Well. Here I am. My last night in Honduras. Day 3 of 5 beds in 5 days. Haha.
I don't feel I have much to say right now, but I'm not so sure it's that as much as I just don't know what to say.
If there's ever something to know, it's this: don't expect what you expect. When I was much younger, my mom told me that I should not have high expectations, because then you won't be let down. And personally, for most things, I believe that's correct. But fortunately (and by the way, this topic just took a turn I didn't plan for it to take), we don't have to worry about expecting too little from God. He is a God of abundance. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (so scripture says, I'm pretty sure it's ALL His, though). One cannot out-give God. One cannot out-bless God, for it is by God's grace that we are even ABLE to give or bless. It is by His grace that we have breath in our lungs, for the believer and the unbeliever alike.
You know what scripture keep coming to mind recently? The ones about loving God above all, and your neighbor as yourself. And in addition to that, loving other's as Christ loves us, and when we give even to the least of these, we are giving to Jesus Himself.
I heard a message this afternoon about rewards, and the pastor was speaking on how he never was a huge reward type of guy, but he's coming to realize that God enjoys giving rewards, and speaks much of them. If God likes to give rewards so much, shouldn't we be excited to receive them? First, I am NOT saying we should only do things for the rewards we will receive, but for the fact that in and of itself, the GIVING is the reward. If God is a God of giving, and a God of abundance, shouldn't we then expect MUCH of God? I know I have a tendancy to think way too little of Him. But the truth is that this God that we serve, the God that we try to fit in a convenient little box, a box that we can keep on a shelf, or in a closet, is the God that formed man from dirt. Breathed life into him. Spoke, and the stars in the sky were created. Think about it: we live on earth, two planets from the sun, not even close to the largest planet, and the sun is not anywhere NEAR the largest star man has discovered. And we in our ignorance, try to conform Him to OUR standards. Who are we? What makes us so great? I'll tell you what makes us so great. We have a great big God, who has such a great love for us, that even though we are evil, and that our good works are as filthy rags, that He sent His son to bridge the gap for us, so that we might be the inheritence to His kingdom. Wow. What a great God we serve.
Thank You, Father, for each person reading this message. I pray that You would draw them each closer to You. I pray that they would be convicted of trying to manage You into their schedule, where the truth is, You should BE their schedule. Lord, You don't want just a piece of our lives here and there; Jesus didn't die so that we could live for You on our terms. I pray that You would show us all what it means to truly be a slave for Jesus Christ, and that we would commit all of our works unto You, Father. This life was not meant for us, but for Your glory. Father, I just again thank You for this time to come before You in prayer on behalf of my friends, relatives, and those I may not even know, but I pray that I would be able to call them my brothers and sister in Christ. Thank You so much for Your mercy, for Your patience, and for Your kindness and generosity. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment