By Teresa R. Martin
Romans 12:1-2(Message) Place Your Life before God
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
We have to realize the time that we are in. We are not to worry about tomorrow, and what it will bring. We are to understand these times that we are in, and not stress about them. This is the time, this is the now. We have to be Christians of the greatest CHARACTER then ever before. We have to be setting the bar high.
Matthew 6:24-26 (Amplified Bible)
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).
25Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?
I want people to look at me and see my peace, my joy, and my confidence, so that when they ask I can tell them were my confidence comes from. I am tired of this battle that I am in, being tossed to and from by Satan. It is time that we all stand on our own two feet and proclaim the glory of the Lord. It is time to be the persons that God called us to be.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-6 (Amplified Bible)
[O] brethren beloved by God, we recognize and know that He has selected (chosen) you;
5For our [preaching of the] glad tidings (the Gospel) came to you not only in word, but also in [its own inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction and absolute certainty [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved [ourselves] to be among you for your good.
6And you [set yourselves to] become imitators of us and [through us] of the Lord Himself, for you welcomed our message in [spite of] much persecution, with joy [inspired] by the Holy Spirit;
It is time to do the things that God has placed us on the earth to do. We can no longer say; I will do it tomorrow. We know that God created us for this time, and this day. We also know that God has a plan for us. If we don’t know what that plan is then it is time for us to spend time in the Word, in prayer and listening to God’s Voice.
Jeremiah 1:5 (NKJV)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Remember, He is a good God and He gave us free will, He will NEVER make us do anything. Each of us knows when we aren’t happy. Many times we just go from thing to thing or from place to place looking for happiness that only God’s plan for your life can ever fill. Only in the place that God has called you, will you find the greatest joy you have ever felt.
As I sit here and think about what it is that I do that causes others look at me and think; “she is a Christian”, I realize the importance of seeing the threat of the deceiver. He will find things that draw us away from our time with God. He will also fill our time with what ever appeals to our weaknesses, in order to keep us away from God.
Let’s really think about how much each of us doing in reality are good things such as doing for people helping people and all these good tasks. We must ask ourselves, is the deceiver making us so busy that we can’t think of the last time we read our Bible or when we last spent time talking to our Heavenly Father, studying His Word, listening to His plans or soaking in His Presence.
We have to be so careful. We need this “God time”. God has a plan for our lives. Many times we think that it’s not so far from what we are presently doing. However, there are big differences in the worlds busy and God’s busy. In the world’s agenda, there’s just never enough time to get it all done. But if we do God’s Way, He will teach us how to get it all done. He may even bring in the right person to help us get it done faster. He will help us plan our time, not only will it all get done, it will be done better and faster then if we had done it the worlds way.
If we simply ask God for “His Plan,” He will provide us with answers and in ways we never thought possible. If we don’t spend time with Him, we will not want to hear from Him.
Joshua 1:7-9 (Message)
Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take."
Let’s just think about the people around us and what they see in our lives. Do they see peace, joy and love? Or do they see stress, sadness and unkindness. Do they see us spending too much time watching TV, on the computer, or wasting time? Be assured, people are watching us, and needing us more today then ever before.
I have come to the conclusion, that normal and powerless is no longer good enough. I want people to see Jesus all over me, in everything I do, in everything I say. I want them to see the peace of God in my life and His glory on my face so that they will have no other choice but to walk up to me and ask for prayer. I want to sense His presence so strongly that whenever I walk into a place, He will reveal a person’s needs and strengthen me so that I might pray effectively for that individual, so that they too, will experience His power moving and working in their life.
What will it take for the body of Christ to desire this in our every day lives? What will it take for us to desire more than the “norms” we have become used to? I feel that it’s time to stop worrying about what someone else might think, and just do what God has asked us to do. Just think about having the power of God over us and working through us and changing someone’s life each and every day.
Imagine experiencing “His Abundance” to where all your needs are met. Again, just imagine the joy of sharing this wonderful experience and blessing the needy person in front of you. Just think about walking into Wal-Mart and seeing a person in a wheelchair and having God tell you to set that person free. Just imagine walking the down town of your area, setting the young people free from Satan’s traps and healing them of their addictions. Then again, imagine helping that man or women that has been on the street for years and laying hands on them and setting them free of the bondages they have been fighting for so long.
Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT)
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples left for
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Where will the hunger come from? What will it take for us to realize the power of the God we serve, who He really is and what He wants to do for us. This is the time! This is the place! This is the now! Let’s get up and take our place! Let’s do the things that our Heavenly Father has called us to do! Let’s be who he has called us to be and let’s give “HIM” the Glory at our every turn!
Matthew 10:7, 8(NKJV)
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.