I need you, Lord

God, you are my purpose and my light I pray that you keep my feet on the path you have set before me as I go throughout my day. Therefore, I will seek you in the morning, bless you with the words of my mouth, and by night trust in your sufficient grace.

Control, Second Thought

Control is central to being a Christian. Control is present in everyone's life but WHO is in control is what changes once you give your life to Jesus but even in doing this it is still so present in everyday living that it needs to be checked regularly, lest we are deceived. I will try to relay what I mean - it can be seen in the reasons why you labor as hard as you do on relationships. It can be felt when you get up in the morning to go to work or the in the reasons why you stay late to finish a project. You can sense it as a parent of teenagers. You know it is there when your mind fills with thoughts of what to do next? It's okay to admit it because it happens to everyone but as a follower of Christ we have been called to trust Him, obey His Word and utterly trust Him with our lives. I find that if I want to be in consistent communion with my Savior I must surrender control daily, for to keep it for myself is to push Him away. To know the importance of each decision yet not worry about it or get upset when things out my control change the route I have chosen. To do what is right then trust God to take care of the results.

Alright that's one side of control but it goes even deeper than that. Why do some Christians (usually older) feel that consumption of alcohol equals sin? In many cases it is because they have seen people lose control because of it – alcohol is in control. There are other reasons not to drink but drinking itself does not equal sin. We are given direction by God through Paul in Romans chapter 14. Look at this example: So as a Christian you drink wine with your wife at dinner. You don't get drunk, it doesn't control who you are, your wife is in agreement, your children are adults so you are not influencing minds too young to understand – conditions and attitudes are right but is God in control? What if He asked you to stop for an unknown period of time would you get upset or try to explain it away with your vast biblical knowledge? The very moment you do this you should know that you are holding onto control instead of giving it to God. To be clear I do not drink because that is my choice but not because I believe it is automatically sin. I do know this about my Savior He will give blessings and take them away all for the purpose of teaching me what holds true value. My eleven year old asked me the other day why do people fast; I told him it is to tell our flesh that it is not in control of our actions and to help us hear God's voice speak into our lives. Control saturates every area of our being. How often do you spend time thinking about buying something you would like to have? Do you control your thoughts, do they control you, or is God in control? While you are thinking about these things how difficult is it to hear God's voice? What's worse after buying it do you spend time wondering whether or not you should have? Sometimes God wants to bless us in a particular way but He knows whether through regret or greed or fear we will not enjoy it, we miss the purpose of the gift and therefore we are not ready to receive causing us to miss the blessings He intended and we walk away thinking it is not God's will, how sad.

We are also instructed throughout the Bible to maintain self-control - doing what is right when tempted to do otherwise. In this way we show that we belong to God and we trust Him to take care of the situation. Bottom line is this - we are all a work in progress, one day we can get it right and the next miss it completely. God gives us opportunity to put into practice that which we have learned, that's why we are to rejoice when going through tests - because we are growing in Him! Sometimes these tests come through blessings, more often through challenges but know this, His grace is there each time we need start again and He loves us more than we could ever imagine! Think about this today, who is in control of this life, we call ours? How we answer determines who we are and who we belong to.

Change

Help me to resist not your changes O Lord, even though the purpose is not always clear. I know that if you are taking the time to bring me through this change I need not worry about the purpose you have in mind but mine is to find the lesson in it and how it applies to my life. Help me to see myself through your eyes knowing that even though I am flawed you love me, even though my frame is weak you see great potential, and even though my best laid plans crumble in the fire you have called me by name. In spite of the pain that is caused by the removing of this hard outer crust I call humanity I ask for your help to stand and not run for I know not what will be left when you are finished but I know that it will be what you intended before I took control.

God's Goodness in the Morning

God thank you for reminding me of your goodness each morning, even when the night before my mind was filled with concerns. Lord only you know my heart and of the many things I seem to long for you are the only one I could not live without! So in the earliest part of my day remind me to exalt you in praises and worship and for a little while let my heart lead me into your presence before my day is filled with concerns of life once again. With each sound of praise that comes across my lips my heart is lightened and my spirit lifted and in those moments I am able to catch glimpses of your glory! Don't let me forget that you are with me throughout the day - as I work help me do it with one mind and an undistracted heart and teach me that you are with me when I come home and find people, who like me, get caught up in things of the day. Help me to lead my family by example, knowing what is right isn't nearly as important as doing what is right. For you give to each the opportunity to choose right or evil, what we do with it is up to us. Additionally, you give each of us great responsibility and you have placed within each one's reach the ability to do what has been asked of us but only with your help. If we live life without being stretched then somewhere along the way we've lost the sense of your leading and are no longer able to go where you would have us go unless you wake us. Knowing that I thank you for stretching me, making me aware, and not comparing me to others for the only standard that I have to meet is the one you set before me. Though others mean well, like me, they have enough trouble keeping their own feet on the path you place before them. Help them to be aware of their own spiritual condition before being so concerned about others. Those who think they know you challenge them and grow them so that instead of being a stumbling block they may become an instrument of your holiness.

Trusting God

(1Peter 1:8-9) "You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. (9) The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls."

Somehow we get it wrong saying, "God you first prove your self to me by doing ______ then I will trust you." Sometimes it turns out but what if it doesn't who then suffers loss? Is it not better to trust God knowing that He is good and true? Jesus told doubting Thomas the he believed because he seen Jesus' wounds but blessed are those who believe and have not seen (John 20:29)

Lord, help me to trust you more even when things look dim and without hope. I know because of your Word you are good and you are working things together to make me more like Jesus. Many times this molding comes in the way of storms and heart ache but even so I will trust you because you are my source of hope an peace. Thank you for not leaving me when I make bad decisions but instead you lift me up and help me stand once again - making me trust you more. In this way you build up in me your faith so that I might be shown faithful. In your Son's name Jesus I pray, amen.

Is God for me?

While walking through a valley so deep the sun only shows for a few hours each day one is faced with a question. To know that all things are possible for God is not hard to believe, likewise knowing that God has a purpose and that purpose will be accomplished is no stretch. I know that through circumstances He is shaping me and molding me like a potter molds the clay vessel on the pottery wheel but is it His purpose that my hopes be destroyed in the process? This question I come across in many different forms as I walk this path but at it’s base the question is this – is God for me? Will God not only rescue my soul but my emotional and psychological well being too or will I be brought low to the point I can do nothing but surrender? When He is finished with me will I still be me or someone else? Does God really care about the little things that I care about? Like Jacob I could wrestle with God but I haven’t the will and though I conform I am left pondering these things.

If God knows me intimately, like I know He does because He is the Creator of all life, then He must know what is best for me and though there are times the molding and reshaping is painful it is necessary. There comes a time in each person’s life where complete surrender is required and there each one comes face to face with this question – do I completely trust God with my life? Do I believe what He is making me to be is better than what I am? He gives me His Word so that I may know Him, how did He change those who followed before me? Is that someone I want to be? Paul, who was Saul was aware of how God changed him and he had such a great love for God he said this, “For to me, living means for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:21). He had one mind undivided by the things of this earth. As he faced death he knew crossing that threshold would only serve to take him home to see his Redeemer and if he was allowed to live it meant allowing God to live through him so that others may know the Lover of our souls also.

Ultimately I know God is for me and though I would choose a different path I also know my very sight is given to me by Him and without Him my eyes go dim and I am left standing in the dark. We cannot let anything hold us back from following our Lord and Savior though the enemy will lie continuously. Lord let us know your passion for us, let us understand if only a little what we mean to you. We have been alone for so long and You have been crying out for us, for you long to be with us, we are yours and You have given your Son so that like Paul we have a home to come home to. Thank you Father God for reassuring us as we take these steps in this deep valley.

Dying to self

How small is the world of one who has turned inward. Selfishness is never content, always wanting more, always falling short of God’s glory but when the eyes are upon God’s good faithfulness the boundaries that confine are loosed and the heart dances before the Lord like a young deer in the meadow. May the fire of the Lord consume the faithful and lead them into mercies and compassion that was before unknown so that their eyes may be opened. For the Lord reigns and mighty is His throne. Who can stand in His presence? What does selfishness profit the one who carries its weight? Can the treasures stored up by their hands compare with the peace and rest the Lord gives to the one who places Him first? The world teaches us to work for the things we want. Is success desired? Then work hard and maybe you will find it. The biggest problem with that ideal is that it works too often on a certain level. So we work to get more, if a little is good then more is better right? It is in the condition of the heart and the gaze of the eyes, for the more we set our eyes on lesser things the more the path leads away from the Lord until one day we find ourselves surrounded by the quicksand of want, in a world that does not reach beyond our own sight but God is faithful to clean the mud from our eyes and lift us out of the muck of our own desires. Dying to self is a daily cleansing, not a monthly or even weekly event. So Lord, bring us into your courts each day so that we may keep watch and run our race as you intended. For you have broken all that binds us, Lord we shout unto you for you have placed our feet on a solid rock!