The way God works is so amazing to me. I will have lots different things happen in the course of a day that I may think are not related, but God shows me His single strand that holds them all together.
This morning as I was reading in the one year bible, I was getting distracted. The first reading was from 1 Chronicles 2:18-4:4. This passage is all about linage. Who was the father of so-and-so, who was born of whom...it can get boring. (especially if you can't pronounce half the names correctly.) I started thinking that I really need one huge gigantic family tree, that would really have helped me a lot. What God planted on my heart was not the names but the legacy they left. The legacy through: who and how they worshipped; their family; and their service.
Later this morning I was privileged to stand by a sweet friend and sister-in-Christ as she said her earthly goodbyes to her loving grandfather. Her PawPaw's pastor talked about legacy. (coincidence...I think not!) Her PawPaw left a wonderful legacy. He loved Jesus and showed it through his actions and words; he showed his family he loved them by the kind of man he was; and he served his country in World War II and then served his church faithfully for many decades. Legacy....
I love the song Legacy by Nichole Nordeman. It's not anything about me that creates my legacy. It's about who I am in Christ and what I do with it. Did I share Him with others or horde him? Do others see my love for Him or love for myself? Do I give His love freely away or make people try to earn it? There are so many ways to carry out the sharing and love of Christ, and each one of those leaves a legacy. A marking through time where you can see God smiling and saying: "good job y'all, you made me proud today". What will my legacy be? When it is time for me to leave my earthly home, what will others say about me?
I know I want to leave a legacy, what about you?
Dearest Jesus, You showed me what legacy is. You left Your mark on this earth through your love of God the father and people. Help me to love like You do. Help me to not grow tired of doing what is right. May my words be life-giving, my hands be uplifted in praise, and the words of my mouth praise and share Your name with others. My want is for all of this to bring you honor and glory forever. May this become my legacy. In Jesus name, ~Amen
Showing posts with label Servant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Servant. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Moved
There are two things I know: I serve a great God & today I was able to serve Him with a group of wonderful people.
It is two days after so many tornadoes ripped through our state. As of right now there are 318 who are dead, and countless others who are missing. It is going to take years for some areas to recover. What is amazing is seeing one of the things the body of Christ does best. Minutes after the storms hit the planning began, then the calls went out of how each of us could help, and then the body of Christ answered & it will keep on coming until there is no one left to help. The body is like that. Are you hungry, we'll feed you; homeless, we'll house you; injured, we'll get you help; we'll do all of this, but most important, we'll point you to Jesus. Hopefully, you'll see Him in us. We are His hands, feet, and heart.
There are times for me that a song will define a time or a feeling. There are several songs right now that do this. Music moves me. I always focus on the words, because lots of times when I'm singing, my words will become my prayer. The song 'No Matter What' is one of those songs. Through all that has happened this week I am reminded of Job 1:20b. When Job learned that all 10 of his children had died at almost the same time he said:
If you haven't had a chance to help the storm victims, call a local church and see what they are doing, and how you can help. We have lots of great churches in Birmingham who are coordinating workers to help in the hard hit areas. I promise that as you give your time to help others, you will be blessed.
Praying for our state!
In Him,
~ashley
It is two days after so many tornadoes ripped through our state. As of right now there are 318 who are dead, and countless others who are missing. It is going to take years for some areas to recover. What is amazing is seeing one of the things the body of Christ does best. Minutes after the storms hit the planning began, then the calls went out of how each of us could help, and then the body of Christ answered & it will keep on coming until there is no one left to help. The body is like that. Are you hungry, we'll feed you; homeless, we'll house you; injured, we'll get you help; we'll do all of this, but most important, we'll point you to Jesus. Hopefully, you'll see Him in us. We are His hands, feet, and heart.
There are times for me that a song will define a time or a feeling. There are several songs right now that do this. Music moves me. I always focus on the words, because lots of times when I'm singing, my words will become my prayer. The song 'No Matter What' is one of those songs. Through all that has happened this week I am reminded of Job 1:20b. When Job learned that all 10 of his children had died at almost the same time he said:
"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Before anything happens in our lives, the Lord knows about it, and He might allow it to happen. Why would a loving God allow bad things to happen His people? Because He cares about our holiness a lot more than our happiness. He knows that even through the hard times we will find peace when we turn to Him during the hard times.
Lord Jesus, we praise you for who you are. I praise you because of the love you showed us by taking on the sins of the world. No one else is worthy, only you. Lord we ask for mercy on our neighbors. Guide us to serve them as You would. Let our actions bring glory to you and may all that we do bring honor to your name. Help us to not be afraid to share you; the bread of life and living water as we see to their physical needs. Let us not grow weary Lord. Give us your love for our neighbors. We love you Father God, and want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. In His mighty name, ~Amen.
If you haven't had a chance to help the storm victims, call a local church and see what they are doing, and how you can help. We have lots of great churches in Birmingham who are coordinating workers to help in the hard hit areas. I promise that as you give your time to help others, you will be blessed.
Praying for our state!
In Him,
~ashley
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Untapped Potential
I am writing this today with a heavy heart. Last night Billy Hornsby, our pastor's father-in-law, passed away. He was a true man of God. Pastor Chris has told Billy's story a few times in church, and it really exemplifies how God wants to grow our untapped potential.
Billy was not the first, and he will not be the last person that God saw who has great potential for the Kingdom. This morning after I had read the email about Billy, God laid this message on my heart.
So many heros in the bible were messed up. God loved taking the mess of their lives and turning it into something He could use. When you start to run the list, you really see a pattern, and you have to smile & you may even wonder what in the world God is thinking. God said he would use the weak and foolish to shame the proud. {my paraphrase} (1 Corinthians 1:27) I'll mention a few: Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, the 12 disciples, Paul...and these are just a handful of guys. God saw them, saw their weaknesses and tendencies & said, 'Yep, that's the guy I want.' Moses, David, Paul: murderers; Elijah: fearful to the point of running away & hiding; Jonah: selfish with God's word; out of the 12 disciples, four were common fishermen & one was a tax collector. In the eyes of the world these guys were not the highest caliber people the Lord could have chosen, but these were his go to guys.
How comforting this is for me. God sees everything about me & says 'Yep, she's the one I want, and I know right where to put her.' He has said that about you too. When people tell you that you're not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, fast enough, you know what God will say. 'Yep, they are the one I want, they are perfect for the job.' God gives us the tools we need to do the job He needs us to do. He gives us the ability to do these things, We know it's not by our own power that we can do the job God has given us, it's only through Him. He does this so no one can say they did it in their own strength, but we boast because of the Lord's strength in us. (1 Cor 12:9-10; Philippians 2:14-17)
Not only, will God give you the tools to do something, He'll give you the desire to do it too. It's the whole falling into His will thing. Knowing God's will can be a little confusing sometimes. How do I know the will of God? His will is in the bible. He doesn't keep it a secret, but He does reveal it to us in different ways. We are told in 1 John 5:14-15 that if we ask in accordance to God's will he will hear us and if He hears us, we have what we ask for.
Let me clarify that God is not a genie in a bottle. You don't rub your bible like a magic lamp and get your wishes granted. God wants you to choose to follow Him. He does not bend His will to our needs; we ask Him to show us His will and to bend us to it. So many people think that they are not loved by God because of things that have happened in their lives that they prayed about, and they think God didn't hear them or answer. But sometimes God's answer is no. That can be so hard to hear. I don't want to hear God tell me no, or to wait, or to trust, but He does. What I choose is to trust and obey. I praise Him because His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9) I praise Him because He sent His son to die on the cross for me. (John 3:16) I praise Him because he sees what I can be and molds me to be able to do it.
Ask God to use your untapped potential. Ask Him to show you His will, and to help you to live in it. If you choose God, He will send you joy beyond your greatest imagination. Praise be to Him who was, is, and is to come!
In Him,
~ashley
Billy was not the first, and he will not be the last person that God saw who has great potential for the Kingdom. This morning after I had read the email about Billy, God laid this message on my heart.
So many heros in the bible were messed up. God loved taking the mess of their lives and turning it into something He could use. When you start to run the list, you really see a pattern, and you have to smile & you may even wonder what in the world God is thinking. God said he would use the weak and foolish to shame the proud. {my paraphrase} (1 Corinthians 1:27) I'll mention a few: Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, the 12 disciples, Paul...and these are just a handful of guys. God saw them, saw their weaknesses and tendencies & said, 'Yep, that's the guy I want.' Moses, David, Paul: murderers; Elijah: fearful to the point of running away & hiding; Jonah: selfish with God's word; out of the 12 disciples, four were common fishermen & one was a tax collector. In the eyes of the world these guys were not the highest caliber people the Lord could have chosen, but these were his go to guys.
How comforting this is for me. God sees everything about me & says 'Yep, she's the one I want, and I know right where to put her.' He has said that about you too. When people tell you that you're not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, fast enough, you know what God will say. 'Yep, they are the one I want, they are perfect for the job.' God gives us the tools we need to do the job He needs us to do. He gives us the ability to do these things, We know it's not by our own power that we can do the job God has given us, it's only through Him. He does this so no one can say they did it in their own strength, but we boast because of the Lord's strength in us. (1 Cor 12:9-10; Philippians 2:14-17)
Not only, will God give you the tools to do something, He'll give you the desire to do it too. It's the whole falling into His will thing. Knowing God's will can be a little confusing sometimes. How do I know the will of God? His will is in the bible. He doesn't keep it a secret, but He does reveal it to us in different ways. We are told in 1 John 5:14-15 that if we ask in accordance to God's will he will hear us and if He hears us, we have what we ask for.
Let me clarify that God is not a genie in a bottle. You don't rub your bible like a magic lamp and get your wishes granted. God wants you to choose to follow Him. He does not bend His will to our needs; we ask Him to show us His will and to bend us to it. So many people think that they are not loved by God because of things that have happened in their lives that they prayed about, and they think God didn't hear them or answer. But sometimes God's answer is no. That can be so hard to hear. I don't want to hear God tell me no, or to wait, or to trust, but He does. What I choose is to trust and obey. I praise Him because His ways are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8-9) I praise Him because He sent His son to die on the cross for me. (John 3:16) I praise Him because he sees what I can be and molds me to be able to do it.
Ask God to use your untapped potential. Ask Him to show you His will, and to help you to live in it. If you choose God, He will send you joy beyond your greatest imagination. Praise be to Him who was, is, and is to come!
In Him,
~ashley
Sunday, February 20, 2011
So now you're a servant...
In the last posting I talked about being a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9:7) We talked that it not only deals with money, but also using your spiritual gifts to serve others. Well, you’ve decided to serve so now what?
I started to think about what it means to be a servant. So many times we think of being a servant as bad, but it’s really not. There were servants who were purchased for only a certain amount of time. After the time of service was completed they were free to go. Sometimes, the person would choose to stay and remain a servant. Can you imagine...they wanted to stay, they chose to stay. I’m sure there were many reasons why someone may have wanted to stay. One of the reasons may have been because they knew they were going to live and eat better as a servant than they would as a free person, but for some, they loved their masters, and served them out of love and obedience. These slaves had a special name. They were bond servants. A bond servant is beloved by his master. A bond servant serves out of love not duty.
I want to be a bond servant of Jesus. Psalm 86:4 “Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.” I want to stay with Him & serve Him out of love. (meaning I get to serve instead of I have to, there’s a huge difference.) I want, when people think of me, they see His name and glory and not me. I want the children of HK to be able to experience the risen savior every day. I want that for you too. I want you to join with the adult leaders of HK and become bond servants of Jesus too. Be loved by Him and let him be your master.
You are the difference makers of today. We want you to be a generation that is unashamed of Jesus & the gospel. Did you know that the word gospel means ‘good word’? Who is our good word? Well, we’ll cover that in next week’s devotion.
Be blessed this week!
~Mrs. Ashley
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)