Whew! When you decide to seek God's will for your life--be prepared!! The Bible isn't joking when it warns, "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him and be strong in your faith." (I Peter 5:8-9).
It seems that ever since saying, "Yes!" to God, Jason and I have been saying, "No!" to each other. We have gone through several weeks of not communicating very well, leading to all kinds of tension in our household and in our marriage.
But take heart, for God is faithful! He has shown us that the attacks will come as an attempt to distract us away from doing His will and building His kingdom. But He also promises that during the attacks, He will protect and provide. "A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the the devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms....In every battle, you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by [naughty, mean, fierce] Satan." (Ephesians 6:10-12, 16) [italicized insert added by Ellie]
Not only have Jason and I begun to communicate better, but we have become aware and starting working out some differences of opinion that will help us to be more effective in our ministries. So we have experienced God's promise that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." (Romans 8:28) So take that, you naughty, mean, fierce Satan! Ha!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
...He is able to accomplish infinitely more...
When one embarks on a prayer vigil about a decision of such magnitude, many questions, doubts, and fears come to mind. The most recent one for us has been questioning, "What in the world could God possibly use us for, that would warrant the financial outpouring necessary to send our family to Kenya??" It is extremely humbling to feel called by God to do something that you know is totally beyond you: beyond your means, your planning, and your control.
Thank God for His word! I Corinthians 4:20 reminds us that, "the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk. It is living by God's power." How do we live by God's power? Galations 5:22 and 23 tell us, "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. here there is no conflict with the law." The fruit of the Spirit is not the love we have for those easy to love, nor the joy we have when all is right in the world. It is not having peace when we are comfortable, or patience when we have time. The fruit Paul speaks of is the supernatural outpouring of God's power when our external circumstances warrant anything but love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We do not know God's specific plan for our family, and what of His work He will call us to join. We do, however, claim Paul's words in Ephesians 3:14-21: "When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages."
Amen!
Thank God for His word! I Corinthians 4:20 reminds us that, "the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk. It is living by God's power." How do we live by God's power? Galations 5:22 and 23 tell us, "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. here there is no conflict with the law." The fruit of the Spirit is not the love we have for those easy to love, nor the joy we have when all is right in the world. It is not having peace when we are comfortable, or patience when we have time. The fruit Paul speaks of is the supernatural outpouring of God's power when our external circumstances warrant anything but love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
We do not know God's specific plan for our family, and what of His work He will call us to join. We do, however, claim Paul's words in Ephesians 3:14-21: "When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources, He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages."
Amen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)