In one of the comments to the last post, amy noted the importance of discipleship. Later, aquila made mention of the fact that in his former life apart from Christ he not only was no temple, he was a "crack house." And then I got to thinking about a verse I have written about elsewhere this week. It is John 1:47, where Jesus said of Nathanael, "Behold, an Israelite indeed (or, "a true Israelite"), in whom there is no deceit (or, "no guile").
What a range! From a crack house to a guileless Israelite, Jesus loves us all and calls us out of our various places in life--be those socio-economic places, or academic places, or geographical places, or moral places, or emotional places. And then by His Spirit, He begins the work of sanctification (discipleship) in us.
Now, that may not seem fair, that some seem to come with a more Godward headstart, but we can delight in the fact that this matters not a whit to Jesus, the same One who told the parable of the talents, where some were given more or less, but all were expected to make progress for the King.
If I were to testify this week to the wonder of God, perhaps I would start first with you, each of you at The Father's House, and others that I know, and say what I see the Lord doing in your life.
He is a merciful God, so He forgives and approaches us, even though we are all sinners, no matter the variations in us.
He is a gracious God, so He gives us all we need to become the "working workmanship" He has made us to be.
He is slow to anger, so He gives us the time we need to "work out our salvation" as we grow nearer to Him.
And He is abounding in love, so He wants to see us become more like Him ("more Jesusly," as amy so wonderfully interjected). He is our biggest fan when we are humbly moving toward Him.
Let's encourage one another, shall we, as we see God working in each of us, no matter what He is doing in me, and no matter what He is doing in you.
QUESTIONS FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT COMMENT
- To what extent do you think God prepared you for the call He placed on your life--that is, what signs do you now see of His work in your life before you were even saved?
- What is God doing in your life right now for which you offer rejoicing?
God Keeps Leading
12 years ago
8 comments:
God is doing so much in my life right now. I am amazed at his love for me first off. In His love he surrounds me with encouragement and wisdom, the kind that I just do not have...and so, I grow in 'relying' on him. He is so faithful and so amazing to me that I cannot imagine my life without him. All of him. I desire to have all that he is and all he desires to give me. I did'nt use to feel this way, that too, is a work he's done in me. I struggled with not believing that I deserved his goodness, his blessings, but now, with arms opened wide, I say "Come. come Lord Jesus , come" I am here! Bless me! What rejoicing and freedom there has been in doing this, he loves to fill us, our lives and settled deep within our hearts, where we can put our trust in him. This has taken me years, of healing and rejoicing, to realize that I can trust him, I can rely on him, I can say "more" and he rushes in and jumps up and down and rejoices over me. Over us! Today IS a new day and I will rejoice, he is amazing, he is everything I could ever, ever, want or desire.
Ooops, I forgot, thanks Jeff for the excellent entry, it really touched my heart.
Wonderful to hear (read) Anonymous. Everyday we strive to better understand and listen to our Heavenly Father. We need Him everyday and every minute of our lives.
I almost didnt make it. When Jesus came to me, He accepted me, but because of my prior lifestyle many in the church did not. Parents told their children to not associate with me, and there was a general feeling of skepticism when it came to my conversion being true.
I dont write this for sympathy, that was decades ago, but I remember the lack of acceptance from the majority. Thank God for the minority that did embrace me, that encouraged me and kept me focused on what was important, not what the majority thought, but what Jesus thought of me.
Most newcomers are going to have issues of rejection when they come, the transition from non believer to believer can be a very rough ride. Remember God does not always deliver us from every bad habit or addiction right away, and still having them can bring great feelings of guilt, condemnation, and non acceptance.
Embrace newcomers, no matter what their condition, talk to them, greet them, look them in the eye and tell them how welcome they are. Make room for them in the building, and you hearts. Remember the road ahead for them is not an easy one, and they need all the help they can get. The love you show them may well be the reason they come back the following Sunday. The love you show them may keep the door open for Jesus to do the wonderful work of sanctification in them. I hope this doesn't sound preachy because thats not my intention here.
For me, discipleship has to do with 1) hearing the Word; and 2) being changed by the Word.
I grew up in church and always felt pressure to be something I wasn't, yet. I didn't go to a legalistic kind of church. It was/is about as mainline evangelical as it gets. I just always got the message that I wasn't measuring up. Not enough "quiet time" (whatever that is), too much disobedience to my parents, etc. I would tell myself to try harder. That didn't work.
Now I know that much of my discomfort came from growing up with a pervasive sense of never measuring up. I "knew" I was defective and it was my own fault. I had a lot of guilt, and still struggle with these beliefs.
So, when it comes to discipleship, the Lord has really spoken to me about walking in my gifts. I don't have to look or act like anyone else. My faith journey has not been anyone else's, so what he requires of me today may not look like the requirements that someone else is given. I'm at a different place in my process than anyone else.
My work as a disciple is to listen and be transformed by what I hear. This is a mercifully slow process.
I feel like God is doing great things in many many people right now. That alone is worth rejoicing over. In me, I know that he is stirring me up inside. He has given me a desire to seek him with my whole self, perhaps more now than ever before. It's wonderful. I also feel like he has allowed me to look at my church family and feel great feelings of love and concern for each person. So I guess he has stirred up compassion and love in me. I have certainly not arrived yet, I still have some negative thoughts, (perhaps even evil), but he is molding me and I can feel his hands pushing the clay around into something more like him. That's a great feeling.
God changed my heart later in life (better late that never) and the road there was very rough. I was angry with God for a long time and eventhough God has changed me inside and out, trusting people I do not know can be difficult. I am still amazed at how God answers my ongoing questions and when He does answer me I want more and more of Him. Its like a unqenchable thrist to seek Him. I was raised Southern Baptist and most of my church life was boring. Then I heard about a God who would dance over me and all around me and laugh..... this was something so foreign to me that it opened my eyes just enough to want more. I heard about a God who wore armor and would take on anyone.....yet in doing so would love them even more.......I wanted to know more. Learning all about God is ongoing for me everyday now that my eyes are open and my heart is filled with Him. I faulter now and again like everyone, but when I know He is here with me...I am so much better. As I look back to my old self to now, I can see where God has been there for me yet I was blind to see Him there. God has been there the entire time. Now I run to Him and want to be with Him. Even at my age I feel as though He has so much more to teach me and I am anxious to know more. God let me fall on my face early in life, yet He was always there to pick up the pieces and I had to learn the hard way, so my journey to where I am today has prepared me (so far) to be His and I am grateful for Him now and always.
I'm a little late on commenting on this one, but as dlb said, better late than never!
God is doing an amazing amount of work in my life right now. I want to thank Nelson and Mary Kester for opening their home and doing the study of How People Grow. God is in the process of stripping me of everything I ever believed in or knew and changing it for what He wants for me. As each week goes by I see the effect it is taking on me, my family, and my marriage. Wow! I never imagined what was going to happen when we started this study. It hasn't been easy either. God has given me a great group and a safe place to do this. We are about half way through the study and I can't wait to see what happens next.
To answer your question Jeff, I think God put great people in my life prior to me being saved. These people were the ones who led me back to a life with God in it and it has only improved since then. A lot of stuff has been really hard, but God continues to lead me in the direction He wants me to go, and I'm listening.....
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