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I wanna be _______________

I wanna be _______________

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

What do you wanna’ be? Seems like a simple question, but complexities lie in it. Sadly our impulsive answer would probably be “rich”. We want what this parable of the rich young ruler had. We are wired and fed by that desire by all this world teaches. Wealth will fulfill all your hearts desires, fame and fortune come with lots of money. We will become noticed for our success, and seemingly held in high regard, for we now have what others want. We begin to think money will cure all our problems; the success of Lotteries is the evidence of our worship of money. I too would like nothing more that to live debt free; I am a slave to the lender and that burden demands so much of my time…..but if I was rich…..yea, it is real easy to go down that road.

There are many roads to go down in this parable of the rich young ruler. He seeming knew all the answers to the questions Christ asked. You can see him puffing out his chest in pride, until Christ hit him where it hurt. He held, and worshipped his money and possessions much more that he desired to “become perfect”. His had greater love for his wealth that he ever had for his Savior. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (ESV) He didn’t truly wanna’ be perfect, he just wanted to appear perfect. His heart was bound to the wealth he had attained; yet he never understood that God had given it to him; what would he do with what he had been given; where did his heart lie when tested? Can you imagine the life and testimony he could have had if he given all he had to the poor and followed Christ? The outpouring of love would have been used to glorify God to many, but he walked away sad in the realization of the worship of his idol.

What do you wanna be? I wanna be the best disciple I can be for my time remaining here on earth. I want that discipleship to pour into my duties as a husband, father, employer, friend, and all that God places in my circle of influence. I want God to continue this sanctification process in me in the pursuit to make me more like His Son. I know it will be painful at times, but I know that He knows what he is doing. I wanna be a light in a dark world. I wanna be the person that God uses to encourage you to join me on this eternal journey. I wanna be the person who bows at His feet on that day, and hears these words; “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:21)

Every Moment

23 Jan

Every Moment

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I have been writing this week in Philippians, and I was excited to know one of my favorite statements by Paul would likely be where I found myself today. Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. There are so many roads to travel down with Paul in his example of a life focused on Christ. Paul was writing this letter from prison; prison could bring death; and all that mattered to him was that Christ was glorified in his life or in his death. Paul lived a life so incredibly sold out for Christ that he saw God’s hand in his every situation of every day. He knew he was exactly where God wanted him for that very moment, and he poured himself into drawing the attention to Christ for every moment. There was no difference, no matter to Paul, if he lived or died as long as Christ was exalted and glorified in it.

One of my daily devo’s came to my inbox with Matthew 6:34 above this morning. Matthew 6 is one of my favorite passages of scripture, where Christ lays out so much of an application of how to live our lives for him. I right now have some really big things demanding my thoughts, and it is easy to become distracted from the worry about the days and things that MAY come. I saw the similarity in Paul’s statement and Christ’s words to us. A life focused on the present situation, and serving Christ in that situation, is a life dedicated to the moment with God. This life produces a lack of concern for the next day; for the next day may not come. James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. How many moments with and for Christ are lost in the worry of the tomorrow that may never come.

Satan is the author of these doubts and worries of your tomorrows. He slides into your mind and steals your daily focus; he replaces it with an anxiety of the unknown future; he steals your joy for the day and replaces it with the worry of tomorrow. John 10:10a The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. When you feel those anxieties press, deny them through the power of prayer with a heart for God. Claim the day and the moment for your life to be focused on drawing glory to Christ in that moment. This will likely prove to be a continual process throughout each day as Satan continues to try and distract you. This will prove to be a day closer to Christ as a result of your seeking Him in every moment for focus and strength. In those moments your eyes are opened, and you may see and hear the voice and plans He has for your for that time with and for Him. John 10:10b. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. This abundant life is a life dedicated to glorifying Christ in every moment of your day with Him.

Stresses and Strains

07 Mar

I am under a huge stress and strain myself right now. Being stretched to my mental limits in many ways, being pulled down many roads, many of them difficult in ways I cannot describe here. All of these culminate in how I feel every day. By the end of the day, I am mentally spent, and many time retreat to bed. But the glue, the Enabler, is right here every morning very early with God. If it were not for my glue, I would be back to my old ways, back to how I dealt with the stresses of life. This time every day enables me to recharge to face the battles and enemies of the day with the strength He has given me to start the day. You can have it too!

Stresses and Strains

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

We all feel and deal with the pressures of life every day. These pressures effect how we handle every situation that we encounter every moment of every day. The stress of the first pressure wells into the next encounter, and may well into the remainder of the day depending on the stress of the first situation. It falls into the “more to see, than what you see” understanding. Much of what arises is the forks in the road, which deflect our well thought out plans so it seems. Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. God’s direction for our lives most likely will take a different path than we would intend, but that will enable us to reach where He intends, that which we alone could not attain.

Satan will try to thwart God’s plans for us by many means, both by evil and many ways that which seem to make us feel good about ourselves, but do they take our eyes off Christ? Satan is the pinnacle of deception, but always motivated to “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). The key to discerning the deception is spending time with God and taking all things to God. The more time you spend, the greater the discernment you are given. Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. When we take all our trials of life to Him in prayer and His Word, He will open our eyes, and we will hear Him in our hearts. All things happen for a reason, and they all pass through His hands. Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

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