Food for Thought

We had a wonderful time of ministry at church yesterday. Sweet worship and praying for one another, coupled with the sermon delivered from Bryce titled "God the Spotter" and filled with the encouragement to "be of good courage" it was a precious time of renewal and much needed ministering and reaching out to one another. After church a young lady stopped me to tell me that the Lord really uses the music that we do at our church and that she and her sister come every year to just worship and enjoy the music! It was awesome, I hope to connect with her on Facebook soon.

This morning I sat and spent some time in the Word. I admit, I go through seasons where I am really hungering after the Lord and when I feel pretty apathetic about reading my bible. I have been in the season of weariness and blah for a bit now and though I have asked the Lord to show me what the root of my "blah-ness" is, I haven't really stopped to listen to the answer. Yesterday I had Dick pray for me and it was such a sweet prayer and he covered so many of the topics that I didn't mention to him when I asked him to pray, but the Lord gave them to him, I imagine! We sang lots of songs yesterday about casting down our idols and so much of the time I raise idols up like my computer or a book or sitting in the sun or scrapping and I don't give the Lord any of the time that I have, I don't carve a spot out for him. So, after Aaron and John left for work this morning, and I did a little clutter patrol, I sat with my bible and journal and just got down to business! It felt good, repenting of my lack of pursuit! It felt good, looking at my heart and asking the Lord to create in me a clean one, to show me the doors that I have opened up to being a more "open minded" believer, a more willing participant in things that aren't things He would want me doing or thinking about. I saw some things He highlighted for me and I saw a few things that I am so ready to let go of. It was good.

The scripture I turned to today was in Matthew 7:21-27...so much of it stood out to me! Here is what some of it says:

Not everyone who says to me "Lord Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" "And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" Vs. 24-27 are the ones about the wise man building his house upon the rock and the foolish man building it upon sand.

My bible says, in the footnotes this little thing that I saw and thought, wow, that's GOOD!!!
Jesus warns against self deception, a mere verbal profession of lordship without obedience to the will of God. It is even possible for a self deluded person to exercise a spectacular ministry, using the authority and the name of Jesus, without walking in genuine obedient discipleship.

I have always wondered what the Lord says about those who talk about Him as though they know Him and yet live a completely different life, a life that is filled with things that He tells us not to do? I myself do things that are in disobedience so what does that mean for me? He tells us in the Word. Am I merely making a verbal confession? Am I living a life of obedience? Repentance? Am I hungering and thirsting after the things the Lord would have me desire or am I merely giving lip service while doing what ever I want? I remember back in the early days of our marriage when we both still drank, sitting in a house and being fairly inebriated and talking about the Lord as though I were a follower! How He must have grieved and said...I don't know you... I was doing what I wanted and using the Lord as a convenient escape route, a way out of things. What a sad situation! Obviously I don't do THAT anymore but do I do it in another way? I think, at times I do. I know the Lord won't declare that He doesn't know me, but am I walking in a way that honors Him? A way that brings glory to His name or am I trying to fit in, trying to keep up a good front, trying to do things that make others like me? Am I keeping the Lord at arms length because its easier to do that than deal with the ugliness that often grows in my own rebellious heart? Hmmmmmm...........

I don't know about you but I don't want to do miracles, perform amazing feats of supernatural wonderfulness all in vain, I want my life to reflect, as in pure silver, the life of the Lord in me. I want to go from "glory to glory" and I want to be the vessel He uses each and every day to bring His life to others. I want to walk in genuine obedience each and every day.