i’m back in the swing of things…i had a great weekend helping my sisters prepare for school, and this morning, i watched as one of my sisters headed off for her first day of high school and the other headed off to 8th grade. family is great. church was AWESOME yesterday…the pastor at my mom’s church is really tight and he had some good things to say. his sermon was entitled “how to grow a great church” and it was taken from mark 2:1-12. in order to grow a great church you need 5 things:

1. presence of the Savior: when Jesus shows up, he makes all the difference…Jesus can and does change things
2. preaching of the Scripture: the gospel is the good news, and it’s important that people know the good news
3. partnership of the Saints: we have to band together to bring others to Christ. Jesus says “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17)…if we aren’t fishing for other people, then perhaps we aren’t following Jesus. we need to be fishers of men not keepers of the aquarium (in other words, we need to look to bring those from the outside, and not just focus on the ones we know that are Christian).
4. power of the Savior: we have to believe in the power that Christ has. there will be haters who are hung up on the past (on your past, on past traditions, etc.). just remind yourself- i’m not perfect but i’m forgiven because He forgives me.
5. praise of the sovereign: we must praise GOD for the things that He has done, things that He is doing and the the things that He WILL do. additionally, we must be mindful that praise is more than what happens with our lips- it’s also what happens with our LIFE. we should be living a life that gives praise to God.

so, that’s what i took from the sermon of pastor fairley yesterday. i’m inspired. an additional thing that he said that i really liked was , “God doesn’t mind you getting the blessing as long as He gets the glory”. and that’s what’s up…

ALSO…my devotional today was SO tight (they are always really good, but today just seemed to be EXTRA good) because it spoke EXACTLY to my situation. here’s what it said:

The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”
-Genesis 12:1 (NRSV)

“LIKE Abram, I left my home because of God’s call. I moved 1,500 miles away from friends and family to attend seminary. I wondered, What new friends will I make? What new ideas will I be exposed to? Why am I going so far from my home?
People told me how courageous I was to follow where God was calling me. But it wasn’t courage that led me; it was fear — fear of what I would miss and of people I would not meet. It was the fear that if I chose not to answer God, I would not be able to live my faith completely.
God calls each of us daily to live a life of eager expectation. Following God’s call offers a life so rich with possibilities, so overflowing with grace, that not heeding God’s nudging would leave us forever in regret.”
Jerry W. Krueger (Ohio, U.S.A.)
~Upperroom Daily Devotional 08.08.05

This spoke to me SO much because this has been my exact situation with going to UGA for graduate school. I had no idea why God wanted me to be in Georgia, because I had always planned to stick around at Carolina for graduate school. After much prayer, I realized that Georgia was where God was sending me. I’m excited about what’s about to happen in Georgia, although leaving the area that I’ve grown up in hasn’t been the easiest, and dealing with family members who aren’t always supportive hasn’t been easy either. At the end of the day, I’ve been strong enough to say “God, I’ll go wherever you send me, even if I have to go by myself” out of faith that He will provide everything I need and could ever want. I don’t want to miss anything that God has for me and I’m grateful that He has opened up this opportunity for me. To God be the glory for the things He has done.

Prayer from the Devotional:
God who nudges us, give us courage to do as you ask. Grant us the trust that what you have in store for us is greater than we can imagine. Instill in us love for you so great that we gladly follow your leading, eager to see what you have prepared for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thought for Today, from the Devotional:
We can move into the future eagerly because of what God has prepared there.

and a quote for today, that i thought was tight:
“A woman should hide her heart in the heart of God so that a man must go there to find it.”

so there we have it…my thoughts for today. be encouraged all…and don’t be afraid to follow where God leads you. we experience unexpected blessings when we are trusting God…

peace and blessings!

when i was growing up in church, they would always sing the song “how i got over”, and the basic part that i remember is “my soul looks back and wondered how i got over”. quite a simple message, but very powerful and that describes how i feel about my relationship with God. there were so many things that i remember facing, but i came out victorious; and when i look back over those situations i wonder “what exactly did i do to get through that”…yet and still i KNOW that it was GOD who carried me. GOD has been so good to me and SO FAITHFUL to me- there were times when i didn’t know how i was gonna make it, or even if i was going to make it…but i did. to GOD be the glory for the things he has done!

my devotionals have had so many good things to say:

“our greatest danger in life is permitting urgent things to crowd out the important; to fail to live by a clear set of priorities. everybody is living for something. the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

the scripture reference for that was Psalms 27:4: “one thing i have desired of the Lord, that will i seek: that i may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.”

in that verse, it’s clear that David’s “main thing” is the Lord. that’s what he’s living for, the Lord tops out his set of priorities. David was on point too, desiring the Lord’s will and being a servant of God to the point that God dubbed him “a man after my own heart.”

that’s powerful…and inspiring. as a christian, my “main thing” is the Lord; however, I would be foolish if i didn’t say that there are all types of distractions that can keep the Lord from being the “main thing”. when i was younger, i learned a quote that said “the reason most people fail instead of succeed is because they trade what they want most for what they want most at the moment”. i never forgot that, and using that quote in this situation, i can always ask myself if i’m willing to trade my relationship with Christ (what i value most) for whatever floats around at the moment. the answer is always no. i’m keeping the main thing THE main thing…

i’ve been through enough things in my life, and lived long enough without God to recognize that before i was saved, my life was empty. there are things that you desire, a certain fulfillment that you never get unless you know God for yourself…we can survive and get by and live off of others prayers, but we can thrive and flourish and grow off of the living water that we can ONLY get from Christ.

man…i’m so glad i found the Lord Jesus in time! be encouraged all!

remember: the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

peace and blessings