Desperate For The Provider Over The Provisions

Good morning all!

It's early and I'm on my way out the door for my college class, but I had a little time so I wanted to take a moment to talk about what we, as Christians, are desperate for.

A good friend of mine led a part of the worship service yesterday and the song he sang was called "Jehovah Jireh".  The Lord is our provider.  Towards the end of the song, my friend stopped and mentioned that he was not singing this song to the blessings of God, but to God. He said "I do not need the provisions as much as I need the Provider."

And friends, that is SO true! I know in my own life I yearn for the blessings of God so much that they overpower my desire for the presence of Him who provides.  Think about it.  How often do we pray "Lord, do this in my life" or "Father, give me this thing"?  And perhaps not even in a selfish way.  We could desire that God would give us wisdom in a situation that we're uncomfortable with, but want to give God glory through.  Is there anything wrong with such a prayer?  Nope.  However, even though we intend it for good, we still approach God with a "please give me" attitude.

What if you and I prayed for a week without asking for a thing except that God would just make His presence known?  What if we become desperate for the Spirit of God more than what He can give us?  And then, to know that He is with us is enough!

I know too many people who have given up on God because He did not provide for them when they believed He should have.  He did not give them that blessing in the "opportune moment" and so they shut God out.  These people rely completely and only on the provision of God and have no desire to have His presence.  Having Him with us should be more than enough!  The blessings follow being in good relationship with Him. 

But we say in our hearts "I want what He can give me, and if that means I sometimes have to talk to Him and ask, I can live with that".  But do we ever say "God, I am absolutely desperate for YOU and I want to see Your Spirit evident in my life.  Move, Lord, in such a way that I may be reminded that You are with me...and that is enough for me".  But too often we cannot settle for the presence of God.

If He is nothing more than a vending machine, He is not God.  Let the Lord Jesus be God, my friends.  Be desperate for Him and His presence in your life.  Without that, any blessings we recieve will be empty.  So change your focus.  Desire the Provider.  Be desperate for the Lord.

Choosing Happiness

So I have seen way too many statuses on Facebook over the past few days talking about depression and how life sucks at the moment, etc.  Well my question to that is "what are you using to measure happiness?" Are you allowing circumstances and situations around you to dictate your feelings? Happiness is a CHOICE, my friends! All of hell itself can assault you, and if it ruins your life, it did so simply because you chose to allow it.  Christians do not live according to circumstances! They live according to Jesus Christ and He has NEVER STOPPED BEING AWESOME!!!!!  So if you're having a crappy day....why?  It is a matter of where your focus is.

So I encourage you to take a moment and think about what it is that fuels what you determine is a good day or not.  People say "I'll be happy if...." or "I'll be happy when..." No! Today, make it "I am happy." Period.  No strings attached. :-)

Do not let the things of this world rule you and your thoughts.  You are a child of God. A joint-heir with Christ Jesus.  Is that not enough for you?  If you have invited Christ to be Lord of your life and have accepted His sacrifice on the cross, then what more do you need???  TODAY, let us take the time to examine our focus and choose happiness and joy despite the pressures of the world.  We have a mission and task to see to and living in fickle depression will not help.  At all.

So smile. :-)

The Importance of Prayer

My Friends,

How important is prayer?  I guess the first question I should ask is "what is prayer?".  Is it only talking to God or is there something behind prayer that is more powerful than a conversation?  I must admit that my prayer life of recent days has diminished greatly.  I have no problem talking to others ABOUT God and about the things of God but when it comes to talking TO God, I seem to have lost much of my desire for it.

This attitude is wrong.  A prayerless Christian is worse off than a weaponless soldier.  We thrive off of prayer. But what is it about prayer that makes it so important?  And what is it about prayer that you need in your life as a follower of Christ that helps to shield you against the urge to die off and leave your passion behind?

Prayer is more than a conversation.  It is a life-line.  It is you and I coming to our knees and speaking with the Lord and King of life.  He is the Master of creation and our Father.  And prayer is when we remember that and we seek an audience with Him.  Prayer should not be an obligation before you eat, and the phrase "I'll pray for you" should not be said lightly.

In fact, allow me (since this is my blog, after all) to pose a question: when was the last time that you told someone you'd pray for them and then neglected to?  When was the last time you made that sacred promise to petition Almighty God on someone else's behalf and failed to follow through?  In truth, I have failed in this much more than I'd like.  And it is shameful.

It is disgraceful, friends, how we throw around prayer.  We speak as if its of the utmost importance and then we act as if its only an occassional ritual; one that we forget half the time anyway.

What I would challenge you all to do is take your prayer life seriously.  It is not just talking to God.  It is MUCH more.  It is stepping into the presence of the Lord and asking Him for counsel and wisdom.  Is is beseeching for God to reveal His divine will in a specific situation for your life or in the life of a friend.  Praying for others is a serious responsibility.  We should feel BURDENED to pray for those around us.  Let us not treat prayer so lightly and act as if conversation with the King of kings is a leisure we may enjoy whenever we need something from Him.  Christians should not be that shallow.

Wake up with me and let us truly treasure the blessings that we have in the Lord.  We have the privilege of coming before God Himself and speaking with Him.  We can ask for His guidence.  But we can also share with Him our fears and worries.  We can ask that He bless a friend of ours and we can plead that He would wake someone who may be asleep spiritually.  We have the ability to ask such things of God.  So let us use this great gift.  With a humble and thankful heart, let us gladly and daily approach the throne of God and speak with Him.  He is Lord and Friend.  Should we not treat Him as such?

Take prayer seriously.  Without it, who would you call to?  And who would answer?  It is the Lord who hears and knows the cries of our hearts and seeks to fill the holes in our lives.  Let us trust Him and draw near to Him.  Let us love more and hate less.  Let us trust more and worry less.  Let us pray. :-)

Hanging Out On Campus

So at this moment, I am sitting in the computer lab on campus and looking around me, I realize just how much this world needs Jesus.  What can I do to help?  How can I contribute to the turning of the tide that so needs to happen in my generation.

I have yet to have a class in two weeks where sex was not talked about and cussing did not occur.  Much of it came from the teachers themselves.  Where can I fit myself into this kind of environment and stand out?

Ultimately, I am here for a reason and a purpose...one that transcends me getting a college degree. I am here for Him.  Let that be my focus and may the things that result, occur because I had correct focus.  God bless.