Waiting on God's Will

Have you ever felt as though perhaps God is ignoring your prayers?  I know there have been many prayers in my life that, well as far as I can see, have not been answered.

In 1 Samuel, Hannah also had this problem.  She was unable to bear children and due to this fact there was many times that she would "be reduced to tears and would not even eat" (1 Sam 1:7).  Little did she know, God would give her a child, just later on in his timing.

Now, Hannah was a women of faith and brought these problems to the Lord, but I know that this must have been hard for her.  So often we pray and expect to see results within the year.  The thing is God is everlasting and he has a way different view on timing than we do.  Now, he does say no to requests, but he is always listening and whatever he does give as an answer is according to his good and perfect will.

Hannah had to wait for her prayer to be answer.  We may have to wait as well, whether it be a day, a year, 10 years or after our own lifetime.  But in the meantime, we should be supporting each other (just as Elkanah supported Hannah).  It is important to help our brothers and sisters in Christ remain strong in faith and confident in the Lord's timing.

                                             

The Walk from a Selfish to a Servant Heart- Pt 2

As I continue to learn more about serving God, I came across a very useful list for me.  Just a little Motive Check:

"... we must never forget that why we service is as important as how we serve- the motives of our heart really make a difference.  Jan Johnson, author of Living a Purpose-Full Life, suggests a series of helpful questions that can help us 'do the work of Christ with the heart of Christ."
* Am I serving to impress anyone?
* Am I serving to receive external rewards?
* Is my service affected by moods and whims (my own as well as others)?
* Am I using this service to feel good about myself?
* Am I using my service to muffle God's voice demanding I change?"
Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by: Joanna Weaver


Now,  if you are anything like me, one (or more) of those questions probably stuck out to you.  So, when we serve- let's check our motives first and ensure that we are serving as Jesus did, not just physically but also emotionally.

The Walk from a Selfish to a Servant Heart- Pt 1

Lately, God has really been teaching me about true servanthood (seriously, he shows me little aspects EVERYWHERE I go).


At a local youth church last week, they went over the parable of the goats vs the sheep (not familiar with it?   Check it out: Math 25:31-46 ).  Now, for many people who grew up in a church, this idea is all very nice, we are supposed to give to the poor, and love others.  We have heard these stories many times.  But here's the thing, how often do we actually act on what we have heard?

I know for me I have given money to charities and helped with small events.  But often, my heart is not in the right place when I do this.  I help with the small events, in order to better my resume, I give money to charities but only the bare minimum in order that I will have enough money for my own activities later on.  

The sheep in the parable Jesus gave, had a true genuine love for others.  They took time out of their day and ensured that they were not just doing the bare minimum but were able to use their gifts and blessings that God had given them to show his love to others.

Now throughout the past few weeks, God has given me some opportunities to show his love to others (they seem to pop out everywhere once you start looking for them).  Only a few days after hearing this sermon, I was walking downtown one day after work, coming home from the local Christian bookstore.  I was stopped by a homeless woman who was looking for something to eat.  I was on my way through my usual excuse (you know  the "I'm sorry but I don't have any change on me " excuse, which this time was true but I didn't even check before spitting out the sentence).  As soon as I started to speak, I knew God was trying to tell me something.  Here I was walking out of a store that was filled with books about God's love, yet when it was time to put it in practice I was the first one to get out of the situation.  Afterwards I told the lady that although I had no cash, I would grab her something if she was able to wait for a moment.  She made sure to thank me, but I really think she taught me much more than I could have ever hoped for.  For me, I am able to give to others in foreign countries, but the moment I have to bring it to my own town, I stop.

Jesus says that whatever we do the the least of his brothers and sisters we do unto him.

And that's exactly what he did.  He loved each and every single person and made sure he went out of his way to show the Father's love to them.

So on my way to learning about being a servant, I learned that a servant heart does not serve others out of their own selfishness but in fact it is a way of worship that we can do unto Jesus.  

Super Server.

Lately, I have been reading a book called "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver (for those of you who have not read this book I highly suggest it!), and I have been challenged with so many ideas.  

Though I have thought about this story many times before (check it out: Busy Busy), this book takes the simple story and really challenges the thoughts we may have as followers of Jesus.  

One of the most recent chapters talked about serving in the church.  

Did you know that statistics show that 20% of the church does 80% of the serving.   I know I for one though have sometimes felt that the more projects I take on, the closer I can get to God (wait... I thought good works don't do this?).  

You see, this is exactly what Martha was thinking.  She wanted to serve Jesus by preparing him a wonderful dinner and making sure everything for the night was just perfect.  The thing was, Jesus only wanted one thing (though the dinner was nice), and that was for Martha to spend time with him...just quality time.  

As the book reads:

"How easy it is to confuse duty with devotion; the common with communion.  That was Martha's downfall... For in her effort to set a table worthy of the Son of God, she nearly missed the real banquet.  And I too, can get so overwhelmed that my worship becomes work rather than delight, and devotion becomes just another duty."

Now, do not get me wrong - God loves when we use our gifts for his glory-, but let's not allow what is meant to be a gift to God become a hindrance in our faith.  Be open-minded to the types of service he may call you to, don't think that you are meant to do every single thing (God gave different gifts to different people for a reason).  

 

God allows us to serve him, but he came to earth so we could know him.  

If We Are the Body

For those who know me this may or may not be a surprise for you.  I am a shy person.  Of course, once you get to know me- you may not be able to get me to be quiet.  But until that point I am very quiet, and for me it is very hard to get to know new people.
Ever since I started university,  I have tried to get to know people but it has been hard due to many factors.

Tonight I decided after much consideration to go to a Bible study.  My hopes were that I would be able to meet some strong Christians from the area and groups I could get involved with.  I found myself sitting by myself for a good portion of the time...   it then hit me, how often have I been at church when new people come and just ignore them.
Sometimes we get so involved with our little cliques and group at church, we forget that there may be people who are visiting who maybe had to build up alot of courage just to show up to the Bible study.  How different would it be if we gladly opened our arms to new people.  

A great music video to watch:

But here's the cool thing.  After sitting by myself for most of the time one girl decided to sit by me and we got talking.  Although she most likely did not think much of the action, it meant so much to me that she took the time to welcome me.

I really do pray that I will be the kind of person that will be open and welcome to others, because you never know how that will affect that person's day, week or even view on the everlasting God.