Disclaimer: this blog entry is completely random and very jumbled together. It has not theme except for my cup overflows. You’ll see..
Have you ever been just living your life just normal and then out of nowhere God just surprises you with….umm…EVERYTHING!?
Just recently I have been helping out a lot at my church with the Student Ministries program, Junior High-College age and God has really spoken to my heart throughout. I have always believed in God but I am approaching a new development in my faith.
God believes in me.
Yes I know that sounds like a duh statement, but seriously think about that. God believes in me? Are you friggin kidding me?
The creator of the friggin universe believes in me and has a plan for my life, and it surpasses any miniscule plan that i have for my life.
This new development completely boggles my mind and im still floored by it.
Praise God for his blessings of grace that is given to us freely. I feel so useless sometimes when it comes to witnessing and be a christian, but i think that’s the point we see ourselves as who we think we are.
We dont realize that there is a part of us that is extraordinary!
What does it mean to be created in God’s image?
My Cup Overflows with the blessings that God has revealed to me. I dont even know where to begin to understand why God has spoken to me like this lately, but there is one thing that I know. I cant get enough of Him!
Im at worship and a desperate part of my heart cries out for the worship to continue! I dont want it to stop! I want to scream and shout because I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and I want more and more and more!
Praise God!
Freedom from Oppression – Thoughts from ” Jesus Wants to Save Christians “
“It’s as if God is saying, ‘The thing that has happened to you – go make it happen for others. The freedom from oppression that you are now experiencing – help others experience that same freedom. The grace that has been extended to you when you were at your lowest – extend it to others. In the same way that I heard your cry, go and hear the cry of others and act on their behalf.”
“God measures their faith by how they treat the widows, orphans, strangers – the weak – among them. God’s desire is that they would bring exodus to the weak, in the same way that God brought them exodus in their weakness.”
So, I started reading this book this week and Ive read only 40-something pages and I’m already blown away. Rob Bell is one the world’s most influential pastors and leaders in the community of Christ and it never ceases to amaze me how he brings the word of God to life.
This particular passage is following Rob talking about God telling the Israelites about the Ten Commandments. Rob is explaining how important the Ten Commandments are to the Israelites of that day and the Christians and followers of God today. As I was reading this last night a couple of feelings and thoughts just struck me.
This is everything that God is, his entire being, why he loves us and why he needs a body. God cares like no one in the history of the world that he created could ever fathom to care. He is a God who hears, who cares, loves, delivers, and the list goes on and on. This is the calling of all believers around the world to help the helpless. At the exact time that I was thinking about helping the helpless I had a disturbing thought. Most people in the world don’t know that God is calling us to help the helpless because 40% of people between the age of 16 and 29 view Christians, followers of Jesus as hypocritical, judgmental, and everything that Jesus isn’t.
As you can see these thoughts collided with each other. Major Collision.
“God’s desire is that they would bring exodus to the weak, in the same way that God brought them exodus in their weakness.”
You can go one or two ways when following Jesus, you can either follow his desire or run from it, it seems that 40% of America thinks that we have run from it. You can choose to do what you want with this information that I have presented to you, but as for me I intend to learn more about God’s desire for my life.
Receiving One ‘ s Self in the Fires of Sorrow
So occassionally I read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers and the entry for today really made think.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
-John 12:27-28
I bet you have heard the phrase, “Everything happens for a reason,” in fact im quite sure you have.
How many times in your life do you experience bad times and wonder why. Why me? Why is this happening to me? How many times do we play the victim and whine that we are going through a tough time?
Far too much. Or at least I do.
I submit this phrase to you from Oswald Chambers
“The way to find your self is in the fires of sorrow.”
I love that because its so true. What doesnt kill me only makes me stronger right. With every bad decision i make I learn something about myself and who I am. God should be glorified at all times, not just the good times, the bad times as well because it is in those bad times that we truly find out who God created us to be.
Father, glorify your name!
Fountain of Youth
The Fountain of Youth
Suggested Bible ReadingNow there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.-Luke 2:25-38 (NRSV)
Joshua was old and advanced in years; and the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land still remains to be possessed.”-Joshua 13:1 (NRSV)WE older folks can learn from the message that the Lord spoke to Joshua: Yes, you are old, but you have much to do yet. Often what we need to do is obvious, right in front of us.
It may also be obvious to others. Why don’t we older people take on these tasks? Hasn’t God planned something for us? The Bible shows us more than once that God uses older people. When God revealed that Isaac would be born, Sarah was 90 and Abraham 100 years old. Moses was 80 when he led the Israelites out of Egypt. Anna, in the New Testament, was 84 when she witnessed to others that the newborn Jesus was the Messiah.God is the source of the courage and strength we need for the tasks that lie before us, even though we may think we are too old or too young or “too” something else. God sees us and is the Lord of all our years. Is God not permitted to count our years differently than we count them? God sees in us much ability to serve, no matter what our age.Ugo Gastaldi (Lombardia, Italy)
PrayerTeach us, Lord, not to fear our age but to look to you for strength to serve no matter how old or how young we are. Amen.