Owe- not there

I'm so not there... wow, how amazing it will be when I am close to the Lord like this! Lord, I really do want you!

The Delights of His Friendship. Genesis 18 brings out the delight of true friendship with God, as compared with simply feeling His presence occasionally in prayer. This friendship means being so intimately in touch with God that you never even need to ask Him to show you His will. It is evidence of a level of intimacy which confirms that you are nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint. Once he does, you must stop immediately.

The Difficulties of His Friendship. Why did Abraham stop praying when he did? He stopped because he still was lacking the level of intimacy in his relationship with God, which would enable him boldly to continue on with the Lord in prayer until his desire was granted. Whenever we stop short of our true desire in prayer and say, "Well, I don’t know, maybe this is not God’s will," then we still have another level to go. It shows that we are not as intimately acquainted with God as Jesus was, and as Jesus would have us to be— ". . . that they may be one just as We are one . . ." ( John 17:22 ). Think of the last thing you prayed about-were you devoted to your desire or to God? Was your determination to get some gift of the Spirit for yourself or to get to God? "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him" ( Matthew 6:8 ). The reason for asking is so you may get to know God better. "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" ( Psalm 37:4 ). We should keep praying to get a perfect understanding of God Himself.

When it comes to making decisions do you think God is there telling us exactly what to do? Step by step what the best thing to do is, or do you think he is just to urge us not to make the bad decisions but leaves it up to us to choose from the others... this would definitely support the non-robot analogy... it wouldn't be until we stopped just following the instruction manual and actually began using the brain and heart and spirit that He gave us, but at the same time I wonder if as a Father and best friend who sees far more than we do, does He lead us and tell us which way is the BEST. Any way could be okay, but is there a way better than the others. Yeah, so I feel like I have been so much in asking the Lord where to go and not received any lead or answer-- I know He has spoken to me before and told me where to go, kind of like school. I didn't come here because everyone told me to-- I actually went against common guidance from family and friends, but I heard the Lord... and I don't know what He has told me to do now. I can give you a million reasons why I should stay here and why I should go home and why I should go to Morocco... so what should I do? And why is there always a deadline? Man, can't the Father just tell me where to go?

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it...
Prone to leave the One I love...
Here's my heart Lord, take and heal it...
heal it for thy work above!"

Surrender...

So yeah, why does this devotional always say the right thing at the right time?

So, two weeks ago if you asked me I would have said I was teaching in Morocco next year. Yesterday if you asked me I would have said I was going home next year... and today well... well today I am going into the elevator. I decided instead of trying to figure out which "floor" or path of this life I am going to choose, I am going to stop running up and down the stairwell to see which door is open I am going to just walk into the Elevator and hang out with Jesus, and when He decides which floor to go to-- He'll let me know and I'll go. I've said I'm an all or nothing person before, and I was reminded by the Lord today that I have been putting my all into nothing lately-- I've been concerned about myself... my future... my plans... me... when in reality my only focus should be HIM!!! Oh, to be in love with Him more!

Peter began to say to Him, ’See, we have left all and followed You’ —Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is "for My sake and the gospel’s" (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, "I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy." Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, "No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ’This is what God has done for me.’ " Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse—"Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further" (see Luke 9:57-62 ). "Then," Jesus says, "you ’cannot be My disciple’ " (see Luke 14:26-33 ).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.

Surrender...

So yeah, why does this devotional always say the right thing at the right time?

So, two weeks ago if you asked me I would have said I was teaching in Morocco next year. Yesterday if you asked me I would have said I was going home next year... and today well... well today I am going into the elevator. I decided instead of trying to figure out which "floor" or path of this life I am going to choose, I am going to stop running up and down the stairwell to see which door is open I am going to just walk into the Elevator and hang out with Jesus, and when He decides which floor to go to-- He'll let me know and I'll go. I've said I'm an all or nothing person before, and I was reminded by the Lord today that I have been putting my all into nothing lately-- I've been concerned about myself... my future... my plans... me... when in reality my only focus should be HIM!!! Oh, to be in love with Him more!

Peter began to say to Him, ’See, we have left all and followed You’ —Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is "for My sake and the gospel’s" (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, "I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy." Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, "No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ’This is what God has done for me.’ " Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse—"Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further" (see Luke 9:57-62 ). "Then," Jesus says, "you ’cannot be My disciple’ " (see Luke 14:26-33 ).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.

Today's Upmost for His Highest

This devotional this morning was convicting and true.

As long as I am not trying to plant myself and I allow Him to plant me-- I wont loose the vision-- I won't be on my own-- though it tarries, I will wait for it. So this is what I am doing. I am waiting for it... I am clasping on to the hand of the Lord and I am not letting go-- I want nothing but to be walking with my Lord-- wherever that may be! I also recognize that I can't get so caught up in waiting and focusing on the practical things that I do not live my Upmost for His Highest in all things- here and now- making my e-folio- writing lesson plans- etc. So here I go...

I will live and walk in the light of God's vision!

March 11, 2007

Obedience to the "Heavenly Vision"

I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision —Acts 26:19

If we lose "the heavenly vision" God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to "the heavenly vision" is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

"Though it tarries, wait for it . . ." ( Habakkuk 2:3 ). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that "tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.

Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will "bear much fruit" ( John 15:8 ).

It is essential that we live and "walk in the light" of God’s vision for us ( 1 John 1:7 ).

Post from a friends bog...

Here is a post from a friends blog... Wow... I feel like this

I have often envied the prophets. Most people look at their lives and see how difficult it must have been for them. How difficult it must have been to preach with no fruit. To live friendless, without family, without material things, without a comfort in the world. They seem like very unenviable people. But I envy them. You know what I envy? The certainty of their call. Moses heard the voice of God from a burning bush. Elijah had fire fall from heaven to confirm his ministry. The Apostles looked at the Son of God in the face and heard his commands directly. There was no doubt. Even walking through the valley of the shadow of death there was that one thing they could still bank on: God told me to walk here.

So I envy them at times. I certainly don’t suffer like them, but at times I think I would be willing to if only I could have their certainty. It’s the scariest thing in the world to lie awake at night and wonder if I’m on the right path. I don’t mean the right path as in following Jesus; I’m not haunted by those doubts anymore. I mean if the path I’m on, or the path I’m shooting for, the path that Jesus is on? Am I actually following him or did I jump on this train as a result of my own ambitions or desires to look radical and nuts? I never had a burning bush experience. God didn’t speak to me one night from a whirlwind and tell me to kick it off to the Sindh, but here I am anyway. Why? How have I been called to this work? Have I been called?

But whenever these doubts come up I remember what I have heard. How hundreds of tiny circumstances in my life (each one meaningless on its own) have worked together to bring me here. Coincidences that just cannot be coincidence. The people and events that God called into my life have practically driven me here without my help. Has God sent me here? Sure as hell (or heaven, for that matter). And I think of the general call of Christ. Remember his last words in Matthew? Most preachers focus on the part that says ‘into all the world’ or ‘make disciples’. You know what part I like the best? “All authority has been given to me. Go, therefore…” I am the king of the world. So go. The highest authority has told me to go. So I must go.

But this call business is pretty tricky, isn’t it? I’ve lay awake many a night before coming here trying so hard to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life. All the while scared to death that I might pick the wrong path and be screwed for the rest of my life. The path didn’t really show up until I stopped trying to hard. That’s the thing with a call, you can’t figure it out until the call actually comes, then you just have to answer. But how on earth do we know if we are called? I thought of a few ideas:

First, realize that you are called. Whether you live in Canada, India or Saudi, if you are sealed by the Spirit of Holiness you have been called. God doesn’t divide his people into levels with missionaries and monks on the top and normal folks somewhere near the bottom. Whether you are preaching in a desert tent or fixing a leak in your home in Niagara Falls, God has called you to display the riches of his glory. There is a general call for all children of God to live radical lives of obedience that show people around that Christ is our treasure and only him. In this way you have been called. But what about a special call? Like a call to a ministry or crazy-go-nuts place?

That brings us to an inner witness. Jeremiah said that the Word of God was like a fire in his bones, he was weary of holding it in. That’s an inner witness to a different type of life. Some of us simply feel (perhaps subjectively, perhaps fallibly) that they should be somewhere doing something different.

There’s the witness of circumstance. When everything in your life seems to be pointing towards that one thing that keeps coming back to your mind. God is in control of every atom in the universe, it makes sense that he would use the events of our lives to point us in the way we should go.

There’s the witness of joy. Joy is very important in the Christian life. If you truly are aching to see what God’s will is for your life, follow the joy. If your heart is close to his your joy will be what honors him. And what honors him cannot be bad.

There’s the witness of Scripture. When a part of the Bible speaks to you about something specific in a new way.

Can we ever figure out what the will of God really is for our lives? Of course! In fact, you should know it already! The Bible says that God’s will for our lives is our sanctification. God’s will for every single believer is to see them sanctified. We talk about calls to go and calls to stay, in the end they are all just ways that God uses to get us (and others) sanctified, made holy.

So I would offer this 1.5 cents worth of advice to those of you who are wondering what the heck God wants with them: Look at your life. Look at where you have been and where you are now. Look at the people who are in your life and the options around you. Look at your heart. Where does the joy lie? Where does the chance for sanctification lie? I bet none of you will have rock-solid answers for those. I’ve been here for almost two years and I still don’t know what’s going to happen down the road, but I’ve thrown my chips in here. I’ve bet everything on this single hand. The comforting thing about working for the Kingdom is this: When you’ve bet everything, there is nothing to lose. And Jesus promises to pay me back. I guess if all you want to do is make Jesus look glorious, get yourself sanctified and love every human you come in contact with, it doesn’t matter much where you go.

From Today's Upmost for His Highest

Not all initiative, the willingness to take the first step, is inspired by God. Someone may say to you, "Get up and get going! Take your reluctance by the throat and throw it overboard— just do what needs to be done!" That is what we mean by ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes to us and says, in effect, "Get up and get going," suddenly we find that the initiative is inspired.
We all have many dreams and aspirations when we are young, but sooner or later we realize we have no power to accomplish them. We cannot do the things we long to do, so our tendency is to think of our dreams and aspirations as dead. But God comes and says to us, "Arise from the dead . . . ." When God sends His inspiration, it comes to us with such miraculous power that we are able to "arise from the dead" and do the impossible. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life and power comes after we "get up and get going." God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as weovercome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says, "Arise from the dead . . . ," we have to get ourselves up; God will not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand, "Stretch out your hand" (Matthew 12:13 ). As soon as the man did so, his hand was healed. But he had to take the initiative. If we will take the initiative to overcome, we will find that we have the inspiration of God, because He immediately gives us the power of life.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...

If I only knew where to place my faith...

God speak to me, show me Your ways...

Acts 20:22-24

For now the verse... later I will discuss more!

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there... I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace!" -Acts 20:22...24

abandon.

Nothing

So did you know that you can do nothing.
yeah, it sounds pretty pessimistic
I know, and I'm not normally that way
but- its true
it is so true that it is found in the Bible!

So, taking scripture out of context isn't right, so here it is:

I am the vine
You are the branches
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit
for without me
you can do nothing.


If anyone does not abide in Me
he is cast out as a branch and is withered
and they gather them and throw them into the fire
and they are burned


If you abide in Me
and My words abide in you
you ask what you desire
and it shall be done for you.

By this my Father is glorifies
that you bear fruit
So you will be My disciples.

John 15:5-9

So yeah, in case you were planning on doing something today
don't do it

Just abide in Him
then you will bear good fruit

everything else will just fail

URBANA

Wow, I am now back in my townhouse preparing to start student teaching... but the impact that Urbana 2006 had on my life is something I cannot explain. It was amazing! I have never seen the body of Christ so unified and beautiful as ever. I must go and prepare for the week now, but I will post more as I realize what exactly I learned from this past amazing week.

What is Urbana?
Over 20,000 students form over 140 countries
together
seeking God and seraching for what He wants for their future
diversity
love
talent
like never seen before

i wish everyone could have experienced it...

worship in more then 7 languages... wow... it was awesome