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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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How we treat people matters

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.

How we treat people matters to God. I was in prayer yesterday and God told me to turn to Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin].” I am a context girl, so I read the verses around it.

Ephesians 4:29 (AMP) Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. 

Ephesians 4:31-32 (AMP) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

The Book of Ephesians was written to the church of Ephesus, which means it was written to people who had received Christ as their Lord and Savior. At the moment, my husband and I are in a series about Relational Maintenance and we are taking the verses from Ephesians 5 and breaking down how we can apply it to our every day lives. Like I said, I am a context girl and when I see the word “therefore” that means that this is not the starting point of the thought. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we are not becoming imitators of Christ. This is not referring to winning the lost, healing the sick and raising people from the dead. We have been given the authority to do that at sons and daughters, but it is not referring to your position as a child of God. As a child of God, that is an imitation of the Father, an ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). Does my character reflect His? There are two words in the Greek that are used for son, teknon and huios. Teknon refers to child or heir, huios refers to maturity and the mannerism taken on.

Can I grieve the Holy Spirit as a born again believer? Yes. How? By not maturing into huios, becoming an imitator of my Father. What are some checks in myself? When I am talking are my words building up? Do I take the chance to tell it like it is about someone? Do I repeat a wrong? Do I spread resentment or strife? I had someone do that to me recently and it has taken me a moment to think better about the person they were talking about. They said something to hurt me out of spite and sow a seed of division to another. This was a person in our body of believers doing this. Did I correct them? There would have been no point because of their character (they are known for doing this). Instead I loved them and am choosing to walk in forgiveness.

When we mature we begin to 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. There are times that I am going to have to work on this more and more. How we treat people matters to God. When I become an imitator of Him I do not have to fear grieving the Holy Spirit. I believe He is a God to be honored. I should honor Him with my full self, that includes my thoughts, words and actions.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (AMP) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

Father, our Creator and Banner, You are so Marvelous. If we do nothing else but to just love You, that is all we need. Thank You for Your Son, for being the Restorer of our authority and fullness. Thank You for the Holy Spirit and the power that You have entrusted us with. We repent for not being imitators of You and for the words we have spoken in vain against Your body. Let our tongues be submitted to You. We are choosing to renew our minds daily in Your Word. Thank You for allowing us to partner with You in Your Kingdom expansion. We choose to see people the way You do. Let us have eternal eyes when we speak and treat Your people. Let us be true children of You and imitate You in all we say and do. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.