Serving His Call

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?... He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:6,8

God doesn't need our offerings; doesn't the One who created everything we possess able to have it Himself? The offering, just reveals the state of our hearts. He tells us clearly that He wants us to be just, love mercy & to walk humbly with God. This comes with daily appointments with our Maker to flush our motives, agendas, strongholds & bitterness we have through repentance. We then allow God to fill our hearts and minds with His Word through scriptures, worship & praises. Zooming out our camera lenses allow us to see the bigger picture, where God is and how small we are and how it all fits in His plan. We won't understand everything but we do know what's placed before us today at this very moment. Pleasing the LORD is simply doing the current task or decision based off God's Word.

I can run around and try to do a hundred things at once to be a better servant of God but what's happening in the process here? Am I really offering something that's pleasing to Him or am I allowing the devil to distract me from doing the one thing He's called me to do? The devil is so crafty that he disguises situations to gently steer our hearts astray. In fact, we won't even know it until we stop and allow God to gently realign us or get struck down by His powerful hand. God doesn't want us to be responsible for every plant in the forest but He will hold us accountable for a tree that He put under our care. We must be faithful & obedient with what God's called us to do and allow Him to stir other people's hearts to join in.

Thank You, LORD, for this awesome message. I was down yesterday, feeling like I'm giving up too much, to focus my heart on one specific area of ministry. I felt like I was being a quitter by not trusting You but I'm refreshed today knowing that my direction is still clear and that You're encouraging me. I pray all my brothers & sisters never forget it's not about how much they do but how well they answer Your call. Thank You LORD for always being a bright light to run to. In the wonderful name of our Savior Jesus I pray, Amen!

Giving Up

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Hebrews 6:10-12

God is telling us never to give up because He's always there to encourage us through the tough times. He wants us to look back at what we've done together so far and be encouraged of the wonderful fruit already produced. We need to recognize that even though it doesn't seem like any progress has been made, something of eternal value had been done. We are to keep pushing through seasons of doubt and confusion. If not, we'll slow down and eventually quit because we've gotten lazy.

I'm encouraged by this but also a little confused. For the first time in weeks I'm beginning to second guess what my purpose really is. Well, maybe not my purpose but how I'm supposed to approach it. I've been confirmed on stepping down as Frontlines Director because I know God wants me to focus on other things. With this, I need to steward my small group better and allow God to work through me there. I don't know what's next but I trust God will make it clear. So why the confusion? All of a sudden I feel guilty about stepping away from NHSI leadership; like I'm giving up because things are difficult. I've come to the realization that it became difficult because I didn't make it a priority in my life and everything became tasks. I know that we will make time for the things that are important to us. This showed me that NHSI leadership wasn't my calling and was doing something I wasn't passionate about. So I don't feel like I'm giving up, I opened my eyes a little more to my design, how God created me. So I need quiet time with my Creator so that He can reveal any wrong motives and agendas.

Heavenly Father, so good You are! Forgive me of my lack of faith and vulnerability to the devil's schemes. Please send Your angels to surround my thought, allowing only You to fill it. Help Your servant stand firm upon Your Word. Yes, I stumbled bu by Your power I will stand again. Through this weakness of mine LORD, I will reveal Your strength! I love You for all You are! In Your Son's name I pray, Amen!

Flunking Faith

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

Hebrews 5:11-12

What would it be like drinking milk forever and never getting to the next level? Or what about being stuck in 1st grade or learning the alphabet over and over? Can you imagine the frustration of the parent and teacher? And what about that student, would they even realize the pains? God calls each and every one of us to grow in mature faith so that we can be doers of the Gospel instead of just receiving the fruit that's being produced. We cannot do this if we haven't grown past the initial "Yes" to Christ.

I see so many come to know Jesus only to return back to the world. Why does this happen? Don't they have the fire to take it to the next level and go beyond milk? When I was first saved I had a huge desire to learn, understand & share what God placed in my heart by showing Jesus to others the best I knew how. I think back and wonder why does this happen for some but not all? I was truly blessed to be in a stage of my life where I could commit to taking classes and meeting really great brothers & sisters. I know others were on the same path but with different results; being plugged in is very important but not the key. Other than God's mighty Word through the bible & other study material, I never had a really mentor to show me the way. So what was it? Disciplining myself to spend time with Him! What I learned early on is how to run to our Maker when the storm hits leaving both eyes open wile in His embrace. Doing this allows us to see our weaknesses and give it to God. This doesn't mean to drop it off and forget about it, no, it means to be so transparent about it that God is able to work with it in His way. Things never ever get resolved by hiding in the darkness. This is what is meant by giving it to God.

Heavenly Father, forgive me of mot giving things entirely to You. Many times I give You my problems and expect You to take care of it but at the same time I'm not giving up the real sour of the problem, my incorrect motives & agenda. Selfishness, greed, pride & shame are things I bury deep within but unless I give those things up through true repentance, I never allow myself to grow in Christlike character. I love You Father, God, in the most beautiful name of Christ Jesus I pray, Amen!

Envying Sin

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psalm 73:1-3

It's difficult enough dealing with our won sin and temptations but looking at non-believers prosper in the world's ways discourages sometimes. We endure hardships and struggles to honor God first but it's hard not to notice what others have as well. Why can't it be easy? Why does it have to be so difficult? Then I remember our sinful nature and how our flesh gravitates toward sin and worldly pleasures. The devil wants us to believe having a large bank account, real estate & knowledge is something to be desired but God needs us to understand something greater. He wants us to trust in The One who will provide just enough finances, shelter & wisdom without crossing over into greed.

This speaks loud and clear to me. Right now, I'm in a struggle with finances with a huge amount of en expected debt, to the point where major changes have to be made. With this, I look back at how easy it used to be saving money and having a nice bank account to fall back on. Not anymore. Today, I 'm living paycheck to paycheck and I'm feeling the heaviness that comes with not trusting that God will provide. What's interesting is that I'm not looking so much of others people's situation as I'm comparing myself to me in prior years. The envy I have is within my own skin at a different season of life. This will definitely cause me to sin because I've become discontent and unsatisfied with all the wonderful blessings God's given. I'm becoming greedy and selfish without even realizing it. God has me right where He wants me and with enough to carry out my purpose today.

LORD God and Father, thank You for teaching me about "Today." Today, "today" means that I have to separate my past circumstances and see the newness of this day. I need to choose to follow God and be content with a dime in my pocket instead of the $100 bill I had yesterday; God may only need me to spend $.10 today. I recognize my sin and ask for forgiveness as I correct and adjust my thinking. When I fail to see each day as Yours I start comparing today's provisions to yesterday's; this will lead to envy. LORD, hear my cry Today! In the matchless name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen!