The four realms God wants - Time

God wants to command our eyes, speech, time, and money.

Time,

David is said to have spend three hours every morning with God. I used to think that was crazy, that I could never spend that much time with Him. But now, I wonder. I wonder if the end of the third hour arrived and David told God "Lord, Abba Father, Dad, I have to go. I have responsibilities. I have a kingdom you gave me. But I'll be back. At midday, or this evening. for more time with you."

I've had a wrong perspective. I've always lived my life, and in the midst of that, made time for God. Said to myself, ok, I can give up X for an hour to spend time with God. When my life should be about spending time with God, and making time for life in between.

Love

The "line" that connects me to God, is love. That is the way I have a relationship with God. I love Him.

Whatever we love most, will be at the center of the throne in our hearts.

If you are feeling disconnected from God, focus on your relationship with him, specifically, how you love him, how you are loving him, how you've been loving him. I suspect you will find, as I do, that when you feel disconnected from Him, it's because you've stopped or changed the way you love him. I don't mean you've completely stopped, but you may have lost something in the way you love him, or let something change.
Sit back down and know that He loves you, no matter how you have been loving him. "For God so loved the world", “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.”
Then focus on how to love him. With all your heart, soul, and mind. Worship Him, fill your mind with his Word, talk to him, repent, ask for forgiveness, know you have been forgiven, and get back to loving him!

Somtimes it's so simple, yet i keep having to remind myself. I even had to write it all out in this blog just to add one more reminder. Hopefully next time I feel disconnected I will remember my own words and be able to reconnect and get back to loving him.

Loving God: The First and Greatest Commandment

Jesus, our Lord, Savior, the man who died for us and then came back from death, then LEFT us. Why? So the Holy Spirit would come. Think about that. Jesus just DIED for us, then he leaves "for [our] own good"!

John 16:7 - "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you"

God is Hiding

Have you ever played hide and seek and the other guy hid so well you couldn’t find him? What did you do? You gave up, maybe shouted olly olly oxen free and then began to head home. Then the other guy jumps out and says HERE I AM!

Has God ever done the same thing? You’ve been searching and searching and searching and finally, after exhausting every spot you know to look, you give up, you say “ok God. I tried. I’m done. I’m going home.”. Have you ever noticed what happens after that? Usually God reveals himself and you find yourself in his Presence seeing his glory refreshed and anew.

And then, he hides again. And you look for him. And sometimes you find him, and sometimes you don’t.

But you know what?

There’s a pattern. God is doing something every single time. Do you see the pattern?

He is hiding. He wants you to find him. He wants to be pursued, to be found. Why? Because he wants you to want him. To seek him. To persist. The bible says so. Anyone who has encountered God can probably agree with that statement too.

I know for months, for years, I’ve often found myself searching and then, I think, the enemy gets ahold of me and I forget that God is hiding and I’m supposed to be searching for Him, and instead I start thinking “He must be mad at me”, “im doing something wrong”, “im not worthy” and it becomes about me. And I start believing the lies the enemy tells me. And then I start to give up, I shout olly olly oxen free and then bam! Oh there He is! And He rights things again.

I think that if I could just realize that He is my Father, that He loves me unconditionally. That I could never make him mad, never be unworthy, never be cast from His presence forever. If I could get that idea, and if I could realize He is hiding but wanting to be found. I think that my spiritual life would be transformed. No longer would I be on the outside looking in. wondering whats going on in the inner court, in the holy of holies. Finally I could find Him, and he could give me everything He has been wanting to give me, if I would just find him.

Jesus is Lord

Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. - I Cor. 12:3

I wonder if "Jesus is Lord" may be a metaphor for "truth". As in, "no one can speak truth, except by the holy spirit". And that when we speak truth, it is the Holy Spirit working in us.

I have enjoyed the past little bit pondering this thought, that every time I speak truth, that it is the Holy Spirit in me, filling me with truth to speak out into this fallen world. That it is the Holy Spirit manifesting in me, commanding my mind, my heart, my tongue, and enabling me to speak words of Truth. Sometimes its Truth from the Word, and sometime's its other Truths. Such as me thinking to myself "I would rather follow the path of the Lord than make a million dollars a day", which is a thought I had just a few minutes ago. And I followed that one with "For the riches of this world will fade, but the rewards of my God will last forever. They are the only rewards worth seeking, the only rewards worthy of my time". I think the Bible says similar statements, but those statements were mine, in my own words, which led me to ponder if it was the Holy Spirit working in me that lead me to those statements, which lead me back to thinking that if the Holy Spirit was stating them, then it means they are true, and if they are true, then they are Truth...

I do think I need to be cautious though and not believe everything I say is truth, whatever I say must be compared to the Word of God, and if what the Bible says contradicts what I say, then what I have said must be disregarded and my statements reexamined and changed until they do reflect His word.

The immovable object

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8)

I could paraphrase that verse till I was blue in the face. But it never really took root and produced any understanding in my heart. Whenever I felt like God was slipping away or had disappeared or wasn't where and when I expected Him to be, my attitude would be "Where did he go?". I now realize that was something akin to waking up and asking "Where did pikes peak go?".

Pikes Peak didn't go anywhere, it was my perspective that was wrong. I thought I was looking West when maybe I was looking south or east or north, or maybe up into the sky or down at my feet. In any case, pikes peak is where it has always been. Likewise, God is always where he has always been. It is us that looses sight of Him. He does not go and hide. However much we want to believe that is the case. In fact, I don't think God can hide at all, but that may be a debate for another day.

I imagine the cause of our "missing" God to be something like course corrections on a boat. We realize we are off course and make a correction, but over time we need to correct ourselves again as we drift off course -- maybe we corrected too much and went too far the other direction, or we corrected enough but slid off course again over time. Either way, our destination didn't move, we did. The amazing thing about God though, is that just as we know how to find Hawaii everytime we try to go there, we can find God again if we realize that we are the problem. Once we realize that, we can find out where we are, find out where we want to be, and make the corrections to get back to Him. I believe the enemy wants us to believe God hid from us and that we are the one's in the right. But last I checked, we almost never do something right. Only once we stop believing the lie that God moved and realize that it was us who moved can we then start making the steps to correct our course and again look upon His glorious being.

I find amazing comfort knowing that God "is the same yesterday, today, and forever" and that I never have to try to find an invisible being who is trying to hide from me. God gave us His word so that we can know exactly where He is and find Him as soon as we are ready to lose our old perspective, and truly find Him. And should we slip and lose sight, we can rest assured that He is still there waiting for us, just as he always has been, and always will be.

Revelation 4:11
You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and exist.

By God's will we were created and exist. To look at it from the flip-side perspective, our purpose is to fulfill His will. Meaning that we are here to do the things that are according to His will. Worship, obey, praise, love, and the list goes on. There's also a list of things not to do, things we call sin, but that can also be called "things not of His will". It puts a different perspective on things when we don't just call it sin anymore, but rather think of it as "doing something that is opposing God's will". It (sin) takes on a bit more gravity when you think of it that way. It's no longer just doing something bad, but it is in direct opposition to the will of our creator, and it (sin) is in direct opposition to the very reason we were created and exist.

Eden

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. - Gen 2:8

I love hearing little things like this from Him. I've always thought that Eden was the garden, but no, the Garden was just a part of Eden. I don't know if that little revelation has any importance, but I still love receiving tidbits of understanding and insight like that :)

Design

We were made in His image (Gen 1:26), to fulfill his desires (Rev 4:11).

That hit me today like a ton of bricks falling off the Burj Dubai. I've always realized we were made in his image, and that he takes pleasure in us, but that he designed us with every intent, faculty, and ability we have with the purpose of fulfilling his desire to have a relationship with us (Exo 34:14) really struck me today. It means we lack nothing that prevents us from having a perfect relationship with him. Are we sinners? Yes. But are we still made in his image? Yes. Can we still fulfill his purpose? Yes. We lack nothing. The only thing holding us back from that perfect relationship is the sin inside of us. Which, he has already come and conquered. So we really lack nothing now. I pray everyone would realize that, stop living a life as if they can't do any better than they are doing now, and accept his blood, let it wash them clean, and start living the life he intended us to.

Feelings

I've been struggling for the past year or two with a cycle of feeling close to God, feeling like I'm finally in His almighty presence, then in a moment that feeling is gone and I begin searching again. I almost never know what I "did" to lose sight of Him, to cause me to leave His presence, but I know the moment it happens and immediately finding Him again becomes my focus.

As this cycle has happened time and again I began struggling with thoughts where I was wondering if all I was doing was chasing a feeling of being happy or feeling close to God or any number of positive feelings. And I began wondering if I was chasing those feelings rather than chasing, seeking, and finding God.

This week I found myself again in His presence, and as I've relished it I began thinking about what I really was feeling and that's when I realized I'm not feeling a lack of "happiness" or a lack of "feeling good", but rather what I've been feeling is distress. A distress that comes from my very soul as it cries out, knowing that the relationship it could have with God isn't being fulfilled. Having tasted His presence in the past, having been made in his very image, it cries out in anguish as it longs for that relationship to be restored...

And then it happens, in an instant my mind, my heart, my soul rediscover that relationship and I "feel" happy again. For when in a right relationship with the Creator, who can help but feel happy? Indeed, I wonder if we really begin feeling for the first time only once we have entered into His presence and into a right relationship with him.

As I type this I am reminded of a fateful trip to the zoo when I was little. I want to say I was 3 or 4 years old, as I remember my brother still being in a stroller at the time. The zoo was fascinating, the lions, the tigers, the bears, (oh my!), our family went everywhere. And then we got to the monkeys, our stories differ here, but the way I remember it is I was staring at the monkeys, fascinated with them. Watching them leap and jump and swing and absolutely loving every second of it. Then i turned around and discovered that my family was gone, nowhere to be seen. No longer did the monkeys interest me, nor the zoo, nor the fun I had been having. I was in distress, I began to search frantically, then I began to cry. Soonly a park worker found me and took me to some food stand while the workers figured out what to do. I was still hysterical so they tried to calm me down by giving me a snowcone, which I promptly dropped. Then they gave me a cookie, which i dropped as well. They then went to take me to the lost and found area and while heading there we ran into my parents. Hooray! And in an instant, my distress was gone and I was back into feeling happy and enjoying life.

I think our relationship with God is kind of like that story. Life is amazing, fascinating, and happy while with Him. But then we discover something happened and our relationship with Him has changed. He is still God, just as my parents are still my parents, but he is missing just like my parents were. And then suddenly we are in distress while we look for him. Unfortunately, here is where some people get distracted by the icecream and snowcones and forget they were ever in distress, but for those who keep searching they will rediscover Him and the relationship will be restored in an instant, and then we can enjoy Him, and the zoo, again.

So for anyone who has ever felt like they were only chasing their 'feelings', like all God was to them was a 'good feeling', and when they don't have that feeling they can't help but search for Him, fear not. This is a blessing in disguise. I believe it is a blessing from God that our very soul's cry out in distress, and it is this blessing that may feel wrong, but it alerts us to a broken relationship with Him and provides the first step to rediscovering the relationship we were designed to have.

Steps

Ever been frustrated with God, wondering why he isn't responding to your attempts to see or hear or talk to him? I have, I'm frustrated right now in fact. But sometimes I wonder if we get our perspectives mixed up. I just realized that I've been saying "God, I'm making the first step here and am praying and seeking you, why arent you responding!?", but when I look at my actions and see that "first step" i took, I see that what I've really been doing is saying "Lord, I've prayed! I prayed that you would take the first step!!! Why aren't you doing it?!"... Kinda counter-intuitive now that I see it.

Perspective is a funny thing, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out a wrong perspective is one of the most damaging and dangerous things for a Christian to have in his life.

The New Testament talks about the attributes of God. Kind, gentle, patient, loving, caring, forgiving, and the list goes on, and on. But how do the writers of those books know this?

They were in Jesus's presence. He demonstrated these attributes to them through the way He lived. They had knowledge of these attributes because they experienced them.

When people experience my presence, what attributes do they see? Would they call me patient? kind? gentle? loving? I dont know, but i doubt it. Maybe shy, or quiet, but probably not patient, loving, or gentle. If I'm lucky they'd call me a servant. Maybe.

Beaches

The beach can be a scary place. You start smelling it a few miles before you can see it. You start anticipating it, feeling it in the air, tasting it, smelling it. Your expectations rise, you start getting excited, and then you arrive and discover waves crashing as far as the eye can see and suddenly your anticipation disappears and you think "I can't go in there! Its too dangerous! Too big! Too deep!" may even "too cold!". And so instead of heading straight for the water you get near it, and then make a right turn, and start walking along the beach looking for a safe place to wade in.

And I wonder if we do this in our relationship with God. We start sensing him, feeling him, getting drawn to him. We go racing towards Him and then we see him and say "WAIT! I cant do this! What if He is cold? Or too big? Or if I find myself in over my head? I can't jump in, i don't know how to swim!" So instead we make a right turn. And for a while we keep our eyes on God, looking for a safe place to wade in. We still sense him, smell him, but we are afraid. Then after a while we lose sight of Him and start to wonder why there is so much sand, why this desert just keeps going and going and going? And now we don't see the big, deep, amazing ocean just to our left, but all we see is sand, sand, and more sand. When all we have to do, is just look up and focus on God again, and go for a swim.

I know I am guilty of this. I get excited, amazed, left in speechless wonder and awe of Him, then a few days or weeks later find myself wondering where all this freaking sand came from. Then I "rediscover" Him and amamazed yet again. I don't know what I'm afraid of, or if im just so set in my ways that its taking me a while of walking down the beach, but I know I'll be swimming soon. I hope everyone everyone else can go swimming soon too.

mission statement

We should be willing to be thought less of, so that God would be thought of more.

Primordial Soup

It's interesting to me that atheists simultaneously believe that we are all accidents of some random mixtures of chemicals, proteins, and maybe some lightning, while at the same time believing that we are each our own god.

Why were we created?

Why did God create us? What made Him decide "I'm going to create a universe today, and populate it with people."? I've pondered this, heard other people, both believers and non-believers ask it, but never really came to a conclusion. But as I've studied the bible recently I've seen just how prevalent the theme of Love is, and I think I may have an answer to the question...

From my experience, it's not possible to engage in the act of love, or be loving, without having an object to love. I love my wife, parents love their kids, some people love football. All of these are objects. While we may have the capability to love, it is impossible for us to actually love without having an object to display that love for. So what does that have to do with God deciding to create the universe? Well, the bible says "God is Love" (1 John 4:16), and you can't love without something to love. Which is why I believe God created us - simply (although incredibly) so that he could love us! And when He made us, He made us in his image (Gen 1:26-27) so that by our very design, our very blueprint, we too could love.

Ponder that for a bit, the entire universe was made by the God of everything, simply so he could love us and that we could love Him.

Jesus Died

I think a lot of people think Jesus died so we can be saved, and then they stop thinking about that miracle and never consider WHY he wants us to be saved. Being saved is the RESULT of Jesus' death, but not the REASON that he died for us.

So why did he die for us, and what does his death mean? It means he loves us so much he never wants us to leave his presence. Through his death, and accepting him as our Savior, we can now not only be saved, but more importantly, we can be in the presence of the Almighty One, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, Emmanuel, here on earth (through His attribute of omnipresence) as well as forever in Heaven. But I think the key is that Jesus died so that He never has to be separated from us. And that is very different from dying so that we can be in his presence. The former is based on a motivation of love, the latter I think is more a "Because I'm God" kinda thing. They're differences in the phrasing is very slight, but the meanings are hugely different.

A Carpenter

Jesus was a carpenter for 30 years before he fulfilled his calling as Savior of the World.

1) Jesus was patient as a carpenter, earning his keep and seeking God faithfully day in and day out. Even knowing he was going to be the King of all Kings, he still faithfully fulfilled his position as a carpenter.
2) God molded a carpenter into the Savior of the World. He can do unimaginable things with a Tech Support guy :)
3) God waited 30 years to call His son to become king. We don't need to worry about finding our calling when we're 17 or just out of college or any timeframe. We may be 20, or 60. See 1 above, be patient.

Our Story

The Love Story
For those of you who don’t know the whole story, I met Kyle over four years ago, when he started working downstairs in the Welcome Center at Focus. I had just gotten back from my DTS in England and he was working at Whit’s End at the time. I only knew of him, with the occasional conversation now and again. We actually, I remember, painted the toddler room downstairs together February of 2004 and thinking he was a nice guy, and that he might like me. Fast forward to spring of 2007, I had noticed him a few more time at theMill. He now worked in the IT department at Focus, and saw him a lot at church. He sat behind us, and since I knew him as well as a couple of friends from Focus did to, he ended being invited to hang out with us to play games at my house. From there we hung out a couple times with friends, but he was so shy and worried he would do something, mess up and I not like him at all, that he didn’t hang out with us much. However by this time he was interested in me…and I was just oblivious…well sort of. ;) It took courage on his part to even hang out with us on occasion, but finally worked up the gumption to hang around more often and looked for an opportunity….
When he saw me leaving for a missions meeting at theMill and he emailed me the following Monday asking if I was going to go to China. (Which I did go, it was an opportunity to go in a week and a half for two weeks…so amazing! It was an incredible trip! He was also the first one to text me welcome back) That’s how the emails started and a deeper friendship as I began to get to know this quiet guy, and saw his heart through those emails, as we started sharing thoughts, feelings about things, and history. We had similar tastes, love for books, passion for God’s will and ministry, and I found a friend who I could talk to almost about everything and feel confident in who I was, and who he was, and never worried once what he thought of me. With things that had happened in the past I was leery of more then friendship, but as our friendship progressed I realized I started to like him…really like him. ;)

Then, we went through the “friendlationship” stage, for about 6 months, two unofficial dates, a declaration of feelings, then back to friendship cause we felt that God had said no. and we felt that it wasn’t right time on both our parts, which that did lead to some confusion and un-sureness for a while, but was shown to be a growing time for both of us. We didn’t hang out one on one and email stopped for about a month. The emails then resumed somehow I don’t remember why and friendship deepened even more. I remember one time at theMill, I was talking with a friend, looked up and saw him, and God spoke to me, that Kyle had been praying for me, about me for a long time. That was confirmed much later one when I found out his side to the story.

So, then at Christmas things changed again, right when I had decided it was fish or cut bait time, he did to, asked my dad permission and he asked me out officially on the 18th of December we went on our first official date. New Years, was one of the best I’ve ever had, with games, laughter, seeing his glass, and fireworks in the park, above our heads, and between us, with a sweet kiss. From there our friendship only deepened and we spent more and more time together, from movies, to walks, to romantic to silly dates, we had a lot of fun and crazy adventures. Then there was an almost break up time end of February on my part, freaked out a bit, but after much prayer came back together stronger then ever. Shortly after that he declared his strong feelings, using the word love. And two months later I told him at the same spot, and had written him a poem that described our journey that far.

I left for another mission’s trip to Africa; I lead a team to Kenya. It had been almost a full time job after work took up a lot of time, with meetings, preparing and people. I came home exhausted, for it was a rough trip. He helped me get life back together again to where things felt normal.

So officially we dated for over a year and engaged since, July 3rd, he proposed at our special park. It was a normal Thursday date night, which included a re-creation of our first “date”, including mini golf and much laughter and conversation, turned to a picnic in the park, an album that contained all our adventures done and yet to come, then with sparkling cider, sparkling rain drops, and a sparkling ring! I said yes! ;)

This season is busy, but the best ever too. Lots of changes, ups and downs, ins and outs, he has been there through thick and thin over this last year. I am so thankful for him. I love being engaged! Loving planning our wedding, which will be June 6th, 2009! ;)


Kyle’s Side
April was, and still is, the cute girl working the front desk at the Welcome Center. I always remember thinking she was cute (and her residual British accent from DTS was super cute too!), but never knew enough about her to be sure enough to ask her out. Plus I was really shy. I’d worked at focus for several years before I started going to theMill (at my brother’s urging) and discovered April was there too. Being shy, and unsure of myself, I would sit in the back by myself. Still not ready to jump around like all the other crazies at theMill (of which, I am now one of), and also unwilling to let April see me for me. Tentatively, I would talk to her, or more often her friends so I could find a way to talk to her (yes, im a stupid boy). As I got more comfortable she too seemed to warm up to me. Her giggle was music to my ears and I loved Friday nights. Although when asked to join the group after the mill I politely declined for a while, still unsure of myself.

Luckily, I had a crutch. Email. Being a nerd it was a way I could communicate without feeling exposed, so when I noticed her running off to the last-minute china meeting, I found it as a way to start talking to her outside of theMill. I quickly discovered just how deep, caring, loving, smart, funny, artistic, and vivacious this woman of God was and wanted to know more.

While she was in China I couldn’t wait to find out how it was. I thought about her a lot and realized I wasn’t sure I could just be friends anymore. Somehow, I got her cellphone number (I don’t have any idea how to be honest) and kept track of the days until she would be back, and welcomed her with a text (as calling her would have been too direct for my shy self to have done). I had no idea I would be the first to welcome her back, and that it would leave such an impression on her.

After that, I hoped every Friday for an invite to come play games at her house after theMill. And for some reason they happened ;) Things continued at that pace for a while as I was unsure of how to proceed. There was a hiccup along the way, but in the end, it ended up being God’s providence for both of us.

In December, I finally was ready, with God’s permission, to proceed and asked her fathers permission to ask her out on a date. I thought this was something most people did, but found out later it really impressed her and her parents. We were dating exclusively by Christmas, and celebrated New Years together, complete with a first kiss and our own fireworks show ;)

After that I quickly fell head over heels for her, realizing shortly thereafter I could spend the rest of my life with her. She motivated me to do things I never would have imagined doing, or imagined I had the imagination for (ask her about Valentines day). And I loved every minute of it.

I declared my Love for her and had to wait patiently for her to return the word, but not the feelings, as she already displayed her love for me in all but words. Shortly thereafter, I asked for her parents permission to marry her (which was a LOT easier than I expected. Her family is awesome) and received their blessings. We then went ring shopping and it was nearly two more months before I finally proposed. I took us back to our first unofficial date, and then to the place we shared our first kiss, and also the place where I told her I was going to marry her. God decided He wanted it to rain, and for the sprinklers to turn on, but He just wanted to add to the story I think ;) The rest, as they say, is history. :)

The New Testament “Gamble”

“What if I tell them who they are? What if I take away any element of fear in condemnation, judgment or rejection?

What if I tell them I love them, will always love them? That I love them right now, no matter what they‛ve done, as much as I love my only Son? That there‛s nothing they can do to make my love go away?

“What if I tell them there are no lists? What if I tell them I don‛t keep a log of past offenses, of how little they pray, how often they‛ve let me down, made promises that they don‛t keep?

What if I tell them they are righteous, with my righteousness, right now? What if I tell them they can stop beating themselves up? That they can stop being so formal, stiff and jumpy around me?

What if I tell them I‛m crazy about them? What if I tell them, even if they run to the ends of the earth and do the most horrible, unthinkable things, that when they come back, I‛d receive them with tears and a party?

“What if I tell them that if I am their Savior, they‛re going to heaven no matter what—it‛s a done deal? What if I tell them they have a new nature—saints, not saved sinners who should now ‘buck up and be better if they were any kind of Christians, after all He‛s done for you!‛

What if I tell them that I actually live in them now? That I‛ve put my love, power, and nature inside of them, at their disposal?

What if I tell them that they don‛t have to put on a mask? That it is OK to be who they are at this moment, with all their junk. That they don‛t need to pretend about how close we are, how much they pray or don‛t, how much Bible they read or don‛t?

What if they knew they don‛t have to look over their shoulder for fear if things get too good, the other shoe‛s gonna drop?

“What if they knew I will never, ever use the word “punish” in relation to them?

What if they knew that when they mess up, I will never “get back at them?”

What if they were convinced that bad circumstances aren‛t my way of evening the score for taking advantage of me?

What if they knew the basis of our friendship isn‛t how little they sin, but how much they let me love them?

What if I tell them they can hurt my heart, but that I never hurt theirs?

What if I tell them I like Eric Clapton‛s music too?

What if I tell them I never really liked the Christmas handbell deal with the white gloves?

What if I tell them they can open their eyes when they pray and still go to heaven?

What if I tell them there is no secret agenda, no trapdoor?

What if I tell them it isn‛t about their self-effort, but about allowing me to live my life through them?”

The Lord is what we need

When we need rest, the Lord IS rest
When we need peace, the Lord IS peace
When we need hope, the Lord IS hope
When we need love, the Lord IS love
When we need light, the Lord IS light

The Lord IS what we need him to be, whenever, wherever

Out Loud

Romans 8:26
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

I used to pray in whispers or sometimes just in my mind, thinking God could hear me however i prayed. And it is true, he can. But i was at a smallgroup last week and heard everyone praying and remembered this verse for some reason, but i couldnt find it when i went looking for it later that night. The next day during my devo time i was praying out loud in a full voice and the very next chapter i read had the verse in it. I like to think it was a little confirmation that God likes to hear my voice when i pray. I pray that i will always be amazed when God does things like that :)

His Will

More and more I find myself knowing God's will. Be it knowing exactly what it is, or being confident in knowing that i know. That may sound weird, but a year ago God was telling me to quit my job. Looking back, it couldn't have been clearer to me, yet I questioned. "is this really you God?", "do you want me to do this?". Everyday i asked, and everyday the answer was the same "Yes". In fact, before or since then, He has never spoken more clearly to me. But at the time, I did question.

Now, as i trust Him more, He gives me smaller things to do. A year ago if he had given me something small to do, i probably would have asked "is this really you God?", and convinced myself it wasnt, simply so i didnt have to obey.

Now He speaks and His will enters into me and stays there. As i paced in my daily devo's today, i was praying about the things i feel he wants me to do, the tasks he has given me, and came to realize that though i know them, and pray for them and the strength to do them, they havent been the center of my will. The Lord God Almighty has given me tasks, and i put them aside, planning to come back to them at a time that better suits me.

As i realized this, and pondered and examined and prayed about it, i wondered if other people do it as well. They're told something by God Himself, and they said "great! thank you God for talking to me! I love you!" and then theyre fired up for a day or two, and gradually the task falls to the wayside, to be revisited weekly, maybe more, maybe less, but never altogether forgotten, as I dont think God really lets us forget the will He has given us.

But then i thought to msyelf, "Which would God be more pleased by... someone who hears his will and makes it the center of his life until it is completed? Or the man who hears God's will, and then sets it in the periphery, to be done at his own discretion? Both men will eventually do their tasks, but i suspect, in my own human mind, that God would be more pleased by the one who does His task quickly, diligently, and faithfully, so that God can then give that man yet another task and further the Kingdom that much more, and that that man will know God's will that much more.

This all seems so obvious, but it is humbling when you realize you were man number two. And that not only are you not being faithful to God, you're harming yourself as you keep yourself from knowing MORE of God's will.

I don't know about anyone else, but i want to be the diligent one.

Marriage

i got to thinking about marriage and how its a reflection of Gods love for us. He wants us to be with him for eternity because he loves us, but since he can't be with us yet, i think he designed marriage so that he could give us someone to spend our earthly eternity with.

Out of his love for us, he has enabled us to love someone else so much that we can't imagine living life without them. And I realized marriage is one of God's ways of connecting us to his love, enabling us to understand just a little bit of what He wants for us, and what he has waiting for us when we meet him face to face in eternity.

fuel

"set me on fire"

everyone has a fuel within them that God can ignite. and everyones fuel burns differently. some slow, some fast, some hot, some bright. but in the end, they all burn. just like a forest fire can burn trees, leaves, grass, and bushes. so God burns the different fuels in different people. the trick is starting the fire in the first place.