I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Read more at the source: Psalm 130:5
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Daily Bible Promise.
He’s Changing Me
I enjoy going to church. Greeting people from week to week and exchanging hugs and words warms my heart. Singing songs about Jesus and blending with dozens of voices lifts my spirit. Hearing the spoken word gives me reasons to dig deeper in God’s word and find nuggets of truth that could help me through tough times.
Then one day I noticed something. The rich experience in church seemed to stop as I would exit the parking lot. Instead of drawing on the songs, prayers and messages, instead of inviting God into my circumstances, instead of walking with Him throughout my day, I would say a quick prayer, glance at a verse, and off I would go about my day. Then when the weekend rolled around, I drove to church and picked up where I left off.
This began to trouble me. Suddenly quick prayers and nuggets of truth weren’t enough to strengthen me in my walk with God. Why didn’t I extend my rich church experience into my home, into relationships and into my life? Why wasn’t God in the details of my life?
I turned to the Bible and began to understand what a deep relationship with God means. Daniel prayed by his window three times a day even though it meant he would be thrown into a lion’s den. King Hezekiah made his way to the temple and cried out to God about an army of warriors who wanted to destroy him and Jerusalem. Childless Hannah went to the Temple of the Lord and poured her heart out to God. She couldn’t bear living without having a child. And God saw them through their circumstances. He answered their prayers!
This was a “Wow” moment for me. I started to realize that my Christian walk was shallow. I made up my mind I would change. I prostrated myself on the floor and cried out to God. I asked God to forgive me for treating spiritual things so trite. I called out the names of family members and friends, I talked to Him about life’s circumstances, and I asked Him to take out my heart of stone and to give me a living heart; a heart that embraced Him all the time. When I finished praying, I felt that I had poured everything within me into His hands and the trouble stirring within me lifted.
Today, my first waking thought is to talk to God. When I face difficulty, I am quick to invite Him into my life and ask Him to walk with me. And now I eagerly read or listen to the Bible and ask God for wisdom and understanding. My life has changed. No longer is my church experience a weekend gig. Now, I find myself praying, singing and praising Him all the day long.
The post He’s Changing Me appeared first on Answers for Me.
Read more at the source: He’s Changing Me
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.
Alpha and Omega
I enjoy seeing a need and starting a group or service for that. I am a pretty great starter. Yet I am coming to the end of one of my life ministries. I have facilitated a women’s support group in my city for about 12 years. Funding for my work has disappeared and the group members aren’t able to pay to attend. I remember when I first started a support group and the pastor at that location mentioned that he had been taught that ministries often run active for about five years. So this is well overdue by those standards.
In our last session one of the group members was troubled about needing to end a draining friendship with someone who refuses to change. I tried to encourage her that sometimes there are “necessary endings” for all of us–divorce, death, moves, job loss, separation from unhealthy or damaging relationships.
I have noticed some of my Facebook friends have been pruning their friend lists and dropping those who don’t contribute, don’t play nice, or don’t match their interests. When we have limited time, energy, resources and life–pruning in some way is necessary for the health of an institution or a person. Author Dr. Henry Cloud states: “To hold on to ‘hope’ when what you really have is merely a wish is to fail to grasp reality.”* He also reminds us that the past is the best predictor of future behavior as relates to relationships.
Jesus modeled and taught the necessity of endings. After he made some very plain and pointed statements, many of his early disciples walked away (John 6:66). We have no record that Jesus ran after the deserters or that he knocked on doors that evening to beg them to return. Later Jesus told his mission-driven disciples that if they weren’t welcomed in towns or homes, to “shake the dust off your feet” and leave (Matthew 10:11-14). Time came when Jesus ended his earthly mission for the next step in our salvation and redemption (Mark 16:19, 20).
The loss of a meaningful or time-consuming activity– one driven with passion and prayer, can lead to some grief or aimlessness. It can also open ways for other people to find their mission and create new services as God leads. Letting go can open up space previously occupied in our hearts.
Books, movies, series, classes, cereal boxes, bank accounts–everything ends.
In so many ways I am in the school of learning to become a gracious “ender.” I am left with mixed feelings about something that I still feel is important and not duplicated in my community. If I am honest, I feel sadness, anger, some relief, and anticipation at this ending. What
might happen next? At ending times, can I trust God to help re-shape my life and legacy, and make good use of my remaining time and talents?
Questions for personal journaling or group discussion:
1. When have you benefited from an ending?
2. What/whom might you be hanging onto that needs to end?
Karen Spruill writes from Florida.
The post Alpha and Omega appeared first on Answers for Me.
Read more at the source: Alpha and Omega
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.
GYC Annual Meeting Offers End-Time Inspiration and Outreach Opportunities
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Read more at the source: GYC Annual Meeting Offers End-Time Inspiration and Outreach Opportunities
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Adventist Review Updates.
South America Kicks Off Pathfinder Camporees for 100,000 People
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Read more at the source: South America Kicks Off Pathfinder Camporees for 100,000 People
Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Adventist Review Updates.
