Streamlining Priorities

I've had a really great week pressing into conversing with God and studying His word intensely.  Sometimes I enjoy coming out of the obligations of speaking and preparing to simply let my heart stand bare before God as He speaks and teaches me intimately.  I find myself getting ready one morning and this deep revelation of how reversed our priorities have become.  How we look to accomplish things, or look forward to the next big thing but what happens as you near the end of your life old and gray, full of years?  I realized right there that I'm so distracted by day to day things, home, family, work, achieving the next thing, etc... but REALLY I have one big purpose.  Everything else is a tool and a means to simply display His glory through me that others would be drawn to Him and saved.  That others would be reached for HIS kingdom.  It's a fight between forces.  There's God's Kingdom in eternity, a kingdom of Light and Satan's, a kingdom of darkness.  Right now am I focused on all my efforts thoughts, the way I bring up our children, the way I encounter every stranger, the way I hate evil, or spur on my brother or sister; is all this focused on displaying Christ in me, light, extending the power of who He is that many would submit to this wondrous God and give there soul to Him now before it's too late??  You see this is our generation... I need to give an account to God of how faithful I was to those around me.  HE has placed me here strategically.  On my street, in this city, even when I travel the people around me, etc...  Have I abandoned myself to this agenda of the Father's will and not mine??  I haven't.  I'm so sad to admit I haven't.  I still let other priorities sneak in that really are of no value.... hmmmm.... I find the more I spend time with the Lord the more His company and character wear off on me.  Even if those around me think it's extreme./  I WANT TO FOLLOW CHRIST's example.  I want to be motivated by His extreme desire and love and the way He lived.  That is my desire.  So as I take on this new approach I find myself reminding my flesh every morning... "I'm yours Lord.  Have your way in me.  Lead me to where you want me to be with the people you desire to witness to today."  You see our life is to be just that...a witness ... a testimony.. not in human strength but with a love that outpours through us from heaven above by His Spirit.  It's awesome and the world cannot comprehend it.  Let me encourage you today that if you truly seek His priority which is so fulfilling, keep asking Him to take your agenda and make it HIS instead.  The fullness, the lack of regrets at the end of our life, will enable us as Paul said, "I have run the race."  I want to be able to say to our Father in heaven, "I have finished the work you gave me to do." 

May we be faithful today to follow His leading.  We don't need the answers.. we simply need to listen and obey.

Motivated, to please an audience of ONE,
Our LORD,

With you,

C

When Love Pours Out

I find when we desire to go deeper with God He stretches us and takes us there but often it requires more sacrifice from our fleshly ways.  Think of it even when you're training to accomplish something as a marathon or being an Olympic athlete.  You keep honing your skills, pushing your endurance in pursuit of winning.  No different with God other than His stretching and honing of our hearts is often in strange ways.  Ways that the world often can't understand. 

For me this week the stretching came in the ask to do a 10 year old girl's funeral.  I have done a few young people's funerals now... never easy, BUT God can use them in powerful ways if we go with a sincere love and empathy as I believe Christ would.  But this one, was a healthy, vibrant, young lady that came home from a basketball tournament, with a sore throat that Sunday.  Then passed away Friday morning.  Wow....

I knew God was calling me to extend myself sacrificially and fully to this family during this tragedy.  But I knew the sacrifice when initially asked and my flesh wanted to resist.  For when I say yes to this, .I literally take it on as if it were my own.  This allows me a deeper love, understanding and a complete dependence on God for His words of hope and love to an unchurched family that can understandably only ask "Why?" 

So I spent countless hours, with the family, friends, school, and then taking it all back to my Lord saying, "What do YOU want me to say?" 

God moved in a tremendous way as the room over flowed with hundreds and hundreds of people.  The prayer and support of our church family as we ALL moved together to help and love on this family was powerful.  As I looked around the room and saw my teammates serving and loving I felt so proud of representing out God of love even in this horrific experience. 

None of us, not you or I have ANY guarantee for tomorrow.  Seriously.  This was smack in our face with the remaining body of this 10 year old princess.  James 4: 14 reminds us of this, "Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." 

Are we living full out today?  Truly being obedient to His voice in the small things?  Are we extending love in a powerful way?  Do I tell my husband and children that I love them enough with word and action?

It doesn't even have to be big things, but just being obedient.  When I came home from the funeral I find my own heart so tender, now free to allow my own tears to fall before the Lord.  And as I passed a neighbor I didn't really know I saw him struggling with all the snow at the end of the driveway, an older man that was struggling and later saw him give up and drive away.  I knew God was convicting me to grab my shovel and go down and clear it for him even though he was gone and wouldn't know it was me.  It wasn't about that.  It was about loving my God and displaying His affection to everyone not needing anything in return.  It didn't stop there as my husband and I finally had a date night given him being away for a while we savored this time.  We realized at the restaurant that the live entertainment was someone we knew a bit but had recently struggled so much as his wife had left him for another man.  This young artist loves God and was hurting and we knew we could relate.  And so Roger prayed there that the Lord would bring him over and sure enough and so we invited him to share our date with us.  It was of God for us to encourage his saddened heart.  And in that moment I knew the Lord wanted me to invite him to our Christmas.  So I did.  And he may just be at our place this Christmas.  Was I being obedient... yes.  It's all about being faithful with all that He puts around us.  See it's HIS heart above all that I desire to please.  I feel such love and joy and peace in my own heart when I follow His leading in this.

My life is His... I desire the world to know that I love the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ above all.

May my actions prove my love,

Carrie

Eagerly Desiring

I've recently been pondering the thought that my greatest pursuit in life is to truly fellowship with Jesus that He would bring me in relationship with Almighty God.  See without Jesus we have no access to the Father.  What a gift Jesus is to us.  He is the only way, truth and life.  People seem to be okay talking about God, even the demons do scripture says, but JESUS is another story.  As I was mediating on 1 Cor 1:9, "God has CALLED us into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord" I was reminding again of the depth of this desire is from God.  HE HAS CALLED us... wow.  He wants us to KNOW Jesus, His Son which must be our Lord.  See that's interesting.  Without confessing Jesus as your Lord you have no relationship with Him.  That's where it starts.  You acknowledge all HE is and surrender to Him as Lord.  Then you get to know Him.  The more I spend time in His word and dialogue with Him the more I find He reveals himself and his ways to me.  I think perhaps we have stopped pursuing a deep relationship with God and maybe just settled with the bare basics.  What kind of relationship is that?  The more I sense Him and draw close to Him the more I'm intoxicated to want more.  Many think I've lost it I'm sure and yet I was telling Roger I feel like I've only scratched the surfaces.  Do we realize the inheritance that is ours??  Do we realize all we possess through His gift of the Holy Spirit??  All the gifts He offers to us are for encouraging, building up the body, becoming powerful in word and deed all to reflect His glory.  I find myself eagerly desiring more of these gifts.  I've begun to walk more powerfully in them the past few years and I want more.  So I wondered am I being selfish Lord?  But He answers me in His word, for twice in 1 Cor it says, "Eagerly desire the greater gifts" and " Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the spirit especially prophecy."  (1 Cor 12:30-31, 1 Cor 14:1-3).  This refreshed my soul and now I continue to ask for more from Him and especially prophecy which He has truly begun to give me more.  Ask my husband.  :)  Why prophecy?  Because I believe prophecy is a result of a deep relationship with God.  For prophets give msgs from God.  They become as spokespeople for Him.  Wow....  Something I don't take lightly.  Lots of people profess to be prophets especially now a days, but the Lord reminds of this and to test them in the truth, watch and see.  But the true prophets have and know the heart of God intimately and therefore are required... mandated to share this truth to the church body both the good and the bad or else they are held responsible.  Not always an easy job.  Often can be shunned as not giving the message people necessarily want to listen to.  And yet when the msg is treated with a desire to listen and obey God powerful things begin to happen. 

Can I encourage you today to press into your relationship with Jesus, no matter where you've been or fallen off track, jump back in.  Make it a priority begin to ask Him to reveal more of Himself to you and give you a hunger for more of Him.  EAGERLY desire this and watch what He will do in your life.  Promise.  :)

Passionately desiring more,

c

Part 2 - Previous Post

Here's your link.  First part is our Sr. Pastor, Wayne Alguire.  Enjoy.

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