Monday, May 24, 2010
Holy Swagger
last night at Midtown Church the theme of the night seemed to be being filled to overflow. whenever i think of being filled to overflow ive always thought of that being with love. God shows me His love and as a result of that i cant help but show it to others because it is all consuming! but its not just love that God wants us to being pouring out! love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control! all of those things are of God and have been freely given to us to absorb and drip all over the people who need it! God is a very generous God. even the most giving person you know cant even compare to God! and he delights in giving us the fruits that i mentioned earlier so if your not feeling very joyful or peaceful or patient or kind or good or faithful or gentle or self-controlled then something is lacking on your end, myself included, because those things are FREE! a guy walked up on stage last night and shared this image that he had and it was people getting soaked in this huge river and then people standing on the shore. the river is there regardless of whether you jump in it or not! God is gonna do what He is gonna do on this earth whether you want to be a part of it or not! but how much more amazing would this life be if you were a part of it all! God has never left....he is always there waiting on you to come to Him and choose to be a part of something bigger than yourself. if you really think about it who do you want to guide your life?? you or God? i am full of mistakes and decisions that end up hurting me and settling for just ok. but God is perfect and glorious and already knows what he wants to do here in the hearts of His people and it huge!!! He wants us to live in overflowing joy at the sight of Him and what He is doing in our hearts and the hearts around us! i was reminded of that joy last night and it was so refreshing. there is a difference between doing the "right thing" and living for God. i think the difference is passion and mine has been weak lately but only because i have been the one slacking and i know this and i need to invest time in the One who wants to fill me. i cant run off of my own strength for much longer so im jumping in.
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Hey Lauren, I am totally relating to what you said in the last paragraph... there is a difference being doing the right thing (obedience) and living for God (obedience that flows naturally out of love). Brent and I both are trying to focus more on loving our neighbors than feeling condemned in our shortcomings. AND fellowship has been huge. I don't know what is up God's sleeves but ever since this past weekend, community among Roots has exploded and it is awesome. Thomas' message Sunday was so powerful and ties along right with what our bible study is talking about in David Platts new book Radical. Thomas did not back down, he stuck it out like Francis Chan even though it was hard for the congregation to hear.
ReplyDeleteWell that was just a little bit of my heart pouring out to you and explaining what has been going on lately. I look forward to your next blog!
Dear Lord I pray that you would give Lauren the greatest love for you. Help her to love you more, help her to choose you everyday. Give her the strength because she is right it can only come from you! Amen.