Be Set on Fire!

"May He enlighten your inner vision, that you may appreciate the things we hope for, since we were called by God. May You know how great is the inheritance, the glory, God sets apart for His saints; may you understand with what extraordinary power He acts in favor of us who believe. " - Ephesians 1:18-19

I've been asked a few times why I started to write about God and when I read Paul's letter to the Ephesians, I feel my heart race faster because this verse is exactly why I'm doing this. I have a need to express the love of God because I don't think a lot of people know Him very well. I feel like most people don't understand what He wants from us. It's not about rules or taking away things from our lives. On the contrary, it's about giving us so much more. We are all broken and each of us has wounds that never seem to heal. To me, God is this incredible, all encompassing force that surrounds me in the air I breathe. He's so strong and yet so gentle and when I'm in His presence, it's like being a child again cuddled up in my mother's arms. And this is what I urgently need you to feel. This is how I need you to see my God, your God, your Creator and your Lord Almighty. And like Paul says, I need you to understand what an incredible, fulfilling feeling it is to know that you are loved by God. How at the moment you come into the Lord's presence, your heart beats faster and the love you feel bursting forward cannot be contained. God wants to take care of you, nurture you. When you begin to experience this, you will be so humbled when you see how He goes over and beyond anything you could have ever expected from Him. I can't tell you how many times, just this week alone, I've broken down in tears because I've seen what He's done for me, the care He's shown me. Just when I think I know what to expect, He gives me so much more.

This is what I want for you. This is how I want you to feel. I want the Lord to open your eyes to His love and I want you to accept it, with all of your heart. Be set on fire. Seek Him every day. When you feel it, don't let it dim. Keep on nurturing the Spirit of God in you so that it grows bigger and you begin to live the life of abundance Jesus promised.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, I am so humbled by Your power and Your love. Thank You for letting Yourself be known to me. Thank You for revealing Yourself. I don't ever want to take You for granted or push You back further in my life from where You are today. Instead, help me be light and salt of the Earth so that I can make You proud and with others share in this love You have given me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

I Thank God For You

"Although I am far from you, my spirit is with you and I rejoice in recalling how well-disciplined you are and how firm in the faith of Christ. If you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, let Him be your doctrine. Be rooted and built up in Him; let faith be your principle, as you were taught, and your thanksgiving overflowing. See that no one deceives you with philosophy or any hollow discourse: these are merely human doctrines not inspired by Christ but by the wisdom of this world. For in Him dwells the fullness of God in bodily form. He is the head of all cosmic power and authority, and in Him you have everything." - Colossians 2:4-10

Paul sent this letter to the Christians in Colossae around the year 62. He was so proud of their faith and the way they were moving forward with their faith. While I was reading this passage today, I thought of you who read these messages daily. I felt like Paul who wrote to encourage but I also feel proud that you have truly taken these messages to heart and are learning to walk with Jesus. It really makes me so happy when some of you write back with questions or comments because all of this is for the glory of God's kingdom here on earth, and this sharing increases your own faith.

Besides giving thanks to God for your faith, like Paul does in this passage, I also want to remind you of this commitment to Christ. Following God is a commitment that should encompass every area of your life, not just time in church. In every move you make and every person you meet, let the life of Jesus Christ be on your mind. Your fears and your goals need to be given over to Him in full trust, something that does take time to do. But make sure your intentions are pure; do away with horoscopes or even telling people what sign you are. Stars and planets don't govern or tell you about your life, but only Jesus Christ, who Paul calls the head of all cosmic power and authority in this letter, can direct you and be with you in life. God is a God of fullness and abundance, filling you with all you need as you need it. In Jesus, you do have everything.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, thank You for the faithful people who love you and do Your will. Lord, look at our hearts and our desire to please You instead of the sins we commit. Help us to stay firm in You and trust in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Stop Gleaning

"When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his men, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves and do not scold her. And pull some stalks from the bundles; leave them scattered for her to glean.'" - Ruth 2:15-16

A gleaner was a peasant who waited until farmers collected their harvests to go into the fields and collect whatever small scraps of wheat were left behind or had fallen out of baskets. I know that many of us feel like gleaners. Sometimes money is so tight that people are living from pay check to pay check trying to make ends meet. They try to save money as much as they can but get hit with bills that need to be paid at every corner. If it's not with money, there are people who are emotional gleaners because they are not given enough love or affection in their lives. They hold on to things that are not good for them or do the wrong things to get the attention they crave. If you are a gleaner, know that gleaning is not enough. The Lord doesn't intend for you to only live off of scraps that are left behind. The Lord intends for you to live a life full of joy and abundance where in all things, He takes care of you.

Ruth was a poor widow who had to resort to gleaning. Boaz owned the field in which she was gleaning, and without knowing who she was, the Lord allowed for Boaz to look favorably upon Ruth and commanded his workers to leave extra pieces of barley for Ruth where she would glean. This is what the Lord wants to do for you if you only put your faith in Him. We glean for money or for solutions to our problems because we think it's only up to us to make it work; we only depend on ourselves. But with Ruth, God made sure a stranger took notice of her to help her have much more than she needed. The bible says that Ruth left that field with a surplus of barley! So the Lord isn't only going to give you what you need, but more. He will bless you and put people in your way, even strangers, to help you, provide for you, and help you grow.

So don't be a gleaner. Stop settling for less when the Lord wants to give you so much more than the scraps you're trying so hard to fill yourself up with! Put your faith in Him! Only worry about pleasing Him because He will then concern Himself with putting the right people, places and things in your path to bless you. It is not in your hands, but everything, EVERYTHING is in the Lord's hands.

Today's Prayer:
Thank You Lord Jesus for being so good to me. Thank You for wanting to give me abundance when I struggle to gather scraps. Lord, help me put You first and always walk according to Your light. In Your Name we pray, amen.