August 21: The Ministry of the Unnoticed
This point of view really takes the pressure off, doesn't it? Successful people are used to making an agenda for their lives and deciding, with great decision of the will, to stick to it. Here Chambers is saying that we actually become less effective for God if we use that same self-determination to be of use to Him. The "I want to be used by God" mentality is overwhelming; there are so many needs out there that we don't know where to start or to stop! However, if we just come to Jesus, the overflow of His being can't help but be a refreshing to those around us as proved in the scripture Chambers quotes from John 7:37-38 - "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Picture a yellow rubber glove with holes in the tip of each finger. If you fill it with water, five constant streams of water will flow out those holes as long as the water keeps pouring into the glove. But several things could stop that flow. Picture little twist ties that represent some of these obstructions being tied around different places on that glove. "Spiritual pride" cuts off the supply to the thumb; "frustration and bitterness" closes off the middle finger; "compromise" stops up the pointer finger; "wrong motives" disables the pinkie finger; "hypocrasy" restricts the other finger. Then of course, not spending time with Jesus every day, turns off the water at the source.
Now picture a well-trained dog doing tricks for his master, like on Animal Planet's "Pet Star." That dog never takes his eyes off his master, his whole body twitching in anticipation of obeying the slightest command. When we sit at the feet of Jesus, blocking out all the distractions of the world around us, we easily hear each of His instructions. As we obey, all obstructions are removed, and the streams of living water pour out from us where ever we go without our even realizing it. Amazing, isn't it?
Jesus, help us to really believe that we don't have to earn our salvation, that what You really want from us is to sit with You, listening to Your voice and obeying Your teachings. How exciting to know that we can travel the journey of this lifetime with You, not realizing how our presence along the path affected others until we get to heaven. The difficult part of this assignment is blocking out the calls and distractions of the world, so please help us to keep our focus on You.
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and He who believes in Me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
Picture a yellow rubber glove with holes in the tip of each finger. If you fill it with water, five constant streams of water will flow out those holes as long as the water keeps pouring into the glove. But several things could stop that flow. Picture little twist ties that represent some of these obstructions being tied around different places on that glove. "Spiritual pride" cuts off the supply to the thumb; "frustration and bitterness" closes off the middle finger; "compromise" stops up the pointer finger; "wrong motives" disables the pinkie finger; "hypocrasy" restricts the other finger. Then of course, not spending time with Jesus every day, turns off the water at the source.
Now picture a well-trained dog doing tricks for his master, like on Animal Planet's "Pet Star." That dog never takes his eyes off his master, his whole body twitching in anticipation of obeying the slightest command. When we sit at the feet of Jesus, blocking out all the distractions of the world around us, we easily hear each of His instructions. As we obey, all obstructions are removed, and the streams of living water pour out from us where ever we go without our even realizing it. Amazing, isn't it?
Jesus, help us to really believe that we don't have to earn our salvation, that what You really want from us is to sit with You, listening to Your voice and obeying Your teachings. How exciting to know that we can travel the journey of this lifetime with You, not realizing how our presence along the path affected others until we get to heaven. The difficult part of this assignment is blocking out the calls and distractions of the world, so please help us to keep our focus on You.
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and He who believes in Me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
posted by Jane at 5:10 AM
2 Comments:
Blogging a Confession: Harry Potter isn't the only kids' book I read
The other night over dinner, some friends and I started comparing books. "Have you read Eragon yet? The sequel is out on Tuesday!" My son thinks Eragon is better than Harry Potter, and he reads and re-reads ...
Interesting blog! I'm going to bookmark you!
I have a close up magician blog. It pretty much covers close up magician related stuff.
If your interested then please come and check it out if you get time :-)
GUIdebook interviews Jon Gruber of Daring Fireball
The GUIdebook a site dedicated to all things GUI in operating systems, has an interview with Jon Gruberauthor of the fairly well known Daring Fireball a blog dedicated to self described Mac Geekery.
Nerja Info Directory in Collaboration with Nerja Town Hall.
Post a Comment
<< Home