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Update 2025: Here I Am

Isaiah 6:8 (AMP)  Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

One January eighth of this year I wrote a blog called “2025: Here I Am.” Here is what I wrote: “Here I am” is a heart position to be all in. It is a response to God that you are sensitive to His call. It is a willingness to listen and to obey His commands. “And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should also [unselfishly] love his brother and seek the best for him” (1 John 4:21). Seeking the best for others requires a lot of dying to self. That lines up with what Christ said we would have to do to be His disciples (Matthew 16:24-26). So that new thing He is doing in me, has a lot to do with my surrender. God doing a new thing requires me changing (Isaiah 43:19).

When I dedicated this year to answer the call with, “Here I Am,” I did not know where it would take me. Some would hope it would take them across the world. Some would expect a change of scenery. Some would expect a huge move. What it did in me caused me to make a holy shift to Your will not my will, Lord. I have answered calls that I did not want to. I have gone into homes that I did not want to. I have made trips to spend just a few moments with someone, that was way out of my route for the day. Why? “Here I Am.” How can we say we want to do great things for God when we will not give Him the fifteen minutes, or even a couple of hours, that will make us uncomfortable for someone else? He has given me a heart for people like never before. It is not to point out what is wrong in their life, it is to point them to the person who will make them whole. I am not there to fix their problems; I am pointing them to the One who can ground them in Truth.

This still rings true today: What should we be praying for the church? That God becomes real to us. That we stop going through the motions and desire a real relationship with God. You can listen and not hear. You can look and not see. This will happen until you surrender your ideas. We have the luxury of doing so much research that we have not need to sit and listen for His voice. We have access to so many books and teaching online, that we do not need to read the Bible for ourselves. We read the Bible through the lens of experience and not really listen for His voice. We depend on scripture taken out of context and wonder why God is not doing what I want. It is not until we surrender that we will be rooted and grounded in Christ. This is where love starts. We cannot love each other when we are only worried about ourselves. Serving only those we want to serve is really self-serving. Only reading what we like is self-serving.

“Here I Am” is a call for deeper surrender. I do not know why God has me doing this. I spend my week with people. People that I am not looking for anything in return. I asked God why, especially since church attendance was looking sad this past Sunday. It can be disheartening when we look at people. I have to keep my eyes focused on Him. It is not about what I see in the natural, it is about what He is doing when I am obedient. I put my trust in Him. At the right time (His time).

Galatians 6:9-10 (AMP) Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. So then, while we [as individual believers] have the opportunity, let us do good to all people [not only being helpful, but also doing that which promotes their spiritual well-being], and especially [be a blessing] to those of the household of faith (born-again believers).

Here I am, send me. I am choosing not to give it, not giving up.

Abba, Father, we are in awe of You. You are Holy, Marvelous, and Righteous. Help us to fully accept Your Son for who He is, the One who came to make us whole and whose peace fills us completely. When we love You and put You first, everything else finds its rightful place. When Your voice is our priority, all other voices fade away. When Your Word is first in our lives, distractions lose their hold. When we follow Your principles, the promises of Your Word become evident in our lives. Lead us back to putting You first. Let us say, “Here I am.” We repent for prioritizing ourselves over Your Word, Your voice, and Your guidance. Help us to open Your Word and crave it like the most satisfying meal. Thank You for Your forgiveness and Your mercies that are new every morning. We choose joy today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Who do you want to be?

Do you remember the grade school assignments that we answered? The question about what we wanted to be when we grow up. I have a scrap book my aunt put together for me one year. It has all the things I wanted to be when I grew up. They were a school teacher, a nurse, a secretary, and even a model. I can see little pieces of each one of these in the person that I am today.

I was looking at something the other day and made the excuse that is just the way they are. Then God responded, “but is that who I Am?” Whatever excuse we use to act, say, portray or even react the question we should be asking, “Is that who I want to be?” Before you get upset about someone attacking how God made you, really ask yourself that question. “Is this who I want to be?” You really do not have to be that person. We have be empowered to be who we were really meant to be.

Ephesians 4:32-5:1 (AMP) 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. Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]

Remember you are becoming, so it is a process. How does one imitate another? You first must study them. You would want to start imitating their speech and how they say things. You would imitate their actions and mannerisms. A good actor gets immersed in their character and they would not be able to tell the difference in who they are and who they are portraying. However, when we imitate God it should not be for just show. We should not be wearing Him as a mask. Our true selves should reflect Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].

Who do I want to be? I want to be genuine and caring. I want to be so full of His love that is all that flows out of me. I do not want to just be good, I want to be His. I want to think of Him more. I want to think of myself less (not less than). I want to reflect who I am, a beloved child of the King.

I was at an event the other night and noticed children running around just taking things. They were loud and demanding. They ate whatever they wanted or demanded it from us that were helping out. Come to find out they were the children of the leader. I do not believe they were imitating their parents, but they took advantage of who their parents were. That is not what it is to be children of God. The imitation we should reflect that we are growing in maturity.

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.

I reflect true freedom the more I reflect His image. Changing my behavior requires a decision to do things differently. I have to make a decision to think differently. You will not act like God the first time you try. We sometimes have the wrong idea of Him to begin with. That is why it is important to really study the Word. You are constantly going to be going through the process. So put your whole heart and soul into it. Care for others genuinely, not just because it looks good. Speak life to others in their presence and when they are not in the room. Find a way to forgive instead of finding ways to shift blame away from yourself. Own up to it when you are wrong.

Psalms 51:10 (AMP) Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.

Matthew 5:8 (AMP) Blessed [anticipating God’s presence, spiritually mature] are the pure in heart [those with integrity, moral courage, and godly character], for they will see God.

Who do I want to be? I want to be who He says I am. I want to reflect His image. I do not want to be like one of those who looks in a mirror and walks away forgetting what they have seen (James 1:23-24). I desire more of God in my life. I want to not hide behind a veil of excuses and put myself into a bondage of ‘what if’s’. I want to live in the complete wholeness of what Christ redeemed me for. The restoration process can be a little humbling, but it is worth it. My heart of surrender is what He desires.

So next time you do not like the way you responded or handled something, there is a reason for that. Ask yourself, “is that who I want to be?” The next time you see someone in need, ask yourself, “who do I want to be?” If you see someone come in to a room and they are all alone, ask yourself, “who do I want to be?” As children imitating our Father, one of the areas we should be reflecting is His mercy and loving-kindness. What kindness would you want shown and reflect that. Do not stop asking yourself “Who do I want to be?” It is a continual growing process so that we can mature in Christ.

Abba, Our Father, Our Banner, You are so Marvelous and Wonderful. You are more precious than all the jewels we could ever imagine. You are Holy. Thank You for Your Son, our Redeemer. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, our Teacher and Comforter. Thank You for Your Grace, Your Mercy and Your Love. We repent for holding onto an image of who we were before we were Redeemed by Your Son. You have a big dream for us and it has nothing to do with getting things from You. We repent for only looking at You as Provider when You are so much more. We were created to reflect Your image. That is who we want to be. We want to forgive like You forgive. We want to love the way You love. Thank You for showing us that it is a process and that Your Kindness is full of Grace. You have empowered us to live a big life. We do not want to keep it small any longer. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.