God, please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength to give it away to you Jesus.
How many times have I turned away?
The number is the same as the sand on the shore,
As many as the stars in the sky.
But everytime You've taken me back.
And now I pray You do it tonight.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
It takes TIME
Everything on earth has its own time and its own season. Ecclesiastes 3:1
There are no shortcuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of Spirit. The development of Christlike character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time.
When you try to ripen fruit quickly, it loses its flavor. While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. This is because God views our lives from and for eternity, so he is never in a hurry.
The moment you open yourself to Christ, God gets a "beachhead" in your life. You may think you have surrendered all your life to Him, but the truth is, there is a lot to your life that your aren't aware of. You can only give God as much of you as you understand at that moment. That's okay. Once Christ is given a beachhead, He begins the campaign to take over more and more territory until all of your life is completely His. There will be struggles and battles, but the outcome will never be in doubt. God has promised that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion"
Today, i am obsessed with speed, but God says no, because He is more interested in strength and stability than swiftness. I want the quick fix, the shortcut, the on-the-spot solution. I want a sermon, or an experience to release me from all growing pains and temptations. But then i soon reliazed that real maturity is never the result of a single experience, no matter how powerful or moving. Growth is gradual.Growth is also often painful and scary.There is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss, and no loss without pain. I fear these losses, because, like a worn out pair of shoes, they were at least comfortable and familiar.
People always build their identity around their defects. We often say "it's just the way I am". The unconscious worry is that if I let go of my habit, my hurt, or my hang-up, who will I be? This fear seems to have definitely slowed down my growth. Sometimes, i just pray that all those problems, habits and hurts will be miraculously removed. But God is never in a hurry. You know, it seems to me that God is preparing me for my role in eternity.
And if you read the bible, you will find that the bible is filled with examples of how God uses a long process to develop character. He took 80 years to prepare Moses, including forty in the wilderness. For so many years Moses kept wondering, "Is it time yet?" But God kept saying "Not Yet".
Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. When God wants to make a mushroom, he does it overnight. But when he wants to make a giant oak, he takes a hundred years...
There are no shortcuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of Spirit. The development of Christlike character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time.
When you try to ripen fruit quickly, it loses its flavor. While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. This is because God views our lives from and for eternity, so he is never in a hurry.
The moment you open yourself to Christ, God gets a "beachhead" in your life. You may think you have surrendered all your life to Him, but the truth is, there is a lot to your life that your aren't aware of. You can only give God as much of you as you understand at that moment. That's okay. Once Christ is given a beachhead, He begins the campaign to take over more and more territory until all of your life is completely His. There will be struggles and battles, but the outcome will never be in doubt. God has promised that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion"
Today, i am obsessed with speed, but God says no, because He is more interested in strength and stability than swiftness. I want the quick fix, the shortcut, the on-the-spot solution. I want a sermon, or an experience to release me from all growing pains and temptations. But then i soon reliazed that real maturity is never the result of a single experience, no matter how powerful or moving. Growth is gradual.Growth is also often painful and scary.There is no growth without change, no change without fear or loss, and no loss without pain. I fear these losses, because, like a worn out pair of shoes, they were at least comfortable and familiar.
People always build their identity around their defects. We often say "it's just the way I am". The unconscious worry is that if I let go of my habit, my hurt, or my hang-up, who will I be? This fear seems to have definitely slowed down my growth. Sometimes, i just pray that all those problems, habits and hurts will be miraculously removed. But God is never in a hurry. You know, it seems to me that God is preparing me for my role in eternity.
And if you read the bible, you will find that the bible is filled with examples of how God uses a long process to develop character. He took 80 years to prepare Moses, including forty in the wilderness. For so many years Moses kept wondering, "Is it time yet?" But God kept saying "Not Yet".
Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering. When God wants to make a mushroom, he does it overnight. But when he wants to make a giant oak, he takes a hundred years...
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Plain and Simple Truth
If you've ever told a whopper of a lie, you already know how quickly dishonesty can complicate your life. You had to work extra hard to cover up, remember exactly what you said, maybe even get someone else all tangled up in your deception by asking her to go along with your lie. It's really a mess.
It may be hard to face the consequences of telling the truth, but it sure makes the life a lot simpler when you do. When you owns up to the truth, the clear, uncluttered conscience lets you get on with your life. And you keep your life simple by avoiding the need to cover up for a lie, or to keep your stories straight.
God places a high value on honesty, and he wants his people to do the same. God knows how easily lying can become a habit that destroys His children's integrity and damages their relationships with God and with other people. If you read the bible, you will know that many bible verses and stories about lies and deception reveal how severe the consequences of dishonesty are. They are always more severe than the consequences of telling the truth.
I think God has taught me a good lesson about honesty. You know, when you make it a habit to tell the truth, you simplify your life. You also keep the line of communication open with God. You can approach Him without that nagging sense of guilt that results when you've been dishonest. The same holds true with other people.
Lies tend to create the need for more lies.
That's a complication you don't need.
It may be hard to face the consequences of telling the truth, but it sure makes the life a lot simpler when you do. When you owns up to the truth, the clear, uncluttered conscience lets you get on with your life. And you keep your life simple by avoiding the need to cover up for a lie, or to keep your stories straight.
God places a high value on honesty, and he wants his people to do the same. God knows how easily lying can become a habit that destroys His children's integrity and damages their relationships with God and with other people. If you read the bible, you will know that many bible verses and stories about lies and deception reveal how severe the consequences of dishonesty are. They are always more severe than the consequences of telling the truth.
I think God has taught me a good lesson about honesty. You know, when you make it a habit to tell the truth, you simplify your life. You also keep the line of communication open with God. You can approach Him without that nagging sense of guilt that results when you've been dishonest. The same holds true with other people.
Lies tend to create the need for more lies.
That's a complication you don't need.
The Cross
Father, I look at the cross before me
And it looks right back at me.
I ask if it could speak
what would it say to me.
The cross utters not a word
but stands as still as still can be.
So i kneel before the cross
and feel the pain in me.
And then I look at the cross again
It feels the same pain as me.
Then I gaze upon my chest
and see the little cross I wear.
Yet I'd never asked this little cross
if it could speak to me.
I think of all the days that passed
how pious they could be.
And now it's time for me to ask
what will the cross do for me.
Life is unpredictable. And yet life is so precious. When something tragic happens, where do we find the strength to cope with it? To rebuild our lives or even our faith? Really, if you think deeply, God is the only source of strength. Only God can give us the underlying strength to live our lives again as before.
And it looks right back at me.
I ask if it could speak
what would it say to me.
The cross utters not a word
but stands as still as still can be.
So i kneel before the cross
and feel the pain in me.
And then I look at the cross again
It feels the same pain as me.
Then I gaze upon my chest
and see the little cross I wear.
Yet I'd never asked this little cross
if it could speak to me.
I think of all the days that passed
how pious they could be.
And now it's time for me to ask
what will the cross do for me.
Life is unpredictable. And yet life is so precious. When something tragic happens, where do we find the strength to cope with it? To rebuild our lives or even our faith? Really, if you think deeply, God is the only source of strength. Only God can give us the underlying strength to live our lives again as before.
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