Faithful or Just Forgetful?

Well, I have to be honest. This past Sunday I debated whether I should go ahead and pay my tithe and faith promise money, knowing that after doing so, I wouldn't have enough left in my bank account to pay my monthly loan payment. But, knowing that God is faithful, I turned the check in, praying that there would be some sort of miracle. Well, yesterday, while I was at work, my manager was counting the safe. She then said, "Adam, you know you still have a check in here, right?" Apparently, I never went to pick up my check that I was supposed to get three weeks ago! That's not something I would normally do, especially since I'm a poor Master's student. So is it my fault that I forgot to pick up my check? Or is it because God takes care of those who love Him? I like to think it's the latter. It makes me feel better.

Entirely

Well, it's been a little while since I've made my last post. Actually, it has been about three months. But I've been thinking about this lately. What makes great leaders great leaders? Is it the vast amount of knowledge collected over the years stored in their massive brains? Is it because of the way they present themselves or how much money they make? Or is it simply because they were willing to make the self-sacrifice on a daily basis, constantly giving up the simple pleasures life has to offer in order to accomplish something meaningful? The more that I look at other leaders and pastors, people of integrity, the more I see that these people didn't get to where they are today by doing what they wanted all the time. They had the discipline to know what needed to be done and, guess what, they actually did it. Many of us, myself included, continue to pray that God would use us to do all these amazing things for the Kingdom, but we're willing to settle for "less than our best," just so we can say we tried. But Jesus didn't ask for only half of everything that we are and have. He wants the whole thing. He wants our very best. How can I expect God's best for me if I'm not willing to do the same for Him? Just another one of my many thoughts.

New Post Coming Soon

Just letting you know that I haven't forgotten about this. Just haven't had much time at the computer lately.

Wednesday Night

In response to Pastor Rick's question, "Why do you think it is so hard for us to pray?" (well, it was something along those lines): I think that most of us feel that God doesn't want to be bothered with the "petty" prayer requests. Or we feel that we have enough faith that we don't need to pray about something. For example, we might have faith that God is going to provide us the money that we need to pay the bills this month, so we don't bother praying about it. We simply say "God always provides," which is absolutely true. God does provide. And when the fincances come in and we barely squeak by with five dollars left over, we thank God for what He's done and go spend the rest on Taco Bell. Ok, maybe that's just me. But what if we were to really ask God to provide us with the finances that we need? What if we really prayed about it and put some time into it? I think that's what God wants to hear. I believe that if we were to ask, He will not only meet our needs, but He will surpass our expectations. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:22 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," Ephesians 3:20 My question is this; Which takes more faith, just believing God to do what He has always done, or asking Him to do the unimaginable and impossible? Just another thought.

That's Nuts!

I was out in the Wagner's back yard yesterday while the pool was being put away for the year. Every few seconds you can hear a faint "plop" as another acorn hits the ground. i began to think about how hard the squirrels had to work to get ready for the winter. I also thought about how timing has such a crucial role in their lives. If they were to get too eager and start collecting food too soon, the acorns would not be ready and the squirrels would end up starving over the winter. Also, if they waited too long to collect, the acorns would be rotten or dead, and the squirrels again would die. So they have to know the exact time that they are supposed to do what they were made to do.

It seems to be no different than in our very own lives. God gives us a specific task to perform and we are to carry it out according to the perfect timing that He has ordained. If we get too eager or wait too long, it could result in tragedy. To give a personal example of this, I will use my trip to Tennessee.

I believe that God has called me into full-time ministry. So after finishing two years of EMC, I felt that it was time for me to move on to bigger and better things. The opportunity was presented to me and after talking it out and praying about it, I decided that this is where I wanted to go. But something happened in Tennessee. I quickly realized that I was still not adequetly prepared to go into ministry. I jumped the gun and went down there because I wanted to start ministry. But it wasn't in God's timing, and I hadn't realized that. The result was nearly devastating to me. I began to have second thoughts about whether or not I was fit for ministry, or whether I was supposed to be in ministry at all. Satan used it as a foothold to plant all these thoughts about how terrible I would be as a pastor, about how I couldn't cut it, and I was stupid for ever thinking that I could. After being back for a few weeks, I was reminded about the day I was called. Ironically, I read Hebrews 11 during prayer that morning, also. That's when I realized that it was because of God's timing that everything went the way that it did. So was I supposed to go down to Tennessee? I don't know, but if I hadn't, then all these issues that God is dealing with in me right now may never have been addressed. God is doing even greater things in me than I've ever thought.

The point is this; Stepping outside of God's timing can have drastic effects. It creates an open door for Satan to attack. But the difference between humans and animals is that Humans get a second chance. We can either continue to get torn down, even to the point of death, or we can accept that second chance God offers us and allow Him to take us to a new level of obedience.

Just a thought.