I found this website Intimacy with God while doing a web search.
Here are a few PDFs that I thought would be neat to read.
http://www.intimacywithgod.com/idols.pdf
http://www.intimacywithgod.com/devotedtojesus.pdf
The actual website is www.intimacywithgod.com for anyone who is interested in looking.
Hope that everyone is encouraged by these as I am.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Losing Control
I have stepped into dangerous waters. I've found one of my biggest problems is...control. I want to be in control of my life. God cannot use someone who is in control. He must lead and guide them, but sometimes he allows them to seemingly wander away from him so they can be truly drawn closer. God sometimes uses chaos to do his bidding.
It seems like whenever chaos ensues, we figure just how controlling we are. I speak of myself in this with very much humiliation. I tend to think when things aren't going according to plan..God isn't in control of everything. How easy is it to forget what he has done for us when we have held back from him a key to our salvation. When we are "in control," the world seems sunny to us, life is sweet, and we feel like it is God's will.
But wait...is it?
Doesn't God want us to live a happy life? To be free?
But when the chaos comes we get to see the illusions we have allowed ourselves to believe. (that's for another post though)
And often we feel the chaos that we face in daily life is from the adversary just to withstand us. Could be....don't forget...he must get permission from the Father to tempt, pain,and otherwise try to knock us out of the fight.
Come deeper with me.
Trust....to believe.
The earliest example ironically of a person who lost control of their life and trusted was..Abraham. He was promised that his descendants would be like the sands of the sea. Also, that Abraham and Sarah would have a son that would be the fulfillment of His promise.
Seemed like things were on the up and up for them both.
But we all know the story. Abraham was told to sacrifice that promise as a lamb on an altar. Wow. Quite the hit to the gut. I'm sure that Abraham didn't leap at this. But we know that in the end, God saw his trust and counted it as righteousness and Issac didn't die.
An archaic thought. To let go...lose control. To trust that out on the water is Christ in the midst of the storm going on.It's a step towards losing ourself..VERY scary! the most amazing thing is that when we are able to surrender control, we can reach out and touch people. We, like Mother Theresa said, "are only a pencil in a hand."
It's the foolishness that Christ calls wisdom.
It's not easy, it goes against everything in us.
Even though I can write this post as if I completely understand the concept of letting go...I in no way don't.
It seems like whenever chaos ensues, we figure just how controlling we are. I speak of myself in this with very much humiliation. I tend to think when things aren't going according to plan..God isn't in control of everything. How easy is it to forget what he has done for us when we have held back from him a key to our salvation. When we are "in control," the world seems sunny to us, life is sweet, and we feel like it is God's will.
But wait...is it?
Doesn't God want us to live a happy life? To be free?
But when the chaos comes we get to see the illusions we have allowed ourselves to believe. (that's for another post though)
And often we feel the chaos that we face in daily life is from the adversary just to withstand us. Could be....don't forget...he must get permission from the Father to tempt, pain,and otherwise try to knock us out of the fight.
Come deeper with me.
Trust....to believe.
The earliest example ironically of a person who lost control of their life and trusted was..Abraham. He was promised that his descendants would be like the sands of the sea. Also, that Abraham and Sarah would have a son that would be the fulfillment of His promise.
Seemed like things were on the up and up for them both.
But we all know the story. Abraham was told to sacrifice that promise as a lamb on an altar. Wow. Quite the hit to the gut. I'm sure that Abraham didn't leap at this. But we know that in the end, God saw his trust and counted it as righteousness and Issac didn't die.
An archaic thought. To let go...lose control. To trust that out on the water is Christ in the midst of the storm going on.It's a step towards losing ourself..VERY scary! the most amazing thing is that when we are able to surrender control, we can reach out and touch people. We, like Mother Theresa said, "are only a pencil in a hand."
It's the foolishness that Christ calls wisdom.
It's not easy, it goes against everything in us.
Even though I can write this post as if I completely understand the concept of letting go...I in no way don't.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Praise is a two edged weapon.
" My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long."Psalms 71:8
Often when we fall under attack by the enemy we forget completely about praising God. Some of us (LOL!) tend to turn inward in the attempt to muster up the strength to go on.This is always a mistake (I'm sure most know this!) ,but it is very easy to turn our eyes off of Christ when it seems He is the one inflicting the pain.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.Romans 8-28
But do we REALLY know this?
I know I don't when I'm in the midst of it all.It seems like all of the problems I go through the biggest tactic the Adversary has is to get me to look at myself. Once he's done that, I do the rest. The doors are opened to him, and I become his tool. The wake of destruction left behind is devastating. The most humbling thing is that God still loves this being. He leads me away from myself to himself. Then I'm reminded that it isn't about me. It's all about him.
I 'll borrow an analogy from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love:Overwhelmed by a Relentless God." If your entire life was compared to a movie, you may get a few seconds. Wouldn't be a waste to say that those few seconds were about you, in which you drew attention to yourself instead of the main actor, Christ?
Praise brings you out of depression. From experience I can say this. It pulls you up from thinking about what is wrong and reminds you something you, I, and everyone else should but do often forget:
The Enemy cannot do anything while you are praising God but one thing. Distract you. Don't be fooled,you are never suppose to be able to muster things up to fight it. We are to focus on what is important..The One.
Praise brings joy. It fills you..the effects of it are contagious.
I like the Darby Translation of this verse. "A joyful heart promoteth healing; but a broken spirit drieth up the bones."Proverbs 17-22
Hope your day is brightened even a little!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
In his Image...
"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Genesis 1:26
That is an interesting thought. That we fleshly beings with all our faults and failures could be made in HIS image. The thought that we can stand as examples of HIM..The one who the mighty Angels of Heaven bow to, the force whose love created all we see.
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Philippians 3:12
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Discouragement....be a kite!
I have been running into Nehemiah Chapter 4 for many months now. All completely on accident. I did the Open the Bible to a random place thing. In that chapter the children of Israel are given the support from the king of Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem. The are constantly harassed by Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod. The enemies of Israel were very angry when they found out the walls of Jerusalem were being erected.
Nehemiah 4:8-12
8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
So many times when we are trying to "build the walls of Jerusalem" aka do the Father's will, we have a massive resistance come against us. I don't remember who said it, but one of the quotes that seem very pertinent is "the amount of resistance you receive is equal to the importance it is." The enemy likes to destroy the "infant" work. This is a very important stage. If he can destroy your foundation, the city will not stand. For instance; if he can place an irritation, distraction,or other separation between you and a brother/sister..you must realize that you most likely irritating the enemy. It's should be an absolutely encouragement! Take heart.
To give an analogy, without the resistance of the wind a kite cannot fly. Plain and simple. The more wind resistance it has, the higher it flies! Without the hand controlling us through the winds, we would get no where though. Pride has no place in this.The thing that would be used to frustrate and discourage us...makes us fly!
Nehemiah 4:13-23
13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
It is so easy for me to get frustrated most times,and to become condemning. God fights for us! He is asked by the enemy to "sift" us like he did Peter (Luke 22:31)
That is an AMAZING but scary thought. So my friends...Take heart. Grab your weapons (each other, the armor) and press forward! No matter whether you are "just" going to work, changing diapers, or anything..do it knowing you are building The City of The Most High with your very life.
Remember to be a kite!
Nehemiah 4:8-12
8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. 9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
So many times when we are trying to "build the walls of Jerusalem" aka do the Father's will, we have a massive resistance come against us. I don't remember who said it, but one of the quotes that seem very pertinent is "the amount of resistance you receive is equal to the importance it is." The enemy likes to destroy the "infant" work. This is a very important stage. If he can destroy your foundation, the city will not stand. For instance; if he can place an irritation, distraction,or other separation between you and a brother/sister..you must realize that you most likely irritating the enemy. It's should be an absolutely encouragement! Take heart.
To give an analogy, without the resistance of the wind a kite cannot fly. Plain and simple. The more wind resistance it has, the higher it flies! Without the hand controlling us through the winds, we would get no where though. Pride has no place in this.The thing that would be used to frustrate and discourage us...makes us fly!
Nehemiah 4:13-23
13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. 14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 17who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.
19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”
21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” 23Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.[c]
It is so easy for me to get frustrated most times,and to become condemning. God fights for us! He is asked by the enemy to "sift" us like he did Peter (Luke 22:31)
That is an AMAZING but scary thought. So my friends...Take heart. Grab your weapons (each other, the armor) and press forward! No matter whether you are "just" going to work, changing diapers, or anything..do it knowing you are building The City of The Most High with your very life.
Remember to be a kite!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A great blog to Follow
"Find your Wings" is by Austin Park. He is working with I-TEC, Steve Saint's(son of martyred Nate Saint) organization. He needs all the prayer he can get and support from anyone who can help him. This is an awesome blog to follow. As many people that can afford supporting him should!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Something to look to
The truly spiritual man is indeed something of an oddity. He lives not for himself but to promote the interests of Another. He seeks to persuade people to give all to his Lord and asks no portion or share for himself. He delights not to be honored but to see his Savior glorified in the eyes of men. His joy is to see his Lord promoted and himself neglected. He finds few who care to talk about that which is the supreme object of his interest, so he is often silent and preoccupied in the midst of noisy religious shoptalk. For this he earns the reputation of being dull and overserious, so he is avoided and the gulf between him and society widens. He searches for friends upon whose garments he can detect the smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces, and finding few or none, he, like Mary of old, keeps these things in his heart.
. ~ A.W. Tozer
. ~ A.W. Tozer
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