Feb. 22nd What does God really want for us?

Feb 22, 2012

What Does God Really Want for Us?

 

Why did God make us, Why are we here? What does he want us to do?

Psalm 139

1 You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.
 13 For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.
 19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

I love what this says, I saw a part of this scripture framed in the Doctors office when I was pregnant with my first son, and at that time I was not far along in my faith at all, but I wrote it down, and later put it in Shane's Memory book next to his sonogram picture.

It is so amazing how God created us! We are all different, not one of us has the same finger prints, even identical twins have different finger prints. I often wonder how people who claim they don't believe in our Lord, can even explain that... How can you witness a baby growing in a Mothers womb,and then it be born this perfect gift, and not believe in God???

Last time we met we talked about our passions, which I believe is our gifts, what we are suppose to do in this life. We are all parts of the body of Christ... We are all born with a gift, his light that is in us, and as our faith strengthens those gifts become clearer to us. As we step out in our Faith and let it be know we are true believers, the more he will lead us to our calling in life. Some people chose to not step out in their faith, and may never really know their purpose in life, which is so sad...

I wonder what keeps people from pursuing their faith, is it fear, uncertainty, stereotypes (they think it is not fun to be a believer)? What do you think it is? Why fight it. Why not accept this Gift of the Lord, he Holy Spirit? What keeps them from walking with the Lord?

“But when God, who set me apart

from birth and called me by His grace...” - Galatians 1:15,16

Meaning of Grace: sweetness, attractiveness,favor, goodwill, and loving-kindness!

See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord'.” -

Colossians 4:17

My Pastor just preached about how it is not just his job as the pastor to make disciples, that we are all called to do this?

Ephesians 4:11-12

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers, to equip his people for the works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Acts 26:16

But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

(Matthew 22:36-40)“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”

So it is very simple that we were made to Love God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, be his witness, and make Disciples.
How do we do this?
I have some songs to listen to about this!
This group of us have made knowing God, and walking with him a priority in our life, our children's life, we do so much at our church's, but what can we do to reach the people in our community that aren't walking with God, who don't know him? How can we actually make disciples in our community? Please pray about this, and we will talk when we meet!

Love you!

This is the majority of what we will be talking about together on Feb. 8th.  I am going to ask on Facebook if anyone is needing us to pray about something.  I typically do not post much on Facebook, but feel as though God wants me to do this?  We will see.  If you like you can do this as well.  My friends Mother-In-Law has a prayer group that she meets with, I just love that!  They are a group of women who have been meeting for years to pray together.  A group of women at my church the Sow and Sowers (they make quilts) eat lunch together everyweek and they have made it a habit to ask the waitress or waiter if they would like them to pray about anything, and they either fo to Frischs or Bob Evans, and over the years they now will seek them out to pray about things!  So I think I will ask whoever takes my order at Panera!   See you on Feb 8th!  Love Ya!

February 8^th

It's time to let him get our lives in balance!

And for us to LET GO!

Do you feel at the end of the day that you are well balanced? Do you feel that you were a good witness, did you spend enough time with the Lord, did you spend the time you wanted to with your children, did you pay attention to your husband, get the house picked up, do some laundry, dishes, cook, homework, exercise, eat right, get a shower, and spend some time for yourself? WOW that is so much to do in a day. We have so much responsibility, that there is no way we can do a good job of this own our own. We have to have HIS help. In Proverbs 16:9 it says”A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” We were never created to do everything on our own. Here is some scripture to back this up:

Psalm 62:8

Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in HIM at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before HIM. God is a refuge for us ( a fortress and a high tower). Selah (pause, and calmly think of that)

It says we should have confidence in Him at all times! Not just sometimes, all the time. Trust in, lean on rely on. Are we really doing this everyday?

In the Bible it says we should start our day with prayer. Evening and morning, and at noon, I will pray and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice. Psalm 55:17

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will look up. Psalm 5:3

In the morning we can ask him to balance our day, lord help me do everything you made me to do today. Let everything I do no matter what it is be for your glory!

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

To speak of balance means to be poised, have stability, and a steadiness. Related

words are moderation and temperate. Moderation is to be reasonable, sensible,

judicious, and temperate.

“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand”

(Philippians 4:5).

Moderation is closely associated with the word temperate. Temperate means:

pleasant (not angry), calm (not upset), self-controlled (governing our appetites,

time, thoughts, etc.), controlled (not out of control), peaceable.

So it is in life. God has a plan for each of us, which we do not know in its entirety. We trust Him to take care of the future and guide us along the way. But we still have to make our own decisions and do our own planning. God gave us the loving gift of free will, and He expects us to use it wisely. The more choices we make, even though some will be wrong, the more we learn. God does not want us to sit around like puppets waiting to be told what to do. He expects us to be proactive, to use our ingenuity and help make things happen to make the world a better place. He helps those who help themselves. The more spiritually mature we become, the better we’ll be able to get a good balance between trusting in divine destiny and doing our part to help it manifest.

In order to have balance, we need to let go, and let GOD!

Matthew 11:28-30 says “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me---watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

Galatians 5:22-”But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

As a child of God, are we living our days he has blessed us with full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness???

God just does not want us to go through this life without being balanced, because that would mean that every night we would lay in bed and think. I did not spend this day how I should have. If I only had listened to God, I would have not done this, or that. I would have instead done this, and I would be so much happier right now! Which is what he wants for us. One of my favorite scriptures is John 10:10 “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)”.

God did not send his Son for us so that we spend our days being unhappy, upset, worried, anxious, depressed, mad, angry, and mean.

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you, “ says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

We need to let God guide us and enjoy all he has given us and trust in his promises for what he has in store for us!