“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
- Psalms 37: 4
“Above ALL else, guard your heart for it is the source of life. “- Proverbs 4:23
Both these verses deal with the heart. The heart is the center of our well-being. Without it fulfilling its function, the body perishes. Just as the body perishes, so does our soul if it is not protected.
I think a lot of Christians struggle with obeying or even fully comprehending Psalms 37:4. Many of times, we think that if God grants the desires of our heart then it will be easier to follow him. But this isn’t what the verse is saying. It is a cause/effect relationship. IF you delight in the Lord, THEN he will give you the desires of your heart. However, God will not be used as a means to an end. He will not show himself to you if you are searching for him to find answers to your future, success, a relationship, etc. I found a quote, by A.W. Tozer, that I love: “The mighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will not be one of many treasures, not even the chief of all treasures. He will be all in all or He will be nothing. God will not be used."
Sometimes, though, when you venture on the journey of delighting yourself in the Lord, you find that as you fall more in love with Christ, your desires may change. Our desires will line up with God's when our heart is in the right place. There have been numerous examples in my life that I have found out that when I am seeking God and asking His will to be manifested in my life, my desires change. It is often a painful process but is always worth it.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
I would die for you. . .
¡Aqui estoy!
In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This verse shows the epitome of a true and pure friendship. The willingness to surrender one’s hopes, dreams, and future even to the point of death is nothing short of true love. You may think “wow” anyone who can do that must be special. Anyone who would love someone to that caliber of friendship must be exceptional and a greater person than the average Christian.
However, this type of love isn’t supposed to seem miraculous and extraordinary. In fact, it seems that only a few people in each generation live up to this standard. It should not be seen as an exception yet the rule/ standard of our lives. Christ demands it of us. When we are adopted into the body of Christ, we in turn get all the attributes that he possesses. He is joy, we become joy. He is patient, we are patient. He is selfless, we become selfless. He is love, we become love. Christ demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Christ DIED for us!
We come to him as filthy rags and yet it is then that he shows us just how desperate we are for him. He shows us that without him, we are destined to an eternal damnation in Hell. Yet, he does not do it in a way that is forceful or rude. He gently waits for you to accept the call he has on your life. Whether, it be as a missionary on foreign land or as an elementary school teacher, we are all called to live our lives as a living testimony to what Christ as so graciously done our behalf.
¡Enviame me!
In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” This verse shows the epitome of a true and pure friendship. The willingness to surrender one’s hopes, dreams, and future even to the point of death is nothing short of true love. You may think “wow” anyone who can do that must be special. Anyone who would love someone to that caliber of friendship must be exceptional and a greater person than the average Christian.
However, this type of love isn’t supposed to seem miraculous and extraordinary. In fact, it seems that only a few people in each generation live up to this standard. It should not be seen as an exception yet the rule/ standard of our lives. Christ demands it of us. When we are adopted into the body of Christ, we in turn get all the attributes that he possesses. He is joy, we become joy. He is patient, we are patient. He is selfless, we become selfless. He is love, we become love. Christ demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Christ DIED for us!
We come to him as filthy rags and yet it is then that he shows us just how desperate we are for him. He shows us that without him, we are destined to an eternal damnation in Hell. Yet, he does not do it in a way that is forceful or rude. He gently waits for you to accept the call he has on your life. Whether, it be as a missionary on foreign land or as an elementary school teacher, we are all called to live our lives as a living testimony to what Christ as so graciously done our behalf.
¡Enviame me!
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. . .”
For the past year or so, I felt God calling me to go to Africa. I didn’t want to go, plain and simple. I have felt called to the mission field since I was around fifteen years old. I have been to Mexico and I wanted to die there spreading the love of Christ. Africa was just too out of my comfort zone. It was unclear territory and I didn’t want to explore it. I was obeying God’s call on my life (missions) but yet it was on my own terms (location). What God soon taught me is that partial obedience is total disobedience. By not obeying His complete plan, I was disobeying my Lord and Savior and that broke my heart. Honestly though, I now have complete peace when I think about missions. God has etched foreign land in my heart and I can’t let go. The people in Africa and Mexico are always in the back of my mind. I don’t know the details or how it will all work together. I just know that it will because if God wants it to happen, it will.
Matthew 10:37-38: “Then saith he to his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
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