No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled, and content with being loved by Me alone - with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me, to having an intensely personal and unique relationship with Me that I have planed for you. You will never be truly united with another until you are united with Me, exclusive of anyone or anything else, exclusive of any desires or longings.
I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing, one you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you. You just keep watching Me, accepting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I Am. Keep listening and learning the things I tell you, in your heart and in My Word, and just be willing to wait. That's all.
Don't be anxious; don't worry; don't look around at the things that you think you want. Just keep looking off and away up to Me or you'll miss what I want to show you.
Then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you would dream of or imagine possible. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready. I am working even this moment to have both or you ready at the same time. Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life that I have prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me and is, thus, perfect love.
And, Dear One, I want you to have this most wonderful love. I want you to see, in the flesh, a picture of your relationship with me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, perfection, and love that I offer you with Myself. Know that I love you utterly. Believe it, and be satisfied.
Unknown
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
God's Timing
"He has made everything beutiful in its time..."
Sometimes we feel like we have been waiting forever for God to do something new and fresh in our lives, but God still has not responded. While we cannot understand why, we must trust Him and trust His faithfulness. He is at work in a different way than we understand or expect.
I have asked God many times to speed things up for me, high school, the days until my driver's test at the DMV, college, getting married. It is difficult for us to wait on God, but it is in these times of waiting that God is able to work a process in us that refines our faith. If we are not patient, we become discouraged and lose hope. Yet, if you have been patient, when the day you've been waiting for arrives, God will have worked all the details out beautifully, and it will be more exciting and fullfilling than you dreamed!
There will be good times, and there will be hard times. Second Timothy 2:13 says that even if we are faithless, He will remain faithful. It is God's very nature to prove Himself to you, to come through for you. God will not let you down. His grace will sustain you. Trust in Him.
Sometimes we feel like we have been waiting forever for God to do something new and fresh in our lives, but God still has not responded. While we cannot understand why, we must trust Him and trust His faithfulness. He is at work in a different way than we understand or expect.
I have asked God many times to speed things up for me, high school, the days until my driver's test at the DMV, college, getting married. It is difficult for us to wait on God, but it is in these times of waiting that God is able to work a process in us that refines our faith. If we are not patient, we become discouraged and lose hope. Yet, if you have been patient, when the day you've been waiting for arrives, God will have worked all the details out beautifully, and it will be more exciting and fullfilling than you dreamed!
There will be good times, and there will be hard times. Second Timothy 2:13 says that even if we are faithless, He will remain faithful. It is God's very nature to prove Himself to you, to come through for you. God will not let you down. His grace will sustain you. Trust in Him.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Seasons Of Grace
Ecclesiastes 3
There is a time for everthing, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a atime to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
As Christians, our lives are not always going to be easy. There will be seasons of joy, seasons of sorrow, seasons of celebration, and seasons of frustration. We haven't been promied comfort, but we have been promised peace. Even when we cannot sense Gods's Presensce. His grace still sustains us.
Inevitably, we'll all expericnce a lifeless time in our walk with the Lord. This is probably the most difficult time in the life of a Christian. "Spiritual Winter" can happen as a result of certain events in our life, or it can be because we have become lazy in our service to God. Although we are alive in Christ, we feel dead. He seems far away. We've lost our spiritual hunger. Living for Jesus seems more like a duty than a privilege. We must remember that just because wer're having a difficult time does not mean we are bad Christians. It means we are ready for growth.
During those seasons if you are faithful to contnue caring for your soul, watering and nourishing it with the Word, through prayer, and by the Spirit, you will once again bloom! You may feel lifeless inside, but the truth is that this is just a season. There is still life inside you; God is still working inside you.
1 Peter 5:10
In His kindess God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while he will restore, support, and stregthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
During some seasons of our life, we may not be able to see very far ahead of us. Everything appears foggy, and we are not sure of what's happening around us. It feels dangerous, dark, and lonesome.
Just because we are Christians doesn't mean that we will avoid trouble and suffering. We have an enemy, Satan, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Suffering can come in different form, such as depression, discouragement, boredom, or loneliness. As discouraging as the clouds of suffering are, we can keep in mind that God is still working in us.
I recently heard a story about a man who was visiting a goldsmith. He watched as the man picked up the crucible containing the gold with large tongs, and then held the gold in the middle of the fire. Every few minutes the goldsmith would remove the gold from the fire, look at it, and then place it back in the fire. After watching this routine several times, the visitor asked, "How long do you keep the gold in the fire?"
The goldsmith reponded, "Until I can see my face reflected in it."
Although our suffering seems unbearable at the time if you look in 1 Peter 6-7 you will see that there is a greater plan in progress. God never causes trouble to happen to us; He is always there to help us though it. But His greatest concern is not our contentment with life (although He wants to bless us) but that we are being refined until His image is reflected in us.
You could say that God uses hard times and difficulties to refine us in the same way that we saw the goldsmith refine the gold. Times of suffering that you may experience in your life are opportunities you have to be made more like God.
There is a time for everthing, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a atime to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
As Christians, our lives are not always going to be easy. There will be seasons of joy, seasons of sorrow, seasons of celebration, and seasons of frustration. We haven't been promied comfort, but we have been promised peace. Even when we cannot sense Gods's Presensce. His grace still sustains us.
Inevitably, we'll all expericnce a lifeless time in our walk with the Lord. This is probably the most difficult time in the life of a Christian. "Spiritual Winter" can happen as a result of certain events in our life, or it can be because we have become lazy in our service to God. Although we are alive in Christ, we feel dead. He seems far away. We've lost our spiritual hunger. Living for Jesus seems more like a duty than a privilege. We must remember that just because wer're having a difficult time does not mean we are bad Christians. It means we are ready for growth.
During those seasons if you are faithful to contnue caring for your soul, watering and nourishing it with the Word, through prayer, and by the Spirit, you will once again bloom! You may feel lifeless inside, but the truth is that this is just a season. There is still life inside you; God is still working inside you.
1 Peter 5:10
In His kindess God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while he will restore, support, and stregthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
During some seasons of our life, we may not be able to see very far ahead of us. Everything appears foggy, and we are not sure of what's happening around us. It feels dangerous, dark, and lonesome.
Just because we are Christians doesn't mean that we will avoid trouble and suffering. We have an enemy, Satan, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Suffering can come in different form, such as depression, discouragement, boredom, or loneliness. As discouraging as the clouds of suffering are, we can keep in mind that God is still working in us.
I recently heard a story about a man who was visiting a goldsmith. He watched as the man picked up the crucible containing the gold with large tongs, and then held the gold in the middle of the fire. Every few minutes the goldsmith would remove the gold from the fire, look at it, and then place it back in the fire. After watching this routine several times, the visitor asked, "How long do you keep the gold in the fire?"
The goldsmith reponded, "Until I can see my face reflected in it."
Although our suffering seems unbearable at the time if you look in 1 Peter 6-7 you will see that there is a greater plan in progress. God never causes trouble to happen to us; He is always there to help us though it. But His greatest concern is not our contentment with life (although He wants to bless us) but that we are being refined until His image is reflected in us.
You could say that God uses hard times and difficulties to refine us in the same way that we saw the goldsmith refine the gold. Times of suffering that you may experience in your life are opportunities you have to be made more like God.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Road Less Traveled
Traveling on a journey involves deciding which roads to take. The same is true for your life. Jesus said that the road that leads to destruction is broad, but the road that leads to life is narrow. What road are you traveling on? Or are you like me and sometimes you are sitting on the fence betweeen the roads. Everything we do, every decision we make leads the way to what road we are traveling on Friends; Boyfriends; Drugs; Alcohol; Smoking; Music; Movies; TV; Computers; School; Parents; Church; Language; Devotional life; Attitude. All of these things play a huge roll in what road we are traveling. Two of these things that I struggle with are, TV/Movies and Attitude.
What we listen to with our ears and watch with our eyes is what will occupy our thoughts and our minds. And what occupies our minds is what influences our speech and our actions. As a believer it should be impossible to watch anything that blasphemes God by their profanity and indecent subject matter.
An attitude is a state of mind or feeling. Your attitude is your mental outlook on life. God desires that not only our actions be Christlike, but our attitudes as well. We can be physically foreced to conform to Christian standards by our parents, youth pastor, or teachers, but that does not make us Christians. If our attitudes are rebellious, disobedient, defiant, stubborn, or quarrelsome, our hearts are not right with God. A Christlike attitude exhibits those qualities that characterize Christ: righteousness, holiness, meekness, gentleness, kindness, and love.
Do you need an attitude adjustment? What road have you been traveling down? If your life choices have kept you on the broad road, what can you do to get onto the narrow road? I've been strattling the fence, which is a scary raod. I know whats right but when I get frustrated I seem to give up on the narrow road. When I feel like life isn't the way I want it, I get angry with God. And get the wrong attitude of: "Well if all this trying to do good all the time never pays off then why should I try so hard?" I often catch myself with this attitude. And I have learned that when I start feeling this way it is just plain selfish. Now when those feeling flood my mind I force myself to think of all the blessings in my life and how those were results of living life on the narrow road. Temptations and struggles will come our way. But it is how we chose to deal with them that will lead us on the path of our journey!! :)
What we listen to with our ears and watch with our eyes is what will occupy our thoughts and our minds. And what occupies our minds is what influences our speech and our actions. As a believer it should be impossible to watch anything that blasphemes God by their profanity and indecent subject matter.
An attitude is a state of mind or feeling. Your attitude is your mental outlook on life. God desires that not only our actions be Christlike, but our attitudes as well. We can be physically foreced to conform to Christian standards by our parents, youth pastor, or teachers, but that does not make us Christians. If our attitudes are rebellious, disobedient, defiant, stubborn, or quarrelsome, our hearts are not right with God. A Christlike attitude exhibits those qualities that characterize Christ: righteousness, holiness, meekness, gentleness, kindness, and love.
Do you need an attitude adjustment? What road have you been traveling down? If your life choices have kept you on the broad road, what can you do to get onto the narrow road? I've been strattling the fence, which is a scary raod. I know whats right but when I get frustrated I seem to give up on the narrow road. When I feel like life isn't the way I want it, I get angry with God. And get the wrong attitude of: "Well if all this trying to do good all the time never pays off then why should I try so hard?" I often catch myself with this attitude. And I have learned that when I start feeling this way it is just plain selfish. Now when those feeling flood my mind I force myself to think of all the blessings in my life and how those were results of living life on the narrow road. Temptations and struggles will come our way. But it is how we chose to deal with them that will lead us on the path of our journey!! :)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Adventuring with God
Adventuring with God - It is something that is different for each soul. No snowflake follows the same path from heaven, and no person walks the same road with God Our journey is as unique as our thumbprints, which makes for some uncharted territory. This allows for some amazing dilemmas and unexpected joy, daily benefits, and overwhelming mercies along the way.
The Fathers Heart
God cherishes His daughters. That is His heart toward you; your Father God loves you so much. Did you know that you are prefect in His sight, that you are a masterpiece to Him? Part of my personality is that I become excited when something turns out good; I'm all fired up. Well, do you know that God took so much time and care in creating you, that when you were born, He was fired up over you?
Usually we focus so much on the outside, but God is more interested in our heart and our life than in our outward appearance. When God molded you and formed you, He also put dreams inside of you, dreams yet to be fulfilled. He put desires in you. He created you so perfect in His eyes.
One of the aspects about God that I love so much is that He is El Roi, "...the God who sees..." (Gen. 16:13). He's the God who knows everything, and He still loves us so intimately. He desires that we walk in His Presence and that we communicate with Him. He's not interested in rhyming prayers or hearing us use big, religious-sounding words when we pray. He wants the truth; He wants reality. He wants us to tell Him what's going on and how we feel.
Every time I feel insecure, every time I face a scary situation, every time circumstances seem to be out of control, I am holding His hand. And he best part is that I know He's holding me.
...He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart... Isaiah 40:11
Usually we focus so much on the outside, but God is more interested in our heart and our life than in our outward appearance. When God molded you and formed you, He also put dreams inside of you, dreams yet to be fulfilled. He put desires in you. He created you so perfect in His eyes.
One of the aspects about God that I love so much is that He is El Roi, "...the God who sees..." (Gen. 16:13). He's the God who knows everything, and He still loves us so intimately. He desires that we walk in His Presence and that we communicate with Him. He's not interested in rhyming prayers or hearing us use big, religious-sounding words when we pray. He wants the truth; He wants reality. He wants us to tell Him what's going on and how we feel.
Every time I feel insecure, every time I face a scary situation, every time circumstances seem to be out of control, I am holding His hand. And he best part is that I know He's holding me.
...He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart... Isaiah 40:11
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