Three months ago I was dressed up in my wedding dress walking towards the love of my life. Being a newlywed is awesome and hard. The hard part is learning how selfish I can be at times and growing to be more loving and kind. When I was younger I had an idea of marriage being two people who live happily ever after - no disagreements, no hurts, just happiness all the time. Actually marriage is showing me a deeper and deeper understanding of what love really is and what God’s perfect love looks like even though it’s been a hard process.
About a week ago my husband and I had a disagreement and I chose selfishly to say some rude things and walk into the other room. My husband walked into the room, sat down beside me and starting reading from our daily devotional. The devotional is based on the book The Love Dare so it has daily dares of learning how to love your spouse intentionally. This particular day it dared us to read 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. You know the famous love verses read at most weddings:
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Delighting and bragging on God as a Global God"The ultimate goal of God in all of history is to uphold and display his glory for the enjoyment of the reedmed from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." John Piper Did you know that we are in the most exciting time in history to be involved in His Great Commission. “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” (Mt 9:37) Do you believe that about the people around you? “…I will draw all men to myself…” (Jn 12:32-33) God IS working on the people around you. Look... here are real time decisions of people trusting Jesus. In “The Faith Equation,” Dr. Marvin Bittinger, Professor of Mathematics at Purdue University and author of over 175college math textbooks, claims that by 2033 every person on the planet capable of understanding the gospel will have been presented the gospel, according to modern evangelism trends. Wow! We don't have that much longer till the work is done... I don't want to get to the end and be one of the 99% that never started the task. So I said we are in the most exciting time in history. Here's why I say that. Here is what God is doing all over the world. 34,000 people come to Christ in South America everyday 28-37,000 new Chinese believers daily 23-25,000 new African believers daily Every hour, 667 Muslims turn to Jesus. Which is 16,000 every day. Egypt – some reports say 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so. The largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, meets in an enormous cave on the of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. Afghanistan – only 17 Muslims came to Christ before 9/11/01, but now more than 10,000 Kazakstan – there were only 3 known Christians in 1990, but now more than 15,000 Sudan – more than 1 million Sudanese have converted to Christianity just since 2000 despite a radical Islamic regime and an on-going genocide that has killed more than 200,000. Seminaries are being held in caves to train pastors to shepherd the huge numbers of people coming to Christ. Iran – in 1979, there were only 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity, but today Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders say there are more than 1 million Iranian believers in Jesus Christ, most of whom meet in underground house churches. One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus and thus coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus.” Worldwide: that is 174,000 new belivers everyday! David B. Barret and ToddM. Johnson of the Global Evangelism Movement. The opportunity has never been more dramatic and the need has never been so huge. You have been placed strategically in this very place, for this very time! Acts 17:26 – “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” We get to be a part of this amazing revival, through the power of the Holy Spirit leaving results to God. But it takes strategy. Just like Jonathan, he didn’t just hope his mission in the battle against the Philistines would just happen as he continued on with his life-hanging out in the palace playing… Are you are serious about the Great Commission? You can tell if you’ve taken personal responsibility for it by seeing if you have a plan to pull it off. Brag on God Friday's is a link up to brag about God. You can share any post about how He came through for you when you took a step of faith, how He answered a prayer, what He showed you through His Word about Himself, how He gave a glimpse of Himself through His creation, basically anyway you have seen Him reveal Himself. If you would like to use this opportunity to brag on God, go ahead and link up. Just post my button (found on the side bar on the right or under the BOGF tab) or link within your post so others can find us and hear about how awesome God is. After you have linked your post, ask God to speak to you through the others linked up and leave them a brief encouraging comment. We have arrived in Cambodia. It is very early in the morning of Day 1. I will post tonight about our day and how God is revealing His heart to the nations. I am reading through Exodus. In chapter 14 I am struck by the graciousness of God to tell the Israelites that Pharaoh and his army are going to "pursue them." And encourages them, "But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." (V.4) Seriously! How awesome of God to prepare them. But... what happens? They don't listen or forget or something. When Pharaoh starts pursuing they freak out. But seriously, don't you and I do the same thing?! He promises us things... "in this world you will have trouble"... "Go, make disciples of all nations... and lo I am with you always..." And we freak out when it's in our face. Good thing God knows how to continually motivate us, move us, speak to us. We are desperately dependent on Him, good thing He makes Himself available to us. I put together a helpful tool to help people discern and be confident in God's Will. And since I talk a lot about how to and how not to discern God's voice in the link above, I'm just going to share a neat story. I think God takes great pleasure in communicating with us, in surprising us and showing off in neat ways. Here's my new Bible. Here's my old Bible, the reason I needed a new Bible. God Shows OffI went to the Christian bookstore and of course there were so many to choose from. I was narrowing it down to the version I wanted (I like to do a different version than the one I had before) and then went from there. I was asking God which one He would like me to have. Finally I found the one I wanted. I had pulled it off the shelf and looked through it and decided this was the one. But something nagged at me. No, I want more crinkles on the cover. So I looked at all the covers staring at me from the display case and I decided on the one on the top shelf corner. I pulled it down and took it out of the see through box. At the bottom of the box was a handwritten small piece of paper with nothing but LAURA written on it. I am so thankful to serve a God who not only knows how to make me smile but also does. Here it isLaura, the creator and host of Missional Women is married and has four kids, two of whom are adopted. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 11 years serving with Master Plan Ministries. Laura is the Staff Women's Development Coordinator and has discipled over 150 girls, led over 30 Bible studies and speaks 10-20 times a year. Laura is an award winning author of a 12 week Bible Study on First Samuel, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional, recently released Reach; How to Use Your Social Media Influence for the Glory of God, and A Devotional Journey through Judges, a devotional to accompany the free online Bible study at TheBookofJudges.com. You can find her on facebook,twitter, pinterest and youtube. The Hebrew word for harden in Exodus is Chazaq- give courage, to embolden to do what's already in the heart. God hardened Pharaoh's heart, gave him courage to act out what was already in his heart, so that He could show His incredible power. To show that He was God. Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me." Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But the LORD hardened (Chazaq- gave him courage to do what was already in his heart) Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. Exodus 10:16-20 Pharoh changes his mind and admits he has sinned. And though his mind changed, it hadn't gone any deeper than that. When God emboldened his heart, unwillingness came out. He was unmoved, unwilling to change his actions and let the people go. Repentance is a change of mind leading to a change of action. It looks on the outside like Pharoah had true repentance, but God knows the heart and Chazaq-ed him so we also can see his heart. Saul is another example of false repentance in 1 Sam. 15. Tall, lanky, who hides in baggage in fear Saul won't even admit he did anything wrong. And then when he is confronted by Samuel he admits something went wrong but then begins to blameshift, blaming the people and even Samuel. When he finally "repents" (or falsely repents) he does so only because he doesnt want the consequence and pleads with Samuel "please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel". He is more concerned about his reputation than about offending the living God. True repentance that leads to a change of action requires being real about who we are and surrendering our "rights" to the God who made us, the God who loves us dearly. A surrendered mind leads to surrendered actions. So, if God Chazaq-ed you. What would be the result? What is in your heart that if God gave you more courage, you would actually do it? What does it take for you to trust God with ________? Do you demand He show you His worthiness or is His Word enough for you to trust? And even if He demonstrated His worthiness of trust... would you trust Him then?
Oh Lord, what things in my life am I not trusting You with? Help me live surrendered to you. Lord, thank you for... *Psalm 103:17 "But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's heart is with those who fear Him and His righteousness with thier children's children." My hope can be in the reality that You will do what is right. And though I dont always know what the right thing is... You do and will do it. *That you will always do what's best for kids. You will use them for Your glory. *That you don't leave us without strength and empowerment for what You've called us to. * Your ability to give us desires for You. * Your ability to give us courage *To purify our hearts. #61-66 Jesus is the exact image of the Father. When we see Him, we see God's glory. You and I are also created in God's image, so much of us reflects God's heart, His character. We are not the exact image, but still reflect what He is like. When I experience Angi, I experience God's radiance. Let me tell you a bit about her, so you too can see God's cheerful brightness. Meet Ms. Angela PrattAngi has a neat story of God pursuing her and winning her heart on the hike up Kilimanjaro. And when Angi does something, she is all in. She started walking with Jesus, shared her faith and got to see people put their faith in Him and started discipling girls. Her passion blossomed for college ministry and she joined staff with us. Passionate about Jesus and making Him known. Joyful... massively joyful. (Some students even joke she is filled with confetti) Learner This is how I would begin to describe Angi. Qualities that show me what God's like. I see God as joyful by how I experience her, I see Him as passionate about people knowing Him and I see His desire to reveal things to us. She is what so much of Proverbs 31 describes. Guys take note, she is single. :) V.12- "She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." Even now Angi chooses to honor her future husband by how she interacts with other guys. She takes the all the days of her life seriously. V.17 "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." She understands God's purpose and mission for her life and passionately walks it out, trusting in Him each step. She gives of her herself whole-heartedly to the girls she disciples and to reaching the lost. V.18 "She sees that her trading is profitable..." Angi is not down on herself, she sees herself in light of who God made her. She has such a healthy self-image. "and her lamp does not go out at night." She is persevering. She keeps going and continues to trust God even in hard times. She doesnt get bitter or hard-hearted because she is so willing to trust herself to her Maker. V.26 "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." As I have overheard conversations Angi has had with girls I am struck by the wisdom God has given her beyond her years. V.27 "does not eat the bread of idleness." Angi invests her time and wants all of it to glorify God. How someone responds to hard times shows a lot about their character. Last August someone stole Angi's car and blew it up. Read her incredible perspective on it. I could go on a long time about the things I appreciate about Angi, but I will finish with one last thing. Angi honors people. I mean, she brags about people behind their backs. Her words give life not death. Such a beautiful glimpse of Jesus! Can you imagine Jesus bragging about you?! Wow! But then I think through Scripture and He totally did! About the lady with the Alabaster jar, Mary who sat at His feet and many others. He brags about us! Want to meet Angi? Find her on facebook. Brag on God Friday's is a link up to brag about God. You can share any post about how He came through for you when you took a step of faith, how He answered a prayer, what He showed you through His Word about Himself, how He gave a glimpse of Himself through His creation, basically anyway you have seen Him reveal Himself. If you would like to use this opportunity to brag on God, go ahead and link up. Just post my button (found on the side bar on the right or under the BOGF tab) or link within your post. After you have linked your post, ask God to speak to you through the others linked up and leave them a brie encouraging comment. I'm linked up with...
The Diaper Diaries, The Heart Soul Exchange, Some Girls Website, Faith Barista, Finding Joy Congratulations Lauren Hays for winning the Beholding Him, Becoming Missional Give Away! I am continually amazed at how God is able to give us the desire of our hearts as we look to Him. Amazing! I can’t cause anybody to desire anything. I can cast vision, painting a picture of why a certain thing would be good. But the desire, I can’t give. What a testimony of how well He knows us, that He knows exactly what would motivate us to desire the thing He wants us to desire. What a testimony of His care and ability that He would put the things in our life that would move us to the desire He wants. It really is overwhelming at how He is able to shape our hearts, our desires, the things on the inside that we may not ever tell anyone. God put in me a desire while I was in high school to write daily devotionals. He used that to build confidence that years later I would desire to write a twelve week Bible study on First Samuel. A few years out of college when reading through First Samuel in my times with Him, it just seemed like there was so much that would jump out at me that I wanted to share. I felt like I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. So I started writing a Bible Study. After two years of getting discouraged and God bringing along just the right person to encourage me to keep going, I finished. God not only knew how to motivate me to keep at it, but He knew how to lead others to encourage me. He cared, He led, He inspired. What an incredible God! So the end of last year it was released and here it is. And Here's what others have said about it. Designed for group OR individual use, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional: Awakening to the Mission Through the Study of 1 Samuel offers women the opportunity to behold the King and be transformed into living uniquel purposeful and missional lives. By the end of the study, women will walk away with minds and hearts that have been transformed through an intimate relationship with the King, and lives uniquely reflecting the King’s heart and mission for the world. It has a “come alongside and let’s do life together” flavor and feel and like 1 Samuel, it is packed full of relevant stories—stories of people bravely living out God’s heart and passion, stories of utter failure and embarrassment, stories of redemption, victory, and partnering with others to live out God’s very heart. It is set up in two sections. The first six weeks will move you into a more authentic relationship with God. The second six weeks move you to the point of action, of living on purpose for the glory of God, reflecting His heart for the world. You can order it at any Christian bookstore or find it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Since it is a twelve week 256 page study, it is a bit pricey (I wish I had some say in that.) But you can think of it as supporting a ministry that is sharing the gospel with young girls who have been sold into and rescued out of the sex trafficking industry and are being given skills to be able to support themselves. 100% of the author proceeds go to Women at Risk and Agape International's Rahab's House. If your interested in more Bible Study (or Great Comission) resources, check out my new Tab Life On Mission Brag on God Friday's is a link up to brag about God. You can share any post about how He came through for you when you took a step of faith, how He answered a prayer, what He showed you through His Word about Himself, how He gave a glimpse of Himself through His creation, basically anyway you have seen Him reveal Himself. If you would like to use this opportunity to brag on God, go ahead and link up. Just post my button (found on the side bar on the right or under the BOGF tab) or link within your post. After you have linked your post, ask God to speak to you through the others linked up and leave them a brie encouraging comment. I'm linked up with... Photo Credit Melissa Phillips
In the OT God would display His greatness through events and a select few prophets. After Jesus rose from the dead, believers are now filled with the Holy Spirit and get to declare His message of freedom for captives. Instead of seeing God's workings as a spectator, we are privledged to be used in the great drama to be a vessel of sharing a life changing, God glorifying message. Sometimes I think sharing the gospel with someone doesn't seem as dramatic and spectacular as parting the red sea. Why? I think it's because I dont always see things in terms of the eternal. The Israelites saw God do amazing wonders like parting the red sea. They saw, they forgot. An outward display of God's greatness is awesome, but seeing something happen doesn't normally equal lasting life change. But when something happens inside of us, it seems to last and can be seen by others. I want to share a great conversation published in Postcards to Corinth called Learning, The Lost Art of Making People Feel Stupid that took place between Will Walker and a couple college guys. “Yeah, we all know too much,” I said. “I had a group of pledges one year that grew up in a really good church, but what they knew and what they experienced were two different worlds. I told them at our first meeting that I thought they were all full of crap. Let me ask you what I asked them.” I continued. “If Jesus were here physically and were your discipler this semester instead of me, do you think you would have a better shot at growing spiritually than you do now with me as your discipler and His Spirit living inside you?” Casey smirked and asked, “What do you mean ‘here physically’”? “I mean here, physically. He could be right by your side as much as you wanted him to be.” “Well, then I’d take that,” said Casey. “Why?” “Because he would be straight with me, you know. He could see into my heart and just tell it like it is. There wouldn’t be any question about what I’m supposed to do.” “So this seems like a no-brainer to you?” I asked. “I guess,” responded Casey, confident but suspicious. I turned to Michael, “What about you?” “Well, I know the right answer is the Holy Spirit but since that is what I have had all along, and that hasn’t worked out so well, I would honestly say Jesus just to try something new.” They chose the same answer but for different reasons. Michael knew the “right answer.” Casey was left wondering why his answer was “wrong” and wishing he hadn’t been so sure of himself. Someone was going to look stupid, and nothing creates tension like the potential of looking stupid. What people know does not impress me anymore. I want to know what they want. In this case, they wanted Jesus as their discipler instead of me, but at the expense of having His Spirit inside them. This scenario has its apparent advantages, but it reveals something about them at the level of their desires. I already knew at this point what it says about them, but again, what I know will very rarely change anyone. They have to discover it. So we continued: I asked both of them, “If you would be better off having Jesus with you instead of in you, why didn’t God establish life that way?” I got blank stares. So I continued. “I mean, the disciples wanted Jesus to stay and he told them at least twice that it was better for them if He left.” Casey, probably sensing that he might be the one to look stupid, questioned, “When did He say that?” I showed him the verses. “So why is it better?” (ie Why were you wrong?) More blank stares. Let’s review. I could have explained all this to them on the front end and avoided hurting anyone’s self-esteem. They would know having the Holy Spirit is better, but it would only be head knowledge. Instead, I asked two simple questions and it surfaced that deep down they really just wanted Christianity to be easier. “Okay, Casey, you said you would like it because Jesus would shoot straight with you. He could look in your heart and tell you that you are full of crap. Then what would you do about it?” “What do you mean?” Casey asked. “Think about it this way. If Lebron James was your personal coach in basketball, could you play in the NBA?” “No.” “Why not? You would have one of the best players in the world teaching you.” “But that doesn’t mean I could play like him.” “What if somehow LeBron could live inside you and play through you? Then could you play in the NBA?”Casey gets an epiphany, “I get it. If I didn’t have His Spirit in me, I couldn’t do what he tells me I need to do. It wouldn’t matter that Jesus was here telling me to do it.” If we are trusting Jesus as our only way to stand innocent before the Father, we have the Holy Spirit. How incredible! We have the opportunity to do greater things than parting the red sea, yet it seems we don't want to put down ___________ long enough to see the eternally spectacular. Are you serious about the mission God has given you? Are you taking initative in the power of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel, leaving the results up to God? If not, will you talk to God about it and let Him have your heart and do what He pleases with it? If you'd like some resources to help, check out the Life on Mission Tab. In light of this, continuing my markings toward One Thousand Gifts... #46 Beautiful Frisco, CO and Abbey's coffee with free wi-fi #47 The boys getting old enough to have conversations. #48 Asher's courage to call out a twenty-something on his language. #49 The hope of life without constant discipline #50 The reminder from Rocky Mountain Bible Church that God's goal in life is not to make us happy and comfortable. Bible Study Give AwayFor group or individual use, Beholding Him, Becoming Missional: Awakening to the Mission Through the Study of 1 Samuel offers women the opportunity to behold the King and be transformed into living uniquely purposeful and missional lives. By the end of the study, women will walk away with minds and hearts that have been transformed through an intimate relationship with the King, and lives uniquely reflecting the King’s heart and mission for the world. It has a “come alongside and let’s do life together” flavor and feel and like 1 Samuel, it is packed full of relevant stories—stories of people bravely living out God’s heart and passion, stories of utter failure and embarrassment, stories of redemption, victory, and partnering with others to live out God’s very heart. It is set up in two sections. The first six weeks will move you into a more authentic relationship with God. The second six weeks move you to the point of action, of living on purpose for the glory of God, reflecting His heart for the world. To enter simply leave here. For extra entries 'Like' the Beholding Glory facebook Page, tweet or put the link for this giveaway in your facebook status (and indicate what you've done in your comment). The winner will be announced next Friday the 17th I'm linked up with...
The Wellspring Sometimes I feel like I am completely off my rocker, like I am hanging only by grace. Sometimes I pray absolutely outlandish things. Like recently I've been praying and been trying to start link up to Brag about God. And maybe to other people this doesn't seem so far fetched. But I am fairly new to the blogging world and am still have a lot to learn. ... But then I remember two things: God desires His name to be famous more than I do. And I remember the time I prayed for a bus, a school bus to be given to my church. For some reason I thought that would be helpful for the church. (My wild imagination at work.) Not long after I started praying, someone went to the Pastor and said they had a school bus they wanted to donate to the church. God said yes to my crazy thought, even when the church didn't even need it. Perhaps He said yes then, 10 years ago to remind me now, that He delights in creatively thinking through how to make Him known, and then going for it, trusitng Him for it, hanging only by grace. God delights in my "throwing bread on many waters" since I don't know what will succeed (Eccl. 11:1-6). He tells us to: 1 Chron. 16:24 "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples." Psalm 9:11 "...proclaim among the nations what he has done." Psalm 71:15-18 "My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come." Isaiah 12:4 "make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted." So, it is ok to fail in trying to do the very thing God delights in. I think God delights in us using creativity in planning, dreaming and trying ways to make Him known. Will you join me on this journey of throwing bread on water by linking up for Brag on God Friday? You can link up anything that brags about God's character; stories, what He's teaching you about Himself, something from His Word, what you saw through creation that gave you a glimpse of Him, the sky is the limit (ha ha... since the heavens declare the glory of God.) "This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD. Jer. 9:23-24 I have been bungee jumping, but sure didn't look like this. I was clinging to the rope and screaming. This is Austin's courageous sister, Heather. In light of hanging by grace here are some markings toward A Thousand Gifts: #30 Opportunities to step out and try new things. #31 Being able to declare His glory among the nations through the internet #32 Having eyes to see how God is revealing Himself #33 Having godly ladies like Ann share her wisdom in her blog #34 Being able to communicate with my husband as he is in the middle east #35 My friend Janie bringing my family dinner (and having enough for left overs) #36 Sweet Hannah for watching the kids so I could get some stuff done. #37 Airplanes and pilots that allow us to cross oceans to share the Gospel #38 New Hope Publishers for sending me some great books to read #39 My kids all sleeping right now. #40 My generous mom, who renewed our membership to the zoo #41 All the different colored birds at the zoo that cause little red-headed Uriah's face to light up. #42 The flowers growing in the backyard for the boys to pick them and give to me #43 Our ministry house, that I am daily in awe of how God provided it for us. #44 My step dad who fixed our plumbing #45 My dad's encouragement in blogging. I'm linked up with... God's Perfect Promises, Spiritual Sundays, Top Photo Credit Fun Munch
A few heads of our sprinkler system broke last summer which ended up killing parts of our grass. So as I am out in the grass with my rake trying to break up the hard ground the Lord reminds me of Mark 4. In Verses 1-20, Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. He says that the Lord is the Sower and His Word is the seed that is scattered. Each one of us has a different heart receptor condition to His Word; teachable, shallow, distracted or hard. As I was raking, if you can call it that, I was thrusting the rake at the ground with all my might to get it to break. It was hard, exhausting but filled with hope of having grass return. I wondered what the rake is in my life. What does God use to break me? In this parable, I am both the rake and the dirt. My kids (who are wonderful blessing from God, though it sure doesnt feel that way some days) are what God uses to rake me. To soften me, to break me to His purposes. Thier strong-willed hearts and what seems like a constant need for correction, training and discipline gets way too much for me to handle. I get to the end of myself. Worn. Exhausted. Somedays (especially within the last week or 2) I feel as though I am functioning solely on God's grace (His ability through me) and completely exhaust even that (though that is not possible, it sure feels like it). He steps in and provides grace upon grace. I am the dirt, my hard heart being held, molded. My boys, in the hands of my loving Father being used as tools to soften me. I am also the rake. The tool God is using to bring about change in my boys hearts. To soften them. That they would become teachable, moldable in the hands of the Father. Equipped, ready for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). I am the tiller of the soil so they can recieve God's Word. It hurts, with sweat and tears involved. But God promises it will produce a fruit of righteousness later on (Heb. 12:11). What hope! There is pain involved with being both the rake and the hard ground, but there is hope. God is active in softening my heart (if I yield to Him and not get more stubborn in demanding life my way an on my terms) and softening my boys hearts which will produce eternal fruit and bring glory to God.
What about you? Are you the rake or the dirt? And if the dirt, are you receptive to what God is doing in your life, distracted, hard or shallow? How are you responding to the things He is allowing in your life? Yielding to Him and relying upon His grace or demanding life be different and on your terms? Why not break up the fallow ground (Jer. 4:3) Meaning, be no longer unproductive but repentant. Like John the Baptist said, "Repent! Bear fruits worthy of repentance." (Mt 3:1-12) How do you know if you are being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit? Have you ever wondering what the Spirit-filled life is? Or wondered how to explain it to someone? Here is a simple diagram that you can draw for people to help bring understanding. Get a piece of paper and after watching try to draw and explain it yourself and share it with someone today. |
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