to read it in one sitting. I really tried to sit there and let God teach me what he wanted me to learn. Thinking back on yesterdays post of how I have been feeling straggling behind in my walk; God quickly reminded me in Ch. 1 v.15 that just like Paul, we are set apart from birth by God, and called by His grace, who reavealed His son, that we may preach the good news among the gentiles. In Ch. 2, Paul continues, “Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem… ” That gave my impatient heart a bit of a breather. It reminded me again, that indeed, God takes his time with us, preparing us for His purposes. I know too, from recalling some old testament stories, that it was many times in a man’s or profits old age, that they would finally fulfill the call that God had put before them. This life of following after God and His righteousness is clarified in Ch. 2 when Paul has to distinguish the difference of living under the Law and Living unto the Spirit of God through Christ Jesus. v.20 capitulates this when it states “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. v. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” Ch 3. continues this explanation inv. 5 “Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? v 6. Consider Abraham “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. I can’t tell you the number of people I know that think that if they are just good enough they are going to make it into heaven. If I Just volunteer, am a kind, loving person. This is especially hard when I have to deal with fellow Christians who are not fully grasping the full potential of their faith, and live in loneliness, doubt, fear and anxiety for tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, I struggle with life issue too, but I have learned that when the storms of life do come, to automatically turn to Jesus. It’s something I’ve had to learn over and over and over again, but I think each time I learn to surrender, I get stronger, and bolder. I think the hardest part of being a Christian sometimes is watching others not overcome in their faith; not taking seriously the importance of Bible study, of spending time with God, of just letting God in when there is a need to be met, or maybe even a spiritual nudge. True, I don’t know peoples hearts, but I am a firm believer that our faith will be displayed in how we walk out our lives. This too, I have been reminded lately to be on my guard as a Christian. I’ve realized that when you step out in you faith and start getting bold in The Spirit , people will start taking notice and start watching you ever so closely. This happened to me this previous week, and I found myself defending a minor issue, but none the less, God was reminding me at a few different times throughout the week to be on my guard and to really try and discipline myself with righteousness, because people will be quick (as I found out), to call you out on your faith. Going back to Galatians, in Ch. 5, this is exactly what is warned to us. v 7. “you were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? v 8 that kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. v 9 A little bit of yeast works through the whole batch of dough”. As Christians taking a stand for Christ, we need to be watchful of things that will not only lur us away, but make us stumble in the eyes of everyone else who is watching us so intently. This is a real scary place to be in our faith, when we abandon it all for Christ, but it is what He calls us to do, and we have to remember that we will be able to accomplish all things and truly live righteously for Him when we rely on His Spirit to not only guide our understanding, but to take control of every area of our lives; our thought, our words, our actions. I think V. 16 in Ch. 5 sums this up pretty good: “so I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. V 17. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. We need to continually be aware of the acts of the sinful nature and desire the fruits of the Spirit: v 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. v 25 Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Lord help us to remember that even though through your son Jesus, our Savior, the law of old has been abolished and we live freely through you, and you in us by your Spirit. Help us to live in the righteousness that you have called us to, and let us become strong in all thing that are Holy, Pure and True of you. In The Power of The Name of Jesus, Amen.
Things have been good here. I have been trucking along in life just fine. Being an encouragement to others and trying to stay still long enough with The Lord to hear His voice. I have my challenges raising Olivia; and I am learning that I just need to really get on the discipline track with her. I know she needs structure and discipline which has been ringing in my head lately. Actually I know God has not just been reminding me of that as a mom, but also as woman after the heart of God. He has been disciplining me in different areas of my life, such as my finances; and as I attempt to get Olivia on a schedule, I am just as much trying to get myself on one. Because I don’t currently work; getting up at a super early hour has been a habit that I had gotten out of, but I am now finding that indeed I need that time back, desperately! I need it not to shower and get us out the door for a job or daycare, but I need it to for my quiet time with God. I’ve always made time in the morning for God (for the most part), I had my devotionals, and got down on my knees to surrender the day, but now I am finding that as I am growing and praying more, I am desiring more time with God. This not only means my prayer and devotional time, but my time in the Word as well. I have had sort of a brain fart today, back peddling spiritually in a sense. I have been having this desire to learn more and more of God’s Word, but I get so impatient with myself that even memorizing a simple scripture verse for the week has become this huge task for me to accomplish. Deep inside, I want to know it, and I think I feel like I want to know it all NOW! I know that I have blogged about this before, but sometimes I look back, and think of how much I should know at this point in my walk.Where did all those years in The Word of God go? and why can’t I make things stick to my heart and my head? I love watching Bible teachers such as Joyce Meyers, and recently Beth Moore. I sit there and think how I would love to know my Bible upside down and backwards the way that they seem to. I wish I had some powerful anointing on my life like that! But as I looked at Joyce Meyers website I was humbled when I saw she holds a Ph.D in Theology. I think I’d love to go to seminary some days but then I think ”well, I can’t even get down a verse in my head, who am I kidding”. I guess I just have to remind myself that God will teach me at whatever pace he chooses to teach me. My task is to give him my time and the first part of my day, and trust, obey, and live righteously before Him. It’s just so hard some days when I have a burning desire to be used by God and I feel so far behind in the game. Again, this isn’t a pity party,it’s just me trying to remind myself that I can do nothing outside the power and Spirit of God and that I just need take a deep breath, obey in the areas that he puts in front of me and trust that He is leading me into His purposes. So Lord, forgive me when I get impatient with myself. I just want to know more so I can share more of you with others. Please help me remember that you are the one guiding my learning and you are the one who will mold me into the person that you want me to be for you purposes. Help me trust, and help me be patient as you do your work in me. Help me to get up earlier and spend the time that with you that you deserve and that you want to spend with me also. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
James 4:7,8 “Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands , you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded”
As I have been reviling in my recent spiritual growth spurts and close intimacy with God, I have also been reminded in suttle ways that the devil is very real, and needs to be addressed. He has distracted my thoughts, he has distracted my time, he has messed with my emotions, and I am just about done with his crap right now. I recently got in the habit of “voicing” his banishment when I have sensed his slimy presence around me. Some times its vocal, or sometimes its in a form of communication to others, like email, which I did with a member of my life group at church this past week. Many people don’t take spiritual warfare as seriously as they should; I know I didn’t for a long time. Maybe it’s a maturity thing, I don’t know. But I do know that the devil stops at nothing to kill and destroy our lives; whether that be spiritual or physical. Obviously I am writing this b/c I am feeling attacked by his schemes, and am learning to better hear the very clear voice of the Holy Spirit who is guiding my understanding. Let me just say, that when ever you have an evil though, which is a sinful thought or desire, you better get on your knees and start praying for some Holy Help! I’m not kidding. The bible says not to give the devil a foot hold. As some one who has had her share of backslides, you better believe it takes all strength somedays to fight off his attacks, but when I do, I find comfort, peace, and best of all strengh that wasn’t there before. I didn’t plan on posting this today, but sometimes we just got to stop and obey what the spirit guides us to. Whatever attatck you may find yourself in, know that it is real, don’t fear it, but grab your bible and start finding scripture to fight it off. I have a small Bible promise book full of different topics that has become instrumental. It’s a gift that was given to me years ago by a priest who is a frined of the family. It sat on my self for years collecting dust, now it is next to me in my nightstand drawer, and I often take it with me in Bible case. May God continue to grant us dissernment in all matters that are holy and pure, and may he guide us in all undestanding and aid us in our every need. Amen.
I can’t tell you how many times in my life, saved and unsaved; that I have gone around the mountain with God. Learning lessons over and over with God because of my own stupidity or lack of surrender. I am so impatient with the majority of stuff that flows in and out of my life, and hate having to wait for things. Living in a “no wait” society just seems to add fuel to the fire, but it also has allowed me to finally let God have His way with me. There is that saying “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired”. That is pretty much what I have been telling God for several months now. The closer I get to Him, the closer He gets to me, which is starting to really leave me longing for more. I am at the point now where I can’t seem to get enough of Him. I think this is a really, really good problem, but once again, it is opening up my heart to impatience. I am seeing that God is preparing me for stuff more clearly, and I’m saying “O.K. God let’s get to work, no time to loose, I’ve wasted enough time, so where are we off to Lord?”. And you know what He said? “Wait Robin”. Not again God, you have got to be kidding me, I am starting to feel like my whole life is a huge waiting game. But God is quick to remind me that as awesome as it is to be growing on this deeper level with Him, I still have tons of stuff that He needs to be teaching me; such as, patience; discernment, love, grace, forgiveness; go ahead, pick a virtue… How about trust? Obedience? Discipline?…. As frustrating as this list started making me, the Holy Spirit was quick to remind me of what I had asked for. I’ve asked to become more like Jesus in every way possible; and doing that, is going to take all of these listed above. As much as I cherish surrender and worship; God is showing me that those are just the tip of the ice burg in becoming more like Christ. To become like Christ, we need His heart; we need to model him in every way; and that is a huge and challenging task for us mirey humans. We’re always gonna fall short, but as I was reminded yesterday by a friend; it is important to learn you lessons quickly, or else God is going to keep making you re-learn them. As much as I want to be used by God, and leave my mark on this world, I am quickly and thankfully finding myself more and more at the foot of The Cross in surrender and worship. Surrendering the doubts, fears, anxieties…. and then worshiping with every ounce of desperation and love; granting Him complete access to what He wants to do and have me learn. So this has become my latest prayer to God; that He would make me aware of what I need to learn each day, and help me to learn it quickly so that I can grow and move into whatever He wants to do with me. Thank you father for never letting go, for always leading us in your ways. Thank you for your Word, that is full of truth, guidance and wisdom; come and help me learn more of it, and make it stick to my soul forever. I will wait on you, and I will obey, I desire only you, and I know that you only have good things for me. Thank you for being patient with me Lord and thank you for helping me learn this lesson today. I love you Lord, and I just want to live to bring Glory to your name. Help me to know that you are near and will never leave me or forsake me. Thank You Lord for the fire that is burning inside of me, may it never go out, but become a beautiful light to guide me in becoming more like Jesus, and may you use it to guide others to you as well. Amen
