Bits and Pieces

*Show me someone content with mediocrity and I'll show you someone destined for failure.

*We learn wisdom much more through failure than through success.

*The virtue of faithfulness is very costly

*Untried faith is not faith at all.

*Remember who you wanted to be.

*Exceptional work is proceeded by extended wait.

*How much do you really want of God. How much of yourself are you willing to give?

*Whatever the soul knows how to seek it cannot fail to obtain

*Look where you are going because you will go where you are looking.

*You will only grow to the dimension that you accept change.

For Such A Time As This

For such a time as this you have been called to stand against the wiles of the enemy to wreak havoc on the kingdom of darkness
For such a time as this you have been called to labor in the ripe fields of men's souls, reaching into the fire to pull them out of eternal destruction
For such a time as this you have been called to get down on your knees and pray for a nation that needs the intervention of grace where sin abounds so great
For such as time as this you have been called to complete the body of Christ making ready the bride for the day of the bridegroom
You have been called to the kingdom for such a time as this.

Revised 6*12*08

Would Jesus recognize the church today as the one he began to build when he proclaimed…”Upon this rock I will build My church” (Mt 16). The chapter prior to this verse Jesus was healing the lame, opening the blind eyes and making the dumb to speak. He broke the bread and the fishes and He blessed them and fed the multitude. So if we are to follow Jesus by taking up our cross and denying ourselves, shouldn’t our works be geared towards the same people Jesus ministered to? Did the church take a left hand turn somewhere and forget about feeding the poor and taking care of the widows and orphans? Where is the power and demonstration of the miraculous, the healing of the sick and the breaking of bread to feed the multitudes. Are these just bed time stories that we figuratively refer to happening someday down the road. Before I get any further I would like to affirm that I am completely convinced that the scripture "these signs shall follow them that believe....they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover" to be fulfilled in my life and my church. I firmly believe in apostolic demostration of the Power of God. But I also believe that we can be using the resources God has provided more effectively. I recently heard someone refer to the riches of this world being given to the church to be used. If that is the case why don’t we dive in and retrieve them for the glory of God? There are institutions that are established that can put feet on the gospel, on the feeding of the poor and healing the sick but it doesn’t seem like we are taking advantage of the store house the world has. Are we waiting for manna to rain down from heaven when all along the store houses are full? Could it be that an organization like the Red Cross is the avenue we should work with it give of our time and money to make a difference in the life of some unfortunate soul? Or is that wrong…and we should be waiting for the manna?
God has given this modern day church the tools and the resources to reach a dying and lost world but we are stuck in the mindset that freedom from poverty only comes by a miracle of God. Well, guess what it does…God uses man to do his work more often than not. What are we doing to make sure that the work, the church Jesus started to build is getting done? What are we lending our time and resources to? Are we reaching the lost?

He is

I can not be content with my accomplishments in life
I can not be mislead that they were of my doing
I can not be turned aside to the left or the right
I must keep my eye on Him
I must keep my feet on the straight path
I must follow his leading when he moves in mysterious ways
I have no option to stray from my course
I have no desire to seek pleasure elsewhere
I have no need to withdraw from His love
There is no weapon formed against me that can prosper
There is no kingdom formed against me that will stand
I have power over my enemy to put him beneath my feet
There is no gate that prevail against me
For he sustains me
He provides for me
He tells me He Loves me
He holds me when I am hurting
He assures me in my darkest despair
He is my refuge from the enemy
He guides me and orders my path straight

He is my strength in my present time of trouble

His blood washes me clean and heals my body

He keeps me in all His ways

He is my peace

He is my rock

He is my deliverance

He is my help

He is my shepherd

He is my friend

He is my groom

He is my king

He is my savior

He is my GOD!

My salvation and my authority are embodied in His name

His name is JESUS!

Why do we often equate our relationship with God with the circumstances that surround us? What do they have in common, are they intertwined? Why do we often find ourselves taking things out on God when He is the only surety in our life that won’t let us down?
If we are dissatisfied with our relationship with God it’s only our fault. It really has nothing to do with the preacher, the church, the people, or any other circumstances. We can't point fingers and say this is wrong and that is right and how come we are taught this and not taught that.
Its our responsibility to engage intimacy with our friend, if we aren't pulling up a chair to the table and conversing with God that is no ones problem, but our own. God is not limited to the church we go to. His presence expands far beyond the reach of those doors.
If we find ourselves malnutrition and not getting enough from church then its because we are only eating 2 or 3 times a week. If we want to know more of God then we need to pick up the Word. Could it be possible that we have a mistaken identity crisis? Are we so conditioned to associating ourselves with church that we forget who it is that we serve? Our identity is not in an organization, or a labeled religion but or identity is in the name of Jesus. Its not limited to brick or mortar. And that is what makes the body of Christ indestructable. The ball is in our court, if we want more of God...well then get more.

Clarity

Isn't amazing how clarity can come sweeping in with the Word of Truth? Ideally I try to think of myself as being a person of absolutes. There is black and there is white...the gray areas aren' t something I generally concern myself with very often. However, I feel like recently I have been surrounded in a wilderness of drought, uncertainty, bewilderment, and grayness.
The amazing thing to me about God is...that you only need to breathe a prayer of relief and He brings in a glass of water, kneels to wash your feet, picks you up and dusts you off and gets you facing the correct direction again. The God I love and strive to know is SO gracious and loving! Looking into the face of a God who would kneel to wash your feet and seeing those eyes of pure undefiled, unadulterated love, brings you back to center.
"I still can't believe that the same voice that spoke all the stars into space says he loves me and he made me nothing less than what I'm meant to be, the things I believe have been misconceived by this heart that can't understand love. Help me to see what You see in me" (Foolish Things)