Vision
Today my pastor talked about the vision He was given from the Lord regarding where our church should be heading. It all sounds wonderful, but it also sounds very scary. Vision usually leads to growth, and growth can be uncomfortable sometimes. Many times we as Christians are content to (as Pastor Tom says) bop around in life like a pinball in a pinball machine. We go this direction when enertia takes us there and that direction when the wind changes, but that is not the way God wants us to live. He desires for us to have a game plan; a vision for our lives.I am a huge football fan. I love to watch these big guys get out there and throw their bodies around trying to accomplish their goal--TO WIN!!! But I will bet you not one single team gets very far without a game plan. I am from Nebraska originally, so I often heard Coach Osborn and Coach Solich talking about how they planned to win the game. They watched tapes of their opponents playing other teams and looked for their weaknesses so they would know how to attack them. In that same way, we need to create for ourselves a vision so that we know how to attack life.
I have been one of the "boppers" most of my life. I never thought much about what tomorrow would bring. I figured that God would just take care of things for me as time went along. Maybe I believed that and maybe I was just looking for the easy way out (ROFL), but either way, I was becoming stagnant. I wasn't growing, I was just maintaining, and half the time I wasn't maintaining very well! Today, as Pastor Tom told us of the vision that God gave him 4 years ago, I began to get excited. I want to be given a vision of my own. I feel that I have been growing and maturing these past several months because God has been ripening my heart to enable it to bear fruit. He has a purpose for my life on this earth, and I generally know what that plan is. I am a disciple. I was called a few months ago to evangelize. I am not saying I will be sent to Africa, but there are many people right here in my hometown that need to hear the gospel. Unless I develop a vision, His plan for my life will never come to fruition. I'm ready to take the next step!!
So today I challenge you to develop a vision of your own. Seek the Lord and ask Him to show you where he wants you to be in 5 or 10 years. Because as Proverbs 29:18 tells us;
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law.Have a very blessed day!
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...and no one will snatch them out of My hand
I was praying on my 25 minute commute to work this morning. I usually try to spend this time everyday praying. Sometimes it works, but sometimes my mind wanders too much, so I give up and crank up my Darlene Zschech CD instead. Well, this morning I was really concentrating on praying for my family. I have to say that right now is the most wonderful period of time my family has ever seen. I am totally dedicated to the Lord, my whole family is saved (PTL!!!!!), I can finally really share my faith with my husband, I am content for the first time since I got married...the list goes on and on. I began praying that God would cause Dan to desire to grow in his relationship with Him, then moved on to each of my children; praying a hedge of protection around each of them. Then I began to (I hate to say this word) fear that as they get older, my kids will stray from Jesus to pursue the independence and possessions that this world offers and makes look so attractive; just as I and countless other Christians I know did after they had accepted Jesus. Immediately, and I do mean immediately, God gave me a scripture. I didn't know the address of it, but when I got to work I looked it up, and found it in John 10:27-29:"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given {them} to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch {them} out of the Father's hand."
What a truly awesome promise! Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are his sheep. If one of us becomes lost, He searches for us until He finds us and brings us home, and He rejoices when we are found! In John 15:4-7, Jesus tells a story to His disciples.
"What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
I tell you that in the same way, there will be {more} joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."God cares for each and everyone of us so much that He is willing to come after us and gently call us back to Him time and time again. Even if it takes years, He is faithful and won't give up on us. So we need not fear for our loved ones who have gone astray. The Good Shepherd is seeking them out, calling them back to the fold, and rejoicing when the lost are found. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!! May you have a very blessed and "son" filled day!!!
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Praise the Lord!!
Well, I've tested God, and He HAS blessed me abundantly!! First I have to tell you that in my last post I mentioned that I had decided to "test" God and see if He would open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing until it overflowed. Monday I went to work and found out that I had been give a $.50 an hour raise out of the blue. My review isn't until March. Then, my husband (who you may recall just recenly decided to trust Jesus) told me that he would like to teach creation science. After that, we got some extra money that I wasn't expecting. And then, as icing on the cake, my best friend told me that she wants to attend a Bible teaching church (she is currently not attending any church) and another of my good friends has agreed to "try" the Lord for a week to see if He will bring her out of a trial she is dealing with right now. In both of my friends' cases, I was allowed to witness to them and hopefully steer them in the right direction.What can I say??? God has blessed me with extra income, extra cash, a husband whose heart is changing and seeking Him, and two friends who desire to know Him more. This has been a wonderful week!! I pray that you are all reaping the rewards of a humble and obedient heart, also. God will never let us down. He is true to His word!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!
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Test God
Church was absolutely awesome today! First of all, I was so excited because I invited a lady that I work with to come, and she did :-) Then, praise and worship was incredibly moving and the message was very convicting. I was honestly afraid of being convicted on this particular issue. It is a subject that many of us don't like to have to hear preached---tithing. I have been a Christian for over half of my life. The commandment to tithe is not new to me. But I have always been afraid. Let's face it, many of us live paycheck to paycheck, wondering how to pay the bills and still have enough left over to buy groceries and other necessities. Then things go wrong. The car breaks down, or one of the kids gets sick and needs to go to the doctor and then needs a prescription. Or Christmas is right around the corner and you have to buy gifts for 15 kids plus the person whose name you drew. It never ends, and there is never enough to go around.But God has made us a promise. In Malachi 3:10-11 God says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast {its grapes}," says the Lord of hosts.
God wants to bless us. He is asking us to test Him. You are probably saying, "But Tammy, I thought you weren't supposed to test God!" Well, normally I would agree, but in that scripture God is telling us to do just that. He says, "Test Me now in this, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." He is asking us to take a step of faith. He wants us to trust Him so that he can bless us abundently. In Luke 6:38, Jesus tells us to, "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, {and} running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." We already know that God has promised to provide all our needs. But sometimes we can't see past what we can see. Again I will quote my favorite Bible verse; "Trust in the LORDwith all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.
It is not easy for me to write this. Ask Doralee how hard I have struggled with this issue. But today as my pastor was teaching on tithing, he wasn't condescending. He wasn't teaching this because he wants the church to be rich. He genuinely wants the people of God to be blessed. He once told us that we cannot outgive God. We only have to take a step of faith and let God prove that to us firsthand! I have decided that I am ready to take that step of faith. God has never failed me. I don't think He plans on starting now :-)
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Are you "blessed to be a blessing?"
Have you ever noticed how God seems to put the right words into your mouth at just the right time? Or how He puts you in a certain place for a certain purpose? Okay, let me clarify this. Two time today this has happened. The first incident occured when I was talking to a Christian friend who has been struggling with an issue for several months. She began listening to Joyce Meyer recently, and she was in the process of telling me about part of a particular sermon when I made a comment that made her stop and say that I had confirmed exactly what Joyce had said. God had confirmed to her through two totally unrelated sources what He was trying to tell her, and she could hardly deny that this message was truly meant for her.The second incident occured when a non-Christian friend of mine was crying on my shoulder about several trials she is experiencing in her life right now. I know that she was looking for sympathy and understanding, but it was the perfect opportunity for me to talk to her about the love of Jesus and His ability to heal us. Now this person isn't one of my close friends--in fact she is actually just a co-worker--but for some reason she trusts me enough to tell me about her struggles. Each time she tells me about a struggle is an opportunity for me to bless her with a message of love from our Savior!
I believe that God purposely places us where we can touch others. Almost daily I am given at least one opportunity to witness to someone about God's love. Each day I have a choice to make; either step out of my comfort zone and obey God, or retreat to my little corner of the world and let it slide by. In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that we are held accountable for those who we have the opportunity to touch but who don't hear the gospel message from us. Our divine purpose for being on this earth is not to be wealthy, or to work 70 hours a week. We are disciples of Christ. We are his messangers. It is our responsibilty to make sure that EVERYONE has the opportunity to hear the gospel. Again I say that it isn't always easy to step out and talk to people about our faith. It can be uncomfortable if you have never done it before. You may be concerned about what people will think of you. I used to be. But do you know what? I realized that it is more important for me to be concerned about what GOD thinks of me. Jesus tells us in Mark 38:8:
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
I don't know about you, but the words I want to hear come from Jesus' mouth when I face judgement are "Well done, good and faithful servant." Not, "Depart from me. I never knew you."Now in closing let me say that where I work now is not where I intended to stay as long as I have. I am currently working part-time making much less money than I could be, but I am content. I believe that is because God has placed me where I am supposed to be. He always has a plan. Where are you today? Do you look for opportunities to touch other people's lives with the love of God? If you don't, try it once or twice. Pray for the strength and courage to do it. Trust God to give you the words. You may find that not only is the recipient being blessed, but you as well. Praise the Lord!!!
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Today is my birthday. It is not a monumental birthday--I am 35 today, but it does have me thinking. In all reality, I am at (or very near) middle age. I remember when I was in my late teens and early twenties always being the youngest at work. I was always trying to grow up faster than I should have. Now that I have kids of my own and the years seem to be speeding by much quicker than they used to, I am trying to live each day fully as though it might be my last. Well, you never know...I had a thought yesterday. I was sitting next to my youngest son (I am blessed to have three healthy, beautiful gifts from God) and I picked up his hand and put it in mine. Now Ben is nine years old, and his hands have grown a lot since he was a baby, but I thought back to when he was first born. When I first layed eyes on him I though about the fact that he was a perfect miniature person. From the tip of his head to the bottoms of his feet, he had everything a grown person has, just in miniature. Isn't it amazing how perfect our God made us? If you look at statistics, the vast majority of babies are born relatively perfect. I mean, everything is where it is supposed to be. They have 10 fingers and 10 toes, 2 eyes, 2 ears, etc. Their eyes see, their ears hear, their voices work.
Psalms 139:13-14 says, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well."
God was in control of our lives even before he formed us in the womb. He knew what we would look like and what our personalities would be. We are all unique, made for a specific purpose in the kindom. None of us is here by chance. You can't surprise God. I had my first son when I was 20 years old. I was unmarried, I knew it was wrong for me to be pregnant, and I was so afraid of what my mom would say. But God was there every second. He had plans for my son, and today he is a 14 year old with strong faith and the desire to spread the gospel to his friends. We might make mistakes, but God doesn't.
I heard someone say recently, "Did it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurs to God?" How true is that?! He is omniscient. He is all knowing, all seeing, omnipresent. And remember this...Satan is not. All Satan knows is what he sees and hears. He can't read your mind. You can keep secrets from him, but not from God. God knows your heart. He knows your heart's desire. He knows you more intimately than you know yourself. He wants you to know Him better. He desires for us to seek Him with the same passion He seeks us with. You are no accident. You are here because God wants you here. Why not spend some time this new year seeking him with all your heart. Give thanks to Him for your being. No God, no peace. Know God, know peace!!
Blessings
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As we begin another new year, I think many of us have much different attitudes than we did one year ago. September 11th has changed our perspective on life. No longer is it just "about us". All of the sudden we are thinking more seriously about other people. We realize that we are not quite as invincible as we thought we were. Bad things don't just happen in 3rd world countries; they happen on American soil as well. For the first time in many years, God now has a place in our schools, our government offices, even our daily vocabulary. Prayer is now encouraged. Those who study the Bible and prophesy are looking for the "signs" of the times. How will this affect our future? Is the return of our Savior closer than we might have imagined one year ago today? Of course only God knows the answer to this questions, but in a very real way I now see what the goal of the rest of my life on this earth needs to be.Millions of people don't know Jesus as their personal savior. I was talking with my oldest son this morning--complimenting him on the fact that he witnessed to a friend of his while chatting with him on the internet--when it dawned on me that if Matt had asked him if he was a Christian, most probably he would have said yes without any hesitation. The vast majority of Americans would. But if you delve deeper, ask more questions, probe their minds, you will undoubtedly find that most American's don't know what it truly means to be a Christians. They only say they are because they probably aren't Buddist, or Muslim, or Atheist. They believe in God, try to live good lives, and help fellow man when it is convenient for them to. They truly believe that if they were more good than bad that God will have mercy on them and "let" them into Heaven. Satan is lying to them!! We as disciples of Christ need to open their eyes and tell them the truth. If all they need to do is live a good life, then why did God need to send His son to die?? If we could "save ourselves", then God wasted His time and sorrow.
I don't know when Jesus will return. I only know that we have a lot of work to do before He does. We have a harvest to reap. We were sent a divine wake up call! Let's take advantage of the fact that many hearts may be a little softer than they were on September 10th. It is not always comfortable to talk about Jesus with people. Some people may become belligerent and rude with you, but most people have a curiousity to know who is in charge of our universe. We were born with the inate desire to worship God, but we get so caught up in life that we make ourselves God and turn our worship in on ourselves, or on famous people or wealthy people. Even our possessions and careers become more important than spending time with God or reading the Bible. We all need to focus our energy on eternal things rather than things of this world.
Are you ready to go? If your answer to my question is "no", then maybe it is time for you to do some evaluation of your life. Get your affairs in order and change your priorities around a little. If your answer to my question is "yes", then you aren't off the hook :) Now is the time to go boldly where you have never gone before! Talk to your neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family. Spread the Gospel. Keep an eye on the news and above all else, pray and read your Bible! Ask God for guidance. Seek His will for your life. He wants only the best for you, but in order to get the best, you have to give your best. Go outside of your comfort zone a couple of times and before long it is your comfort zone. Store up your treasures in Heaven where they won't wear out. Your brand new car won't be brand new in six months, but heaven's treasures aren't subject to wear and tear. Time doesn't affect them. When you leave this earth, you leave everything behind, but your eternal treasures are waiting, and so is your maker. He is waiting to take you into His arms and tell you, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" I for one can't wait to hear those words, and when I get there, I want to see many people who heard the Gospel message from me with big smiles on their faces. I may be the only person who ever told them the way to salvation. You have the same opportunity. Don't let fear keep you from your eternal rewards. God bless you in this new year!!!
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