what do we need individually? what are our corporate needs?
oh Lord, i’m incomplete. i need you. i need fellowship. i need purpose. i need direction. we need Jesus. we need grace. we need love. we need the indwelling Holy Spirit. we need brothers and sisters. we need God. oh how desperate our life is apart from You. oh how we desire You…
God move us. God move me.
oh Lord… that i may be poured out like a drink offering… a broken vessel for You… overflow in me… that your love may abound…
been thinking recently about growth in general. how do we as a church grow? how do we as christians grow?
the common answer is that God does the growing. so what do we as christians do? plant the seeds, water the seeds, prune the leaves, cut off dead branches… how do we mature? how do we change from immature to mature? how do we grow from young adults to elders?
God. 1 corinthians 3
stepping out in faith; taking on of more responsibilities is a step; open to being stretched, challenged, and used; serving; being mentored, pruned…
how does the church grow? when the body is united with christ… we cut off those that aren’t growing… we prune those areas that are growing. we remain in Him… john 15
Are you the maker of your destiny or just a pawn? When I look through the scriptures, I see an all powerful God empowering man to be His agent to change, love, transform the world. We are not victims who are acted upon, we are agents that act.
Love is active. To forgive is to act. To protect and defend is to act. To speak out is to act. We are agents in Christ.
Been researching spiritual gifts. God gifts individuals with different gifts to build the body. His purpose is for His own glory and not the glory of the person or the gift. Immature Christians (me) tend to get puffed up and arrogant when we have a gift. So many times we are so concerned with how we ‘look’ that we end up not giving the glory to the Giver. We either use it for ourselves or on ourselves, that we neglect the original purpose of building up the body and glorifying the Giver.
Lord, that my heart will be one with you. What you love, I will love… what breaks your heart, will break my heart.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If you can do anything in the world, and there were no restrictions, not money, not family, not anything… what would you do?