You are an Amazing God

Joshua 3:5
5 Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

You know how God will put a certain verse in your path several times in the course of a week? This is one I've heard a couple times recently, and usually that means God is trying to tell me something. I read it once in "The Beloved Disciple" by Beth Moore, and it stuck out to me then, but when I stumbled upon it a second time (don't exactly remember where, I read my Bible and I read tons of blogs about God), I got excited. How many verses are in the Bible altogether? Hold on, let me find out. According to this, 31,102. That's a lot of different verses. So, I know that God speaks to us through his written word, and I know that when the words grab us, it is because something has struck a resonant chord within us, and our hearts feel that tug that says "This is for you". I think it is an awesome verse, very exciting, and pretty simple. Consecrate means to "set apart, to keep holy", and the rest is pretty self-explanatory. If we are setting ourselves apart as holy to be used by God, then he will do amazing things among us.
For example, I attend a church that has a lot of people who used to be down and out, as in: drug use, homelessness, gang life, many people that others would look down on. They have seen alot of trouble in their lives, admittedly much of it self-inflicted. I have to say, though, that I feel a sincerity in the love for Jesus at this church that outshines many I've been to, and they also sincerely love each other. One lady that has been coming for a year, Zakiyah, stood in front of a crowd of 2,000 tonight and gave her testimony of what God has done in her life recently. She has been coming to church about a year, and gave her life to Christ shortly after she started attending. She has, in her own words, gotten closer and closer to Jesus during this time, getting up at 5:30 each morning to spend time with her God.
She has had a hard time finding work, she told us, because she has five, count em', FIVE felonies under her belt. She didn't say for what, but she does have three daughters to raise, so it would suck not to be able to provide for them. She recently wrote Tim Kaine, the governor of Virginia, and praise God, she found favor in the governor's eyes, because she has been officially pardoned of ALL FIVE FELONIES! I am not an advocate of soft crime punishment by any means, but her heart has been transformed by a powerful God, and he saw fit to pardon her here on earth as he surely will when she stands before him in heaven. She set herself apart for him, and he did amazing things in her life. It was apparently a "God Rocks" kind of night at my church, because we have also been granted permission to send 8-10 people in to work Monday through Friday in the PUBLIC school system here in Richmond. We will have our own office, and kids can come for mentoring, tutoring, and I'm not sure what else, but I know that when the kids get in trouble they will have to do community hours at our church..I know it will be the best thing to happen ever in some kids' lives. Thank you, God, that you are so big!
I have still been having a rough time at work money-wise, and my attitude hasn't been great, but it is changing. I am not singing Zippadeedooda, but I am kind of "so what"ing bad situations instead of getting upset about them. God is teaching me to trust him through good and bad, and it is important to me to learn that.
Bible study on Tuesday night was completely awesome, it was my co-leader, Heather and I, and two girls from work: Amanda and Stefanie. Both girls are not living Christian lives currently, but praise God, they have the desire and Amanda at least is making huge changes in her lifestyle after dedicating her life to Christ two weeks ago. She even told Stefanie, who was a strong Christian at one point but has fallen away, that if Stef wanted to call and discuss things she learns in her quiet time, she would love to be there for her to talk with! You go, you new little Christian! We had awesome conversation and really opened up to each other. What a blessing to be able to take part in sharing God's love for these girls.
God gave us free will. We can do things our way, conforming to this world and taking its' empty pleasures as our profit. Or we can say "NO" to the the things that keep us in bondage to unholiness. That is when God can work in our situation. It takes faith to set yourself apart, because you have to believe that there is a reason you are doing it. God operates on the faith of his people.
Zakiyah set herself apart from her past, choosing a bright future with the Lord. He has done amazing things for her and through her, as she ministers to others in the body of Christ. Amanda is choosing to set herself apart, and is transforming before our eyes.
So, this week let's consecrate ourselves- set ourselves apart as holy, so that the Lord will do amazing things among us! Amazing means you'll be standing around with your mouth open, by the way. Maybe with a letter of full pardon from the governor in your hand.

Who cares about a title?

1 Samuel 24
David Spares Saul's Life
1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the Desert of En Gedi." 2 So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said [a] to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD." 7 With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, 'David is bent on harming you'? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, 'I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed.' 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 As the old saying goes, 'From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you.

14 "Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15 May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand."

16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, "Is that your voice, David my son?" And he wept aloud. 17 "You are more righteous than I," he said. "You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me of the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family."

22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

David had the chance to kill Saul. Saul certainly had tried to kill David, numerous times, in fact! He was jealous of and afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and he was a mighty warrior. Saul was out to get David. He knew God was planning to give David the throne of Israel, which was bad news for Saul, as he was the current king. But David chose to obey God, and not to kill Saul, even when he had the perfect opportunity. No one would have thought him wrong to do it, but David cared more about what God thought. So, he spared Saul's life, and postponed his rule as king of Israel. He waited on God's timing, even though he could have ended his immediate problems, which included living on the run, always fearing a knife in the back. He life was in danger. Every day. He could have justified his actions, but he chose to let God handle it. And God got the glory, because Saul and all three of his sons died on the same day a little while later, clearing the throne for none other than merciful, obedient David. David also had the opportunity, after this encounter with Saul, to write more of the book of Psalms, which have spoken to peoples' hearts for three thousand years.
I am struggling with God's seeming inaction in my current circumstances. I am finding myself falling for a man who is not a Christian. I am becoming discontent in my job. I KNOW KNOW KNOW that I absolutely cannot go down that road with this guy, but some attention sure seems better than the none I have from my "Mr. Right" that God is taking his sweet time bringing around. Friends, please pray for me to find my strength and self-control in the Lord, and for peace and intimate relationship in the waiting time. I am feeling a bit left behind, also, as friends move on to other jobs (to places I DO NOT feel called, so it's not jealousy), but as I wait for God to call me elsewhere, I feel..forgotten about. I could see how hard it would have been for David not to just kill Saul, take the throne and forget about his anxiety-filled life on the run. Wouldn't it have been nice for him to feel peaceful and taken care of? But he chose obedience over expedience and ease, and was greatly rewarded. His relationship with God was strengthened, and you just know God's heart was pleased by his trust. God, give me a heart like David's. I get tired of waiting for God, and feel like maybe my own way isn't so bad. This is where I must battle feelings with truth. That's been my struggle the past week or so, but I know that I will continue to trust God, because there is no other way.
This sermon, by Dr. Michael Youssef, is what I draw today's post from.

Plug it in, Plug it in

We have the power and the protection of a mighty God behind us..so why don't we believe that all things are possible? I was at my Dad's birthday party this weekend, and my Aunt Ann (not the one of pretzel fame) was talking about a healing mass she attended at her church recently. My mom's side of the family was brought up Catholic, but many have become non-denominational Christians, which in my limited experience are more focused on relationship and less on ritual. Aunt Ann still attends Catholic services, and at the healing mass they brought forth an eight-year old boy named Austin who is in a vegetative state due to asphyxiation in the womb when the placenta separated prematurely. They prayed over him, and the priest announced to the congregation that he is certain that God would heal Austin; that one day the boy would come to the healing mass not on a gurney but on his own two legs. Aunt Ann thinks it's a bunch of malarkey, and that they are giving the parents false hope and putting the boy through unnecessary trauma. She also said that a woman there said her feet, which had been hurting, claimed that she was feeling much better after they mentioned "feet" from the altar. She thought that was nonsense too (and it very well may have been). But I think sometimes we sell God short, as well as the power of our own prayers. We are to be persistent..if God just answered prayer right away (and sometimes he DOES) all the time, then we would take him for granted, and I think we would lose much of our wonder and our gratitude. I listened to this sermon by Dr. Michael Youseff this morning, and it reminded me that we, by our own power, are so weak, but with God we can experience amazing results..people saved, people healed,the protection of our loved ones. We can't expect trouble free lives, but we can live victoriously as we call on the name of Jesus. There is power in that name. We are the lamps, he's the light source. Plug it in, plug it in.

Not my problem

Things that have been on my mind this weekend..

1.It's God's fight, not mine.(2 Chronicles 20) My job is to praise him, to be obedient, and to give him all the glory. He will do the rest. That really makes me breathe more easily.

2.I took a girl that I know from my neighborhood pool to church with me. I noticed that she wasn't as in to it as I had hoped for. And then the guy that she brought with her went to the front of the church to receive Christ. It's not my job to make them have a great experience. It's my job to invite them. God will do the rest. Praise you, God.

3. My heart has been aching for those who are misled by false religion. I have been reading this blog , actually I read the whole thing yesterday, and I want to tell this girl not to throw Jesus away with the rest of her beliefs. I think that is a common occurrence, just to be so frustrated by being misled that you just give up on everything. I also found the link to this page documenting 20 facts about Mormonism on her page, and I found it very helpful. I almost want to start an outreach for those coming out of these types of situations. If God wants me to.

4. I want to be a counselor. I have put off going to school because I didn't know what career path was right for me. I am not hard-set on having a career, and certainly won't put a job above family, but I think maybe this would be the right choice for me..I like to listen to people's stories and give them (hopefully good)advice. I care about people. I would like to have comfy couches and maybe cookies at my place of business, make my own hours. So..we'll see.

5.Bible study started...next week? No one but Heather and I were there tonight, but we had a good prayer time and were able to solidify some goals and thoughts we had on our group. I know in God's timing he is going to use this group to drastically change lives and I am so grateful to be an extension of his love to those who are dying (I know, it's harsh) without it. So,here I go waiting. Again. God's Bible study. Not mine.

6. Handing over the reins leaves your hands free to do other stuff. Also, God won't drive you off the side of a cliff.

Angela

Venting

I do not want to be a Christian that is always frowning upon others. I do not want to be a Christian who is passive towards ungodly behavior. Where is the balance? As I grow in my faith, I want every aspect of my life to honor God. I get excited and want to talk about him. All the time. Even my Christian friends seem to kind of zone out or just lose interest when I talk about God. So I find myself in a bad place, feeling lonely and judging them (which is not my place to do) for being more interested in temporal things than in a life dedicated to God. It's not fun. I know that I have sin in my life, and in no way do I think I am more holy than my friends, I just feel... different. I want to be used of God. I don't want him around just when I am having a bad day or want something. I want my life to touch others. I try to understand that my friends may have been in a close relationship before, but maybe they are in a dry period in their relationships with God. I am single, they are married and have more to occupy their time. I do realize these things, but I am still missing out on having another person to be excited about God with. Honestly, I am glad I have met some of the people out in blog world who are in love with the Lord, because it encourages me daily. On a happier note, our Bible study starts on Sunday and I am so ready to help bring other women to a place where they can meet and learn about God, and I know he is going to do some life changing. Can't wait!
Angela

Ha!

I work in a restaurant. It is usually a fun job, and I like and value the relationships I have with my coworkers. It can be tough sometimes when people are rude to you and you have to smile and just do what they want. Zac had a table of four people that sent back their smoothies..what could have been wrong with them? I think it is pretty hard to mess a smoothie up. Some people come in with the attitude that they are going to get stuff for free by complaining, and it is hard to deal with them because they are taking advantage of the restaurant. Of course, if something is wrong, we want to fix it, but don't make other people's lives harder for no reason. So I told Zac (an atheist) that I would pray for them not to complain about anything else. I was hesitant to tell him that because if they kept complaining then I would look foolish. They proceeded to send three other items back, called the manager over, and basically were miserable the whole time. I felt a little silly that I prayed about those people, obviously to no avail, until it started raining. Over their table. Inside. The ceiling started leaking...a lot! They had to get up and move. Luckily, they were almost finished anyway, but it was pretty hilarious, and I have to say I didn't feel bad for them. I gave God the credit, but I don't know if anyone believed me. Zac thought it was pretty awesome, but I guess they could just call it a coincidence. I know better.

Waiting

My friend Heather and I are starting a womens' Bible study. We bought a video series called "Liquid" that translates Biblical principles into modern day scenarios to make them more relative to life in this day and age. We got together, watched the videos (pretty cheesy, but God can work with anything), and prayed for the girls who would be joining us. This is the most exciting thing for me, to be a part of helping women to live their life the right way. To love them and facilitate a place where they can turn from the worlds' empty promises to true fulfillment in Jesus. I knew that Satan was not going to like it. I didn't know he was going to hit so hard as to make us postpone the Bible study.

The day after the two of us previewed the videos, Heather found out that her husband had an extramarital affair. It was, he claimed, a one time thing, something he was waiting to tell her until they had begun counseling..their marriage is very shaky, and they've only been husband and wife since September. She married a man who wasn't as commited to the Lord as she was, and it's VERY hard on her. So, she has decided to stay with him, but she is not ready to begin the Bible study just yet. GRRRR! Patience is not one of my strongest virtues, and I am so excited about this that I am having a hard time waiting for it to start!! I know I need to be understanding, so I will try my best. The funny thing is that after we watched the videos, she flipped to a Joyce Meyer show, and they answered a letter from a lady whose husband had an affair, asking how she could forgive him, and they also talked about waiting on the Lord's timing. God is so funny that way! Just his way of letting us know he wasn't taken by surprise or caught off guard the way we were! I love you, Lord, but let's get this show on the road already!

Be still and know that I am God

I have been testing this one out literally this week. I know that in conversation, if you are the one doing all of the talking, you usually are not hearing much from the other person. So I decided, starting with five minutes, to sit very still and meditate on the words "you are God". Other thoughts did intrude at times, but I think there may be something to just actually spending a "quiet" quiet time with the Lord.

This past week I have come to the realization that I would very much like to start a womens' bible study. My friend Heather at work is willing to cohost with me, in fact she has offered the use of her home. There is a new Christian store that opened about a month ago in the mall I work in. The name of the store is C28-after Colossians 2:8, and they sell Christian themed apparel. They also offer to pray with people that walk by the store, which is pretty awesome, but apparently has weirded out some of my coworkers that walk the mall on their lunch break. Heather and I said a prayer after a couple of our coworkers told us how uncomfortable they were with people pushing "religion" on them, and though Heather and I did talk a little about faith vs.religion, they definitely were not down with evangelist retail! Heather actually said she has felt God telling her that she should work at that store..and btw, if anyone would pray for my coworkers' hearts to be softened towards the Lord, I would very much appreciate it..their names are Amanda and Johann.

I went to apply for a passport yesterday, and I prayed that God would bring someone for me to talk to while I was there..I don't pray this sort of thing often. There were two seats outside the passport office, and the agent was running behind, because the lights were off in the office. The other seat was occupied by an older Hispanic man. I smiled as I sat down, and he was friendly, inquiring if I spoke Spanish ( I do, but not fluently), and where I was going. He spoke a little English, so we muddled through it. After these pleasantries, we lapsed into silence, but I heard him flicking through what sounded like suspiciously thin pages. I sneaked a peek.

"Are you reading the Bible?" I asked. He looked up and said, "Yes. You know, this world is crazy.." I was touched by his willingness to preach the message to me, but I am of course already a follower of Christ, so I smiled and said "I know, I want to start a bible study." I think he thought I wanted to JOIN a bible study, so I clarified that me "y un otra mujer a mi trabajo" (me and another woman at my job) want to start a bible study for women. He then said " If it's okay, I would like to give you some bible study material. Will you do it in Spanish or English?"
Since I can't read Spanish, I said English sounded great..he told me the books were on Christian living, and he had them in both languages. Since it was so obviously a God Thing I gave him my number, so that I can see his bible study materials. I was just so blessed to have such obvious answer to prayer..even if nothing comes of it..I know that God is with me in everything I do. EVERYTHING!

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."- Proverbs 16:3

P.S. The guest speaker at my church tonight was from California. He is the owner and founder of the Christian store C:28 that has been freaking out my coworkers. God is amazing.