Past Thoughts

Here is a post I wanted to share here from a previous note I wrote on facebook last fall...

If we just stay focused on God and serving others, then I believe a lot of our “problems” would go away. We wouldn’t be worrying about trying to impress anybody or prove ourselves, we wouldn’t be worried about making a name for ourselves, we wouldn’t be concentrated on what we can get out of whatever we are doing, etc. We are so personally driven and we don’t even realize it most of the time. The need to succeed crowds our minds and tempts our flesh. We grow up thinking that we deserve to have so much and that not having what we want is not an option. Many of us strive to get it at any cost. The goal here seems to be materials, power, wealth, knowledge, prestige, etc. Those things should never be our goal. Goals should be things like meeting the needs of our family and friends, providing good examples for our children, using our gifts to serve God and others, becoming more like Christ, etc. The moment something becomes more about us then it is about God, is the moment you need to stop and repent and either re-align yourself to what you are meant to be doing or stop the pursuit of it all together. When we let something become about us, it seizes control of us. We risk compromising things about ourselves in order to hold on to whatever we are vested in. Things like fear, power, money, and position start guiding our thoughts and decisions so we look out for ourselves. Black and white begin to fade to grey and we make excuses and try to justify actions that eventually lead us down a long, winding dark road. Keeping our focus will help us to resist temptations and sin. When we are not self-serving we will be less apt to anger, rudeness, gossip, depressed thoughts, worry, hurriedness, judgment and the like and we will be more apt to compassion, mercy, grace, love, joy, gentleness, peace, patience, self-control, etc. A good check to do every morning would be to see where you are, what state you are in. Are you depressed, joyful, on-edge, driven, anxious? Then, take the time to pray about your state of mind. Thank God for giving you the day to live and if you are in a good state, then thank Him for that as well and ask Him to show you how you can continue in that state today and use it for His glory. If you are in a bad state, then pray and ask God to reveal to you why and to release you from it’s hold. If we are depressed or angry then there is probably some fleshy reason for being so. We need to acknowledge what is causing us to lose our focus on God so that we can not let it have a foothold anymore. When the problem is revealed, make sure to take action towards getting it resolved. This may take time in some cases but at least for now you can hand it over to God and let the spirit start doing its work. When we leave sin unchecked, it takes root and before you know it you are consumed. So it is important to check ourselves daily for “what’s eating us” so that we don’t lead ourselves into actions and thoughts in which will lead us astray. Never think anything is too small to take to God for forgiveness or a heart-check. Once you have dealt with the sin, ask God for the fruits of the spirit to be upon you so that he can do a mighty work in you despite your imperfections and personal struggles.


Here is another one as well I want to share here...

I had thought of something earlier today (or rather God enlightened me) that though we might not be where we really want to be (or doing what we want to be doing) we are to realize the importance of where we are right now and see how that fits into who we are and what He wants to do.
As humans we are so much in the "I want it now" mind set and we get depressed when we cant have it.
But I was like, ya know, the day will come, there is plenty of time. I need to be content and serve where I am now. God has me here for a purpose

See I don’t really think its about what u are "doing" day in and day out, but where is your heart and your mind and your focus? No matter where you are and what you are doing, God is everywhere and u can be used everywhere. So where is He where you are? And finding Him there and serving Him in that, should make your heart content!

It was a nice revelation, well not so much a revelation, but a deeper understanding.

Since its not really about what we get out of something but what we are giving to God with our lives.
Its hard to think like that on a constant basis though, darn flesh.

Think about this... if we are not serving Him freely where we are when we don’t really want to be where we are- then will we really be able to serve Him when we have what we want and are distracted by it and consumed with it?