I had such a good time with you ladies on Monday! I left with a renewed sense of anticipation for what God has planned for us this semester. I know it's only been two days, but I'm wondering if any of you have sensed a more clear direction throughout the day because you began the morning with the words "Yes Lord, TODAY I will follow You!" I hope that over the next few weeks you will remember the Invitation: "Come, follow me" (today!), the Promise: "I will make you what you aren't" (thou art....thou shalt be!!) and the Challenge: "What's your boat?"
Remember, I signed up for the challenge too! I'm fasting something that I will miss on a daily basis so that I will be reminded to ask God to reveal to me what my "boat" is. What is it in my life that I need to walk away from, to leave behind, in order that I may be a fully devoted follower of Christ? I want nothing to stand in my way! I don't want to breeze through this life and miss out on what God has in store for me if I will just follow Him.
I'm asking God to do amazing things among us this semester. I'm asking that He shake each of us awake from our spiritual slumber and His hand be so evident in each of our lives that we can't help but to be stunned and respond with Radical Devotion!!
I want to encourage you ladies to share your personal journeys with each other this semester. By sharing and hearing about one another's walk with Christ, we can each learn and grow. Let's tackle this challenge together!
I love you ladies and am praying for you!
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Is it weird to post a comment to your own blog? Well, it's not the first time I've been caught talking to myself. I just wanted to say that I have been sticking to the fast and God has been faithful in showing me a "boat" that I need to be ready to walk away from in order to be fully devoted to Him. It's a doosey. I hope and pray that you gals are sticking to the challenge! If you mess up, by all means, start again! The intimacy that will grow between you and Christ is well worth anything you are giving up on a temporary basis!!!
ReplyDeleteLove you ladies!!
Thank you for the lesson last week . . . at one point, I wanted to cry – because this is such a dilemma in my life right now. For both my husband and myself! I so want to be following Jesus . . .
ReplyDeleteI have been reading ‘FORGOTTEN GOD – Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit’ by Francis Chan. In it he says, “How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I just wish I knew God’s will for my life’? I know I’ve longed for this before. But now I see it as a misguided way of thinking and talking. There are very few people in the Scriptures who received their life plan from God in advance (or even their five-year plan for that matter.)”
He mentions Abraham and that he didn’t even know where he was going, etc. God said to go and he went, and that’s pretty much all he knew. (‘Like Peter!) He goes on to say, “God cares more about our response to His Spirit’s leading today, in this moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today’s decisions.
It is easy to use the phrase “God’s will for my life” as an excuse for inaction or even disobedience, It’s much less demanding to think about God’s will for your future than it is to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It’s safer to commit to following Him someday instead of this day.”
It just occurred to me that “God’s will for my life” can be our ‘boat’ – that thing that holds us back!
Chan says, “We are scared to make mistakes, so we fret over figuring out God’s will. God wants us to listen to His Spirit on a daily basis, and even throughout the day, as difficult and stretching moments arise, and in the midst of the mundane. My hope is that instead of searching for “God’s will for my life,” each of us would learn to seek hard after “the Spirit’s leading in my life today.” May we learn to pray for an open and willing heart, to surrender to the Spirit’s leading with that friend, child, spouse, circumstance, or decision in our lives right now.” (‘Just as Paulette suggested!) So I am starting the habit now - "Yes Lord, I will follow you today!" - each morning, when His mercies are new.
Ignite leaders - I am grateful for your sweet obedience to the Spirit! Lead us on!
Carla
©2009 Cook Communications Ministries/David C. Cook. Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Used with permission. May not be further reproduced without publisher’s permission. All rights reserved.
Carla,
ReplyDeleteSuch a profound book and profound idea that our topic in Ignite is coinciding with that book. I so want to read it now! Did you get it any place specific? I totally see that we are scared to make mistakes and spend so much time wondering what God's will is for us, that we are missing the proverbial boat! It is so important for us to wake up and be determined to follow Him every morning. Who cares what's going to happen tomorrow, especially if we know we followed His guidance for us today.
Are we going to be like Abraham and Peter and leave everything behind for that morning and follow Jesus? Or are we just going to follow in the instances we want? Or even are we going to worry about what He wants us to do and not act at all? Paulette mentioned to me before that it's easier to steer a moving car than a stationary one. Move and pay attention to His guidance and He'll definitely not lead you astray :)