Saturday's Quote

Calling all women who want something to hold on to for focus today!

Couldn't resist, today I had to use a comment made by my friend Sheree Byington on facebook. It was number #25 in her list of 25 random things about me. I think it is profound! ( well...and a little wild!)

"I choose daily not to be defined by life's circumstances."


It is full of meaning...and can really get you thinking about what DOES define you.
So, today...think about it! ( by the way...picture on today's blog is the beautiful Sheree!)

Father,
You define me. Truth says you do. But my heart and head often tell me that others things identify who I am. Help me Lord not to cave into wrong identities and wrong perceptions of what is or isn't important in my life. Today I choose You, and choose not to cave to disappointment, discouragement, or my problems.

Three Things to Start the Day

It feels good to do good works, get a "well done" and feel the flush of human pride.
It doesn't feel so good to find out that the things that give me the flush of human pride and accomplishment might be the very things that keep me from experiencing God at a deeper level.

In Revelation 2, speaking to the church in Ephesus, a harsh rebuke follows what seems to be a glowing account of their good works for the Lord.

"I know what you are doing. You work long and hard. I know you can't put up with those who are evil. You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not. You have found out that they are liars. You have been faithful and have put up with a log of trouble because of me. You have not given up. But here is something I hold against you. You don't have as much love as you had at first. Remember how far you have fallen! Turn away from your sins. Do the things you did a first." Revelation 2:2-4

I think of the words..."you work long and hard" as a compliment. But coupled with the fact that the relationship with Christ has suffered and the love towards Christ has cooled...causes a response from the Lord that holds out words like: I hold this against you....fallen...not as much love...turn away from sins...do the things.....

Yikes! We all can find ourselves in this category, doing good things, life things, seemingly spiritual things with a love tank towards God and man that is EMPTY.

What's a girl to do?
Three things...

• 1. Turn...to repent( used in most versions of this verse) is to turn from something, towards something else.
• 2. Be Filled...with the holy spirit and the new nature rather than operating solely in our flesh
• 3. Live Differently...Go back to basics and live unto the Lord learning to love the Lord, growing in relationship with him.

These three things cause us to face self-denial, because these three things cause us to Turn from self. Let's look at them in light of the words of Christ in Luke:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

Denying "us" begins with the Turn, the shift, the about face!
1. Turn from self
2. Be filled with Christ
3. Follow a New Path

Lace up your faith shoes ladies...and start following! I'm on the path with you!

Today's Prayer
Lord, I am used to following my own heart, own desires, own thoughts...anything "me" is natural. But, when I am living in the "natural" and normal for "me", I am missing the things of the Spirit. Teach me Lord, Change me....I want less of me and more of thee. Show me how to follow you in a way that would be pleasing to your heart.

Deny Myself?

Wanna be a fly on the wall of a recent conversation?
Come on, all women love to snoop and get the real dirt...here you go...
A view into my mind the other day....and my conversation with the Lord.

Deny Myself? That is your answer Lord? Seriously? I am supposed to deny myself? In this situation if I don't fight for myself I will be walked on big time. I don't get what I want, when I want it...and am pretty frustrated with things in general, and now you tell me to deny myself? Please! C'mon Lord, give me a break here. I am asking for your help and all you can say is...deny yourself Debbie?

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

Ok, Ok....I see it's clear in your word that denial of "me" must be the way to you. And the way to you is the daily and hourly coming to you...which is advancing towards you, and then I have to lay myself down every single day, and follow. Help me to unpack that and understand it for practical living Lord.

• come: to advance towards and press into
• deny: to refrain from satisfying one's desires or needs, practice self-denial
• follow: to accompany, to pay attention to, to join on a journey

Today's example looks like this:
It's a new day and so God bids me to come to Him...again. This means that I am to begin advancing towards him through acknowledgement, prayer, and communication. I am to press into him for all that I need..."Lord, today I need you to lead me, guide me, fill me, that I may live as yours in all my situational stuff"

Then I am to actually lay myself aside. An example would be....practice self-denial through determining to think of others first today, or by giving up my favorite food today, or by not watching my favorite t.v. show today and instead reading during that time or serving someone during that time....you get the idea. Self denial also comes in the form of not demanding my rights from others or God...that is a hard one, isn't it? We demand that our husbands treat us a certain way, or that a friend responds as we would want her to, etc...etc...
Quit demanding, Stop controlling and trust God, that is practicing self-denial.

Next I am to follow. This is the action step of actually stepping into Christ as I journey through the day. Paying attention all day, to his still small voice and nudges, leadings, etc....

So...

• Here I am Lord
• I lay myself down Lord
• I am paying attention Lord.

Denying our self is not a simplistic 3 step process. This is something that we have to pay attention to on a daily basis and it is learned, because it is not natural to us. Each of us has something different to lay down each day. Just be true to who God is calling you to be, line up with his word, and He will lead you down the path to growing deeper and closer to Him.

Follow Today. Just Today. Try it!
Daily Prayer
Father, I come to you as selfish as I can be, and ask that you continue developing me into the woman of God that you have designed me to be. I WANT TO lay my self and life aside each day. I need you to show me how to do that, what it looks like, where you are calling me to do that. It's not easy, natural or fun. And, I love to have fun. So, Jesus, give me a vision of the delight of being pleasing to you, for that is better than fun and more fulfilling than having my own way.

Living for more than Me

From the time we belt out that first cry until this very day, we live to preserve, protect and in many ways promote SELF. It is our human nature. But, with the death of Jesus on the cross a new way to live became possible for those who would believe in Him. By spiritual birthright and our new identity in Christ, we now can live according to our Spiritual Nature rather than our human nature. This new way is available to us today and it's freeing.....He died so that we should NO LONGER life for us, but instead Live for Him.

2 Corinthians 5:15
"And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him."

Hmm....don't know how? Well girl you are in good company. That is what being WILD is all about. WILD women are not perfect, they are in process...growing developing, daily stepping towards the goal, and learning what it means to walk in Jesus rather than walk in SELF.

Today think about what Paul said in this verse. Let it speak to you. Allow God's spirit to point out some SELF life that can be surrendered over. Remember, one step at at time. Do not expect spiritual perfection from yourself. But, do insist on a growing surrender to the path of maturity. Remember when Scripture speaks of perfection, it is speaking of maturity. That is alot different than the perfection that our culture has trained us to try to achieve.

Take a breath. Read the verse. Think. Read again. Pray. Ask for understanding. Thank God for Who He came to be in your life.

Life fully in Jesus today, just today, we are learning to live one day, one victory at a time. Now that is WILD...Women in Life-Long Development.

Loving you in Jesus!

Today's Prayer
Father, Thank you so much that you came to give me a new and different life. Amazing. I want to see it, know it, live in it, rather than just talk about it. Teach me Jesus how to live for you and not for SELF. I no longer want to live just for me. I want to grow up and be the WILD woman for Jesus that you have created me to be. Jesus, I need you.

Who? Why? Where?

Who am I? A woman created by God, for God's purpose
Why am I? Created to love God and be His light in this world
Where am I going? From this life to the next life, I am destined for Heaven.

We are all dying. We just don't know when.
From the day we were born, the timer, so to speak, of our days went into motion.
God, the author and finisher, determined the times set for each of us.

It is amazing to me how unprepared I am for the most important destination of my life. Yet, when I prepare to take a vacation to somewhere I have never been, I gather maps and brochures and do the research long before I ever get in the car or board a plane. I wonder why I don't spend as much energy preparing for my ultimate destination, Heaven.

Sure there aren't brochures or travel agents, but we have God's word and the testimony of those who have gone before me. Still, heaven seems distant, far off, and not a reality. Yet, we are told that heaven and the promise of eternity is to be our greatest reality and our source of patience and courage.

Take a look:
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross...who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-2

• The witnesses are those, in the faith, who have gone on before us, and now are in God's presence.
• The race marked out for us is life's pilgrimage towards Heaven.
• The way to persevere is to fix our eyes on Heaven, on Jesus, on things above
• This fixation fixes us so that we do not lose heart.

Sadly, most of us don't have this fixation, atleast not all the time.

All of us have a hunger for things above, but sometimes we don't realize that the restless or empty place within is really a stirring for more of God's Presence in our life. We hunger but are not skilled in how to fill the hunger pangs. We've grown lethargic and have become so earthly-minded that we're of no heavenly good.

It's time to re-learn the skill of fixing our eyes on things above.

The word fix in the English language means to mend or to fasten. But in the Greek the verb skope, which is to fix, simply means the intensity of a gaze or a determined searching.

Heaven and the things above were meant to be our fixation or our Fix! It's to be our longing like being in love, where just the thought of it gives us courage. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, it fixes us.

Let's simplify this:
To fix our eyes on Jesus simply means to have a determined upward gaze and search for more of Him in the middle of our real-life happenings.

This fixing will take intentional work at first.
It might even take an alarm to remind us....Oh, the alarm went off, it's time to fix my attention upward again today.

Whatever it takes, let's make that our aim. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, that we will have strength and courage to run our individual life's race, and as we fix our eyes upward may that fixing, fix us!

Today's Prayer
Father, it's so easy for me to get lost in everything around me. I have so much to do, and places to go. I get caught in the whirlwind of my own life. In that place I often don't even think of looking up. Remind me. Teach me. Lead me. Change me. I want my fixation to be on you, on my eternal destiny. I want Heaven to be my reality. I want to Live Like It's Real, because it is.

Finding Purpose In Him

From the time we are young we are curious about three things:
1. Who am I?
2. Why am I ?
3. Where am I going?

And, as we grow to be women most of us are still wondering Who am I? Why am I here, What is my purpose? and Where am I going in the future? ("What will I be when I grow up?")We can graduate with degrees, be successful in our field of employment, and have babies who need us...but still, if we don't know at CORE level who we are and why we are, we will remain forever lost in the pursuit or search for significance, which seems to keep us lost in SELF.

Colossians 1:16
"Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him"

You and I are not the result of two love or lust struck parents. Though God's re-creation plan involves people...the creation itself happens as a result of the miracle of God. So, at your very beginning you are a miracle of creation, and your life continues to be a miracle of God...as you breathe each day and your heart keeps beating...all because it is God's plan for you to be one of the people on the planet...For Such A Time As This. You are not random. You are part of a bigger story and a bigger plan.

This bigger plan reality is the first step in laying the foundation for Who You Are.

In the beginning of this GRAND STORY, God created many animals and all kinds of creatures. And, after the animal planet was formed, God said "Let us make man in our likeness." The story goes on...
"So God created man in his own likeness. He created him in the likeness of God. He created them as male and female. He said to them have children and increase in numbers...God saw everything he had made. And it was very good." Genesis 1:27,28,31

First and foremost, God creates human life, and says, it is very good. People, you and me, are his plan. He didn't create us as a random after thought, but created people to inhabit the earth, work the earth, and have relationship with God. But, almost from the very beginning, people....first woman and first man....had the rebellion of wanting to do things their own way, and not listen to God's instructions. So, from the very beginning, people like you and me, were insistant that they knew a better way...

If we got our start in Him...and if we get our breath and life from him....shouldn't we learn to listen to him and find our purpose in him?

Today sit with the elementary truth of creation. Think of a bigger story than one you wrote, or your parents wrote. Realize that you are part of the story of 2009. Thank God that He created you, and that He sees his work as a good thing. Ask Him to begin showing you how to connect with the beauty, miracle and truth of your life as part of God's plan.
Ask God to help you with the three questions:
Who, Why and Where?
And, let the TRUTH be your answer:

"Everything (that means me) got started in him( that means God) and finds its purpose( that means fulfillment) in him."

Be filled with the Truth that you are a miracle of divine proportions! Breathe in and thank God for breath. Stop and feel your heart beating and thank God that you are ticking away because his purpose isn't over for you quite yet...there is more story...go out today and live it!

Father,
May we stand firm, at our core, in the truth that we find all we need in you because you created us and you plan to fulfill a purpose, unique to us, through us. Help us to see the daily miracle of life, not in a hospital nursery, but in the reflection of our own face...young or old, in the mirror. Use us according to the bigger story and shape us according to the God-sized picture!

Swing Open the Door of Your Heart!

Today a quote from Oswald Chambers:
"Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and "pray to your Father who is in the secret place," every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God."

I want God's lasting imprint and presence to characterize my days. So, today I am reminded to swing open the door of my heart.

Swing it Open Girls! Swing it Open!

Father,
Opening the door of my life each day to you is something that I must learn because waking up and just living for "me" is my natural habit. Teach me Lord. Remind me. Leave the imprint of Jesus wherever you send me out each day. Oh Lord, I desire to be your vessel, your woman, your set-apart girl. Jesus make that so as you teach me to follow you.

Free to Be a New Woman

There's much talk about being set free from personal weaknesses, habits, addictions and the like. And, thank God, his power is the strength in which we can do all things. But, lets go back to the very BASIC idea of us being set free.

Colossians 1:11-14 New Readers Version
"We want you to be very strong in keeping with his glorious power. We want you to be patient. Never give up. Be joyful as you give thanks to the Father. He has made you fit to share with all his people. He has saved us from the kingdom of darkness. He has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. Because of what the Son has done, we have been set free. Because of him, all our sins have been forgiven."

In the most fundamental and foundational sense we have been set free from having to live our lives any longer in the identity of SELF, the sin of SELF , or the flesh that seeks the things opposite of the Spirit of God. Our trouble isn't in the power to set us free. Our trouble is in not recognizing that it has already happened. And, when we don't realize that it has happened on the Cross, all else is just a spinning wheel of trying to attain a better human condition.

God sent Jesus to deliver us from sin and self, and ultimately death. Jesus came that we could be born again in the Spirit, live in God's original design for mankind, and to live in who this new creation in Christ Jesus is. In other words We have been set free in the Spirit sense, and we are to learn to walk in these new Spirit shoes, holding on to our Born-Again passport of identity of belonging to a different country. And, it's these Spirit shoes that we walk in on regular dirty streets in the imperfect world we live in.

But, for many of us being set free has nothing to do with being set apart, it's just being given some relief from a problem.
Yes, everyone wants relief. That's a no brainer.

But...let's think about things below the surface.

• Freedom in Christ is about a supernatural act of God that changed our identity.
• When you accepted Christ you were set free from self, and forgiven of your sins.
• At this point in time, Scripture says you became a New Creation.

Think about what this is saying:

• The old creation, human flesh only creation....died, as you came to Christ.
• The new woman, born again, new and alive in the Spirit...was created.
  
• You have been given a new power in which to live in, and a new identity to find confidence in. And your earthly body has now become his temple, a vessel in which he works through.
• All of this gives you a new identity, which gives you a new purpose, and an explanation for living.
  

How? The Holy Spirit sealed you and made a home in you.
Why? Because you now belong to God and are being set apart for His purpose on earth for you.

• We look in the mirror and see the same woman.
• We get faced with temptation and have the same feelings.
• We don't understand on a practical level what this means to be set apart and different at the core. But truth is truth, and this is what God's word says:

2 Cornithians 5:17 New Readers Version
"Any one who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! It is all from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ's death on the cross."

Now in the Amplified Version:
"Therefore if any person is ingrafted in Christ, the Messiah, he is a new creature altogether, a new creation; the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come!

The Message:
"The old life is gone, the new life burgeons! Look at it!"

Paul prayed that they would know. Let's begin praying that we would know too.

Today's Prayer
Father,
New Life? My life so often does not feel like there is anything new about it. I often feel trapped in not being able to "get it", not being able to understand what you have for me. And, so I live afraid of not doing this spiritual life "right". Fear has many faces. But one of the faces of fear is the worry that I am not "free" enough, not walking in the Spirit shoes the right way. This fear is not of you. But, to pray to you and ask for wisdom to know how to put those shoes you so freely bought for me on...that is a different kind of freedom. The freedom of learning to embrace the journey, the process. Develop me Jesus, and may I live a life that pleases you.

Filled with the Knowledge of His Will

We ask God for many things.
Lord, help me through the day...Lord, let this low gas tank see me to the next exit....
Lord, help me stay on my diet...help me forgive my aunt... help me make the house payment...etc...etc....

And, it is good to have relationship with God through Christ. Good. It is good to come to him with all our cares, casting them upon Him and learning to lean into hims arms in trust for the small things that make up life.

But, what if we began praying beyond the surface and prayed about the inner workings that we can not see, but that all of our life, attitude and actions springs forth from?

Pay Attention to how Paul prayed for people.

Paul prayed for the Colossians:
"Since the day we heard about you we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might." Colossians 1:9-11

Wow! this is a pretty wild and amazing prayer.
Filled with the knowledge of his will
Filled through spiritual wisdom and understanding

So that: We may live a life pleasing to the Lord.

What did we see from Ecclesiastes from yesterday?
"To the woman who pleases God, he gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness." 2:22

If we would pray the wild prayer that Paul prayed for the Colossians, I believe we would see amazing things happen, because we would have wisdom to do God's will and be living in a way that is pleasing to Him...which has to spell out the word FAITH

"For without faith it is impossible to please him, because anyone that comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Heb 11:6

Two Truths We Must Believe:
1. He Exists
2. He Rewards those who seek Him

One Prayer that we must pray:
To be filled with the knowledge of His will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that we may live to please him....so that we may live as if He is Real...He Exists, and Live as if His word is real when it says he answers prayers and rewards our seeking Him.

Go Out Today and Pray for Inner Strength that comes from being filled with the Knowledge of His Will. I am praying that for my life too!

Check back tomorrow as we continue seeking God and growing deeper in Christ.

Going Deeper

Today I start a new class for women in my area. I will be teaching from the book, Deeper: Living in the reality of God's Love. As I look over my notes this morning, I am thinking back 25 years and reflecting on the things that I have walked through that have continually brought me back to one thing....In God Alone Can We Find True Peace, Happiness and Love.

There are many good things in this life, but if we set our heart or hope even on "good things" we will end up empty rather than full. From the time that Jesus came to redeem God's people the entire plan was to rescue us from the prince of this world and the emptiness of self life laden with sin and independence from God. We need that rescue. Unfortunately often we don't realize we need a true rescue, and look at our Christianity as some fire insurance plan. This view is a sad reduction of the LIFE Jesus came to give us.

A deeper life that goes far beyond the surface of self. A deeper life that is alive and is not reduced to black and white images, but can see things through the Technicolor lens of true beauty, God's Beauty.

People have been searching for as long as we have history to record the search.

King Solomon spoke of this search in Ecclesiastes.
"What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. A man can do nothing better than to ear and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness." Ecclesiastes 2:22-26

People have always been wondering, "what is the meaning of life? what is in it for me?"
And, here we see that without God we can not find true life or enjoyment, but with God, with a life that pleases Him, we will be granted wisdom, knowledge and happiness! This is what everyone is looking for.

Just think of how people in this world look for these three things and what has transpired:

• Wisdom is what the New Age is all about
• Knowledge is what Self Help is all about
• Happiness is written in our constitutional rights and is what excess is about, as people search through things or substances ( and lots of them) for happiness.

Experiencing the Deeper Life happens when we first:
1. Get Real With God--examine your heart and life. Is your walk with God for show, surface or stagnant. What is getting in the way. Come out from yourself and get real before Him. There is no fear in getting real with the God who loves you.

2. Get Back to Basics--we all need a healthy foundation and for many of us our Christian walk was never built on a solid foundation, but rather it was built on works or appearances of doing good things. This is a faulty foundation, and we need to get back to the basic things in God's word and learn to walk in them and live differently.

3. Get Re-Set for Living Life--as we get real with God and begin relating on an intimate level with the God who made us, and get back to basics for our guide book, we then have put ourself into the place of being re-set, or rebooted for living according to a spiritual software rather than the worldly or carnal software that we have become accustom to as we have been shaped by the world and culture we live in.

If you are in the Livermore, CA area, come join me as we learn about going Deeper in Christ and learn the value of living in a new identity as His. If not, join me on podcast. Pick up a copy of Deeper, and follow along with us. www.cornerstonewomen.

Classes:
Wednesdays Jan 21-April8 9:30 am, 7:00 pm in Livermore
Tuesdays Jan 27- April 15 9:30 am, 7:00 pm by video in Brentwood, CA.
For more information: bethannm@cornerstoneweb.org
Today's Prayer
Lord, The search is over. In you and you alone can my heart find what it longs for. Teach me to live a life pleasing to you and was a result of that life I thank you that you will give me wisdom, knowledge and happiness. It will not be a wisdom of the world, or a happiness of things...but it will be a deep and enduring inner depth that can only come from God.

It's Official.... We Have a New President

What are you modeling to your children, co-workers, and those around you?
Without trying we model our values. This is a good time to look at how we, as Christians, are handling the change in our country and government.

People are either happy...ecstatic is more like it. Or, people are afraid, negative and discouraged.
Where do you fall in the line up?
Democrat? Republican?

Today is a new day for America. It doesn't matter what your political preference is at this point. What does matter is who you belong to.... God does not ask us if we are a Democrat or a Republican, he wants to know...are you a Christian? If you answered yes to belonging to Jesus Christ, then it is a new day to pay attention to what Scripture says about how to respond to the new reign in our government.

1Timothy 2:1-3
"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior."

Paul wrote this to Timothy whom he was mentoring at the time. When he gave this instruction Nero was the ruler. Nero was notoriously cruel and persecution was a growing threat for believers. And yet, in light of this, he told Timothy to make thanksgiving and offer up prayer for all those in authority. This attitude is proof in our faith that God is all-knowing and all-powerful. This lack of stress, negative energy and the like, is proof that we trust God and not man. This praying for those in authority, no matter who they may be, is proof that we are trusting God to work through the authorities and rulers that be in our government.

A negative attitude will only be proof that we don't believe in God's power and sovereignty. Remember, God is big, and He loves all mankind. Don't allow yourself to become a casualty of a political sludge pile of negativity, criticism or arguments with others. Pray for your president, and support him. This is the will of God for us.

Prayer
Father we lift up to you President Obama. We ask you to give him wisdom to guide our country. We pray for protection, peace and intercede for him today. We pray for all new elected officials and thank you God that we can trust in your hand as we come to you in intercession for our government. We also thank you that it is in we find peace. Make us instruments of peace, support, and a model of a people who intercede for our rulers as your word says pleases you.

Dedicated to Live as His Temple

Temple
Webster's Dictionary Defines it as:

1. A place or house of worship.
2. A place dedicated for a special purpose.

Temple is not just a building but what Scripture uses to describe our earthly bodies.
Our body is a temple where the holy spirit dwells.
Our body, and our life lived through this earthly vessel is a place dedicated for a special purpose.

Have you thought of your life as an embodiment of worship?
How about a vessel, body, or person dedicated for a special purpose?
Something that is used for a holy special purpose must be prepared or sanctified.

"It is God's will that you should be sanctified" 1 Thessalonians 4:3

sanctified:

• to make holy or sacred
• to make free from sin
• to purify

Everything else is secondary. He will guide us in our career choices, and the other real-life decisions that we must make, but His primary concern isn't if we are a dentist, hair stylist, teacher or sales person. For Him it is character before career and maturity before ministry. The aim is to be set-apart for his use no matter where we find ourselves, and no matter what life brings our way. The blood of Christ purifies us, frees us from our self and our sin, and makes the common woman sacred...holy...sanctified... set apart.

Everything that really matters can be summed up with: "Christ in you the hope of glory" Colossians 1:27

Again today tell yourself the truth that Christ is in you, you do not belong to yourself, you are to be set apart for His purposes, dedicated to Christ Jesus above all else.

What does that look like in your world?

Refiner's fire
My hearts one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart unto You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will.
(Brian Doerksen Mercy/Vineyard Music)


Today's Prayer
Lord, Life seems to be a constant back and forth struggle as I grow up in you. One day up the next down. Help me to stay connected to the truth that you live in me and want me to be set apart so that wherever I am you can do your will through me.

His Temple

I have thought of myself as many things, but always forget that according to God's Word, I am a temple of His Holy Spirit, as His Spirit lives in me. Have you spent much time thinking about that? The picture on today's blog is one of a Jewish Temple. The temple stood for something, had a purpose, was sacred, and was set apart for people to worship God, seek God and find God. We are compared to that. Do we stand for something or do people have to guess? Do we live with a purpose, or are we always wondering? Do we know we are a sacred part of God's plan? Are we set apart so that through our lives and testimony people can find God?

I wonder if things would be different if I really "got" that truth down deep into my soul?
How would I live?
How would I speak of myself?
How would I think of myself?
Would I abuse myself through neglect as often as I currently do?
Would I stand in Awe of God more often as I realized He was in me and wanted to work through me?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"Don't you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received him from God. You do not belong to yourselves. Christ has paid the price for you. So use your bodies in a way that honors God."

This verse is speaking of the body being used for sexual sins as often was the case in Corinth. You can see that application in context as you read the text leading up to verse 19. And, though this relates to using our bodies for sexual immorality, I think it makes a statement in general to the sacredness of our body as Christ's temple, and a statement that we do not belong to ourselves. Both of those statements made here by Paul, to make a point, can be applied to our lives today in a powerful way.

In a society where we as women are prone to negativity about ourselves, and a quest to find something to make us feel valuable...this passage can make a difference. Today dwell on the statements of truth made that relate to you as a Christian woman. Keep in mind this is not just about sexual sin or as some use it, diet and exercise. It is a powerful statement in general, that in TOTAL living, we belong to God and are His instrument, His Temple...we are to live according to these truths.

• Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
• The Spirit is in you
• You have received God's Spirit from God
• You do not belong to yourself any longer
• Christ has paid the price for you
• So now live to honor God and use your body, his temple, to honor God.

How do these truths impact how we choose to live our lives?
Write a post and give me your thoughts on the truth that you are His, and His temple.
What is God showing you? Share it with others.

Today you are filled with God, now go out and have a Great Day!

Today's Prayer
Lord, Take your word, which is living and active, and plant the truths deep into my heart. May the fact that my body is your temple become life changing to me.

WILD Class Today...11 am

What is a WILD Class?
At Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore, California, we are intent on building women up so that they can lead, serve and follow Jesus in the fashion they were created to do so. It is our goal to provide resources for women to grow spiritually...to that end.

So a WILD class is a class focused on Women In Life-Long Development...that is another way to say, Hey Girl, if you are a Christian, you really are a leader, just developing more into one each day!

I realize some of you on the blog don't live near California, but you too can hear the class. There is a free podcast on itunes, that goes up sometime after the class. ( just go to Cornerstone Women on podcast, or Debbie Alsdorf) So you can hear all the classes. We would also be happy to send you the hand out note pages if you let us know you would like them.

Today I will be sharing the speaking time with Kris Weaver, who is a Christian Coach.

Looking forward to the WILD women gathering together today!
Let's get completely surrendered to Jesus, determined to do His will, and daring to live the life He has planned for us!

Have a Great Sunday!

I would Run but I Keep Tripping....

When we have a problem, we are to run to Jesus. Right?
But, what if we keep tripping up every time we run?

Some days I start with my heart single focused and my spiritual running shoes on, and then the day goes by and I trip on my own shoe laces....I forget to come to Him with the little things that nag at me during the day. So, after awhile, I just forget to keep running to Him.

Anyone else?

Beth Moore says,
"Godliness is not perfection. If you are striving daily to give God your heart and mind
and are sensitive to sin. I'd call you godly." ( from Breaking Free)

1 Timothy 4:8
"The training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

Isn't it WILD to think that we don't have to run this race perfectly? Yes we will stumble, fall, trip up from time to time. Maybe many times! But, Our God who is developing us into His people, His women, will keep picking us up, dusting us off and putting us right back on the training track.

Keep Looking Up!

Today's Prayer
Lord, thank you that I am not required to be perfect. I am not even required to act like I am. I can be me...woman in process...woman who is learning to seek you...woman who wants to have your heart but sometimes doesn't. All I am asking for today is summed up in one word...GRACE.
Do in me what only you can do, change me like only you can change a person, teach me to run as only you can teach me. I desire to be swift and directed with my eyes on the finish line, on the goal of pleasing you. One Day at a Time.

Undivided Heart= A Single Focus

Here is a note I received from a woman who reads the blog. She sums up what I have been saying all week, with real life application and encouragement for us all. Enjoy! TGIF!

Just read the Wild blog this morning. It’s exactly what I have been needing to and amazingly have been doing, going to Jesus with everything. Even the dark thoughts I think I can hide. Hiding them only gives them room and fuel to grow into something big and all consuming. Exposing them to the light of the Son makes them pale in comparison to the light of His glory and diminish by the enormity of His power. I keep picturing myself with a single focus, being alone and getting eye to eye with my Savior. My father shepherd; the one who knows me and has my very best in mind even when things “feel” like the worst.

So Girls...start running to Jesus with your problems and dark thoughts! Don't give them fuel to grow into something big enough to rob your focus.

Be Filled with Jesus!

Today's Prayer
Father, Train me to go to you with everything. To wake up coming to you, to go about my day coming back to you again and again, and to end my day with you. I want to live in the light, out in the open, in freedom...in You.

Pray for Lorri Steer

My friend Lorri Steer has been on a breast cancer journey for the past 18 months. Friday Lorri is going into surgery for removal of a new growth that was found this week in a PET scan. She is very dear to me, and I am asking you to join me in asking Jesus to be with her, with her surgeon and her family during this time. Thank You! Once again I am trusting, with Lorri, in the bigger picture. God is faithful, sovereign and nothing can snatch her out of His hand.
Her blog is inspirational and informative for anyone going through cancer treatments.
You can follow her blog at www.lorriscancerupdates.blogspot.com

Are you consulting the Lord about Today's Things?

An undivided heart must have one allegiance at it's source. For us, this means we have a few choices:

• Self and all it's interests, dreams and concerns.
• Others and their approval, seeking to meet all their expectations first and for most.
• Culture and what is popular, trendy, expected, and valued by our overall society.
• God and all that He is, all that He is doing, Where He is leading and working, His purposes.

Here is something spoken to the people of Israel, as they were heading back into Egypt.
Isaiah 30:1-2, 15,18-21

" Woe to the obstinate children, declares the LORD, to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not with my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; without consulting me; who look for help to Pharoh's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge." This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength...the Lord longs to be gracious to you, he rises to show you compassion. Blessed are all who wait for him! How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it."

How many times do you go through your day just doing your "thing"never once consulting God about any of it? Life becomes routine rather than a remembrance of the reality of God's movement in each day.

I know that far too often I live like that. How beautiful it is to hear that I will be Blessed as I wait on Him and Trust Him, and as I call to him he hears and answers! And, to think that God himself will whisper in to my heart, the direction to go each day. I just have to tune in! I must have my allegiance to ONE only, if not all the other voices will yell at me to choose them.

Who have you consulted today?

Today's Prayer
Father, Ahhhh, so often I jump out of bed, rush to get ready, get on with "my" day, not realizing that it was meant to be "your" day lived through me. Help me Father for a change of focus, direction and seeking-style! I want to answer your voice, heed your heart whispers, and please you above all else.

I had single purpose but... then....

Let's face it, it's much easier to have a fully devoted heart when everything is going fine. But what about when we have bad news, a bad day, a bad fight with someone...

Part of living with an undivided heart is learning to live "well" and intentionally in truth even when the sky is falling in our personal lives...especially then!

It's time to learn to battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions to the point of complete devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Oswald Chambers calls this, "breaking out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him". I like that.

Let's break out of our own little world, our own little moods, our own little feelings and emotions into something bigger than ourselves! How? We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ.

"Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16

Today approach Jesus with your moods, feelings and emotions. Ask him for mercy and grace to live bigger than the smallness of yourself. Ask him for the grace to learn to walk with an undivided heart...a heart fully fastened on Him and His love for you.

Today's Prayer
Jesus,
I often forget that you desire to offer mercy, grace and compassion to me. I sometimes feel ashamed of what I am feeling or thinking and so I keep it to myself rather than bring it to you. Remind me, next time, to bring everything before you, because you care, understand and want to instruct me how to live in a place that is bigger than just "me" and filled with THEE.

The path to living with single purpose

In order for us to have an undivided heart or single purpose, we will have to choose to "see" the things that God is showing us that must be set aside or taken out. This housecleaning or heart cleaning, is an important step in surrendering all of ourselves to God.

Beth Moore says:
We would rather God just fix our messes. We don't want to get into the reasons why. But God wants us to know why we continue being oppressed, so that the next time we're in the same situation, we'll make different choices. ( from Breaking Free)

Sometimes I don't want to "see" the things God is showing me about myself. My inner insecurity puts up a wall to try to protect any good feelings I might have going on. But, I have learned that I must get to a place before God where He can tell me or show me anything without it offending me....sounds silly doesn't it? God offending us? But, if our relationship with Christ, is a relationship, we might at times get upset, offended, or in disagreement with something that is being said or done. We are not robots and so we question, don't we? Our daily goal is to come into agreement with Christ and His will and word for us. And second to that is a goal to disagree with the thief of our souls whose single purpose is to destroy all good in our lives.

The most important things we need to understand in relationship with Christ are these:

• He loves us deeply and unconditionally
• He wants the BEST LIFE for us and is always working in our lives, even when it's hard
• He will never leave us or forsake us
• He is developing us constantly, we are in his process of regeneration

The most important things we need to understand about our enemy/thief are these:

• He does not love us, but masquerades as a lover
• He does not want the best life for us, and is always trying to trip us up
• He doesn't care about our welfare, just wants to hold onto us for his own kingdoms victory
• He is constantly trying to destroy, steal, kill...any good thing in our lives.

Jesus said
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd." John 10:10

Today's Prayer
Father, I am in relationship with you. You are not a far away God. Help me remember that. And, in this relationship you want to be my good shepherd, you want to lead me to what is best for me. Help me to listen. Teach me to listen and not be afraid of what you are showing me. And, help me to pay attention to when the thief tries to rob from me what you are showing me for my good. Lord, I long for an undivided, single purposed heart and life.

When something is Heavy on your Heart...

One common cause of distraction is our troubles. We all have them and we all want to know how to deal with them as they come up. And, we probably can all agree that when we are in the middle of something that is heavy on our heart, it is hard to stay focused. Truth is, when something is heavy on our hearts it is natural to become distracted and sometimes our distraction leads us to a path of being distraught and maybe even depressed. Depending on the circumstance at hand, many well meaning friends will encourage us with something like, "it's natural to be troubled, distracted, depressed...just look at what you are going through!"

Part of embracing the WILD life Jesus has for us is learning to walk in what is NOT natural in our flesh. Yes, it's natural for us, when left to just ourselves, to get distracted, distraught and depressed! But, girls, we are not left to fend for ourselves. The WILD walk is about turning away from living just in ourselves or just in what comes naturally. The WILD walk is about learning to live life differently.

Do you have something heavy on your heart today?
A child who is hurting? A bill that is looming? A bank account that is empty?A job that is laying off people every day? A relationship that is sour? A medical diagnosis that is not pretty?

Life is hard. We will always encounter problems. Our hearts will get heavy with the weight of troubles from time to time. A heavy heart does not mean that you don't love Jesus. A heavy heart simply means that the weight of troubles has weighed you down and that you need to turn to Jesus to find peace again. Besides that, a heavy heart might me a signal to you to continue to pray, seek, ask, knock...on the door of faith....until you see an answer from God.

When you repeatedly pray about something, it doesn't necessarily mean you do not have faith. You need to keep bringing your requests to God as long as those unfulfilled requests are heavy on your heart.

Mark 14:39
"Once more he went away and prayed the same thing."
This was speaking about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He kept going to a place of prayer about the same thing, because it was heavy on his heart.

The apostle Paul admits to praying three times about a thorn in the flesh ( 2 Cor 12:8-9) The New Living Translation uses the word Begged to describe how Paul prayed, which suggests that he was emotionally distressed over the problem.

Matthew 7:7-8 ( from the Williams translation)
"Keep on asking, and the gift will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking and the door will open to you. For everyone who keeps on asking received, and everyone who keeps on seeking, finds and to the one who keeps on knocking, the door will be open."

What is heavy on your heart today?
Keep on asking
Keep on seeking
Keep on knocking on God's door.

I would rather be distracted with prayer and seeking God, than to be distracted with distress over my situation.

Trust Him today. God is in control, He really is.

Today's Prayer
Lord, I give you my heart and all that is heavy on it. I come to you with each thing and seek you for your answer, your will, you intervention into my life's hardships. I trust you that you are in control and I come today giving you all that I am, all that I have, all that I love , and all that I desire.

What is causing division in your heart?

Is it activity?
Is it a burning inner turmoil?
Is it worry? stress?
Is it sin?
Or, maybe it's things, baggage from your past.

All of us have stuff we carry around from our pasts and how the situations of our pasts shaped us and have affected us. Some of these things keep us in bondage, and some of these things keep our hearts divided or cut up into pieces.

Recently I had dinner with my friend Ali. She shared with me how during Christmas how the song Joy to the World had a renewed meaning to her this season. The words...let every heart prepare him room...seemed to stick to her this year. Previously she thought that those words were for unbelievers to believe in Jesus and prepare a place for him in their hearts. But, this year it was as if God was speaking to her saying, " You, Ali, prepare room for me in your heart." This began a whole new journey for her. As she shared it with me, it stuck with me too.

Preparing Room for Christ in our hearts might mean doing some heart housekeeping. If our hearts are too cluttered, or divided, well then....it's hard for him to have his place of prominance, isn't it?

Back to our past. Take in this verse:
"One thing I do forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:13-14

Beth Moore says,
Gods word clearly expresses what a good and effective teacher the past can be. But the past will be a good teacher only if we approach it as a good student, from the perspective of what we can gain and how God can use it for his glory. ( taken from Breaking Free)

What is it in your past that God is asking you to hand over to him? It might be an attitude an immaturity, a love, a habit. It doesn't work for you anymore. It must go. You must let your heart be uncluttered and learn from what you are taking to the spiritual dump! Why did it have to go? Why can't you pick it up and allow it back in? What is God teaching you?

Be filled today with His Presence. Sit, think, process, pray, Be still and be filled.

Today's Prayer
Father, Show me the things in my heart that must be turned over to you and taken to the dumpster. I am listening. Help me learn from the past mistakes, hurts, insecurities,bondages, family dynamics, whatever.... Help me Lord. I want an undivided heart. And, today I want to Prepare Room for You!

Undivided Heart

"Teach me your way, O LORD
And I will walk in your truth
Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11

Divided is defined as:

• To separate or become separated into parts
• To classify or group
• To separate into opposing factions
• To cause to cut be cut off

When applied to our hearts, divided is a scary place.
It is making many compartments of my heart and allowing God his own room, but not the whole house, so to speak, of my heart. In Psalms we see that God wants the whole house, or the whole of our hearts.

Look at the same verse from Psalm 86 from Eugene Peterson in the Message:
"Train me; God, to walk straight,
then I'll follow your true path.
Put me together, one heart and mind
then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear."

Being undivided in heart, in faith, in purpose, in how I will think, walk, and live, seems important, doesn't it?

What if your resolve this New Year was just that: Lord, I want an undivided heart!

Often this is not something we just "will" ourselves in to.
It's a bit more complicated than that, because we are complicated and compartmentalized.
But, it's God, all powerful, who by His Spirit can put that new undivided heart into place and motion.

Listen:
Ezekiel 36:33
" I'll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed. I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands."

What do we do with our divided hearts?
Come to God and express the need for help. Ask Him to make you a woman with one sole vision, purpose and heart....the heart to be ALL for Him, and to receive Him as your all.

Don't rush or stress to try and fix your heart...come to Jesus with it.
Give yourself time and space to notice the divisions, then one by one give them over to God.
Admit the truth about where you are at to Him, " Jesus this is what is true about me, in my life right now. I am tripped up by....I am divided with....Now, Lord please work in me. What are you going to do about this, about me and all that I am giving over to you?" Then listen....reflect, listen again. He will begin working and showing you what His desires are for you and to do in you.

Acknowledgement is the first step.
Today, according to Scripture, can we all acknowledge that we need an undivided heart?

Today's Prayer
Father,
I know that I need you to work in me. I don't want to be divided into many compartments...family, work, ministry, fun. I want to be always and every moment in one single place, with you...obedient to you, listening for you...walking in you. Jesus give me an undivided heart. Do in me what needs to be done to get to that place, show me what might need to be handed over to you for this to happen.

New Year's Resolutions?

According to a national study the following are the top 10 resolutions that people make:

1. Get organized
2. Help others
3. Learn something new
4. Get out of dept
5. Quit Drinking
6. Enjoy Life More
7. Quit Smoking
8. Tame the bulge
9. Fit in Fitness
10. Spend More Time With Family

Christian women usually make resolutions or decisions that involve their spiritual lives.
Things like spending more time with God, increasing our serving quotient, reading through the Bible in a year...things of that nature.

But, what about just narrowing it down to one single thing?
"Teach me your way, O LORD
And I will walk in your truth
Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11

What if we resolved to have an UNDIVIDED HEART?

THINK ABOUT THAT TODAY.

Daily Prayer
Father I ask you to show me your way and what an undivided heart would mean in my life.

Encourage one another daily

Each day we are to encourage one another.
It's easy to forget.
I even know of people who think encouraging others is unnecessary, frivolous, superficial.

I grew up with very little encouragement.
Later my mother told me she thought that encouragement would give me a "big head". I wonder if any one of that era ever worried about giving their kids a shrunken skull!

Because I wasn't encouraged it was easy to doubt everything I did and it was easy later to doubt God's love for me. After all, I was frequently told the negative but rarely told the positive.
Sometimes we treat others this way. We take for granted when they do something good or positive and remind them when they are blowing it.
What about catching them in good and telling them about that?
According to scripture encouraging others is to be part of our daily walk.

Check it out...
Hebrews 3: 12-14
"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage on another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

1 Thessalonians 4:18
"Therefore encourage each other with these words."

What words? When there is a THEREFORE we need to look back a few verses and see what it is there for....In this case the verses preceding this are all about the coming of the Lord. So we see here that we are to encourage each other about the Lord's coming, and to encourage each other about the things written in scripture.

The difference between superficial encouragement and biblical encouragement is this:
Superficial encouragement is just flattery that moves us to focus more on self.
Biblical encouragement imparts courage to walk the walk and continue in the faith.

Example:
Superficial might look like: " Shelly you always look so pretty"

Courageous might look like:" Shelly you are always so kind and have just the right thing to say"

Are we never to compliment? Of course not. If your friend looks great in red, tell her. But don't flatter her and then forget to really encourage her later.
We are to pay attention to encouragement and intentionally noticing the things that someone is doing in the spirit that makes a difference...from the smallest kindness to the larger big step for God....from their small step of obedience in the right direction, to a larger victory over sin. Encouraging each other over these things goes much further than the pretty red sweater!

Remember: God wants to use us as his instruments daily. One way that can be accomplished is through encouraging one another. Catch them in something good and tell them. Show appreciation. Smile...that is an encouragement. Say "hello" that is an encouragement.

In this world we live in all of us need to be encouraged daily.

Now, go out and live God's truth today!

Today's Prayer
Father, help me to quit thinking of myself long enough to notice someone else. Remind me to smile at strangers, talk to co-workers, and be pleasant in my environment. Help me to notice when someone does something that I should mention. And, may my mentioning be done in a fashion that encourages their heart and propels them to more good works in Christ.

Today is a New Opportunity

Monday, Monday....
New Year...The first Monday of the year.
How did 2008 go by so fast and 2009 open it's pages?
You may be asking....Can this year be any different for me personally?
I believe it can. There is always the possibility of change and transformation for us as believers in Jesus Christ. There is always opportunity to be made of use in God's plan. Each day we have a fresh opportunity to surrender and go out to face the day in the Spirit of Christ, rather than the emotion of the flesh. We get that choice. God's power meets us at the crossroads of that choice.

Today I will quote Oswald Chambers, as he says all I would want to express:

"Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to "go out" building your confidence in God...do not worry about your life...nor about your body...( Luke 12:22) In other words, don't worry about the things that concerned you before you did " go out."

Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be the continual willingness to "go out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus."

May I suggest....
Have you ever journaled? It sounds more complicated that it is. Get a blank book of any kind and begin writing. I like journaling, because being a visual person, journaling reminds me that each day is as fresh with opportunity as the new clean page I turn to in my journal each morning. There is no need to try for eloquence or anything dynamic when you write. You may just even jot down a few gratitude's. It's your deal, no one else's business. When I began journaling it helped me to begin remembering all that God was trying to show me in my daily life. I began growing more because I was then remembering more of God's voice to me. I usually write in the morning for a few minutes and close the day by jotting down a few gratitude's of that day at night before bed. But...the sky is the limit, there is not right or wrong for journaling. May I just suggest that you try it.

Luke 12:22 From the Message
"Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more. Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all?...What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so that you can respond to God's giving."

Today's Prayer
Lord, I want to live a life respecting you. This means I must learn to trust rather than worry...to depend on you rather than to depend of my self. This also means that each day must be viewed as a clean slate a fresh page in which you will write the story of that day as I yield to you. Teach me to embrace the opportunity of each day.

Resolution to Stop Being Religious

Many leaders can fall into the trap of being religious.
The dictionary defines religion as: one belonging to a religious organization.

But, according to Scripture, we are to be identified with belonging to Christ himself, rather than being identified to a church or organization. Though we may be part of a church community, we are always to belong to Christ and Christ alone. The problem arises when we begin to find our identity in the community rather than in Christ, and when we find our self esteem in people and serving them rather than in the love of Christ for us as individuals.

Religious activity can cause us to by-pass the authentic life of the Spirit that God is calling us to.

• We make lists and make sure we follow through.
• We do right things but sometimes for wrong reasons.
• We find identity in what we perform on the outside, with little regard to what is actually going on in the inside part of us.
• We become busy bees in our Christian circles.
• We fix things, help people, and respond to needs.
• We attend studies, go to gatherings and are in several small groups.
• We don't slow down long enough to know God.

What would happen if we made it a resolution to slow down and pick a few things that would actually bring us to a place of Knowing Jesus this year.

• What is he really about?
• What does he really require of us?
• What makes him pleased with us?
• What is his plan for us?
• What is the sound of his voice stirring my heart like?

Oswald Chambers:
"Many people start coming to God once they start being religious, because there is only one master of the human heart...Jesus Christ, not religion."

Begin Celebrating Life by Respecting it enough to Come to Christ with All of You.
Each day can be a celebration of Coming to the Father.

It can be in a quiet place...room, closet, bathroom( for those with kids)
It can be in a car...
It can be during a prayer walk around your neighborhood
It can be on-going through short conversations throughout your day
It can be in the morning or evening
It can be anytime or anyplace...it just needs to BE.

How we come isn't the important part...that we Come to Him is what matters.
It often looks different during different seasons of life.

I can remember praying while I nursed a child in the early morning hours, and then later when I went into an adjoining room while the kids watched Mr. Rogers for an hour. I can remember later praying in my mini van after I dropped the car pool off at school. There was a time when I went into my car on my lunch hour and spent 30 minutes with God...reading, then praying and journaling. Later my time with God began to be when I walked on treadmill or around the park.

Now at this stage in my life there is the luxury to plan a time, as my kids are grown and my schedule is more adaptable. But the point is, there is always time, we must look for it, grab it and cling on to our spiritual refreshment from God with all that is within us.

If not we become religious task women, getting the things checked off our lists, looking good and doing good, but not connected to our first love...Jesus.

Listen to the words out of Revelation 2:
"I know what you do, how you work hard and never give up. I know you do not put up with the false teaching of evil people You have patience and have suffered troubles for my name and have not given up. But I have this against you: You have left the love you had in the beginning. So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first."
Revelation 2:2-5 New Century Version

When we wander away from our love for Christ and replace that love with works, it like falling off a cliff or into a pit of deception. We need to pay attention.

How WILD would it be to REALLY be in love with Jesus, REALLY listen to His voice, REALLY pay attention to His Word, and REALLY come to Him each day with our life, our cares, and our joys.This would be WILD because not many do this, we opt for religion or Christian activity instead.

Let's strive for this New Kind of WILD!

Today's Prayer
Lord, show me what coming to you looks like in this season of my life. Help me to see the need and follow after you the way you desire me to. Forgive me for putting things, leadership things, family things, life things...in front of you. May I learn to reverse this and put you in front of all things concerning each day. I desire to be wildly devoted to you and passionately in love with you. I am not sure I know what that REALLY looks like. Change me and Show me.