Thursday, April 21, 2011
Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love
If you have an hour, you should definitely watch this! Francis Chan (author of the amazing book "Crazy Love"), takes us through his personal experiences with seeing how powerful prayer is and how much God delights in the everyday lives of His children!! Listen to it as you do the dishes, or finish up those taxes (whoops)! Be encouraged!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Who, us?
1 Peter 2:9
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
Ministry is funny(not haha but laugh til you cry, and then there are the days when you weep with either utter joy or out of complete heartbreak). It is being a servant; it is leading people to look upon Jesus as their ultimate satisfaction. It has been absolutely amazing to see the women in our Bible study grow and learn as we look at the Gospel and what it means in so many different aspects of our lives. Always, we strive to delight in God and to glorify Him..whether that be through how we work, how we relate to our neighbors, or how we examine our motives. I LOVE seeing the girls "get it", to see that light come on and to see them desire to follow more closely after Christ. A life changed by the Gospel is a literal miracle..and it is the most beautiful thing to witness.
There is also heartache and stress as you see the girls turn away from Jesus, or go back and forth..to share the Gospel and think it is taking root only to see no fruit at all. You see the battle over their hearts and minds..sin vs. holiness, the world vs. Christ, and all you can do is keep speaking truth and pray..pray that this new girl who has been coming and is not yet a Christian will not have an abortion even though the father has abandoned her and her mother is not supportive of her having a baby..trust that God has placed her in our lives for such a time as this..pray that she will see Christ's love for her and turn to him and be made whole. Pray that this girl who has been coming for a while will finally let go of her old lifestyle completely and let Christ do amazing things in her life and through it..I am overwhelmed by the responsibility of being entrusted with the care of these girls and must constantly remember that they are ultimately in the Lord's hands, not mine.
Through all the ups and downs of leadership, God is faithful and He will accomplish His good purposes. He is the one that provides the opportunities for ministry in the first place! May we be reminded of that each day as we serve Him!! There is rest in Christ, even in our work, because it is not about US or OUR ability, but about His finished work on the cross! We are to "declare His praises" and tell of how He has called us out of darkness and into His light! We are called to speak the Gospel, and to be obedient, and then the rest is in His hands! It is definitely not easy when you like to be in "control", especially when you don't see the results of your efforts or prayers right away or even EVER, but there is such freedom and relief in knowing that He is the one who holds everything together..the salvation of our lost loved ones, the outcome of our labor, all of it. Sigh of relief.
This is why HE gets the glory. He DESERVES it. Every bit of it. He is so good, and so faithful. I am amazed at how He loves us so much, even when we don't love Him back. We can trust Him to work everything together in His perfect plans, in His impeccable timing. He's pretty much the best boss ever. =)
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
Ministry is funny(not haha but laugh til you cry, and then there are the days when you weep with either utter joy or out of complete heartbreak). It is being a servant; it is leading people to look upon Jesus as their ultimate satisfaction. It has been absolutely amazing to see the women in our Bible study grow and learn as we look at the Gospel and what it means in so many different aspects of our lives. Always, we strive to delight in God and to glorify Him..whether that be through how we work, how we relate to our neighbors, or how we examine our motives. I LOVE seeing the girls "get it", to see that light come on and to see them desire to follow more closely after Christ. A life changed by the Gospel is a literal miracle..and it is the most beautiful thing to witness.
There is also heartache and stress as you see the girls turn away from Jesus, or go back and forth..to share the Gospel and think it is taking root only to see no fruit at all. You see the battle over their hearts and minds..sin vs. holiness, the world vs. Christ, and all you can do is keep speaking truth and pray..pray that this new girl who has been coming and is not yet a Christian will not have an abortion even though the father has abandoned her and her mother is not supportive of her having a baby..trust that God has placed her in our lives for such a time as this..pray that she will see Christ's love for her and turn to him and be made whole. Pray that this girl who has been coming for a while will finally let go of her old lifestyle completely and let Christ do amazing things in her life and through it..I am overwhelmed by the responsibility of being entrusted with the care of these girls and must constantly remember that they are ultimately in the Lord's hands, not mine.
Through all the ups and downs of leadership, God is faithful and He will accomplish His good purposes. He is the one that provides the opportunities for ministry in the first place! May we be reminded of that each day as we serve Him!! There is rest in Christ, even in our work, because it is not about US or OUR ability, but about His finished work on the cross! We are to "declare His praises" and tell of how He has called us out of darkness and into His light! We are called to speak the Gospel, and to be obedient, and then the rest is in His hands! It is definitely not easy when you like to be in "control", especially when you don't see the results of your efforts or prayers right away or even EVER, but there is such freedom and relief in knowing that He is the one who holds everything together..the salvation of our lost loved ones, the outcome of our labor, all of it. Sigh of relief.
This is why HE gets the glory. He DESERVES it. Every bit of it. He is so good, and so faithful. I am amazed at how He loves us so much, even when we don't love Him back. We can trust Him to work everything together in His perfect plans, in His impeccable timing. He's pretty much the best boss ever. =)
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