Dare I Ask

You Exist, How dare I ask for more!

You knew my name before time, How dare I ask for more!

You came humbly into the world You created, How dare I ask for more!

You taught as a young boy, How dare I ask for more!

You lived an inglorious life, How dare I ask for more!

You asked no ones approval except Your Fathers, How dare I ask for more!

You were questioned without end, How dare I ask for more!

Your closest friends denied you, How dare I ask for more!

You were beat in my place, How dare I ask for more!

Your skin was torn in place of mine, How dare I ask for more!

Your beard torn out in place of mine, How dare I ask for more!

You wore my thorns, How dare I ask for more!

Your blood flowed in place of mine, How dare I ask for more!

Your father tuned his face from you when it was to be turned from me, How dare I ask for more!

You died when it was my place to die, How dare I ask for more!

You love me when I am unlovable, How dare I ask for more.....

Clean Windows but No Time In Using.

I just wanted to share a few words I was reading in a book I just found on my shelf. It's called the Secret Guidance by T.B. Meyer.

Just a quick statement so you understand the context. The paragraph is talking about how as believers we begin to look at ones self more than God. And how we are always going back to the things we did, or how we might question the motives of our heart. It's just some cool imagery.

"We must not spend all our lives in cleaning our windows, or in considering whether they are clean, but in sunning ourselves in God's blessed light. That the light will soon show what needs to be cleansed away and will enable us to cleanse it with unerring accuracy."

To Humble to Edify

Habakkuk 1:4 Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the Just shall live by faith.

This is the place I feel that the Lord is growing me right now. I was in a place where I was so full of doubt that I didn't think God had any plans to use me. I will share a quick story to show you how He changed my heart of that.

About three weeks ago I was driving home from church on a thursday night, it was raining.I was about half way home when I was going through a slight turn on the highway when my car began to hydroplane. It happen so quick that I could do nothing to get the car back. I hit a bank at about 60-mph the car spun around and then rolled once. No one else was involved in my crash. At that time I didn't think anything about the crash, I was really disconcerted with it all to be honest. Then the next day my dad told me that it was crazy how my crash was right across the street from the church I excepted Christ in. I didn't think much about it. But that next sunday a older lady at my church heard the story and was telling me how she was so exited because the crash shows God still has plans for my life. God grabbed me right there. He showed me that I was so caught up in me that I didn't even see that He was proving to me that He could have taken me home that night but He didn't.He left me hear because He isn't done with me.

Now all of this might not seem to be relevant to the title. But the next thing I had to learned was that I was so broken down that I found myself as an unusable vestal for the Lord to change or fill. (which demerits who God is and how He is the redeemer of all things)Now to some this might seem like a humble heart. It wasn't. We need to have a broken and contrite heart before the Lord. But that is the first step, the second step is to realize who dwells in us after we have found our selves worthless.

Basically my point is this. If you are breathing air, God had great plans for you. Not because of anything you did but because He loves you. And don't just dwell in the place of brokenness, remember who you are. You are created for the Glory of God!

This is the other side of what I'm saying. If you only dwell in the place of brokenness and you don't realize God has plans for you as well(Jeremiah 29:11) Then you are withholding Glory from God. That's the whole purpose we were created. 1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

If we are so caught up in our worthlessness and not caught up in His goodness. We will be blinded to His plans for us.

Three things to remember.

One: Be broken, do not look to yourself to fulfill your calling. Ps 51:17

Two: Be still and filled with Joy of who God is Ps 46:10

Three: And if you do those two things; you cannot avoid your ability to bring glory to God.

Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.

God's ministry vs Man's

2 Timothy 4:2-5

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY!

The Lord has been giving me scripture after scripture about life. Not a easy successful life as we pray so often for. But a life that is exampled by paul, one of jail time and being followed around by false teachers, trying to water down what he had taught. Most of his books were written from jail. That goes to prove that he knows what he is talking about when he said to fulfill your ministry. If he could do all that he did from jail, think about what we could do unhindered.

 I have caught myself praying this...."Lord don't let that happen to me , Lord free me from this struggle, Lord keep me from hurt." I'm not saying these are a sin to pray, But when do we see paul pray for all the "bad things" to stop? God has given us life for what? "To fulfill our ministry" not to flow along peacefully. You can do that, but your life means nothing in the perspective of eternity. Your life may not mean much in the worlds eyes. You could be known as that nice person who was easy to get along with....

I'm not saying you should pray for struggles either, but be thankful for the hard things in life. Be thankful for the things that come through work and sacrifice, those are the things that will truly last. Not because you or I did it, but because it was Christ who did it. 1 Cor 3:13 "each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is."

Pray for those who are false teachers, and pray for those who have itching ears that wish to hear there false teaching. 

Pray that you will be ready in season and our of season.