Psalm 84

5 Happy are the people whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Tears,
they make it a source of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.
(Ps 84:5-7)


If our hearts were "set on a pilgrimage" the Valley of Tears would suddenly become a source of springwater. What and how is a "heart set on pilgrimage"?

What you are versus What you do

Ronnie Floyd, author of the book I'm currently reading, says this, "What you are is more important than what you do".

We become so engrossed in our lives that often we identify ourselves by what we do rather than what we are. We see ourselves as doctors, lawyers, carpenters, or preachers and forget what we truly are in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3-14 gives us some well-needed insight into what we are:

In Jesus Christ I am
1. chosen miraculously
2. accepted completely
3. forgiven freely
4. planned providentially
5. rich spiritually

In what ways do you identify yourself by what you do rather than what you are?

I Love You God

So I was thinking, "I really love God."

He has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that He works in the heart of new believers to help them live a righteous life, He works in the heart of the destitute to lead them to someone with the gospel, He works in the heart of the spiritually mature to break them and keep them in a place of child-like faith, He works in the heart of a marriage to keep it filled with His love, He works through His word to speak clearly even though it was written thousands of years ago, He works in the heart of some to disciple others, He works in the heart of others to desire to be discipled by some, He leads me beside the still waters, He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He restores my soul, He fills my cup till it runs over, He provides financially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically for His children, He knows the heart of depression, He knows the heart of joy, He knows the heart of a parent seeking to raise their child, He knows the heart of a church desiring to turn the world upside-down, He encourages the heart of missionaries as the sit on the edge of the gospel ministry, and above all, He is the only true and active source of love from which we feed on and draw from as we love others.

I Love You God

You Make a List.......

Throuh You and In You

Ronnie Floyd says in his book, "10 Things Every Minister Needs to Know"

"You cannot expect God to do something through you if you are not allowing HIM to work in you every day of your life.If you want to see what God will do through you, it all begins with what God is doing in you".

Do you ever ask God to use you even though you spend no time letting Him work in you? He works in us in our personal prayer/study/worship time. So let's not beat around the bush--------

Can you ask God to use you and be disappointed when he doesn't if you aren't spending your DAILY time with Him?

Boxing with God

So God is still in control right? Yes HE is. I get sick of those periods in my life when He seems to get great joy out of reminding me that I work on His schedule and He does not work on mine.
It makes me think of a line from "Seven Trombones"- "Young Man, Young Man, Your arms are too short to box with God"

In Job, it asks the question, "whose arms are like God's". I am still amazed at how easy it is to become enamored with self. Praise God that He reminds me, even if it annoys me.

This verse broke my heart:

I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.
Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle,
or else it will not come near you
Holman Christian standard version. (Ps 32:7-9).


Sometimes I want the will and counsel of God so bad. I try to fight harder to establish a daily bible reading, i try to fix my attitude, and pray more. This verse tells me that in order to know that mysterious will of God, I've got to come to a place where I stop fighting Him. These immature battles just need to be over, and HE and I need to get to the next level. Does anyone else see that, or am I crazy?

Stolen Later

I stole this off of someone else's blog, but I loved the premise.


Proverbs 12:3
A man cannot be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

Once I establish myself, once I get my feet on the ground and have a solid foundation and a stable career, then I'll really have the resources I need to give to God. Imagine how much God will be able to do once I've established myself.

No one ever says that out loud, but sometimes it's easy to live. To make God a "later god." I'll live for you later. I'll give to you later. I'll worship you later. First let me take care of this thing called my life.

You won't be established that way. God is a God of now, as in "I want right now. Not later, not someday. I want to love you right now, right here." And when He does, when that's our foundation, we cannot be uprooted.

Have you ever tried to make God a later god?

Be Disciple-Makers

So here's what I'm thinking: The sermon Sunday morning was about Jesus calling His first disciples. The basic premise is this- Jesus saw Himself as a disciple-maker and He is our great example. In the Great Commission He told us all to go and be disciple-makers. You should have seen the look on virtually the entire congregation's face when I told them that God expects THEM to be disciple makers.
We've kinda been led to believe by them(whoever them is) that Christian humility is self-deprecation. This is kinda tied into the last post on Pre-grace. I think we convince ourselves that we are good enough to be saved, but still not "saved enough" to be used. This heavily pertains to me and makes me sad. God wants us all to have the same confidence that Paul had when he said, "Follow me as I follow Christ". To say that today would make you a stuck-up, holier-than-thou loser. It shouldn't!
What do you think?