God is working as we settle in to 2013. I can see him work in many ways, and at the same time I am unsure of what he is doing in everything else...
The new year always takes me to a reflective place. This causes quite a bit of anxiety for me. I dredge up stuff in my heart that is buried, I look ahead and get overwhelmed, and I get frozen in where I am. Then I start moving forward with prayer and surrender.
It is good to realize where I have been establishing my own strength and not God's. The hard part is tearing those areas down and letting God rebuild.
Psalm 127:1
Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
I always struggle with the fact that I have been, or maybe in the process, of building in vain. Ughhhh! I hate wasting time. Then if I can get to this point I have to address and new challenge; Pride. Even if I know the good I ought to do, I need to get my pride out of the way to change.
The church here is continuing to grow in unity and Spirit. We had a great time helping build a couple of homes for Habitat For Humanity. The Spokane church came down and joined us for this. We met some great people, some of which were very responsive to the Gospel.
We are pursuing growth in many ways together. The elements of Faith, Prayer, and Family are the focus the past few weeks. Tonight we will have some dinner and pray together to put our faith into action. It will be an encouraging time.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
New Year
Made it through the holidays.
I think it's ironic that I consider the holidays a major challenge to my faith and deeds in Christ. Even though the holiday is dedicated to Christ, I tend to resemble Christ less during this time. You feel me?
I did better this Christmas than in past years. We had family here for a week and it was a miracle that I exhibited love much of the time. Then there was the last couple of days, where things fell apart for me. The less than loving side emerged. Just like any other time; I turn around (repent) and learn from it. There has been growth, but I must continue (persevere).
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
We have a new year ahead of us. As a church, we will be wrestling with the foundation we are laying, our pursuit of God's righteousness, and paying attention to what fruit we are bearing. I am still working on what to pray about, how to use my time and energy, and what does God have in store for the days ahead.
I am trying to assess my own life in Christ; growth in His character while actively implementing the Gospel message to the good of the Kingdom.
It is a real challenge to maintain a life of Godliness not only personally, but corporately as well. Unity in faith is still something we are grasping at. I think until we finally take hold of that unity, we will struggle to see numeric and spiritual growth as a body. I don't have an answer to this sense I have, but I pray to have our eyes opened and hearts willing to become what God has in store.
Eph 4:11-16
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Amen.
I think it's ironic that I consider the holidays a major challenge to my faith and deeds in Christ. Even though the holiday is dedicated to Christ, I tend to resemble Christ less during this time. You feel me?
I did better this Christmas than in past years. We had family here for a week and it was a miracle that I exhibited love much of the time. Then there was the last couple of days, where things fell apart for me. The less than loving side emerged. Just like any other time; I turn around (repent) and learn from it. There has been growth, but I must continue (persevere).
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
We have a new year ahead of us. As a church, we will be wrestling with the foundation we are laying, our pursuit of God's righteousness, and paying attention to what fruit we are bearing. I am still working on what to pray about, how to use my time and energy, and what does God have in store for the days ahead.
I am trying to assess my own life in Christ; growth in His character while actively implementing the Gospel message to the good of the Kingdom.
It is a real challenge to maintain a life of Godliness not only personally, but corporately as well. Unity in faith is still something we are grasping at. I think until we finally take hold of that unity, we will struggle to see numeric and spiritual growth as a body. I don't have an answer to this sense I have, but I pray to have our eyes opened and hearts willing to become what God has in store.
Eph 4:11-16
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Amen.
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