Exploring His Wonders
Friday, July 3, 2009
Better Believer
The past week has been grace upon grace, blessing upon blessing, and I LOVE IT!
Dierks Bentley just released a new album not too long ago, and one of the songs on it is called "Better Believer" and it is really convicting. How much have I been given, when in comparison I gave little.
Life is seen more clearly through our tears
Cause we all find some faith
When we face our fears
When my life's goin like I want
God becomes an after thought
And I start trying to build my Heaven here
A better believer would look to the skies
And shout "hallelujah" with tears in his eyes
Open his heart and start givin it all away
When I take a hard look at myself
And count my blessings I can't but help
But wonder if there's been some kind of mistake
This life of mine should belong to a better believer
All we really need in life is love
And in my time I've had more than enough
But some days I'm not satisfied
It happens to me all the time
I look around instead of looking up
A better believer would look to the skies
And shout "hallelujah" with tears in his eyes
Open his heart and start givin it all away
When I take a hard look at myself
And count my blessings I can't but help
But wonder if there's been some kind of mistake
This life of mine should belong to a better believer
With all I've got to be thankful for
I should be doing so much more
I know
So my application, and my offer to you is to live your life to the fullest, making the biggest impact using the talents God has given you. Don't be discouraged, take heart, He is God alone.
You’re the only God
Whose power none can contend
You’re the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You’re the only God
Who’s worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that’s just the way it is
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
He's Not Finished With Me Yet
My definition of actively waiting is that while I am waiting for God's clear direction in my life, I keep myself busy with what it is in front of me.
A song that really helps me be at peace with this is by Brandon Heath.
Brandon Heath-Wait and See
I was born in Tennessee
Late July humidity
Doctor said I was lucky to be alive
I’ve been trouble since the day that I got here
Trouble till the day that I disappear
That’ll be the day that I finally get it right
There is hope for me yet
Because God won’t forget
All the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see
He’s not finished with me yet
I never really was that good in school
I talked too much, broke the rules
Teacher thought I was hopeless fool alright
I don’t know how but I made it through
It’s one of those things that you’ve gotta do
But I always had a knack for telling the truth
There is hope for me yet
Because God won’t forget
All the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see
He’s not finished with me yet
Still wondering why I’m here
Still wrestling with my fear
But oh, He’s up to something
And the farther on I go
I’ve seen enough to know
That I’m, not here for nothing
He’s up to something
So now’s my time to be a man
Follow my heart as far as I can
No telling where I’m ending up tonight
I never slow down or so it seems
But singing my heart it’s one of my dreams
All I gotta do is hold on tight
There is hope for me yet
Because God won’t forget
All the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see
He’s not finished with me yet
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Patience Pays Off
This is a slight segue, but I found the Warren Wiersbe quote to be really amazing.
Today's Truth
James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." (NIV)
Friend to Friend
Patience is not one of my greatest strengths. In fact, I tend to live each day with a schedule in mind, an agenda by which to live that day and several goals I need to meet before the day's end. God does have a sense of humor. I can't tell you how many times my schedule falls apart, the agenda is completely forgotten and I have to move today's goals to tomorrow. I am learning that when God wants to build a certain quality in my life, He puts me in the opposite circumstance. For example, if God wants me to be more patient, He arranges the hours and minutes of my day in ways that demand patience.
What is patience? To be patient is to have the ability to endure, but it doesn't stop there. Patience must also have the capacity to be wronged and not retaliate. In other words, patience is love persevering and love waiting. We are not only to be patient in the way we face difficult situations but in our relationships as well. That just about covers life, doesn't it?
One of the most powerful bible passages on patience and perseverance is found in the book of James. "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." Do you want to be blessed? Stand firm in your trial. Do you want to be rewarded? Stand firm in that tough circumstance. Be patient -- because patience really does pay off. God promises blessings and rewards to those who persevere and stand firm in hard times, but the reason we can stand firm is because He loves us unconditionally and promises to walk with us through every dark moment life will bring. Nothing touches our life that does not pass through God's hand, with His permission.
Remember the bible story of the man named Job? Job was a faithful servant of God, strong in his faith and unwavering in his obedience to God. Satan didn't like it. In fact, he went to God and asked permission to test Job. I love that truth! The devil had to go to God like an errand boy in order to get permission to touch His child, Job. Satan was convinced that if Job lost everything God had given him - his health, his family, his possessions - if Job lost everything, he would curse God and follow Satan. God told the serpent to give it his best shot, convinced that Job would persevere. Satan stripped Job of his health, his possessions, his wealth and his family -- everything Job held dear. Job stood firm.
Every trial must come through His love but every trial has a purpose. Every pain has a purpose, every ordeal contains a seed of victory and there is a promise for every problem you and I will ever face. The psalmist writes, "The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy." (Psalm 28:7)
Patience pays off in many ways, but one of the greatest rewards of patience is joy, a deeply-rooted confidence that God is in control. Warren Wiersbe writes, "when God permits his children to go through the furnace, He keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat!" God will never let us face more than we can handle with His help. Hebrews 12:12 says it so well, "So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs." I have been there, done that and can relate to a weary heart and shaky legs. Can't you?
Patsy Clairmont shares the true story about her son, Jason. When he was seven, she sent him off to school one day. After a little while, there was a knock at the door and when Patsy opened the door, it was Jason. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I've quit school" he said. "Why have you quit school, Jason?" she demanded. Jason said, "Well, it was too long, it was too hard and it was too boring. And I didn't like a lot of it!" Patsy responded, "Jason, you have just described life. Get back on the bus!" When God sees patience at work in your life, He is pleased by your choice to "get back on the bus" in obedience and in faith.
An evangelist told the story of his friend who, during the depression, lost a job, a fortune, a wife and a home, but he held onto his faith because it was all he had left. One day, he stopped to watch some men building a stone church. One of the workers was chiseling a triangular piece of rock. "What are you going to do with that?" asked the friend. The workman said, "Do you see that little opening way up there near the spire? Well, I'm shaping this down here so that it will fit up there." Tears filled the eyes of the broken man as he walked away. It seemed that God had spoken through the workman to explain the trials of his life." God is using the trials here on earth to refine and purify us. In Colossians 1:11, the apostle Paul writes, "God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient!"
No matter where you are today, where you have been or what you are facing tomorrow, be patient, knowing your God will strengthen you to stand firm.
Let's Pray
Father, please forgive me when I am impatient. Help me to see You at work in the trial and choose to depend on Your strength instead of my own. Help me to see Your purpose and plan but even if I can't understand it all, help me to stand firm in faith. Lord, make me more patient so that others will see You in me.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
-Mary Southerland
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Unmovable
I have acted out
I have questioned Sovereignty
And had my share of doubt
And though sometimes my prayers feel like
They're bouncing off the sky
The hand I hold won't let me go
And is the reason why...
This is a near perfect example of the way my life had been. Never feeling secure in the hand of my Savior, doubting His ability to hear and answer my prayers. Yet through it all, He never let go of me, and has taught me wonders anew.
[Chorus:]
I will stumble
I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes
I will face heartache
But I will not be moved
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
I will not be moved
My search for the Christian university that the Lord is wanting me to attend has only reinforced that He is the ultimate planner and director of my life. While I in my own strength will make mistakes, in Him, I will never be moved anywhere that He has not already prepared me to go.
Bitterness has plagued my heart
Many times before
My life has been like broken glass
And I have kept the score
Of all my shattered dreams and though it seemed
That I was far too gone
My brokenness helped me to see
It's grace I'm standing on
It would be incredibly easy for me to harbor an untold amount of bitterness in my heart, but I know that I walk in too much of His grace for that. In His grace, I have been given the ability to forgive, forget, and move forward with my life. I am indebted to my Savior forever for the forgiveness of my sins.
And the chaos in my life
Has been a badge I've worn
Though I have been torn
I will not be moved
(Lyrics Copyright 2008; Natalie Grant)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Identifying with Christ
I walked over to the KFC/A&W across the street and ordered an old fashioned root beer float. I sat there, staring out the window, and pondering my life, and wondering what in the world was in store for me. On my way out, I met a young lady named Abby, and we had a nice conversation.
Later that night we were at the Little Texas concert and amid the country/pop songs they were playing, they played one that while I had heard it before, I never really listened to it, the part that really struck me was this part:
"And I got a peaceful, easy feeling
And I know you won't let me down
'Cause I'm already standing on the ground
I get this feeling I may know you
As a lover and a friend
But this voice keeps whispering
In my other ear,
Tells me
I may never see you again "
There are people God sends in our lives for a reason, some stay for a while, some stay forever, but they are all there for one purpose or another. Sometimes we choose to ignore them, or not give them credit, but this isn't one of those times.
Sunday night, full of questions, questions I couldn't answer, and questions I was afraid to ask. Instead of sucking it up, I walked away. I got in my car, and I drove away. Two hours later, I got a phone call from Abby, and began what would turn into a all night phone conversation.
If this were a game of battleship, this was the game winning question: "Why didn't you mention you were a Christian before I did?" I paused, then stuttered through a response, and we moved on. But that question kept coming back to me this whole week. I know I am a child of the King, and that I belong to Him. I also know I am called to be a witness for him in ALL of the world. So why didn't I? What kept me from doing that?
Pride.
Is this a confession? Yes.
Throughout my life, I've made decisions, choices that will live with me for the rest of my life, and consequenses that I have to deal with. This note is for you, my public apology for the way I have acted in regards to my beautiful Savior. My failed witness in this way for Him to you. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Abby, for asking that question that pierced so deep, yet helped so much.
How often have we denied our Christ either publicly or privately? How it must grieve him when we put our personal interests, or feelings, or agenda's above His soverign will.
James 4:17 says "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
I KNEW I was a a Christ-bearer, a Christian, and I KNEW it was my calling from Christ to be identified with Him in serving Him, but I failed to do it because of my personal pride. I sinned. I didn't simply forget, I don't have an excuse, and for that, I ask forgiveness. Both from God, and from my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
My application, through all of this, is to trust Him for further guidance in my life, and to be His, and to openly identify myself as His, because he already paid the price.
If there's one thing you guys can take from this note, its this: Live your identity with Christ, and follow His will. Unashamedly, for his grace, is sufficient!
God Bless You guys!
In Him,
Brad
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Uncomfortable Grace
A note on life, and what God is teaching me.
Sunday morning my pastor preached on how life falls apart without Jesus, and how Jesus holds everything together. He used this clip as a sermon illustration:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
I had no idea how much God was wanting to teach me about Him and my dependency on Him.
• That Jesus, by definition, is the source of everything
• He holds everything together
• Salvation come by dependency on Christ
• Christlikeness equals growing in dependency
• It is the Spirit’s role to help you be more dependent
• You can do nothing apart from dependency
• God loves dependency
Jesus is full of infinite power. Our problem is not that he is insufficient; our problem is that we are too self-sufficient! And the sooner we realize that we need his help, the better.
This week, He has taught me this:
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." (James 1:2)
The way we respond to difficulty reveals what is important to us.
How much more would we rather remain comfortable than Holy, or affirmed by people than to live in a way that is pleasing to Him.
Lord forgive me for many times when I am dissatisfied with your grace, and give way to thinking my way is better than your way.
Even chaos is ruled by the God of grace. What does the response of our hearts to difficulty reveal about what is actually functionally ruling our hearts?
Perhaps we do not take joy in the face of difficulty because our agenda for our life is different than the agenda of our Redeemer.
How high on our values system is a life that in Gods eyes is holy?
It is only when I remain under the heat of those difficulties that I begin to recieve the transforming grace that is the purpose of these difficulties.
But I must be careful to not let bad attitudes creep into my life and bring me down, for when I do. I begin to question the goodness of God and to question if He is as good as the Bible says he is. This gives me an attitude of impatience and irritability. These attitudes move into bad habits and those habits turn into a backing away from Gods call to me . I begin to feel like my prayer isn't doing anything and back away from the daily reading of His word. This gives me reasons to not attend weekly worship services or small group studies. I then back away from that fixed direction and firm purpose God has established for my life, resulting in a coldness to Christ and an acceptance of the distance between me and my Redeemer.
"And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be(I) perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James1:3)
Steadfastness is a call even in moments of difficulty, so that the grace of testing may have its full effect so that we may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. Your Redeemer will not quit until you are in full possession of everything He deemed to give you when he sent his son to live and die and rise again. There will be a day when you stand before Him and lack nothing and will be completely and fully formed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
However, I am not there yet. So the work of refinement will go on. I will encounter things I did not wish for as a part of Gods grace to transform me.
Therefore, I will count it all joy, He will work in the small and large moments to complete that work of transforming grace.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Trusting in His Plan
I guess I thought I would never experience having those you trust explicitly to not only reject you, but to take it a step further and to slander you. Boy, was I ever wrong.
I am very grateful to the Pastors, Elders, and Friends who have taken the time to listen to me and to give me sound advice. Thank you guys! God has truly blessed me through the people He has placed in my life.
Here are the things that God has taught me through what has happened so far:
Why is it that we strive so often for spirituality and piety but NOT righteousness? Often we strive to look “good” before others, but make compromises in other aspects of our lives. Righteousness is who you are and what you do in the dark, if we are afraid to have the darkness exposed, should we not reconsider the pathway we have chosen?
Anger
Ephesians 4:26 says that we are to not let the sun go down on our anger.
I think it is important to realize that simply ignoring a matter, or letting it brew inside of us will never make anything better.
Proverbs 29:22 says “A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression. ”
When we become angry with someone, our sinful nature causes an emotional reaction, and makes us want to retaliate. When we let our anger control us, we hurt others.
Gossip
Proverbs 16:28-30 “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good. He who winks with his eye is plotting perversity; he who purses his lips is bent on evil.”
One of the ways anger reacts is by spreading gossip (either true or untrue) about the other party. The Bible speaks very strongly against those who participate in gossip. Not only is it harmful, it fails to work towards resolving the situation in a Christlike manner.
Proverbs 11:12,13 “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.”
It is unhelpful to discuss a matter with anyone not directly involved with the problem or solution. If you are not comfortable with dealing with those involved individually, ask God to help give you the courage and strength to take the steps necessary for forgiveness.
God’s Call
Luke 6:27-38 ‘’The Lord has called us as His people, by His name. This means that we should be living for Him. We are His representatives, and this is what he has called us to do: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others, as you would have them do to you. ‘’
‘’If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicket. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Isn’t that wonderful? Not only has the Lord called us to love those who hate us, he says He will bless us for doing so.
I have discovered that there are people that I love that don’t respect or appreciate my love or care for them. But, I’m not going to stop loving them or giving to them. God has called me to love others because He first loved me. How selfish would it be to only worry about how it was affecting me, and not all of those involved?
My application for this life lesson is that I will live my life “Coram deo” (Before the face of God) In the presence of God, and under the authority of God. Ultimately, it is only His view of the matters at hand that will matter. I should not concern myself with empty gossip, but rather concentrate on the things that He has called me to do.