Come Into The Deep End... with ImHisServant (2)

[liveandlove]

Tuesday 1/9/07
All or Nothing
​

You will seek me and find me when
you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13​

No half-hearted goal setting allowed! If knowing God, living for Him, and growing in your faith is important, then it's worth giving your whole heart to it. You can put on a fancy show for other people and convince them that you're doing a good job of seeking to know God better. However, the bottom line is that you can't fool God. He looks deep into your heart and knows whether your efforts to know Him are shallow or whether they run deep. If they are deep and your heart's desire is to know Him with all your heart, then mistakes and failures will be brushed aside. God cares about what your heart's priority is. ​

Amen!

 

[liveandlove]

 

[burn97]

You know, it really isn't too hard to see those that 'claim to know God, and follow His ways' and those that 'truely know God, and follow His ways'. When God is truely in your heart, He changes you. The old you really does die and out sprouts this person that is totally different than before.
For example, before I actually became a 'true' Christian. I said I knew God, I said that He was in my heart, and I was saved. Yet, I was full of unforgiveness, I was full of anger, and hate. I watched and read inappropriate movies and books, I flooded my mind with occult, I read horoscopes, astrology, I dabbled in other religion, ect. Yet I was a 'christian', and it was all a lie. You can't know God, I mean truely know Him, and continue in the ways of the world whole heartedly. You can't claim to be full of His Loving Spirit, and continue to hate. God said it was impossible to serve two masters, and it's true. If you serve the world, and go after the things of this world, you can't serve God, and vice versa.
When you have God in Your Life, He takes over. He takes away from you the ways of the world, and replaces them with His Ways. I look back at the person that I was, and the person I am now, and I see such a difference. And I praise God, for the work that He has done in me, and continues to do.
Of course, I fall sometimes, into the 'old' ways, but God is always there to pick me up, and set me back on His Path. He corrects my behavior, and He teaches me what is right. It truely is a miracle what He does for His Children.
And sadly, I see the same thing in others. Like I was before, they claim to know the Father, to follow His ways, and yet they are the same person they were before. They still seek the ways of the world, still go after the desires of the Flesh. They praise Him with their lips, but yet they don't let him into their hearts, they don't let Him move in their lives, their lives mock Him. They accept His Mercy, Yet don't give it. They accept His Grace, Yet don't give it it. It is meaningless worship, for He is truely not in them. Just as I was before, it meant nothing, because it was all a show before man. And God does not reward those that do their deeds before man, and His Spirit, His Love, His Heart, all of Him is our reward. He is the ultimate treasure that needs to be sought after, He alone is the desire of our heart, and the best part is, He Promises, that if you seek Him with all Your Heart, You will find Him. He doesn't want a half hearted attempt, He will not accept you on your terms, he will not accept only part of you, He will not be a backup incase something else doesn't work. He is a jelous God, and will not be second place to anything. He wants you whole hearted. He has to be number one in You life. He wants to take from us, all the parts that aren't of Him, and replace His Character, His attributes, His Ways, filling us with all that He is. It is His Will that shall be done, not ours, and the same with His Gift. The Gift of His Spirit, we cannot put on a shelf to use when we want. His Spirit fills us, and changes us, and molds us, and shapes us. What you were before dies, and the new creation lives.

 

[cristianna]

Excellent reading today Gina! And it's very true. I know for myself when I would state, "Yes I believe in God" it was true, yet I had not allowed myself to be fully emerged. It was when I slowly began to let go that I know I came to really find and know Him. I believe when I can say, "I have ultimately and wholly surrendered my ALL to Him" is when my growth and faith will be at an all time high.

I'm close, but I don't believe I'm that close. Yet I'm aware each day is a step closer. I know it's in my heart and runs oh so very deep, but I'm just not very comfortable relinquishing everything yet. I'm not sure why. I'm well aware He keeps His Word and promises. Maybe it's because I don't feel I have the ultimate support at home? Maybe it's just not my time to do so yet. There's alot of maybes that run my mind weary when I question why I haven't surrendered everything yet.

Ahhh... to be released and freed from the battles of a selfish heart, worldly temptations and more must be such a refreshing and revitalizing feeling.

 

[burn97]

I totally agree with you my sister. Totally surrendering our wills, our dreams, our hopes, our futures is something that seems impossible. It's easy to give to God the small things, even some of the big ones, but to give all to Him is hard. I too, continue to struggle, and Praise God, that He is patient! While others would of given up on me by now, God incourages me. He stands there, as a loving parent, with His arms wide open, smiling, telling me ' cast all your worries, all your burdens upon me. I am faithful, I will not hurt you. Trust Me '
Praise God!!!

 

[It's Mee]

On Sundays, in church we try our best to act & talk as christians.

Yet outside the church and at home or at work, sometimes we forget about it and others don't even see a difference. This is when Christ is not within our heart and not a priority in our life.

 

[ImHisServant]

I know for me... I am a true Christian and I do love Him with all my heart mind soul and strength... yet the "change" comes gradually... not all at once. Slowly I change from glory to glory... slowly I surrender more and more to Him. Sometimes I take it back ... but I know I must give it to Him to continue down my path with Him.

I gave up smoking 6 years ago... that was very hard... I loved Him just as much before I gave it up though... but I had other things to work out first.

I had to give up all of my tendancies to control things and let my husband lead me - talk about hard!! Thats the one that goes back and forth.

I've had to give up TV shows that I enjoyed very much... Ghost Whisperer for one.

Now I am giving up my right to eat what I want when I want... and going to the gym. So that I can have a temple that glorifies God.

So did I love Him less all these years that I carried the fat?? NO!! He just works on me little by little... once oblivious to things that were wrong - working on other things I knew were wrong.

It's a daily struggle to fight my flesh... and my spirit does not always win... but I never give up. I'd love to just complain and argue some days... like during PMS If I do my prayer journal and bible study and keep my thoughts on Him... my spirit will win most of the time... but if I am not in fellowship or study... no matter how much I want to or try in and of myself... my flesh wins most of those battles.

So back to today's message. To know Him should always be my #1 goal... and I need to admit that I am falling short on that recently. My journaling/prayer time is not what it needs to be... nor is my bible study. If I do that 100% whole heartedly... everything else will produce fruit from there. Whatever else your goals are... prayer and study must be there first.

 

[burn97]

I too need to work on my prayer life, my spiritual life, my fellowship time. I want God to be my number one, all of the time, not just most of the time, or some of the time. Somedays I get so busy or so much is demanded of me, that I push away that special time, and I need to redirect myself, making it number one, and the rest secondary.

 

[tiradas]

Again...this is very good.

Your whole heart has to be given to God. You can't say, "Well, God...here's the deal. I'll let you have control of this part of my life and this one, too. However, not that part...I control that." That just isn't how it works!

It can be difficult to surrender completely, but oh, the difference when you do!

 

[Maharg]

Hello

Just thought I would sign in to the thread. I don't always have time to drop in because of my job but I'm trying to follow the discussions here.

You know, there was a time when I knew definitely I had to give something up for God and I simply culdn't do it at the time, and convinced myself I had heard wrong.

At the moment though I am honestly unsure about how to go about giving things over to God. I'm not sure what He wants me to do - what He wants me to give up and what He wants me to take on. I'm working very very hard in my job and it does take over my life a lot - bu then I feel that God called me to it. I don't want to do my job a lot of the time because it is so difficult and stressful, but to give up seems wrong because I felt called there to begin with. On the other hand, working there is meaning that my spiritual life is suffering because I am finding it so hard to spend time with God.

Something has to change because things aren't right in my life and I do want to give everything over to God and for Him to be centre of my life. It just doesn't seem to be happening. But I want Him more than you could imagine.

Hope I haven't gone on too long! I'm just a bit puzzled on this one. I want God and I want to please Him and things don't seem to be working out.

Maharg

 

[powerofprayer]

On Sundays, in church we try our best to act & talk as christians.

As my daughter says, "Sitting in church on Sundays doesn't make you a Christian, just like sitting in a garage doesn't make you a car!"
God wants us everyday - every part of us. He has been very patient while He has worked on me - little by little. Some parts of my life I've easily surrendered to Him, a few parts I'm still holding back on...but I'm trying. I do look forward to the day when I am totally free in Him.
Thank you Burn97 for the wonderful post. That was incredible reading.

 

[cristianna]

Maharg... I feel your pain. It's something you can feel with such great magnitude and depth, and the desire is unquenching.

Since it's not something I have successfully done, I can only imagine giving everything over to God is done slowly one thing at time... and maybe not even with the realization that you are doing it. I may be naive when I say this, but I really hope that one day I have an epiphany realizing I have allowed God all control over my entire being. I mean wouldn't it be amazing to wake up one day and say, "Wow... I have truly, truly given God my whole self and didn't even know it. Man... I wish I would've known it wasn't as hard as I made it out to be!"?

 

[burn97]

Hello

Just thought I would sign in to the thread. I don't always have time to drop in because of my job but I'm trying to follow the discussions here.

You know, there was a time when I knew definitely I had to give something up for God and I simply culdn't do it at the time, and convinced myself I had heard wrong.

At the moment though I am honestly unsure about how to go about giving things over to God. I'm not sure what He wants me to do - what He wants me to give up and what He wants me to take on. I'm working very very hard in my job and it does take over my life a lot - bu then I feel that God called me to it. I don't want to do my job a lot of the time because it is so difficult and stressful, but to give up seems wrong because I felt called there to begin with. On the other hand, working there is meaning that my spiritual life is suffering because I am finding it so hard to spend time with God.

Something has to change because things aren't right in my life and I do want to give everything over to God and for Him to be centre of my life. It just doesn't seem to be happening. But I want Him more than you could imagine.

Hope I haven't gone on too long! I'm just a bit puzzled on this one. I want God and I want to please Him and things don't seem to be working out.

Maharg

Whenever there is an out of balance feeling... whenever something doesn't feel right, we need to take a deeper look. We need to go before God and seek His Mighty Counsil before we take any action. That is hard, I myself, am just learning this. I'm one of those... keep digging the hole, and only when I can't see anymore I call on God. But slowly, I'm learning, that to be in His Will, is to be in His Presence. Our Father does not just give us direction and send us on our way, rather, He holds out His hand and leads us down the path, guiding us. When I get ahead of myself, and let go of His Hand, I find myself confussed, doubtful, wondering, depressed, anxious. By coming back in His Presence, confessing my sin, confessing my impatience, I am able to once again find my way, because it's His, with Him.
Over the last year, God has shown me the true power that is in prayer. It isn't just words muttered, but it is talking to our Father, in the Presence of our Father. To be in His Presence is an awesome experience. I don't understand why I stumble away, because the completeness, the peace there is amazing, yet I do.
I think sometimes I'm like Peter. When he saw Jesus walking on water, he wanted to join Him. He wanted to be in the presence of the Lord, in the middle of the storm. Yet, in a brief second, he took his eyes off Jesus, and saw the storm, and he started to sink. When we take our eyes of the Lord, like our brother Peter, we sink. When we are not in His Presence, the storm of today, the deadlines, the demands, the needs, the problems, they all overpower us, and we start to sink. Yet as with Peter, Jesus is always there, willing to pull us away from death, away from the storm, and back into the boat. To be in the Will of the Father, is to stop looking at the storm, and start looking at Him.
Be consistantly in prayer, never quite. He's the only one that can teach you how to trust in Him, and the best part is He wants to. It isn't a chore, it isn't a burden, He wants to show you that He is Faithful. He wants to show you that You can trust in Him with all your heart.

 

[ImHisServant]

Wednesday 1/10/07
Detachment​

Today's topic comes from the Al-anon book, "Courage to Change"​

Early one morning I stopped to watch a colony of bees. A little intimidated by the frenzied motion and intense buzzing, I reminded myself that if I didn't poke my nose into their hive, I wouldn't get stung. If I chose to maintain a safe distance from a dangerous situation, I would be fine.​

To me, that is exactly the lesson that detachment teaches. The choice is mine. When I sense that a situation is dangerous to my physical, mental, or spiritual well-being, I can put extra distance between myself and the situation. Sometimes this means that I don't get too emotionally involved in a problem; sometimes I may physically leave the room or end a conversation. And sometimes I try to put spiritual space between myself and another person's alcoholism or behavior. This doesn't mean I stop loving the person, only that I acknowledge the risks to my own well-being and make choices to take care of myself.​

Today's Reminder:​

Now I know how to end an argument by simply refusing to participate, to turn to God for help with whatever I'm powerless to change, to say, "No," when I mean no, and to step back from insanity rather than diving into it. Detachment is a loving gift I continue to give to myself and to others.​

"If a man carries his own lantern, he need not fear darkness." -- Hasidic saying​

 

[ImHisServant]

bumping... where is everyone today??

 

[It's Mee]

bumping... where is everyone today??

I am here but to read only

 

[cristianna]

I'm digesting! LOL

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

Tuesday 1/9/07

All or Nothing​

You will seek me and find me when
you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13​

No half-hearted goal setting allowed! If knowing God, living for Him, and growing in your faith is important, then it's worth giving your whole heart to it. You can put on a fancy show for other people and convince them that you're doing a good job of seeking to know God better. However, the bottom line is that you can't fool God. He looks deep into your heart and knows whether your efforts to know Him are shallow or whether they run deep. If they are deep and your heart's desire is to know Him with all your heart, then mistakes and failures will be brushed aside. God cares about what your heart's priority is.

Playing a bit of catch up.

Last June I made a commitment to give God a portion of my day in prayer and bible reading/study regularly. Just Him and I having some quiet time together. Since I started to do this daily there has been change. I have grown, my relationship with God has deepened and He is my #1.

I often compare a marriage relationship to the relationship we are to have with the Lord. If a married couple talked for just a few minutes a day and only spent 10 minutes doing things together how happy would that marriage be? If we don't pray and read our bible on a regular basis our relationship with God will decline.

When we make Him our #1 everything else seems to fall into place. We will still go through trials but we will be better equipped to deal with them because we are drawing from His strength.

God Bless!
~Christina

Onto today's topic.......




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[LivingLifeHisWay]

Wednesday 1/10/07​

Detachment​

Today's topic comes from the Al-anon book, "Courage to Change"​

Early one morning I stopped to watch a colony of bees. A little intimidated by the frenzied motion and intense buzzing, I reminded myself that if I didn't poke my nose into their hive, I wouldn't get stung. If I chose to maintain a safe distance from a dangerous situation, I would be fine.​

To me, that is exactly the lesson that detachment teaches. The choice is mine. When I sense that a situation is dangerous to my physical, mental, or spiritual well-being, I can put extra distance between myself and the situation. Sometimes this means that I don't get too emotionally involved in a problem; sometimes I may physically leave the room or end a conversation. And sometimes I try to put spiritual space between myself and another person's alcoholism or behavior. This doesn't mean I stop loving the person, only that I acknowledge the risks to my own well-being and make choices to take care of myself.​

Today's Reminder:​

Now I know how to end an argument by simply refusing to participate, to turn to God for help with whatever I'm powerless to change, to say, "No," when I mean no, and to step back from insanity rather than diving into it. Detachment is a loving gift I continue to give to myself and to others.​

"If a man carries his own lantern, he need not fear darkness." -- Hasidic saying​

When it comes to arguments and how I handle them it totally depends on who the argument is with. If it is between my husband and I, I choose to let him speak and I wait until later on (when he is cooled off) before I tell him my side. At this time it is more of a conversation then an argument.

BUT if it is between myself and my mother I fail, big time. Because of my childhood I have many sore spots when it comes to my parents and family. There is a lot of hurt there and it's hard not to get emotionally involved when she picks a fight with me. Slowly I am realizing that I really need to cover myself and my family in prayer in order to response instead of react when there is an altercation. I need to respond with love and in a way pleasing to God.

It's hard but I'm getting there.

 

[ImHisServant]

I wasn't sure where to post this, and I didn't want us to sidestep from today's topic.....

UPDATE: I believe I have found the root of my sister's letter. She just told me she lost her job several weeks ago. I'm sure the letter was the result of shock, fear, anger, scared-- you know... all the emotions. I'm going to continue to pray and see where God directs me. But I am still standing firm it is just a part of His big plan.

Thanks for all the input, guidance and prayers! I know through Him she will persevere.

Cristianna... I hope you don't mind me copying this.

She posted this in the "Coming Out of The Deep End" thread - but I thought it was just as appropriate here because many of you don't subcribe to the other thread. This is an update to an earlier topic.

If any of you have updates to give us to an earlier post... please share them - that is part of going deeper in our love and friendships!