To keep working…

Can we see a bigger picture that only benefits others? A bigger picture with nothing in it for us, whatsoever? Can we be so selfless, expecting nothing in return? Can we do the things you call us to with no promise of something more, without asking or expecting, “what’s in it for me, Lord?” Can we go unnoticed, unthanked and unseen, and can we and will we keep on going? Working only for you, Lord, knowing only you see? Would that be enough to sustain us in this life, Lord; your approval only? And knowing this only by faith and faith alone, could we day in and day out continue to toil, turning heavy clay soil, in hopes that one day it might be ready? That one day might come the seed, and then the rain? That one day we might see the harvest or… will we? And if not, would we keep working? Would we keep plowing? Would we be able to keep our eyes on you and you alone? And would the knowledge of your beauty be enough to satisfy our insatiable appetites and keep our wayward souls?

Lord, strengthen the weak hands and feeble knees of your servants and all those who grow weary, and may your Holy Spirit renew us, causing us to see the need… to keep working.

Something

Sometimes how rainclouds start to form on a horizon and seeing them in the distance you know that, “rain’s a comin’,” sometimes that’s how it is when you start to feel the Holy Spirit move and your first inclination is to think, “He’s up to something.” You may not know what exactly, but for some reason He keeps impressing on your heart, what? “A thought, an impression, a feeling?” Something, and so the best place to always start out with “something” is just… to pray about it.

Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring. (Joel 2:23)

But The Greatest of These is Love

If you have never had the opportunity to hear Corrie ten Boom speak then now is your chance! I remember seeing a television broadcast of her once and thinking, “wow, now there is someone who has a testimony of just how deep, how wide, how far, and how high is the love of Christ!” Someone who’s really been through it, who’s seen some of the worst atrocities in the last century, yet not only lived to tell about it but lived to tell about how Christ’s love always wins out.

When and if you have the time just click this link www.archive.org/details/SchoolOfPrayer-TheGreatestOfTheseIsLove-ByCorrieTenBoom-Sermon to hear one of her sermons; “The Greatest of These is Love.”

It’s about an hour long so make sure you can set aside the time to listen but I promise you won’t be disappointed. Whenever I have had the opportunity to hear Corrie ten Boom speak or have read any of her writings I have always been blessed. She is full of insight and wisdom and I especially liked her flashlight analogy in this sermon.

Be blessed! For the greatest of these truly is… love!

The Goal of Depletion

Depletion. It’s probably not a word that’s at the forefront of most Christian’s minds. Rather, maybe completion, or rather the exact opposite of depletion; to be filled up. But how can one be truly filled in regards to the Holy Spirit unless they are first depleted of Self? Depletion.

It seems that most of us would probably have to agree that this is not a “want” on our “wish lists.” Depletion. Take a moment and just give it a little thought. Depletion, “more of Him and less of me. Less of me.”

Maybe it’s when God gets us to this place, when we finally realize, “I’ve had enough of me!” that God can then go about the process of depletion and it is a process, believe me. But just think about it, “what could God do with more of Him and less of me?” And even more so, “what if I could actually be completely emptied, emptied of me and then God could have complete free reign to do with my life whatever He pleased?” Hmmm. Again, take a moment and just think about it.

When I take a moment God starts bringing to mind people He’s brought to this end; the goal of depletion. People like; the Apostle Paul, John, Mother Teresa, Corrie Ten Boom, Billy Graham, just to name a few, and I’m sure countless others who went unnoticed but not unnoticed by God. People who, once depleted of Self God could then really pour through. It’s interesting, “more of Him and less of me.” God’s goal, and He will stop at nothing untill we realize, “I’ve had enough of me! Pour me out!” and then, “pour through me!” with nothing no longer hindering… the goal of… depletion.