Something great is going to happen!

Do you ever have that feeling that God is about to do something great in your life? Tommorow I leave for Florida to do youth ministry all summer and I just have this feeling that something awesome is going to happen. I can feel God's presence in my life and in what I am doing. I will probably not be writing in this blog as much. I will try to update it occasionally. However, if you care to see how I am doing on my trip or want to know a little more about it you can check out my other blog that I have set up so my sponsors can be updated on what's going on.

Dear God,

I can feel that you are about to do something great through me this summer. I ask that you lead me and guide me and help me to step out of my confort zone and into the purpose that you have for me. Lord, I pray for all the people that are praying for me that I do not even know about. I ask that you would bless each of them and watch over them. Amen

Our Omnipresent God

God is always there. He is with us no matter where we go or what we do. He sees everything we do and hears everything we say. There is no way to hide from Him. This is kind of scary when we first think about it. He knows all of our imperfections. He knows everything we do, even those things that we hide from the world.

O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.

You chart the path ahead of me
and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to know!

I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
Psalms 139:1-7

The good news is that our God is a very loving God. He doesn't want us to constantly feel guilty or unworthy of Him. He sent His Son to die for our sins so that we don't have to. Therefore, what God's omnipresence means to us is that our God of never ending love and grace is never far from our reach. No matter what we do or where we go, we can never be far from his comforting presence.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Psalms 139:23-24

Own Me

God has a purpose for each of our lives. When we live for his purpose and only his purpose, when it is about him and not about us, our lives become much more focused and energized. We find much more peace and joy when we let go and let God take over our lives. I want to be immersed in his love and grace and I want to live for his purpose.

Dear God,

Own me. Take all that I am and all that I can be and make me into what you want me to be. Let my life be lived for you and you alone. Let me take no action that does not further your cause for my life.

Amen

Right Now

You've seen them coming across your television screen. They say: Get it while you can! Don't Hesitate! Don't wait! Don't procrastonate! This is a deal you can't pass up! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Call Now! We've only got three of these priceless gems left!

Not only do these fast talking urgent sounding advertisers reach you through your tv screen, you see them everywhere you go. On billboards as you drive down the highway, in the newspaper, and almost any other place that you can look. There are advertisements all around you. They are trying to convince you and me that what we need, we need now. We can't let another minute go by. We must act right this instant or we could miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

We can get so caught up in all of these advertisements. We must have that one thing that is being advertised that will forever change our lives. That one thing that will make everything better in our lives. But, as I mentioned in my previous post "Desire to Aquire", these things are great at first and then we eventually get bored with our new toys and we are off persuing the next biggest and greatest thing to fill that void in our lives.

Every day passionate Christians from every walk of life seek to invite people that they know and care about to accept Jesus as their saviour. And do you know what the standard response is? "Not now. Not until I get my life together. The time isn't right. I want to do some other things first. I will get to it another day. Not now but maybe tommorow."

While God continously calls us into His awesome presence, while he offers us salvation, while he longs to be with us - many of us are putting of until tomorrow what God wants for us right now.

Hebrews 3:7-19

But why should we do today what we can get around to doing tommorow? Because we do not know when our life on this earth will come to an end. Many people come close to accepting Jesus. They might pray, attend church, and sing the hymns but they never surrender everything to God. They never surrender their hearts. When they consider the costs they turn away. We should not turn away, we should run into the arms of the Father who is calling us.

When we can feel that God is calling us to step out in faith, to recieve the salvation that has been given to us, or to move closer to His purpose for our lives we need to respond immediately. Right now. There is no better time than the present. You never know what is going to happen to you tommorow or even ten minutes from now. So don't wait another day to hear the calling that God has on your life.

What is God calling you to do right now?

How long will you wait?

Comments

I have upgraded the look of my weblog. Blogspot has also added a feature that I have activated on all of my posts. You can now post your comments to my post right on that posts page! All you do is click on the comment link at the bottom of each post.

The Desire to Acquire

If you could have anything what would you want?

Most people could rattle off a list of many things. Many people think that by obtaining certain things that they can gain happiness, importance, or security. When they finally get that one thing that they think will satisfy them, the feeling doesn't last long. Possessions only provide us with temporary happiness. We eventually get bored with our new toys and we want newer and better versions. Just as the happiness is only temporary so is that feeling of importance from having more things. God says that the most important things in life cannot be seen. The feeling of security you may get from having more money or things is a false one. You could lose everything you own tomorrow.

Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. "You lack only one thing," he told him. "Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this, the man's face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions. - Mark 10:21-22

If Jesus asked could you give up your house? your car? your level of income? your current job position?

While we are not all called to give up our possessions, we must not let them keep us from following Jesus. We must remove any and all barriers that keep us from serving him fully.

Saved by the Grace of God

"He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding." Eph 1:7-8 NLT

God has showered his kindness upon us - this is God's "Grace".

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Eph 2:8 NIV

We can't earn our salvation and we don't deserve it. We can go to church every Sunday, meet our quota of good deeds for the week, and attempt to lead our lives to near perfection and still not gain our salvation. It is only through God's mercy and love that we recieve our salvation. Without God's grace, nobody can be saved. The only way to recieve His grace is to admit that we cannot save ourselves. Only God can save us, and the only way is through his grace that we recieve by having faith in Christ. While nothing that we do can help us obtain salvation, God intends that our salvation will result in acts of service. It is out of gratitude for God's free gift that we should seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness.

When someone gives you a gift do you ask them how much you owe them? No, the appropriate response would be to thank them. Yet, many christians after being given the gift of salvation feel that they must try to work their way to God. Instead we should respond with gratitude, praise, and joy.

"I will praise you, O LORD , with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. " Psalm 9:1-2 NIV