There are three main reasons I write. The first is that writing is fun. The second is that it is the first command the Lord has ever given me. Third, I am miserable if I’m not writing something.
I began writing just before I became a Christian. Upon entering the sixth grade, a friend had been placed in a reading class that I was not. She was doing creative endeavors while I was stuck unimaginative, overly structured, paper cut-out reading class. Normally I loved reading but my class made it completely unstimulating and bland. One of her initial assignments was to write a short story. So I tried it and loved it. If that was homework, give me some more.
Then when I became a Christian I asked the Lord what He wanted me to do. He commanded me, “You must write for me,” in an audible voice. Even though I knew there was no one behind me to say this, and that it was the Lord speaking, I still turned as if it was an actual person standing there, but of course there wasn‘t.
If I do not write for the Lord, not only am I violating a command that He has given me, I am miserable. If I go a few days without writing something, I begin to self-destruct. I shut down, pull myself inward, and get depressed. My mind is constantly generating ideas and thoughts. If I hinder the release of these thoughts and ideas upon paper or computer, I am like a river without an outlet.
This desire to share a part of who I am, to share a part of my passion with others, is something I must do. I love watching how my writing can draw people closer to the Lord, encouraging them to go deeper, challenging their desire to know the Lord more. The revelation He brings forth is so awesome, that I want everybody to know it and how amazing He is. I want to see God’s transforming power working through the lives of people, knowing that my contribution made a difference, and that God gets the glory. Just how awesome is that?
So if I want to fulfill the purpose and destiny for my life, I must do no less than write. When I write for God’s glory, everything else in my life falls into place and I am truly satisfied.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
PASSION FOR HIS PRESENCE
-Posted by Beauty For Ashes
“As the deer pants for the water, so pants my soul for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1).
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sine with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
What is passion? It can be defined as: “strong feeling or emotion” or “something that is desired intensely” or “a kind of enthusiastic fondness for anything.” Based on those definitions, would you say that you are being passionate about being in the presence of God?
Many I have talked to have had a unquenchable hunger and passion to be in the presence of God. The Lord is calling all of His children into a deeper more intimate and personal relationship with Him. Many have had some awesome mountain top experiences with God, but are dissatisfied with where they are at in their relationship with Him. They want to know Him more. “For my determined purpose is that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him” (Philippians 3:10).
Are you passionate for His presence? Do you feel that longing in your heart for “something more?” That desire will only be fulfilled when you begin to seek after the Lord with all of your heart. If you are passionate about His presence, then seek after Him. Pray, read your Bible, not because you have to, but because we can encounter Jesus through the pages of His Word! Because we know that it’s in the secret place, in our prayer closets, and in meditating on God’s Word that we encounter Him personally.
“As the deer pants for the water, so pants my soul for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1).
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and sine with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
What is passion? It can be defined as: “strong feeling or emotion” or “something that is desired intensely” or “a kind of enthusiastic fondness for anything.” Based on those definitions, would you say that you are being passionate about being in the presence of God?
Many I have talked to have had a unquenchable hunger and passion to be in the presence of God. The Lord is calling all of His children into a deeper more intimate and personal relationship with Him. Many have had some awesome mountain top experiences with God, but are dissatisfied with where they are at in their relationship with Him. They want to know Him more. “For my determined purpose is that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him” (Philippians 3:10).
Are you passionate for His presence? Do you feel that longing in your heart for “something more?” That desire will only be fulfilled when you begin to seek after the Lord with all of your heart. If you are passionate about His presence, then seek after Him. Pray, read your Bible, not because you have to, but because we can encounter Jesus through the pages of His Word! Because we know that it’s in the secret place, in our prayer closets, and in meditating on God’s Word that we encounter Him personally.
“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home there, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young, at a place near your alter. O Lord almighty, my King and my God! How happy are those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Happy are those who are strong in the Lord…When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains! They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem. O Lord God Almighty, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Israel…A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. For the Lord god is our light and protector. He give us grace and glory. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who do what is right. O Lord Almighty, happy are those who do what is right. O Lord Almighty, happy are those who trust in you” (Psalm 84:1-12).
There is a blessing for those who seek Him. Take time today to get alone with Him in the secret place. Talk to Him, worship Him. Long for God passionately.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
BE SOMEBODY - REACH SOMEBODY
(Submitted by Beauty For Ashes)
Be somebody - reach somebody! Which is it that the Bible teaches? Actually it’s both! Everyone is somebody in the Lord Jesus Christ. The day you became saved, certain things happened to you. You became endowed with certain things, fruit! Whether the fruit grows depends on if you are abiding in God and letting Him grow what He wants. It’s an absolute fact that when we are saved, and receive the Holy Spirit, we also receive a certain amount of fruit. It is by these fruits that we are known by. It is by one of these fruits (LOVE) that people know that we are truly One of His disciples. In fact, without it (LOVE), we really have no right to call ourselves Christians.
Galatians 5:22 - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
So you see, we are somebody. We are people who have the above. But, where does our problem lie? Is it we need to ask for “certain spiritual gifts”, listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, to be an even “bigger somebody?” NO! Look closely at the list. God gives them to us. He gives us the fruits and the gifts. We don’t choose or pick some technique, or grow camels knees praying, wanting to get what we want to really be somebody. God gives us what is best suited for us. It “ain’t” such a big deal what gift you have or do not have any way. If you are given the spiritual fruits and gifts then the comfort, grace, and peace of God will enable you to use them effectively, to be a blessing to the rest of the parts of the body of believers. If you are striving to be somebody, then you need to look at who you are, because God already made you a unique part of His Body, and you should be known as His disciple by the love you have.
A disciple is one who learns, and sooner or later, learns to surrender their will to God, and grows in grace and abides in Jesus:
John 14:4 - “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must abide in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I an him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
If you’re into fruit inspection…if you “ain’t” doing it God’s way, it’s plastic fruit. No matter how good it looks, tastes, smells, and even if it has Jesus’ name tacked on the end with an amen, it’s still plastic.
A disciple is also one who knows that faith is simple and that it comes by hearing the Word of God. What really impresses most of us is the kind of love that both believers and those who don’t believe as we do can see, in word and deed, and really know for sure that there is something different about us, and that we truly are His disciples.
Be somebody - reach somebody! Which is it that the Bible teaches? Actually it’s both! Everyone is somebody in the Lord Jesus Christ. The day you became saved, certain things happened to you. You became endowed with certain things, fruit! Whether the fruit grows depends on if you are abiding in God and letting Him grow what He wants. It’s an absolute fact that when we are saved, and receive the Holy Spirit, we also receive a certain amount of fruit. It is by these fruits that we are known by. It is by one of these fruits (LOVE) that people know that we are truly One of His disciples. In fact, without it (LOVE), we really have no right to call ourselves Christians.
Galatians 5:22 - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
So you see, we are somebody. We are people who have the above. But, where does our problem lie? Is it we need to ask for “certain spiritual gifts”, listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, to be an even “bigger somebody?” NO! Look closely at the list. God gives them to us. He gives us the fruits and the gifts. We don’t choose or pick some technique, or grow camels knees praying, wanting to get what we want to really be somebody. God gives us what is best suited for us. It “ain’t” such a big deal what gift you have or do not have any way. If you are given the spiritual fruits and gifts then the comfort, grace, and peace of God will enable you to use them effectively, to be a blessing to the rest of the parts of the body of believers. If you are striving to be somebody, then you need to look at who you are, because God already made you a unique part of His Body, and you should be known as His disciple by the love you have.
A disciple is one who learns, and sooner or later, learns to surrender their will to God, and grows in grace and abides in Jesus:
John 14:4 - “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must abide in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I an him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
If you’re into fruit inspection…if you “ain’t” doing it God’s way, it’s plastic fruit. No matter how good it looks, tastes, smells, and even if it has Jesus’ name tacked on the end with an amen, it’s still plastic.
A disciple is also one who knows that faith is simple and that it comes by hearing the Word of God. What really impresses most of us is the kind of love that both believers and those who don’t believe as we do can see, in word and deed, and really know for sure that there is something different about us, and that we truly are His disciples.
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