Life IN Him....

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." Galatians 2:20

The Lord has been reminding me lately what this verse is really about. Sometimes, actually most of the time, it is hard for me to lay down my desires and wants and plans and to allow my life to really be Christ's.

How easily I forget that He is my

all in all.

He is my everything.

Without Him, I simply would not be, I would not BE!

I start planning my day, my life as if it were my life... I gave my life to God and now it is His. When I gave my life to Him it was because He bought me with a very high price and I trusted Him that His ways were higher than my ways.

You see... I lived my life as if it were my own for 22 years and I ended up chasing the wind with only a shattered and empty heart to show for it all. Why do I so frequently take my life up from Him??? Did I forget that...

He is the author and creator or ALL things.

What am I to myself without You but a guide to my own downfall?" Saint Augustine

Father, You are my everything. Jesus, take my life. Take my life and seal me in You. Keep me in the shadow of Your beautiful wings. Don't let me wander from Your perfect path. Keep me in You Jesus.

For I truly only live in You, my King, My God!

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3

Isaiah 45:3

"Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down RIGHTEOUSNESS; let the earth open, that SALVATION and RIGHTEOUSNESS may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I, the Lord, have created it."

Isaiah 45:3

God, let Your salvation rain on us! Shower us, saturate us in Your love and mercy! Open the heavens and let Your kingdom come to earth!

Compassion International!

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, COMPASSION, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience."

Colossians 3:12

I really want to encourage everyone to sponsor a child.

It's only $32/month!

This WILL change a child's life!!!

The child will write you letters and you can write them back and really encourage and minister to them!!! It is amazing! The need is so huge and there are so many of us that can reach out and help! Go to the website and just take a look for yourself!

"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matt 19:14

Ask the poor, they will tell you who the Christians are." Ghandi

"As we consider what it means to be born again, we must ask ourselves what it means to be born again into a family in which our sisters and brothers are starving to death" Shane Claiborne.

When the holy spirit fell on Pentecost, when the spirit of the Lord fell on that day, noone did without... A spirit of compassion and generosity and love and mercy fell on that day. "And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." Acts 2:45 When the spirit of the Lord dwells in our hearts, how can it be possible for us to store up eartly possessions, while our neighbors are in need? Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither povery or riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:8-9. Solomon prays not to be rich! Who does that?! .... A man full of wisdom. Poverty was created not by God but by you and me, because we have not learned to love our neighbors as ourselves" Shane Claiborne. Some of us so strongly desire to be used by God in such a big way, but when God filled you with His love, compassion, and mercy, He expects that we will show that same love, compassion, and mercy to a hungry and cold neighbor. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Mark 12:31. "If you pour yourself our for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday" Isaiah 58:10. I want the light of Jesus to rise up in the darkness for all the hungry and hurting to see! John the Baptist said "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise" Luke 3:11. What about us that have been blessed with an abundance? Shall we keep them and while being thankful, not really share.. or if we see someone in need, we will just pray for God's provision or send them to the salvation army..., but what if God put you there as His provision?... Or when God blesses us we could thank Him by turning to our neighbor and blessing Him also while storing our possessions in Heaven, not on earth. Jesus said, when speaking of a poor widow that placed one penny, one penny, in the offereing box while many rich people put large amounts in. "Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box, for they are contributing out of their abundance, but she out of her povery has put in everything she had to live on." This poor widow placed more in her offering than she ever could have imagined. "True generosity is measured not by how much we give but by how much we have left." Shane Claiborne

As I sit in Starbucks with my $5 cup of coffee wearing my new Buckle jeans, I pray that the Lord will work in my heart in such a powerful way that I can love, really love, a deep love that leads to action, my neighbor as myself., that I would only desire to give and not to recieve.

Lord, give me a new heart, a heart that is so seperate from this culture of "need and want". A heart like yours. A heart full of self-sacrifice and generosity. Jesus, when You have blessed me so much, let me not keep it to myself.

"Do not put up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where theives do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt 6:19-21

HIS EYES

In Luke chapter 7 Jesus went into the house of a Pharisee. A sinful woman saw Jesus, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, she began to weep, she wet His feet with her tears, wiped them off with her hair, she kissed His feet, anointed them. This sinful woman came to the feet of Jesus with weeping, in a moment of true, pure, wholehearted worship. The Pharisee began to judge the woman. Jesus asked Simon if he "saw" this woman. Jesus began to explain to Simon that this woman was forgiven much and loved much. Jesus saw this woman's heart, He saw her for His sister, His daughter. Oh if we could only see the world through the eyes of Jesus, how differently would we treat people. When we look through the eyes of Jesus, we see people differently that society sees them. When we look through the eyes of Jesus, we will see our brother instead of seeing the drunk on the corner, we will see a daughter instead of seeing a prostitute. We will see that NOONE is beyond redemption. When Jesus encountered people, He saw deep into their hearts and He was moved with compassion to help them. I wish we could be more like Jesus.



Father, I pray that you give us eyes like yours. Eyes that see through the outter shell into the hurting and bruised heart. Eyes that see a need and are so full of love and compassion that it only leads to action. Eyes that see the beautiful daughters and sons that You see. Eyes that see the life broken and ruined by iniquity and the complete restoration that will be brought by an ugly cross.

Place me on the Potter's wheel

"But now, O Lord,

You are our Father.

We are the clay and You are the potter;

we are all the work of

Your hand."

This verse is absolutely beautiful but it made so much more sense to me when I saw how clay was really formed into beautiful pottery. It starts off as a soft, dirty, worthless lump of clay. The potter chooses the clay and starts the process by beating and wedging the clay in order for the clay to be workable. He then must slam the clay onto the potter's wheel to pull out any pebbles or rocks. The potter then will begin to knead through the clay to cause the rocks and pebbles to rise to the top so that he can remove them. The potter then begins spinning the wheel, the clay must be on the center of the potter's wheel because if the clay is not centered, it will fall. The potter works very steadfast and faithfully on the clay, even if the clay falls, he lifts it back to the center and begins again. The clay then must be placed in a kiln that is heated up to over 1500 degrees in order to strengthen the clay. The worthless lump of clay was shaped and molded into a beautiful masterpiece! God chose me even when I was mearly a lump of clay, He did not cast me off, but He has placed me on His wheel and shapes me. God kneads into my heart and pulls things like bitterness and selfishness out so that I can be the whole and pure creation He desires. It is not always comfortable being on the potter's wheel, but God is soverign and knows the outcome of the present situation.

Father, I pray that you place me on the potter's wheel. I am but mearly a broken piece of clay God and I ask that You continue to work in my heart and my life. I thank you that You keep all of my tears in a bottle and that You do not even hesitate to pick me up when I fall. I desire to be the pure and strong heart that You have purposed for me. I thank You Father that You are steadfast in Your love for me and You will never give up on me. Build me and shape me into a heart that houses you God, a place where You dwell and can fill me with Your love and joy!