the very concept of laying all of it down...
all that i am, all that i have, i lay them down before you oh God...
my question is, what does it mean to lay my life down for God?
i read today from my devo:
1 peter 2:11-12..
beloved, i beg you as sohourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
a part of the prayer at the end was...
from this day, i will measure success, achievement, and fulfillment by doing good works that bring You glory....
when am i glorifying God and when am i not?
and what does it mean to lay my life down?
is it about completing trusting God?
and how about those times when i say God is in control but i don't hear anything from God so i act on my own...is that taking stuff into my own hands?
it just feels like i easily say "my times are in Your hands" or "take me Lord, take all of me" but i don't feel that He has all of me, maybe because i feel that my life should change (like wow) if He has all of me. but if i'm still doing the same ol' things then there must be something that i should be doing that i'm not...
i know i have sometimes struggled with the concept of what i enjoy vs whether what i enjoy really brings glory to God...
maybe i should just keep this simple and seek God and the rest will fall into place...
He is God. He'd honor that..
make this clear God.
will someone pay for my medical school education???
this is a desperate plea to anyone out there...i've been accepted to med school but i need money to attend because there is no aid for international students. going to case western in ohio...
please help!
cowi do you know what's hot?
in church there's this new ministry for the deaf...and there are some girls who know how to sign. anyway, so they signed a song today (bearing in mind that this song has NEVER been played at our church) and it was...none other than women of faith's "lord i offer my life to you." hot ain't it?
anyway, so the whole sermon was about waiting for your breakthrough sorta thing. but the thing that really hit home was what the pastor said about faith.
- faith determines whether we get our breakthrough or not. BIG faith secures big vision. little faith secures little vision.
- everyone has been dealt a small measure of faith but it's up to us how much our faith grows.
- hebrews 11:6...God is pleased when we believe
- it's not easy believing though...
- some israelites did not enter the promised land because of their unbelief. then we looked at moses. i think this is really deep. read on...
Numbers 20 (amplified)
1AND THE Israelites, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month. And the people dwelt in Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.
2Now there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled together against Moses and Aaron.
3And the people contended with Moses, and said, Would that we had died when our brethren died [in the plague] before the Lord!(A)
4And why have you brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, we and our livestock?
5And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us into this evil place? It is no place of grain or of figs or of vines or of pomegranates. And there is no water to drink.
6Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them.
7And the Lord said to Moses,
8Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to give forth its water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.
9So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as He commanded him.
10And Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation before the rock and Moses said to them, Hear now, you rebels; must we bring you water out of this rock?
11And Moses lifted up his hand and with his rod he smote the rock [a]twice. And the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
12And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe in (rely on, cling to) Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the Israelites, you therefore [b]shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.(B)
so, basically the israelites and moses did get their blessing (the water) but not God's favor (moses didn't enter the promised land because of his lousy attitude at the end). point being, don't ever assume that God's blessings mean God's favor is on your life. Notice God answered Moses' prayer, but Moses didn't go into the promised land. wow...kinda shows how important faith is (BIG time).
in short, allow the challenging times as a chance for God to kill "that part of moses in our lives."
