1. We lost it all.
2. He did it all.
3. We get it all.
the misconception is that we lost a lot (so we still have 'some' in and of ourselves), he did a lot (so we can still do to achieve our status with the Lord) and We get a lot from Him (and we get the rest from our own self-sufficiency)
And Satan creeps in and tempts us with the twisted power that comes from self-sufficiency.
But isn't the real beauty of the gospel that GOD DOES it?!!! That's Grace! GOD does it!
Like today,
My new friend Leslie and I went to read and hang outside to enjoy the lovely weather at Homewood Park. I had my TCBY and new book and I sit down to see her filling out a survey for a Thai lady, about 35 or so, who is a grad student in health promotion at UAB. Her survey was about a booklet she had made for women's health promotion called "A Woman's Worth"
Now, if that title isn't a wide open door for the Gospel?! So the questions on the survey were like "what do you think is the worth of the women" and we are here putting our Christ-centered answers. "A woman is worth much because she is the Daughter of a king- She is worth the life of Christ because He has called her beloved." It was so fun.
And so Leslie and I went on to share with the sweet woman about the Love of Christ and the Purpose He gives our lives. We tell her how even though the world is so Huge and God made it He still cares about little bitty us. We talked about how the more we know Jesus and the more we are able to Love like he loved because He puts His strength in us. She heard how He changes our heart and gives us peace and life. He makes life worthwhile. Wow. She had seen the Passion movie and knew a little about the cross which was incredible to relate back to and had seen a little joel osteen on tv... i dont know where he stands but she knew that God has something to do with love. That was about the extent of what she knew. You could see the wheels turning. We talked for 45 minutes about Jesus and our relationships with Him. Leslie is a pro with asian folks as well b/c she had been in east asia for 2 years but it was incredible that this lady was so curious, so open to all we had to say. She knew relatively nothing. I loved telling her that God loved her and it was no coincidence that He allowed us to meet and for her to survey us. So we exchanged email and phone numbers. She is married and has a 7th grade son. She was very gracious to us and assured us she would be thinking about what she heard. Oh Lord, please regenerate her heart for your glory!!! After she left Les and I prayed:
We thanked the Lord for being faithful, for reminding us that HE would do it and it was so humbling to know that He blessed us with the opportunity to talk about Him to someone who had not met him. And we'll continue to pray for her and if any of you read this please pray for her and her family. She did not pray to receive Christ but she said she wants to think more about it and wants to get together with us! What an amazing God? Who am I that He would allow me to be a part of this? Lord, give me more- bring more to know you and please let me be a part of this overwhelming miracle that only YOU can do!
The more I know Him the more He stirs me to be active... I got the coolest article today from one of the "Shepherds" of our sunday school... talking about the Acts church- He really has vision for outreach and also runs an apologetics ministry here in town. Anyway, that Acts stuff fires me up. I desire to be someone who actually walks in Him- not sits in Him... i wanna be sensitive to what He would have me to do, ears tuned to His voice. A little less talking about Him and a lot more action! Walking it out! here's the sight where that article is- it's a church's vision: do yourself a favor and read it!
http://www.vvclc.org/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutUs
some excerpts:
...We have decided that having faith without works is not enough and having works without love is not acceptable; our function comes out of our relationship first with the Father and second with each other.
-We have decided that hearing about the Holy Spirit without experiencing Him is not enough, that believing in His Presence without seeing It manifested in signs and wonders is not enough; believing in healing without seeing people healed is absurd, and that believing in deliverance without people being delivered is absolutely ridiculous.
-We have decided that it is better to fail while reaching for the best God has planned for us than succeed settling for less.
-We have decided that nothing short of His Kingdom come, His will be done in our world as it is in heaven - nothing short of that will satisfy.
-We have decided that we will not be satisfied until our world freaks out and cries out "Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too."
...These are some of the decisions that define who we are as a community and how we live our lives...
It's a lifestyle- it's natural...It's passionate... It's adventurous... It's CHRIST as LIFE!
Oh Dear Lord move in me and through me like you desire!
