"And he will give you all you need from day to day if you live in him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern."
I know God provides. I trust in him for all things. For food. For gas. For bills. I trust he will provide. But, his provision is hindged upon us making the Kingdom of God our primary concern. Many people trust the Lord to provide, but they are not living for the Kingdom ... I am trying to live for the Kingdom. I want the Kingdom to be my concern, my primary concern. I am not living for me but for him ... at that point he will provide and take care of ALL our needs because we are not living for ourselves.
This sounds like a blessing preaching, its not. I am studying for a Gospels quiz tomorrow and this just stood out. The Kingdom needs to be more of a concern of mine.
Showing posts with label Kingdom of Heaven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom of Heaven. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, July 21, 2008
Silly Life
Life. Its a silly thing really. We get caught up in emotions and relationships and failure. We focus on happiness and feelings and now... but someday now will be gone, nonexistant. Our happiness will be eternal and our feelings will be stronger than physical. We wont get caught up in anything besides Jesus. We wont worry about relationships besides Jesus. We wont fail.
I just see so much worry and stress about little things that dont matter. When we really step back, even the big things dont matter. One thing matters right now: That we have a relationship with Jesus and that we are drawing others into that present Kingdom. Every single thing outside of that will die. We just need to love Jesus. To love others. To love in general.
I think I understand why Paul says it is better to be single (1 Corinthians 7) , cause then we are simply Kingdom focused. Why it is easier for the poor to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Why it is easier when we give our money away, when we dont think about things, when we pray. I think I am beginning to understand the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and the pure simple words of Jesus through all his ministry.
We treat life as such a HUGE deal. And it is I guess, but it is not as they say, it is not all we have. We have eternity, and that is heck of a lot longer than the 80 some years we get on this nasty beautiful earth. I am really beginning to not care what the world says, or what anyone says. I want to and have to do what God asks, that simple.
When I get to heaven it wont matter what books I have read or what food I have tasted. It wont matter how many cool things I have done or even where I have traveled. It even wont matter what I have done in the church or what cool things I have accomplished in the evangelism rhelm. It will only matter what was heartfelt, what drew me closer to Him, what drew others closer to him. It wont matter if I liked every second of what I was doing or if I looked the best or even if I had really cool times with my friends. It just wont matter.
I dont want to let everything go away, or move into the desert and become a John the Baptist type person. I value all I have, but I value the valuable so much more now that I see the true treasure ahead. Everything affects the Kingdom, my friends, my choices, my books. I want them to all be positive influences because my 80 years is not about to be wasted.
I just see so much worry and stress about little things that dont matter. When we really step back, even the big things dont matter. One thing matters right now: That we have a relationship with Jesus and that we are drawing others into that present Kingdom. Every single thing outside of that will die. We just need to love Jesus. To love others. To love in general.
I think I understand why Paul says it is better to be single (1 Corinthians 7) , cause then we are simply Kingdom focused. Why it is easier for the poor to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Why it is easier when we give our money away, when we dont think about things, when we pray. I think I am beginning to understand the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and the pure simple words of Jesus through all his ministry.
We treat life as such a HUGE deal. And it is I guess, but it is not as they say, it is not all we have. We have eternity, and that is heck of a lot longer than the 80 some years we get on this nasty beautiful earth. I am really beginning to not care what the world says, or what anyone says. I want to and have to do what God asks, that simple.
When I get to heaven it wont matter what books I have read or what food I have tasted. It wont matter how many cool things I have done or even where I have traveled. It even wont matter what I have done in the church or what cool things I have accomplished in the evangelism rhelm. It will only matter what was heartfelt, what drew me closer to Him, what drew others closer to him. It wont matter if I liked every second of what I was doing or if I looked the best or even if I had really cool times with my friends. It just wont matter.
I dont want to let everything go away, or move into the desert and become a John the Baptist type person. I value all I have, but I value the valuable so much more now that I see the true treasure ahead. Everything affects the Kingdom, my friends, my choices, my books. I want them to all be positive influences because my 80 years is not about to be wasted.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Its not about the quanitity, but the quality
So this is a phrase I hear often... a good rule of thumb. Today at work, Round Table Pizza, I was cleaning the bathrooms and I started to ponder upon this random phrase. I really take a long time when I clean windows and mirrors because streaks drive me bazonkers and I decided that if someone gets mad at me I can explain that I want quality first over how much I can get done the fastest...
Anyways, I have always thought of this term in the literal sense, in doing things the right way the first time... or in having a few nice articles of clothing compared to a basket of cheap ones... or a smaller portion of food displayed with elegance over a greesy plate of microwaved trans fat. But, I have been really Kingdom focused lately, I just want God to speak to me in the small things, and he did.
The chuch today, I think, gets sooooo caught up in "Salvation" in the "Big Numbers". We focus on evangelism efforts and crusades, and events to draw in the lost. We count attendance and constantly try to better it, always falling short. I have ever known this system was skewed, but I see it so clear now. It is NOT about the quantity or, how many, but of the quality of their salvation experience. I dont know the exact percentange, but... at least more than half the peopel "saved" at Billy Gramm* crusades fall away shortly after. Not because they didnt mean it, but because it was such an emotional day and there was little or no follow up.
It is easy for a Missionary to report how many people he saved this year. But what does that mean? People who fled for the emotional high, crying at an alter during a slow song played on the guitar as the pastor speaks of a guilt trip? Or do those numbers represent a true protrayal of quality salvation experiences? How far away we have strived from what God built the church t be. Its not about the quantity, but the quality.
*please note that I am not condensending Billy Gramm in any way, I respect the man with so much of what I am, I just believe that follow up is a must and that we need to protect ourselves against fighting just for numbers.
Anyways, I have always thought of this term in the literal sense, in doing things the right way the first time... or in having a few nice articles of clothing compared to a basket of cheap ones... or a smaller portion of food displayed with elegance over a greesy plate of microwaved trans fat. But, I have been really Kingdom focused lately, I just want God to speak to me in the small things, and he did.
The chuch today, I think, gets sooooo caught up in "Salvation" in the "Big Numbers". We focus on evangelism efforts and crusades, and events to draw in the lost. We count attendance and constantly try to better it, always falling short. I have ever known this system was skewed, but I see it so clear now. It is NOT about the quantity or, how many, but of the quality of their salvation experience. I dont know the exact percentange, but... at least more than half the peopel "saved" at Billy Gramm* crusades fall away shortly after. Not because they didnt mean it, but because it was such an emotional day and there was little or no follow up.
It is easy for a Missionary to report how many people he saved this year. But what does that mean? People who fled for the emotional high, crying at an alter during a slow song played on the guitar as the pastor speaks of a guilt trip? Or do those numbers represent a true protrayal of quality salvation experiences? How far away we have strived from what God built the church t be. Its not about the quantity, but the quality.
*please note that I am not condensending Billy Gramm in any way, I respect the man with so much of what I am, I just believe that follow up is a must and that we need to protect ourselves against fighting just for numbers.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Identity over Influence.
This week I was talking to my youth pastor, Chris Hinson, we were discusing my generation in general and how we relate and respond to things. I think somewhere we are both looking for a solution to a problem that will never be fixed, but we are out to save the world one small idea at a time. I told him that influence is one of the largest factors in our life on deciding who we become, that is why I want to work with kids and be a positive influence. That is why I think Mentors, like the one-on-one leader I had in Budapest (Lisa McKinney) are so important. They pour into our lives and believe in us when no one else does. But... what about people that dont have a Lisa? How will they make it? Well, God did create us to depend on others... but also to be independent. I wonder how I made it through so many years to where I am today without having a mentor of a sort, a constant pastor or older person... This is where Chris intrigued me...
"Heather, did you have a concept of your identity of Christ at an early age?"
After thinking about it, I decided that I did. I knew who I was and where I was going and why... even if I didnt really. I knew that I didnt need a boy friend, that there was more to this world than pleasure, I didnt have to try to be someone else cause I was comftorable just being me. So, if people can have an understanding of their identity in Christ, it doesnt matter what life throws at them, they will be secure and unchangeable. Mentors are important, friends full of encouragement are a necessity to our livs - but if we have those things and have no identity in Christ, we are nothing. So though I thrive to mentor others and to influence them... my influence will do nothing without their secure knowledge of their identity in Christ and role in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Just some thoughts.
"Heather, did you have a concept of your identity of Christ at an early age?"
After thinking about it, I decided that I did. I knew who I was and where I was going and why... even if I didnt really. I knew that I didnt need a boy friend, that there was more to this world than pleasure, I didnt have to try to be someone else cause I was comftorable just being me. So, if people can have an understanding of their identity in Christ, it doesnt matter what life throws at them, they will be secure and unchangeable. Mentors are important, friends full of encouragement are a necessity to our livs - but if we have those things and have no identity in Christ, we are nothing. So though I thrive to mentor others and to influence them... my influence will do nothing without their secure knowledge of their identity in Christ and role in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Just some thoughts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)