Happy New Year to you all and may His perfect will be established in your lives this year!
With Prayers, Sarah
It's a new year! And that means starting from the beginning in my Bible reading plan. Last year was probably my best year yet as far as territory covered. I finished the Bible early and managed to re-read Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Acts. It was really exciting but towards the end of the year, as much as I was enjoying the read, I found I was doing more of the "get my Bible read in the morning but not really meditating on it in the moment or even through out the day" thing. So, among other things, one of my New Year's Resolutions, if you will, was to get back to truly studying and meditating upon the Word. It's His love letter to me! What better way to get to know Him and fall more in love with Him than to really get to know His Word. So! All of that to say, yesterday I was reading the first chapter of Matthew. It's one of my favorite chapters. It gives the lineage of Christ and I love it. There are so many of my favorite people in that lineage. And people that you wouldn't expect. I still remember how awesome it was to me when I realized that Rahab the harlot (spelled Rachab here) was in the lineage of Christ. That said, she isn't the only "naughty" person in that line. There's also Thamar who played the role of an harlot when Judas didn't keep his promise to her and there's Solomon who was born of David and Bath-Sheba (and we all know what happened there). And I'm sure there are others but those are the most commonly known ones besides Rahab. Now, being human my first thought was, "See! These people did horrible stuff and were still greatly used of the Lord!" and my thoughts instantly went to that one little thing I have (we all have one or two) that I struggle with wanting. . . Something that isn't necessarily against the Lord's will but it definitely isn't His perfect will for my life. My thought was that I could have that and still be used of the Lord. Shame on me, I know. But then, my immediate next thought was on how much more the Lord can use me, us, if we surrender to His will before "messing it up". Yes, the Lord has used many a people who failed in large ways but then re-surrendered their life and mistakes to Him and His will. But how much greater and with how much less sorrow can the Lord use our lives if we will abstain from those mistakes. Surrender before. Not after the mistake is made. So as I give that one thing back to the Lord in the beginning of a new year, take a look and see what you need to surrender to Him. Don't learn from your mistakes. Learn from other's mistakes, and before you make your own.
Happy New Year to you all and may His perfect will be established in your lives this year! With Prayers, Sarah
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As young people, so much of your life is about figuring out what to do with your life, or as a Christian, what God's will is for your life. I can't tell you how many young people I've heard over the years ask prayer for themselves as they "find God's will for my life". A good thing, yes. But I think that we get a little too caught up in finding that will and forget that He has a will for our lives today! But of course, it's the little "boring" things, right? Not the exciting things like being a missionary to Brazil, or preaching revival into America, or getting married...right? It's things like, reading your Bible every day, creating a personal prayer life with Christ, being a witness for Him to everyone you meet, learning submission to your parents and pastor, cleaning the toilet at church...yeah, those things. But they are just as important. In fact, tomorrow's will won't be the same if we don't do today's will. My pastor often says "God won't show us His specific will, some missionaries, some pastors, some youth pastors wives, until we are doing His general will, the things He asks all Christians to do such as the Bible and prayer and witnessing." This thought is brought forth in a couple of verses such as... "Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." (Luke 19:17) and "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much..." (Luke 16:10).
I'm not saying I've never had these thoughts. In fact, there have been many times when I've found myself in dream land about the "perfect" days when I'll be serving by my husband's side...and then I have to poke myself in the ribs and say "Get real, Sarah!" 1) it won't be "perfect" and 2) I still have so much to work on now! Attitudes, priorities, getting up in the morning... :-) So much in life to do today! If I let myself dream about tomorrow (even if I am dreaming about it realistically) then I am letting something fall by the wayside today! I'm not being faithful to my calling of today! That person I should have given a tract to at the store, that attitude I shouldn't have had with my mom when she asked me somthing, the dishes I should have done but "didn't feel like doing"...today is full of so much! One other thing I want to say is that I'm not saying we shouldn't be preparing for tomorrow, that "whatever will happen will happen"... We do have a part in preparing our lives for whatever He has in store for us. I just think we take a little too much time on tomorrow. We need to find that healthy balance. The Bible does say " Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." (Eph. 5:17). That doesn't mean we have to have our whole life figured out, but if there is something that He says to do, don't be an idiot, do it! :-) And I think He is saying alot more than we want to think...for today. Some day, when you are just going along, minding your own business, concentrating on His will for today, you'll round a corner, and there it will be. His specific will for your life. For my life. :-) An exciting thought! So! What is His will for your life today? I'll leave you with a few verses. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2) " ...But first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." (II Cor. 8:5b) "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart..." (Eph. 6:6) "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication..." (I Thess. 4:3) "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God..." (I Thess. 5:18) "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Heb. 10:36) "That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." (I Peter 4:2) "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (I John 2:17). Ok, maybe more than a few. :-) With Prayer, Sarah |
AuthorHere you can read "Sarah's Thoughts". A blog by me! Just a little bit once a month, and here and there, about something the Lord is speaking to me about or focusing on a certain verse that I've found particularly interesting for some reason. You can also subscribe (below) to have them directly sent to your email. Just fill in your name and email and put "Newsletter" in the comment box. Also, please feel free to leave a comment on my blog to let me know what you think! I love hearing from you! Thanks! Sarah's Thoughts
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