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Look for the God moments

Philippians 4:13 (AMP) I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

There are a few verses that we see people in general overuse and use in a selfish context. Philippians 4:13, Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:1 to name my top three over used and abused verses. Why do we do this? Have you ever asked yourself if you are looking for what God is doing or are you demanding He be where you are? There is a difference and it has to do with how we see God.

The Bible talks about a dangerous spiritual place of indifference that His body can lay hold in. We call it lukewarm, it can also be called apathy. It is when we have an “I do not care” attitude towards our relationship with God. Especially when it comes to our spiritual growth. Where does this come from? It is because we are consumed with self. Most of the times I see these verses abused is because they are used in the context of self. Do not get me wrong, the Word is for encouragement, but it is also for correction. Most importantly the Word is revealing who God is and who we are to imitate.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (AMP) Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

This is my prayer: God I want to be where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing with the people You have placed with me to do Your will.

Apathy or lukewarmness will cause us to become numb to the love and devotion that God instructs us to have. Love God. Love People. It is a numbness to our emotions and our fervor. How do we overcome? When were your thoughts last on surrender? When was the last time you submitted your heart to a searching and repentance? We are to die to ourselves daily (Matthew 16:24, 1 Corinthians 15:31, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6, Colossians 3:5). When you die to self you will not be able to use these verses out of selfish motives.

Isaiah 30:21 (AMP) Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Let our hearts remain moldable by His Word. Out of our passionate love for Christ should flow humility, repentance, faith, obedience and thanksgiving. Fight apathy. Ask God to for you to join in what He is doing. Look for the God moments. Listen for opportunities to share about His mercy, His grace and His love. Let your sufficiency be in Christ.

Matthew 6:33 (AMP) But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

Abba Father, our Lord, our Creator, You are Marvelous and Wonderful. You are Holy, Merciful and Just. Let us stand in awe of You. Thank You for Your Son. Thank You that You sent Your Son out of Love for Your creation. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, our Teacher and our Comforter. Thank You that You still speak today. Give us ears to hear, hearts to trust and hands to act. We surrender the temptation to carry out our own plans. Help us listen for Your voice. We repent for being self-centered and misusing Your Word. You know us better than we know ourselves. Search within us Lord for any unclean motives. You know the adjustments we should make in order to do Your will and Your way. Holy Spirit, work in our lives. Create in us the image of Christ so that our character is made in Him. We want to obey Your voice and obey Your will. We choose to surrender today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Former things are not now things

Philippians 3:7 (AMP) But whatever former things were gains to me [as I thought then], these things [once regarded as advancements in merit] I have come to consider as loss [absolutely worthless] for the sake of Christ [and the purpose which He has given my life].

What has happened in our past often has made us who we are today. Paul is telling us the former things really do not matter if you are not moving forward. What are you doing now?

I have been in the ministry life for a little over twenty three years now. I am not the same person I was when I started. When I began I was enrolled in a university and a seminary. Soon after I got married I had to quit the university and go into working full time. I did not have a degree but I was a quick learner and applied myself. I was able to move up in the company pretty fast.

A lot of times we want the same to translate into our ministry life. I am still a quick learner and apply myself, but that does not put me any place higher in the work in the kingdom. Paul was an educated man. Paul was high up in the chain of authority when it came to his old life. However, Paul did not expect that to translate (or even want it to) into his new life. I have heard people not like Paul because they thought he was too full of pride. I cannot agree with that assessment. A prideful person always looks out for self. Paul says it is all worthless for the real purpose of his life.

My husband and I are approached by people who are in or have currently been in ministry. Some even visit the church we pastor. They tell us of all the wonderful things that they have done in their previous churches and how they would like to add to what we are doing here. Do you know what we do? We watch. Something that you have done in the past has nothing to do with what you are doing now. All the good I have ever done is in the past does not matter, if I am not doing anything now. What am I doing now?

Matthew 7:21-23 (AMP) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’

His commands are for now. Not for when you first got saved. Not for when you get ready to do it and your life is all together. What are you doing now? Yes, He is the God of our past, our present and our future. He is omnipotent and sovereign. I still have a responsibility. I cannot lay it down.

Philippians 3:13-14 (AMP) Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

All the things that I have done in the years of ministry cannot hold a candle to what lies ahead. I look back over my news feeds and rejoice at the souls that I got to led into the kingdom. I rejoice over the hours I have spent with people to mentor and disciple. However, if I stopped today, what good am I. Would I be obedient? As long as I have breath in my lungs I should be pressing forward. We have led our church for ten years. If we stopped leading does that mean we stop putting our hands and hearts to the works of the ministry? I think we miss it when we think we are supposed to keep climbing up, when that is not how the kingdom works. Just because we pastor does not mean we do not put the sign out or clean the floors. Our title is nothing if we do love to serve.

Look at Matthew 7:21-23 again, but in the Message Translation:  “Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our super-spiritual projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’ All you did was use me to make yourselves important. I can do good things without the right heart attitude. My accolades in ministry will bear no weight if I do not serve in love. Why are we concerned with what others think? He is the only one I need to be concerned with. This is not an excuse to be lazy in the kingdom. Get out of slumber, get out of apathy and lethargy and get passionate about kingdom things. Press on!!

Our God, our Creator and our Maker, You are Holy. You are Mighty. You are worthy of honor and praise. We thank You for Your Son, the perfect One. We thank You that He laid down His life for us. We thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can know You more. We desire Your Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. We repent for not following Your commandments and gotten off track in that Kingdom establishment. We repent for letting apathy, lethargy and slumber enter our hearts. Restore to us the passion of our fist love. Restore to us the zeal in establishing Your Kingdom. We are sorry for depending on the past as to why we have not pressed forward to the new. We are choosing to forgive those that we have stated have held us up, not one has done that but us. We are choosing to forgive ourselves for holding onto the past. We walk in Your wholeness today. We choose love today. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. In Jesus Name, Amen.