GIVING GLORY BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE

Who is giving glory to God today because of what you have done?

2 Corinthians 9:13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,  (ESV)

It is easy to talk the talk. Will we walk the walk?

in my studies today i have been doing a word study on "abounding". it basically mean to show up big. show up big for God! be where you are - i mean like really be there. be there in heart, mind, soul and strength. 

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Cor 15:58

I Heard Mother's Voice

Mother died in April 2008 after four months of critical sickness. Since the day before she died I have not heard her voice. It was the one thing I just could not remember. I could not hear her voice. Well, her answering machine preserved her voice for me. I have not listened to it until this past Sunday night during our LIFEgroup with Harvest Church. I have been somewhat afraid to hear it because I was afraid of the emotions it might bring out. I felt the Holy Spirit telling me last week that it was time and I was to listen to it during LIFEgroup. I said no. I cannot take the chance to have an emotional breakdown right in front of our LIFEgroup. It was hard to bring the emotions to the front for me, Mary Anne, Luke and Hannah. It did bring tears, but it was also refreshing/releasing. Grief is a weird game to play and it is played differently by most everyone. I would say this is what God taught me through it. My fear is usually greater than reality. Here last words on the machine are God Bless You. 

Where Can I Find God?

It just seems that there are a couple of places that I seem closer to God than any other place. It seems like I can escape to a quiet place when I am intently in the Word of God, listening to music that reflects on God or reading a book about God. I define a quiet place as where I feel that it is just me and God (like two peas in a pod. I hate that song). So, I have to find a place and a time to make at least one of these happen everyday. Or, should I say I have to MAKE it happen. I find that the spiritual things in my life have to become a discipline. For some reason my gravity often pulls me in pursuits of good things at the expense of the best things. I have time when I struggle to keep my attention on the most important things. I can find myself leaning toward compromise too quickly. May I MAKE time today and maybe encourage you to MAKE it happen. 

How About a Gift Card to Cracker Barrel?

Friday I posted the following statement on Twitter and thus Facebook. “Agape is something we know how it is defined, but do we know how to express it?” Agape defined simply: “a willful others centered love”. Yes we could give a definition that is more comprehensive but that is it. “A willful others centered love.” Matthew 22:37-40 says we should love God and others with agape. I believe most of us have the definition in our memory, but do we have the lifestyle? How far will you go for someone else? I do not mean this in any disrespect but we will send $10 to Haiti but will we give the homeless that same amount of money? Will we buy a case of water to give to the thirst in the hot summer? Will we give a gift card to a transient to Cracker Barrel (they can find them beside the interstate all over the south)? Will we forgive someone who hurts us? Will we go the extra mile? If we are not doing these things what is the problem? I submit the problem is that we have not given ourselves to God first. God is jealous and wants to be first in your life. God does not want anything before Him. The commandments whether Old or New Testament say give yourself to God first. So, today give yourself away to God. Release it.

Side Effects

2 Corinthians 7:8-11

Have you ever listened to a commercial about a medication when they start taking about side effects? The possible side effects are sometimes very concerning. Some of the side effects bring a since of laughter while others bring great alarm. I heard one last night that was temporary blindness. Now that is something to think about as you take medication. We think of side effects in regard to medicines but most of the decisions we make in life have side effects. Side effects are effects other than the desired effect.

Godly repentance has so many side effects. Godly repentance is done to right a relationship with God, but look at the side effects.

The Message puts it like this in verse 11, “you’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible”. Wow, now that is some side effect list.

I want to encourage you to take time to repent as you become aware of sin in your life and enjoy the benefits.

HisSpace

It has occurred to me that god is seeking space that He can use for His will to be accomplished. He wants MySpace. On the social network MySpace promotes itself as a place for friends. One can publish just about anything about anyone on MySpace. It is all about the person. What if MySpace (all that is mine) was His Space. What if my job, my house, my spouse, my kids, my cars, my money, my whatever was HisSpace to do His will? There has been a show that was entitled Changing Spaces. What if we just allowed God to come into MySpace and make it HisSpace? His Space to do His will! What changes would He want to make? What would He want to move around? What would He want to throw away? What atmospheres and environments would He want to chnage? Do we just come to God and stay in control of all that we call MySpace? It is clear that God loves you, loves you unconditionally, loves you as you are, but does that mean that He does not care about what MySpace is really like? I think He does. What do you think?