"Your Heart's Desires"
Esther 8:1-10:3
I Corinthians 12:27-13:13
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24
"Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will."
Just a simple thought today of placing your heart in the hand of God. What does it mean to be delighted with the Lord? I'm thinking that it's not something that's swayed by circumstance. It's allowing your heart to be filled with love for Him. It's living a life of trust. It's being so in love with him you can't help but say, "God, I'm excited about what you're doing in my life!" even when it's uncomfortable.
What are your heart's desires? I'm finding that as I begin to delight in the Lord, it's not a matter of him giving me what I want, it's a matter of me realizing that I desire what He wants. The closer we draw to Him, the more he places desires within us that align to his will. The passions that motivate us come into alignment with what he has set out to do in us and through us. My delight transforms my desires.
I'm a dreamer. I have all kinds of crazy plans and big things I'd like to do and see accomplished. There's a purpose for that. As I delight myself in the Lord, I see how he's placing proper perspective to all I have in my heart.
Sometimes we think if we commit everything to the Lord, and trust him to help us do it, it will be accomplished immediately in the way we imagined. Rarely is that the case. In the process of helping us in what we do, he has a way of molding us, purifying our motivations, our desires, our burdens and our vision.
There may be times we fear that if we commit everything to the Lord, He would never fulfill the desires. This fear comes from a lack of understanding the nature of the God who loves us so much. Matthew 7:9-11 says, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
It is paradoxical. In order to see our desires fulfilled we must completely die to the desires. We can't even be "mostly dead" to them. We have to place them COMPLETELY in his hands. We have to delight in him. That is only way we will find fulfillment. We must die to our dreams in order to live them out.
It's interesting that one of the most well known scripture readings is in today's reading as well. It's I Cor. 13... the "love" chapter. It can basically be outlined as this: Love is dying to self. All of us desperately need love, yet the only way to experience it to die to the need.
As difficult as it sounds, it's really a great place to be. Living in the freedom of knowing your heart is in the hands of the One who has all power, all knowledge, and loves you so much. Trust him today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Showing posts with label Desire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Desire. Show all posts
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
5.27.11 "Sin as God Sees It"
"Sin as God Sees It"
2 Samuel 12:1-31
John 16:1-33
Psalm 119:71-80
Proverbs 16:4-5
David, the King of Israel, the man after God's own heart, has sinned. He allowed his eyes to wander, he saw a wife of another man, had an affair, and to hide it all, he had the man killed. How could this be? How could this great man get so far off course?
2 Samuel 12 is when King David is called to account for his actions. It's fascinating how the Lord, through the prophet Nathan describes David's sin. Here's the story:
"There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest." (2 Samuel 12:1-4)
This story of injustice angered David, as it would all of us. How could anyone think of doing such a thing??
Nathan's rebuke brings it home: "Then Nathan said to David, "you are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed?" (2 Sam. 12:7-9)
In the context of this story is a perspective that is important for us to note. This story was an analogy of how God saw David's sin. The rich man represented David. The "guest" represents desire that shows up unannounced at times. Often this opens the door to the arrival of temptation. Temptation wants us to feel that we can't meet this need with what we have. It tells us we must cheat. If we give in, we go outside of God's plan and God's blessing to meet our desires in our own way, and thus, we despise the word of the Lord.
A very key phrase that should not be overlooked is: "And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more." This expresses the all-sufficiency of God. He can, and will, supply EVERY need.
So often we are lured into sin because we allow ourself to entertain the thought of "If i do it God's way, I'll never get what I want." Then we dive into the short-cut and the cheat of the sin. The truth is that when we walk in obedience and trust him to meet the needs, and for him to place his desires in us, we experience the bounty of his blessing.
Sin, from God's perspective, is so foolish! He has everything we need at his disposal, and yet we shut ourselves off to him to pursue fleeting desires and things we feel we "deserve", and in doing that we lose out on so much!
The next time that the "guest" of desire appears at your door, trust God. Trust that He will meet your need, and that he will give you the strength to follow HIS plan!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
2 Samuel 12:1-31
John 16:1-33
Psalm 119:71-80
Proverbs 16:4-5
David, the King of Israel, the man after God's own heart, has sinned. He allowed his eyes to wander, he saw a wife of another man, had an affair, and to hide it all, he had the man killed. How could this be? How could this great man get so far off course?
2 Samuel 12 is when King David is called to account for his actions. It's fascinating how the Lord, through the prophet Nathan describes David's sin. Here's the story:
"There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest." (2 Samuel 12:1-4)
This story of injustice angered David, as it would all of us. How could anyone think of doing such a thing??
Nathan's rebuke brings it home: "Then Nathan said to David, "you are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. I gave you your master's house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. Why, then, have you despised the word of the Lord and done this horrible deed?" (2 Sam. 12:7-9)
In the context of this story is a perspective that is important for us to note. This story was an analogy of how God saw David's sin. The rich man represented David. The "guest" represents desire that shows up unannounced at times. Often this opens the door to the arrival of temptation. Temptation wants us to feel that we can't meet this need with what we have. It tells us we must cheat. If we give in, we go outside of God's plan and God's blessing to meet our desires in our own way, and thus, we despise the word of the Lord.
A very key phrase that should not be overlooked is: "And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more." This expresses the all-sufficiency of God. He can, and will, supply EVERY need.
So often we are lured into sin because we allow ourself to entertain the thought of "If i do it God's way, I'll never get what I want." Then we dive into the short-cut and the cheat of the sin. The truth is that when we walk in obedience and trust him to meet the needs, and for him to place his desires in us, we experience the bounty of his blessing.
Sin, from God's perspective, is so foolish! He has everything we need at his disposal, and yet we shut ourselves off to him to pursue fleeting desires and things we feel we "deserve", and in doing that we lose out on so much!
The next time that the "guest" of desire appears at your door, trust God. Trust that He will meet your need, and that he will give you the strength to follow HIS plan!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
Pastor Greg Lathe
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Saturday, October 2, 2010
10.2.10 "What Are You Hungry For?"
"What Are You Hungry For?"
Isaiah 66:1-24
Philippians 3:4-21
Psalm 74:1-23
Proverbs 24:15-16
Have you ever really been in the mood for pizza? I'm a mood eater. I want to eat what I'm hungry for. It's amazing that what I'm in the mood for isn't really good for me. It's usually fried, grease-laden, and involves some form of cheese.
In Philippians Paul speaks of those who have a similar problem. "For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth." (Phil 3:18-19)
In the same way that it's dangerous to eat only what your hungry for, it's treacherous to live that way spiritually. When we live life only to please our appetite there is a selfishness that begins to take over. Our motivation ceases to be "How can I please Christ?" It becomes "how can I please me? how can I be more comfortable?" This appetite becomes more and more insatiable and the desire for the things of this world increases. This road leads to destruction.
Paul shows us how we must suppress that appetite into what it should be. "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him." (Phil. 3:7-9)
That kind of a thought process doesn't just "happen" to you. It's a discipline of will and consistent denial of fleshly appetites that brings us into alignment with mature Christian living. Paul acknowledges that it is a process. "No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made." (Phil 3:13-16)
So, how has your appetite been? What have you been feeding?
"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead." Phil 3:10
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Isaiah 66:1-24
Philippians 3:4-21
Psalm 74:1-23
Proverbs 24:15-16
Have you ever really been in the mood for pizza? I'm a mood eater. I want to eat what I'm hungry for. It's amazing that what I'm in the mood for isn't really good for me. It's usually fried, grease-laden, and involves some form of cheese.
In Philippians Paul speaks of those who have a similar problem. "For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth." (Phil 3:18-19)
In the same way that it's dangerous to eat only what your hungry for, it's treacherous to live that way spiritually. When we live life only to please our appetite there is a selfishness that begins to take over. Our motivation ceases to be "How can I please Christ?" It becomes "how can I please me? how can I be more comfortable?" This appetite becomes more and more insatiable and the desire for the things of this world increases. This road leads to destruction.
Paul shows us how we must suppress that appetite into what it should be. "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him." (Phil. 3:7-9)
That kind of a thought process doesn't just "happen" to you. It's a discipline of will and consistent denial of fleshly appetites that brings us into alignment with mature Christian living. Paul acknowledges that it is a process. "No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made." (Phil 3:13-16)
So, how has your appetite been? What have you been feeding?
"I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead." Phil 3:10
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Friday, August 20, 2010
8.20.10 "Your Hearts Desires"
"Your Heart's Desires"
Esther 8:1-10:3
I Corinthians 12:27-13:13
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24
"Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will."
Just a simple thought today of placing your heart in the hand of God. What does it mean to be delighted with the Lord? I'm thinking that it's not something that's swayed by circumstance. It's allowing your heart to be filled with love for Him. It's living a life of trust. It's being so in love with him you can't help but say, "God, I'm excited about what you're doing in my life!" even when it's uncomfortable.
What are your heart's desires? I'm finding that as i begin to delight in the Lord, it's not a matter of him giving me what I want, it's a matter of me realizing that I desire what He wants. The closer we draw to Him, the more he places desires within us that align to his will. The passions that motivate us come into alignment with what he has set out to do in us and through us. My delight transforms my desires.
I'm a dreamer. I have all kinds of crazy plans and big things I'd like to do and see accomplished. There's a purpose for that. As I delight myself in the Lord, I see how he's placing proper perspective to all I have in my heart.
Sometimes we think if we commit everything to the Lord, and trust him to help us do it, it will be accomplished immediately in the way we imagined. Rarely is that the case. In the process of helping us in what we do, he has a way of molding us, purifying our motivations, our desires, our burdens and our vision.
There may be times we fear that if we commit everything to the Lord, He would never fulfill the desires. This fear comes from a lack of understanding the nature of the God who loves us so much. Matthew 7:9-11 says, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
It is paradoxical. In order to see our desires fulfilled we must completely die to the desires. We can't even be "mostly dead" to them. We have to place them COMPLETELY in his hands. We have to delight in him. That is only way we will find fulfillment. We must die to our dreams in order to live them out.
It's interesting that one of the most well known scripture readings is in today's reading as well. It's I Cor. 13... the "love" chapter. It can basically be outlined as this: Love is dying to self. All of us desperately need love, yet the only way to experience it to die to the need.
As difficult as it sounds, it's really a great place to be. Living in the freedom of knowing your heart is in the hands of the One who has all power, all knowledge, and loves you so much. Trust him today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ 8
Esther 8:1-10:3
I Corinthians 12:27-13:13
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24
"Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will."
Just a simple thought today of placing your heart in the hand of God. What does it mean to be delighted with the Lord? I'm thinking that it's not something that's swayed by circumstance. It's allowing your heart to be filled with love for Him. It's living a life of trust. It's being so in love with him you can't help but say, "God, I'm excited about what you're doing in my life!" even when it's uncomfortable.
What are your heart's desires? I'm finding that as i begin to delight in the Lord, it's not a matter of him giving me what I want, it's a matter of me realizing that I desire what He wants. The closer we draw to Him, the more he places desires within us that align to his will. The passions that motivate us come into alignment with what he has set out to do in us and through us. My delight transforms my desires.
I'm a dreamer. I have all kinds of crazy plans and big things I'd like to do and see accomplished. There's a purpose for that. As I delight myself in the Lord, I see how he's placing proper perspective to all I have in my heart.
Sometimes we think if we commit everything to the Lord, and trust him to help us do it, it will be accomplished immediately in the way we imagined. Rarely is that the case. In the process of helping us in what we do, he has a way of molding us, purifying our motivations, our desires, our burdens and our vision.
There may be times we fear that if we commit everything to the Lord, He would never fulfill the desires. This fear comes from a lack of understanding the nature of the God who loves us so much. Matthew 7:9-11 says, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
It is paradoxical. In order to see our desires fulfilled we must completely die to the desires. We can't even be "mostly dead" to them. We have to place them COMPLETELY in his hands. We have to delight in him. That is only way we will find fulfillment. We must die to our dreams in order to live them out.
It's interesting that one of the most well known scripture readings is in today's reading as well. It's I Cor. 13... the "love" chapter. It can basically be outlined as this: Love is dying to self. All of us desperately need love, yet the only way to experience it to die to the need.
As difficult as it sounds, it's really a great place to be. Living in the freedom of knowing your heart is in the hands of the One who has all power, all knowledge, and loves you so much. Trust him today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ 8
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
1.26.10 "Let God Connect the Dots"
"Let God Connect the Dots"
Exodus 2:11-3:22
Matthew 17:10-27
Psalm 22:1-18
Proverbs 5:7-14
"God's will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life." - Erwin McManus
There is a great need out there. The Lord desires to use you to meet that need. You may or may not realize it yet, but there are desires in your heart that are already connected to that need.
Moses was raised in the house of the king. It was the good life. However, he felt a strong connection to his Hebrew brothers. "One day, many years later when Moses had grown up and become a man, he went out to visit his fellow Hebrews and saw the terrible conditions they were under." The story continues to tell how he saw an Egyptian mistreat a Hebrew, so he killed the Egyptian. He then goes into hiding in the wilderness.
Moses had a burden for his people, but at that time he had not placed it in the hands of God. He had not gone through the wilderness experience to meet the need in God's strength and timing. Look at the result: the sin of murder.
Beginning in Exodus 3, Moses meets God via the burning bush. This is an incredible experience with the glory and the voice of God. In Ex. 3:7-10 the Lord says, "I have seen the deep sorrows of my people in Egypt, and have heard their pleas for freedom... I have come to deliver them... Now I am going to send you..."
God is now connecting the need of the people to the desire of Moses. In actuality by now, Moses has spent so long in hiding, and he knows the mistakes he's made, that in his mind, he is not the man for the job. "But I'm not the person for a job like that!" Moses exclaimed. ex. 3:11.
As far as Moses was concerned, the dream was dead. Not to God, though. He had placed the desires in Moses' heart long ago. It was now time to connect the dots.
How about you? What desires are in your heart? You could be in many different places. You could be out there in your own strength trying to pursue the desires. You could be running from the mistakes of the past. You may be in the position where you don't even remember the desire anymore. Maybe you're in the place where God is telling you "it's time". You're scared. You don't think you're the one to be obedient.
God will never call you to do something and not give you the strength to accomplish it. No matter where you're at in this journey, give your desires to God. Make yourself wholly available to him. In his time you're going to see HIM connect the dots.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Exodus 2:11-3:22
Matthew 17:10-27
Psalm 22:1-18
Proverbs 5:7-14
"God's will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life." - Erwin McManus
There is a great need out there. The Lord desires to use you to meet that need. You may or may not realize it yet, but there are desires in your heart that are already connected to that need.
Moses was raised in the house of the king. It was the good life. However, he felt a strong connection to his Hebrew brothers. "One day, many years later when Moses had grown up and become a man, he went out to visit his fellow Hebrews and saw the terrible conditions they were under." The story continues to tell how he saw an Egyptian mistreat a Hebrew, so he killed the Egyptian. He then goes into hiding in the wilderness.
Moses had a burden for his people, but at that time he had not placed it in the hands of God. He had not gone through the wilderness experience to meet the need in God's strength and timing. Look at the result: the sin of murder.
Beginning in Exodus 3, Moses meets God via the burning bush. This is an incredible experience with the glory and the voice of God. In Ex. 3:7-10 the Lord says, "I have seen the deep sorrows of my people in Egypt, and have heard their pleas for freedom... I have come to deliver them... Now I am going to send you..."
God is now connecting the need of the people to the desire of Moses. In actuality by now, Moses has spent so long in hiding, and he knows the mistakes he's made, that in his mind, he is not the man for the job. "But I'm not the person for a job like that!" Moses exclaimed. ex. 3:11.
As far as Moses was concerned, the dream was dead. Not to God, though. He had placed the desires in Moses' heart long ago. It was now time to connect the dots.
How about you? What desires are in your heart? You could be in many different places. You could be out there in your own strength trying to pursue the desires. You could be running from the mistakes of the past. You may be in the position where you don't even remember the desire anymore. Maybe you're in the place where God is telling you "it's time". You're scared. You don't think you're the one to be obedient.
God will never call you to do something and not give you the strength to accomplish it. No matter where you're at in this journey, give your desires to God. Make yourself wholly available to him. In his time you're going to see HIM connect the dots.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Thursday, August 20, 2009
8.20.9 "Your Heart's Desires"
"Your Heart's Desires"
Esther 8:1-10:3
I Corinthians 12:27-13:13
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24
"Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will."
Just a simple thought today of placing your heart in the hand of God. What does it mean to be delighted with the Lord? I'm thinking that it's not something that's swayed by circumstance. It's allowing your heart to be filled with love for Him. It's living a life of trust. It's being so in love with him you can't help but say, "God, I'm excited about what you're doing in my life!" even when it's uncomfortable.
What are your heart's desires? I'm finding that as i begin to delight in the Lord, it's not a matter of him giving me what I want, it's a matter of me realizing that I desire what He wants. The closer we draw to Him, the more he places desires within us that align to his will. The passions that motivate us come into alignment with what he has set out to do in us and through us. My delight transforms my desires.
I'm a dreamer. I have all kinds of crazy plans and big things I'd like to do and see accomplished. There's a purpose for that. As I delight myself in the Lord, I see how he's placing proper perspective to all I have in my heart.
Sometimes we think if we commit everything to the Lord, and trust him to help us do it, it will be accomplished immediately in the way we imagined. Rarely is that the case. In the process of helping us in what we do, he has a way of molding us, purifying our motivations, our desires, our burdens and our vision.
There may be times we fear that if we commit everything to the Lord, He would never fulfill the desires. This fear comes from a lack of understanding the nature of the God who loves us so much. Matthew 7:9-11 says, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
It is paradoxical. In order to see our desires fulfilled we must completely die to the desires. We can't even be "mostly dead" to them. We have to place them COMPLETELY in his hands. We have to delight in him. That is only way we will find fulfillment. We must die to our dreams in order to live them out.
It's interesting that one of the most well known scripture readings is in today's reading as well. It's I Cor. 13... the "love" chapter. It can basically be outlined as this: Love is dying to self. All of us desperately need love, yet the only way to experience it to die to the need.
As difficult as it sounds, it's really a great place to be. Living in the freedom of knowing your heart is in the hands of the One who has all power, all knowledge, and loves you so much. Trust him today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Esther 8:1-10:3
I Corinthians 12:27-13:13
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24
"Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will."
Just a simple thought today of placing your heart in the hand of God. What does it mean to be delighted with the Lord? I'm thinking that it's not something that's swayed by circumstance. It's allowing your heart to be filled with love for Him. It's living a life of trust. It's being so in love with him you can't help but say, "God, I'm excited about what you're doing in my life!" even when it's uncomfortable.
What are your heart's desires? I'm finding that as i begin to delight in the Lord, it's not a matter of him giving me what I want, it's a matter of me realizing that I desire what He wants. The closer we draw to Him, the more he places desires within us that align to his will. The passions that motivate us come into alignment with what he has set out to do in us and through us. My delight transforms my desires.
I'm a dreamer. I have all kinds of crazy plans and big things I'd like to do and see accomplished. There's a purpose for that. As I delight myself in the Lord, I see how he's placing proper perspective to all I have in my heart.
Sometimes we think if we commit everything to the Lord, and trust him to help us do it, it will be accomplished immediately in the way we imagined. Rarely is that the case. In the process of helping us in what we do, he has a way of molding us, purifying our motivations, our desires, our burdens and our vision.
There may be times we fear that if we commit everything to the Lord, He would never fulfill the desires. This fear comes from a lack of understanding the nature of the God who loves us so much. Matthew 7:9-11 says, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
It is paradoxical. In order to see our desires fulfilled we must completely die to the desires. We can't even be "mostly dead" to them. We have to place them COMPLETELY in his hands. We have to delight in him. That is only way we will find fulfillment. We must die to our dreams in order to live them out.
It's interesting that one of the most well known scripture readings is in today's reading as well. It's I Cor. 13... the "love" chapter. It can basically be outlined as this: Love is dying to self. All of us desperately need love, yet the only way to experience it to die to the need.
As difficult as it sounds, it's really a great place to be. Living in the freedom of knowing your heart is in the hands of the One who has all power, all knowledge, and loves you so much. Trust him today.
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
7.7.9 "The Prayer of... you"
"The Prayer of... you"
I Chronicles 4:5-5:17
Acts 25:1-27
Psalm 5:1-12
Proverbs 18:19
I Chronicles 4:10 is the Prayer of Jabez. This has become a very well known scripture over the past number of years. Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book on it, there have been songs, etc.
In the middle of a long genealogy, there's a pause. It's for a man named Jabez. "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, 'Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.' And God granted his request."
Much of what I've heard regarding this prayer has to do with the content of the prayer, but the meditation today is, in the genealogies of heaven, what happens when it gets to your name? What is your prayer? What is your passion? What is your heart's desire?
It can easily be that our prayer is reactionary to the needs around us, "Lord, bless this food..." "Help me deal w/ my mother in law...." "Help me find a new job..." "Deliver me from this pimple the devil gave me..." Is that the extent of the prayer of you?
I'm challenged today to pray the prayer that marks my life. "Lord, this is my greatest desire... this is what consumes me.... Have your way..."
For each of us it will be different. It's not like there's a formula. It's about diving in with all our heart. It's about crying out. It's about getting to know God and let him have complete control. It's living in radical surrender.
As you cry out today, may it be like it was for Jabez, "And God granted his request."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
I Chronicles 4:5-5:17
Acts 25:1-27
Psalm 5:1-12
Proverbs 18:19
I Chronicles 4:10 is the Prayer of Jabez. This has become a very well known scripture over the past number of years. Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book on it, there have been songs, etc.
In the middle of a long genealogy, there's a pause. It's for a man named Jabez. "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, 'Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.' And God granted his request."
Much of what I've heard regarding this prayer has to do with the content of the prayer, but the meditation today is, in the genealogies of heaven, what happens when it gets to your name? What is your prayer? What is your passion? What is your heart's desire?
It can easily be that our prayer is reactionary to the needs around us, "Lord, bless this food..." "Help me deal w/ my mother in law...." "Help me find a new job..." "Deliver me from this pimple the devil gave me..." Is that the extent of the prayer of you?
I'm challenged today to pray the prayer that marks my life. "Lord, this is my greatest desire... this is what consumes me.... Have your way..."
For each of us it will be different. It's not like there's a formula. It's about diving in with all our heart. It's about crying out. It's about getting to know God and let him have complete control. It's living in radical surrender.
As you cry out today, may it be like it was for Jabez, "And God granted his request."
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ
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