The Enemies Fear

After reading the text, I believe the enemy's one fear is the Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of God's people. I have noticed that the ways I have been trying to be proactive against the enemy is through constant prayer and daily reading the bible. I realize that these are things that I should be doing anyways, but it has grown to a whole new level within the past month.

I have also noticed Satan regularly attacking those efforts. It is becoming more and more obvious when I am not filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to instill a great fear in Satan's through being continuously filled with God's power.

Desires of the Heart

As I begin to examine my heart I came to realize that at this point in my life the three desires of my heart are a burden, wisdom, and passion.

First, I know that I cannot care for others until I am burdened by our hopelessness without God. So I pray for him to burden my heart to love them as he does.

Second, I need wisdom with how to handle such a burden. A burden would be cumbersome without the direction of God.

Third, I ask for passion and perseverance to care for others selflessly.

Focused Mind and Open Heart

I found this morning's prayer hour both rewarding and challenging. I spent that hour lifting up the church I have been attending since the beginning of this semester. At this time they are without a senior pastor. This experience can either be a very good growth time for a church or set it behind in its spiritual growth. The challenging part had to be keeping my focus on the church's needs and not my own.

I noticed the difference it made on my heart in being receptive to what God wanted me to hear. I really enjoyed arriving at church early rather than rushing inside to sit down for the service. I believe that it is a process that I will repeat in the future even if it is only for fifteen minutes before the service.

A Taste of Jesus

As I read www.crletitrain.blogspot.com blog called Follow one sentence stuck out at me. She had been talking about the uniqueness of salt and how you can taste it in everything. Then she said, "In our lives it should be easy for other to have a taste of Jesus in us."

This spoke such a word of truth to my heart. It should be obvious to everyone around me that I have Jesus. So many times that is not the case. I want to radiate his glory. I want to portray Christ in such a way that he is irresistable to them. Lord that I would stop complicating things and make it easy for others to see past me and my faults and only see you.

Humility

So many times when I beg the Lord for more of him and he fills me with his spirit I can become prideful. It is so ironic because my intentions are to be like him and once he gives me a glimpse I revert back to my flesh. It is amazing how willingly we let Satan decieve us into thinking that we can match up to God.

It is my constant desire that God would remind me how low I really am and how much I trully depend on him to be Christ to others. It is so interesting that we must bring ourselves down in order to be lifted higher and closer to him.

His Love

God is the ultimate example of love. Without God, we do not have a true concept of what it really means to love. When my heart does not feel like loving others he is the constant reminder to me that everyone on this earth is just as worthy of his love as I am. No one is higher or lower on the playing field. We are all even. Ultimately, we are all unworthy of the love he chooses to give.

As I travel through this specific season in my life I realize that I am in need of his love for my sake. If I were not filled with God's unfailing love I could never making it through the struggles this life throws my way. Because of the love he is showing me, the selfishness that preceded it begins to wash away. Instead it is filled with the desire to give away his love to others by sharing in their joy and pain.

Relfect God's Light

As believer's we are a reflection of God's light. When we allow our sin to distinguish his light we are taking away love that he is wanting to share. Allowing God's light to shine through us glorifies him and spreads his good works.

Enemies

Oh how it is so natural to love those who love you, but loving those who have wronged you can be near impossible. We are called as believers in Christ to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I have a tendency to want to write someone off once they have hurt me to the point of no turning back. This command is such an important reminder to me that Christ had every reason to write me off, but chose not too.

Christ points out that it is more rewarding to love our enemies than to love those who already love us. So many times we have enemies due to specific circumstances in our lives and those around us. They could possibly only be our enemies because of those circumstances. When we love them, we are providing an opportunity for them to learn love.

Twelve Commands

Twelve Commands to follow:

1. Rejoice and be glad in the Lord
2. Be the salt of the earth
3. Be the light of the earth
4. Fulfill the Law
5. Encourage others to keep these commands
6. Spread the commands to others
7. Do not commit murder
8. Do not commit adultery
9. Do not make false vows
10. Do not resist an evil person
11. Love your enemies
12. Pray for those who persecute you

How my church is helping make 'little Christs'

Back home I go to Northway Baptist Church. Recently, one of the men's Sunday school classes began to grow rapidly. The two teachers had begun to reach out to men and hold events outside of the class. A lot of times they will have a large meal for the members and their families at one of the teacher's house. THe teachers recognized the need to build relationships with the members without it directly relating to the church. These men have bonded like a family and continue to lift each other up.

What I find most difficult about giving all to God.

I find it most difficult to let go of my desire to control my time. So many times throughout the day there are interruptions that I don't plan or allow for. It is in those times that I am missing out on building relationships with others. I need to become flexible to how God wants to use my time.