Worth Nothing

This verse jumped out to me in my weekly Bible reading this past week.

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself,

if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,

to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

»Acts 20:24

This is so powerful, it has been reminding me to ask myself this question; how serious am I to live a life worthy of the calling He has given me? Is my life truly worth nothing except that I may fulfill A L L He has for me?

No value; can you imagine? Everything I have worked for in this life is absolutely worth nothing in comparison with finishing the course, the calling that God has given. He has given each of us a specific calling; to totally live in dependency and trust in Him. Unless we become like little children, we will never be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. What are children like? They live in complete dependence on their Father and Mother. So must we live in complete dependence on Him, trusting that He always knows what is best. If He has allowed this situation to come across my path today, can I not be thankful? Can I not rejoice that He saw fit to bring it across my path? He is good, He is loving and always knows what we need. We need to grow in this complete trust in Him.

I have been wondering, if we all wholeheartedly lived this way; considering our lives worth nothing unless we complete all the Father has planned for us each day, it would eliminate a lot of stress and unrest in our lives.

We get to find out how to please Him! He is a good Father and I’m learning more how important it is to trust Him with every single thing because His Ways are higher. Just need to grow in remembering this in the hard moments which often seem to come my way.

What a wonderful life to live, in complete dependency on Him, finishing every task He has set before us in each day. Has something come across your path which seems to difficult? "Thank You Father, You saw it was just what I needed today." This is so challenging to say in the moment, but by His mighty power which works within us, we will grow day by day finding His power to help us through if we live in this complete dependency and trust in Him alone.

Serious

Have you noticed the busier you are, the thicker into your own agenda & routines, the faster time ticks by? Before we know it another year passes. Are we taking the life we live seriously? Are we treating sin as seriously as we should? We are flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow.

“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls, 

but the Word of the Lord remains forever" »1 Peter 1:24-25

We are not here forever, but we can take this life so for granted. If God has given us a desire, we know He will fulfill it, and we ought to take each day and give it back to Him. Shall we not offer up the things we hold dear today so He may give them back to us if He so chooses? The choice is up to Him. Let us not take for granted today but offer it up to Him along with our bodies as a living sacrifice. 

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" »Romans 12:1-2

Each day we can worship Him, giving thanks to Him for who He is and what He has done. Yet, the days slip by so quickly and before we know it another day is gone. What have we done to please Him? How are we bringing glory to His Name? Are we treating sin seriously or do we care about pleasing God while we live here? 

"So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him." »2 Corinthians 5:9

What are some ways we can please Him today? If we are His children, shouldn't this be our desire? Let us press on together, seeking How we can please Him today.

Dependent

The more you dependent you are on God,the more you get to know Him.

How dependent are we on God? Are we figuring things out on our own, ready to venture out on this next thing planning out each step of the way? Or do we find ourselves helpless? Do we hunger and thirst after our Father and His righteousness? 

This is a journey, a journey of dependency on our Father. The more dependent we are on Him, the more we will find ourselves getting to know Him. Discovering more of His Divine Nature as He reveals Himself to us in deeper ways.

Our self life keeps creeping up every day, in ways we don't expect. Each morning we rise, we find ourselves hoping for something. When our plans don't go the way we expect, we find our joy diminishing.

Just like a child is dependent on their parents, we are to be fully dependent on Him. Where does our next meal come from? What will we do next? We cannot do anything without Him, just as the vine on its own can never produce fruit, without dependency on our Father we can accomplish nothing. Our joy is only temporary when we seek after our own pleasures. In dependency upon Him, we find His life, His joy which does not depend on situations.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." - John 15:1-11

Jealous

Everything’s quiet, except the bustling noises here and there of those passing by. No one is paying you attention. They all pass buy, leaving the thoughts in your head to turn ‘round and ‘round. Once in a while they’ll stop by, but you feel like a fool.

The thoughts that turn in your head, what could have been and what could be, oh if only! You get up and leave the room, trying to push the thoughts away. Then in the silence of your heart, you hear Your Father in Heaven speak. He gently encourages you in love, reminding you He is still with you. He comforts you with the comfort only He can give, which He longs for you to give away to others going through similar hardships and pain. They’re never the same but He is. He allows us to go through hardships so we might have a compassionate heart as He does.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.Your heart leaps for joy at the sound of His Voice. What makes it so different from all the others? His love and wisdom, oh His Voice condemns not, but convicts bringing to light the secrets of the heart that we might be filled with more of Him." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Returning to the old place, the battle in your mind still unfolds. Yet this time a discontentment bubbles forth — a Holy Discontentment. In desperation you long for something more, for these hopes and wishes to be pushed out of your mind that you may find true life in Him. Then you’re reminded again by that still, small voice in love. Beckoning you higher, if only you’d be willing to be made lower. For the only way higher is to go lower.

“You can have all your heart desires, your own pursuits and a life just the way you’re dreaming, but you won’t have Me.” A burden sinks farther into your heart, “You can do as your please have all your pleasures satisfied yet not have Me to walk with you.” A pain pierces your heart, swallowing you discover a tear dripping from your eye. You have a choice to make. The decision could seem daunting for those who know not His Ways. He is a jealous God longing for every single part of us. Are we willing to give Him our all? If we choose this path of joy each day, loving righteousness and hating sin, humbling ourselves we will find His Power to cause the most boring day turn into something more beautiful than we could ever imagine.

Sitting for hours with not much to do, where will we spend our time? He has given us a burden for His Ways, the fire is lit and glowing now. The enemy wants to snuff it out, but the more blows enfold around it, the brighter it glows.

The choice is clear, to have all of our Father is enough. To walk through the valley of the shadow of death with Him, is the desire of your heart fulfilled, for He will bring joy through the storm. He is sufficient, if we only would give up our time and efforts, our way of pleasing Him, yes, even our own pursuits to find Him to be — everything and all we need. He came to bring life, and life in abundance.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

Music: @AudreyAssad

Lukewarm

Something I’ve been finding is, how easy it is to attempt to seek for the Fathers hand and all the good things and promises from Him, while grasping with your “free” hand, all the exciting bells and whistles which steadily flow by.

Are they bad in themselves? No, but these are the most dangerous to us. We must be very careful how we live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of our time for the days are evil.* Why are they dangerous? They are fine things which look pretty and fun, yet secretly they may be drawing us away from our pure, simple love and devotion to Christ. 

The enemy wants us to be lukewarm or complacent. If we are wholeheartedly desiring the Lord, we are dangerous to the enemies kingdom. Like a threat, he will find us completely out of his plans thus he will act. How? In such subtle ways, hoping we will not notice or pay attention to his schemes. He ultimately wants to deceive us like he did Eve, from our pure, simple devotion to Jesus. 

Jesus desires to have every single part of us, as it says in James 4. He is jealously desiring to fill each nook and cranny. He opposes the proud, giving grace, His mighty power to those who are humble. Those who are honest, humbly acknowledging their need for Him. Like a child being aware of their utter dependence on the Father. 

When we pour out our lives for Him we will find, we will never be disappointed. His joy is our strength! We never need to be disappointed or discouraged although the enemy likes it when we are in this stage. Then rather than our Father being able to use us, we will find ourselves stuck in a rut. 

Can we discern how the enemy is trying to make us lukewarm? Romans 12:1-2 reminds us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice and to renew our minds; so that, notice, so that you will be able to test and prove what God’s will is, His good, perfect will. It goes on later to speak about considering ourselves from a humble position, God being everything and us being not more highly than we often think ourselves to be. We can pour out our lives so Christ can be manifest, so His love and life can be glorified but we must, {there’s no other way} than to get out of His Way so His glory can be seen. 

There are many wonderful things in this world the Father has given us to enjoy. Do they have control over us, or do we control them? Are we finding ourselves being distracted by these dangerous passing pleasures that we find less time for the Lord? Are we holding on to them while trying to reach out for God too? 

A true joy comes when we renew our minds to His perspective. It’s the only true joy we can ever have. We cannot muster it up on our own.
His joy brings strength. 

Will we be taken up by the gift, of the giver? Will we find ourselves longing for more of Himself, thanking Him for who He is and longing yet to go deeper with Him? The load is lifted, He knows what we need. Let not the enemy try to pull us away causing us to think we can figure this one out. We need this, or that, yet in asking with the right motive we will find Him faithful as we draw nearer to Him, we will find Him drawing near to us. He will give us discernment and wisdom as we continue hungering and thirsting after Himself.

Preparing for Battle

"Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times." John 13:36-38

When the Father warns us about the upcoming battles, do we find ourselves thinking, "I will lay down my life for you Jesus!"? Don't we have this desire? Yet another warning comes to our heart, to be on guard.

Will we prepare for battle?

As Jesus speaks to our hearts, what do we do with the Words He speaks? Do they, like a seed fall to the ground? Will they die as we seek to loose our life for Him or do they remain there waiting, struggling to live thus remaining dead forever?

There is a battle ahead, do we think we can fight it in our own strength? Thinking we can lay down our life for Him? Yes, we long to lay down our lives for Him and the desire is a good start. Yet if He warns us about the battle, shall we not prepare earnestly seeking Him in prayer? How can we prepare for battle?

We each have our own battles the Lord knows we need to go through. {He is faithful, He has promised to supply all our needs, even the challenging ones which make us more like Himself, even these battles we don't understand} He speaks this word next, right after Jesus warned Peter about falling and denying Him three times. "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me." {John 14:1} Although we may be tempted, although it all may seem like darkest night, believe in God, believe in the Son. In Luke 22:32 Jesus also says to Peter, "but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." He is praying, interceding for us! Not that we wouldn't fail, but that our faith would not fail.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Ephesians 6:10-11

There is a spiritual battle for us to fight and Paul explains it well in Ephesians, about wearing the armour of God so that we might be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy. He has tactics which he tries to get us down. Will we be brought down by them? Or will we lift high the shield of faith, distinguishing all doubts the enemy brings? If he can manage to get us to doubt God and His Mighty Power in our life, TODAY, he can bring us lower. Yet we can see God's power even here, that He wants us to stand firm against the enemy and He not only desires that we will, He is able to help us! His power is mighty and He gives the desire to do what He wants us to do and the power to do it. Peter had the desire to do God's will, but lacking the power {when Jesus asked Peter to pray with him, he fell asleep; Luke 22:32-62}. We see by the verses below also how important prayer is.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints..." Ephesians 6:12-18

This battle, although it seems at times as though it is with the people and our closest family members, it is not. The enemy wants us to be focused on them, but we must seek to humble ourselves, renewing our minds to this perspective. If we think of ourselves more highly than we ought, this battle will never be won. God will oppose us, we will find ourselves in the dust, alone. We must be humble ourselves before the Lord, drawing near to Him we will find He WILL draw near to us!

Are we lacking power? This week, although I longed to lay my life down for my Love, my Lord -- I found myself doing the very things I didn't want to do. I found the battle to be more real. It was more challenging than I thought. I was trying to fight the battle on my own, like Peter did when he threw his sword at the man and cut off his ear that night. We do this in our own ways, trying to fight the battles in our own strength. And what a wonderful Father, who binds the broken hearted. He then waits patiently for us to reach that place within ourselves, spent and empty, needing His Power to fight this battle.

There is a battle to fight, are we willing to prepare? It is the road through the Valley of Loss*, where we must loose ourselves in order to be saved. The road of Humility, resisting the enemies schemes as the Lord enables us to discern them. This calls for wisdom. Are we prepared? Have we sought the Lord for more wisdom? Are we treating His Way seriously or are we half-hearted?

Are we weak? Do we feel this fight and battle too strong for us? The Joy of the Lord is our strength. {Nehemiah 8:10}

Have we counted the cost? This battle will cost us. e v e r y t h i n g. Are we ready to give up our own way of fighting this battle? I pray we will be serious as we step into this battleground. It will not be easy, but if we seek to humble ourselves, we will find His more than willing to help us. He is right there waiting, willing, longing that we will be empty so He may fill every part of us. Praise God. What a wonderful Father we have!

James 4:1-10

Light the Fire Again

Have you ever felt yourself trying to remain in the darkness? Hiding from the truth? Wishing you would not be found out? Hiding the true feelings of your heart for fear of hurt and shame? It’s true, we as humans hide in the dark for fear of being exposed because our deeds are evil. We don’t want to be around those who are different at times because we know what they will say. Sometimes we cannot avoid this, but they keep on reminding us in love of the truth.

“But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." -John 3:21 

How beautiful, when we do what is true, in obedience to what He is desiring from us, we will long to come to the light. He even goes deeper still » He gives the desire to do what He wants us to and the power to it. Philippians 2:12-13 What a wonderful Father. He will light the fire again, in our hearts causing us to burn with His love in our hearts. It is by faith we go on, trusting He will do as He has promised.

Brokenness

There is much brokenness in the world around us. It seems these days one could look right and left to find «someone» hurting, in fear enslaved, sorrowful. 

It is not these heartaches themselves we see that matter, it’s how we respond to them. 

Will we respond in  f a i t h  or  f e a r? 

At a ladies retreat on the weekend, to find still others who are hurting, who have pain and sadness. Then you hear the question, “Why would a loving God allow this?” Is the answer not yet simple? It is too simple, perhaps that it is not wanted. These light and momentary trials are producing something {2 Cor. 4} which far surpasses anything earthly. It’s these hard things which create a deeper emptiness. A deeper need for something m o r e » and it will never be satisfied until we REACH out, groping if indeed we truly long, desiring to find our Father. He is truly a Father who cares for His children, desiring they would WANT to follow Him. He will not force us, but He allows hard things in the hope that we «will» desire after Him, He will answer and come to us, giving us a peace that goes beyond all understanding. It’s a journey, we ought to keep giving up the thoughts which battle within the doubts. “Does God really love me?” Faith knows He does and He will satisfy, do we believe?

Two Coins

"Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4

The rich gave from their wealth, their knowledge. When we are rich, we don't have as great of dependance on the Father. We trust in what we know. The Father wants us to come to a place of trusting Him even when we don't know. If we are poor, we can only depend on the Father for our next meal, for all our supplies. Walking in humility is similar, if we know our great need for Him, trusting He will fill us because we cannot do anything on our own.

The poor woman gave all she had to live on. Have we poor like she, dependent on the Father for life, all we have to live on? Like Paul, have we given up all knowledge considering it as rubbish? We must seek to give up all knowledge for Him who brings true life. If we give all we have to live on, He truly becomes the One who we rely on, nothing else can help us get through our days - we cannot survive without Him. He is our precious treasure, worth far more than earthly treasures could ever be.

Are we ready to give all we have to live on? This is worth far more. Our faith will be tested, our love will be tested, are we willing?

Done Unto Him

I have ideas and hopes, which I try to "work out' but its me trying to do it and not letting go and letting the Lord work it out IN faith.
Praise God He's convicting me of this and HE will help me get through the GRIND of this weakness. He will shine through.
How easy it is to think we are so important and we need people to care about us. We need to have our mids renewed, we need to SEE things from His perspective to know we ought to give it all to Him pouring out our lives to HIM.
All we do should  be done unto Him, knowing we should only expect to receive our reward from Him. Even if no one thanks us or says anything t us, will we not be willing to pour ourselves out? He sees our hearts He knows what we truly desire. We can't fool Him.
It can be sad to look around at the condition and state of this world. I am seeing the importance of looking to HIM more. This world is distraction but He will give peace when we set our mind on Him. Praise God.

Until Completion

Today was a long busy day, full of jobs to do around the house (shop). It was fun also, to spend special times with my sister. The time is passing away quickly, and only what is done with Him will count for anything.
It's not good to be afraid of Him, but to fear we might do something to displease Him, to have respect for Him, fearing Him in reverence in awe as we desire to please Him. How can I please Him all the more in this one short life that can be so full of "things"? Stepping out in faith, doing the next thing placed in from of me - obedience out of love - these matter to Him.
A good attitude, things we cannot muster up ourselves, but rather to SEEK HIM all the more for grace in our time of  need. As He continues to reveal these things, I pray to grow in FAITH that they WILL be done according to His words.
For the third time this week, people have asked me if I will be going to college etc. and I feel sort of like Peter - three times they've asked. I have wanted to say, "I'll do whatever the Lord leads me to." Yet instead, I have said, "I don't know.", which is true, but I desire to do whatever the Father has for me, nothing else. Will it be said at the end of my life that I have finished all the work the Father gave me to do? This is what I pray will be able to be said. He is able to make it come about, praise God!

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21