This was the last line I read this morning in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers...
There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfil His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God's purposes, and yours may be that life.
When I am not maintaining my relationship with the Lord by spending time with Him, nothing else is in sync...the rythm of my life is off...because He is my life. If I am not allowing Him to fill me day after day, what do I have to pour into any other relationship that has any True worth and value? I can not count on any other relationship to provide what only He can. I should not look to others to satisfy me the way only God is suppose to. I should not give my highest affections to anyone except the One I was created to worship for all of my days. If I believe that He is the One who gives me my very next breath...and holds my very life together by His power, then why would I not make my relationship with Him my very, highest priority?
Even though spending time with Him may cost me sleep, time with my kids, comfort or even popularity...I must choose to maintain this precious relationship between me and my Lord. I must choose, at times, to let everything else go and just sit in His Presence! Nothing compares, NOTHING!
By His grace, I have made spending time with Him a habitual practice over my years of being a Christian. My life is a living testimony that He fulfills His purposes through our lives when we make Him our highest Treasure. As we spend time with Him, He reveals to us the desires of His heart...and they become our own desires. He reveals to us His plans and purposes and then allows us to walk in them. The great and mighty One accomplishes His will through our weak and broken lives simply because we lay ourselves before Him day after day.
One day, we will cast aside all other relationships as we live for all of eternity in the only One that really matters!!!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Watch and Wait
I have been feeling discontent and disconnected from God recently. I can't go on very long like this because I become miserable. I have become so addicted to Him, so dependant on Him to sustain me emotionally that even when I try to find satisfaction outside of Him I just end up running right back.
The last few words in My Utmost for His Highest this morning was this: Wherever there is a spiritual drain in your life, correct it immediately. Realize that something has been coming in between you and God, and change or remove it at once.
With that thought resonating with me...I read through a few chapters of Proverbs and landed here: Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. Proverbs 8:34
I had to ask myself, am I DAILY watching at his doors and waiting at His doorway for Him to satisfy the longings of my soul, or am I watching at the doors of the world and waiting at the doorway of our culture for my satisfaction?
I humbled myself and chose to worship Him. I literally got on my knees and turned up the volume on my ipod and sang out to Him as loud as I needed to drown out my own pestering thoughts! His Presence became life to me, I found freedom and joy down there on my knees. Now, it doesn't always happen this way, but today I it did and I am rejoicing.
He is all we need! If we believe this is true then our greatest desire should be more of Him! To have more of Him we need less of us. To have less of us we must allow Him to strip us of our little gods and tear down the alters left up by our forefathers. We must choose to go against the grain of our culture and press into Him. We must DAILY listen to His Voice, not the voice of the world. We must DAILY watch at His doors! Not the doors of our culture. He has fullness of joy and freedom waiting at His doorway for us!
This morning I realized the things that are a spiritual drain in my life, and by the power of the Holy Spirit was able to correct it immediately. I realized the thoughts that were coming between me and God and I removed them at once by getting on my knees and focusing my thoughts on the greatness of God in worship. (Your spiritual drain and distractions are likely different from mine, but I am certain if you are reading this you have the same common struggle.)
It doesn't always happen this way. I am not always obedient. I do not always do what I know to do to be closer to God. But today I did, by His power at work within me...so I am rejoicing! I am also sharing with you so you might seek Him out to and experience the sweetness only His Presence can bring!
Just as He calls us to listen for His Voice, watch and wait for Him, I believe He also waits and watches DAILY for us to wake up and lift our voices to Him before we do to anyone else.
As I was typing this, our 5 year old came into our bedroom. Right after I prayed for him and tucked him into bed last night, I told him I would miss him while he was sleeping. I also told him as soon as he woke up I wanted him to come straight to my room so we could snuggle. He did just that. He came stumbling in, half asleep, crawled into bed with me and snuggled. I told him that I missed him so much while he was sleeping. I told him that he is so precious to me. I couldn't help but think that if I feel this way about my son as an evil parent in comparison to God, how much more does God feel this way about me....and you as our Perfect parent!
The last few words in My Utmost for His Highest this morning was this: Wherever there is a spiritual drain in your life, correct it immediately. Realize that something has been coming in between you and God, and change or remove it at once.
With that thought resonating with me...I read through a few chapters of Proverbs and landed here: Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. Proverbs 8:34
I had to ask myself, am I DAILY watching at his doors and waiting at His doorway for Him to satisfy the longings of my soul, or am I watching at the doors of the world and waiting at the doorway of our culture for my satisfaction?
I humbled myself and chose to worship Him. I literally got on my knees and turned up the volume on my ipod and sang out to Him as loud as I needed to drown out my own pestering thoughts! His Presence became life to me, I found freedom and joy down there on my knees. Now, it doesn't always happen this way, but today I it did and I am rejoicing.
He is all we need! If we believe this is true then our greatest desire should be more of Him! To have more of Him we need less of us. To have less of us we must allow Him to strip us of our little gods and tear down the alters left up by our forefathers. We must choose to go against the grain of our culture and press into Him. We must DAILY listen to His Voice, not the voice of the world. We must DAILY watch at His doors! Not the doors of our culture. He has fullness of joy and freedom waiting at His doorway for us!
This morning I realized the things that are a spiritual drain in my life, and by the power of the Holy Spirit was able to correct it immediately. I realized the thoughts that were coming between me and God and I removed them at once by getting on my knees and focusing my thoughts on the greatness of God in worship. (Your spiritual drain and distractions are likely different from mine, but I am certain if you are reading this you have the same common struggle.)
It doesn't always happen this way. I am not always obedient. I do not always do what I know to do to be closer to God. But today I did, by His power at work within me...so I am rejoicing! I am also sharing with you so you might seek Him out to and experience the sweetness only His Presence can bring!
Just as He calls us to listen for His Voice, watch and wait for Him, I believe He also waits and watches DAILY for us to wake up and lift our voices to Him before we do to anyone else.
As I was typing this, our 5 year old came into our bedroom. Right after I prayed for him and tucked him into bed last night, I told him I would miss him while he was sleeping. I also told him as soon as he woke up I wanted him to come straight to my room so we could snuggle. He did just that. He came stumbling in, half asleep, crawled into bed with me and snuggled. I told him that I missed him so much while he was sleeping. I told him that he is so precious to me. I couldn't help but think that if I feel this way about my son as an evil parent in comparison to God, how much more does God feel this way about me....and you as our Perfect parent!
Monday, November 22, 2010
CHRIST IS ALL!
My morning so far has been spent taking care of children. My neice and nephew are visiting for the day :)
My morning has also been spent worshipping Him...
I am determined to worship Him in everything. Oh I fail SO much!! But this is my chief goal...in all things to give Him praise. Wether well fed or hungry, in sickness or in health, in chaos or in quiet. I want to worship Him. Cleaning dishes, folding laundry, reading a book to our boys, talking to a hurting friend, driving in my car, laying in my bed, returning emails, raising money for my African children, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, ironing Jerome's shirts, disciplining fighting kids...you get the picture :)
The more I choose to worship Him in the mundane tasks of life as well as the things that bring me great joy, the less content I am with this world and it's system...the more I long to be united fully with Christ! I want my whole life to have a flovor of worship and true devotion to the One worthy of all my praise!
I daily face the struggle between my flesh and spirit. Somedays my flesh wins, but oh the days that it doesn't and I give Christ complete reign!!! There is life and freedom found only in Him. Christ is ALL!
Sometimes I feel like Job before the Lord allowed Satan to strip him of everything. I feel so blessed. I am able to stay home with our boys and listen to worship music all day. I am able to pour into the lives of people all over the world. I am able to mother many children that I did not carry in my womb. I am able to be a part of a biblical community and wide circle of believers that stretches across continents. I have people who faithfully pray for me and encourage me. I get to see people's lives transformed by the power of Christ all the time. I have a husband that literally, daily, lays down his life for me and loves God more than anyone I have ever known. But what I often tell the Lord is that I want to know that I would still praise Him if He were to strip all of that from me...if He were to give me poverty, sickness and take away my family and friends. Would I still worship Him? Would I still give Him the glory due to His Name? I want to position my life and heart in such a way that when my circumstances fail, I know that Christ has not changed and therefore I can stand firm! So today, I am praising Him while everything is 'running smoothly' so that tomorrow, when everything likely won't be, I have a firm foundation to stand on.
My heart is longing for every follower of Christ to press into Him with me. If your day, month or year is good or bad, praise Him! Through laughter or tears, praise Him! Let your soul find complete satisfaction in Christ alone. He is worthy! He is SO worthy!
I am burdened, yet hopeful for MANY people I personally know who are hurting right now. I am honored to be intimately acquainted with these precious ones so that I can pray and help carry their burden in this way. My prayer for each of them today is that they would lift their hands, hearts and lives in worship to Him right where they are at....right in the middle of the chaos. Because one day soon, oh that glorious day, we will no longer be seperated, even for a second from the One we love most...not by our circumstances, our trials, our sin, or our flesh. We will be one with our sweet Saviour! That alone is reason enough to confess His goodness no matter what we feel at this moment.
So, today in my joy, with worship music playing in the back ground and the breeze blowing through open windows and the sweet sound of children's voices who I love so much playing in the back yard...I choose to praise Him!
Tomorrow, if my day starts with whiny children who interrupt my Treasure Time and I have a head ache and my boys refuse to obey me and Jerome comes home in a grumpy mood I want to choose to praise Him. If the next day, Jerome and the boys never come home because they die in a car wreck, oh Lord, let me still praise you! If the next day I find out I have a terminal ilness, let my very last breath, as I slip from this earth into Your eternal Presence, be in praise to you! Please make us this kind of Church so the world will look on and desire You!!!
Tomorrow the earth itself falls into the sea, let us praise Him because the reality is not this earth that we live on for a few short years, the Reality is that CHRIST IS ALL!
My morning has also been spent worshipping Him...
I am determined to worship Him in everything. Oh I fail SO much!! But this is my chief goal...in all things to give Him praise. Wether well fed or hungry, in sickness or in health, in chaos or in quiet. I want to worship Him. Cleaning dishes, folding laundry, reading a book to our boys, talking to a hurting friend, driving in my car, laying in my bed, returning emails, raising money for my African children, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, ironing Jerome's shirts, disciplining fighting kids...you get the picture :)
The more I choose to worship Him in the mundane tasks of life as well as the things that bring me great joy, the less content I am with this world and it's system...the more I long to be united fully with Christ! I want my whole life to have a flovor of worship and true devotion to the One worthy of all my praise!
I daily face the struggle between my flesh and spirit. Somedays my flesh wins, but oh the days that it doesn't and I give Christ complete reign!!! There is life and freedom found only in Him. Christ is ALL!
Sometimes I feel like Job before the Lord allowed Satan to strip him of everything. I feel so blessed. I am able to stay home with our boys and listen to worship music all day. I am able to pour into the lives of people all over the world. I am able to mother many children that I did not carry in my womb. I am able to be a part of a biblical community and wide circle of believers that stretches across continents. I have people who faithfully pray for me and encourage me. I get to see people's lives transformed by the power of Christ all the time. I have a husband that literally, daily, lays down his life for me and loves God more than anyone I have ever known. But what I often tell the Lord is that I want to know that I would still praise Him if He were to strip all of that from me...if He were to give me poverty, sickness and take away my family and friends. Would I still worship Him? Would I still give Him the glory due to His Name? I want to position my life and heart in such a way that when my circumstances fail, I know that Christ has not changed and therefore I can stand firm! So today, I am praising Him while everything is 'running smoothly' so that tomorrow, when everything likely won't be, I have a firm foundation to stand on.
My heart is longing for every follower of Christ to press into Him with me. If your day, month or year is good or bad, praise Him! Through laughter or tears, praise Him! Let your soul find complete satisfaction in Christ alone. He is worthy! He is SO worthy!
I am burdened, yet hopeful for MANY people I personally know who are hurting right now. I am honored to be intimately acquainted with these precious ones so that I can pray and help carry their burden in this way. My prayer for each of them today is that they would lift their hands, hearts and lives in worship to Him right where they are at....right in the middle of the chaos. Because one day soon, oh that glorious day, we will no longer be seperated, even for a second from the One we love most...not by our circumstances, our trials, our sin, or our flesh. We will be one with our sweet Saviour! That alone is reason enough to confess His goodness no matter what we feel at this moment.
So, today in my joy, with worship music playing in the back ground and the breeze blowing through open windows and the sweet sound of children's voices who I love so much playing in the back yard...I choose to praise Him!
Tomorrow, if my day starts with whiny children who interrupt my Treasure Time and I have a head ache and my boys refuse to obey me and Jerome comes home in a grumpy mood I want to choose to praise Him. If the next day, Jerome and the boys never come home because they die in a car wreck, oh Lord, let me still praise you! If the next day I find out I have a terminal ilness, let my very last breath, as I slip from this earth into Your eternal Presence, be in praise to you! Please make us this kind of Church so the world will look on and desire You!!!
Tomorrow the earth itself falls into the sea, let us praise Him because the reality is not this earth that we live on for a few short years, the Reality is that CHRIST IS ALL!
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