What Does God Want From Me?

As most of you know I am a Christian Counselor with a Ministry to Victims of Domestic Violence. I have many questions asked of me, one of the most recent was, "What does God want from me ?" This statement has been whirling around in my mind for a couple of days, I have prayed and I am going to attempt to answer the question. God made us in His Spiritual image, He gave us a body to carry the Spirit and a soul that has feelings and emotions. Thus we are Spirit speaking beings. God made us for fellowship and relationship with Him ! Our time here on earth is meant to be spent as time getting ready to spend an Eternity with Him in Heaven. God's goal for our life is not our comfort, He wants to develop our character. To grow us spiritually to become more like Christ, to develop Christ's attributes not our own selfish fleshly desires. This is a process that begins the day we asked forgiveness of our sins and our spirit is "reborn" and continues the rest of our natural life here on earth. Life here will be difficult, with many trails and storms, this enables us to grow into the mature Christian He desires. Some are satisfied to just get into Heaven, but His plan is for us to become more like Him to empower us through the Holy Spirit to do His will here on Earth. Our time here on Earth is to be spent equipping us to be a Witness for Him. Life here is difficult because of the sin factor, started by one man Adam taken care of be one God man Jesus. John 10v10 Jesus promised us an abundant life, we being natural minded think of this in terms of natural wealth, Jesus was speaking of the abundant life He has for us in the Spirit not only in Heaven, but here on earth. He said," Thy Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven." If we will seek Him first we will have our daily "NEEDS" met, not our wants and the lifestyle American Christians think we must have or God is not with us. He wants to supple us with Abundant Life of Love, Joy, Peace, Grace, Mercy, these are the attributes that make us more like Him, "Christ Like". When we are continually filled with His Spirit on a daily basis the problems of life here and now will not seem so big, because we are in relationship with a BIG God who helps us walk out the situations that come our way. God is NOT our Servant, We are to serve Him ! It is not be all about "Me", it must be all about "Him". We exist for His purpose and pleasure, not our own. Jesus paid a high price for our freedom ! I repeat he wants to develop our character ! Our character consists of our habits, our lifestyle, our thoughts, what we speak, I believe these are the most important. They make us who we are ! All of these things can be changed, we can choose to become more like Jesus, or we can continue in our own selfish agenda, a sign of a mature Christian is when we begin to put others needs ahead of our own desires. Self discipline is doing the right thing when you desire to do the wrong thing ! This is a choice ! We can not produce Christ like character in our own strength, this is the job of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said The Comforter would come and He would lead, guide, and direct us in the Truth and the Truth would make us free. This freedom comes when we learn how to apply the Word to our lives. We must cooperate with The Holy Spirit by listening for His voice, His nudge to follow Him, He said His sheep would know His voice and follow no other. We must begin to develop Godly habits and a lifestyle that is pleasing to God. We must begin to think differently, Rom 12v2, we are in the world, but not of the world, we must be transformed daily by the renewing of our mind to the Word of God ! We should be different, others should see something different in us. Only our Spirit was reborn when we asked Him into our life, we have control over our body and our soul,(mind), they will always be in opposition to His Word and His will for us. We must allow our reborn Spirit to take control of our life, this is a CHOICE ! When we try to control our circumstances, our future and people around us we are trying to be a god. He is the Creator ! We are the Created ! He formed us from the dust of the earth, He breathed His Spirit into us and gave us a soul, we are Spirit speaking beings. We like Him are a 3 part being, like Him but not Him. So to answer the question, What does God want from me ? Your life, living for Him ! Until next time,"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus !"

Praise and Worship The Lord Our God !!

Last week my Bible study was based on the importance of Praise and Worship. We can not rely on our feelings, our flesh will not and does not want to praise God. We often tend to think, "I will praise God when the trouble passed, when the problem is over, when I feel better" ! These are the most important times to be in an attitude of Praise and Worship, to know and believe our God is BIGGER than any and ALL our problems. We must continue to Praise and Worship no matter how we feel, I have found at the time I am the sickest, have the biggest problem, I always feel better after a time of thanking God for His goodness, praising Him for His mercy and worshiping Jesus for the sacrifice He made so that I might have life eternal and a better life here and now. God is still God no matter how we may feel ! Circumstances DO NOT change God's character, Gods grace is sufficient. We must learn we can not let our fleshly nature rob us of Gods Love, Joy, and Peace ! I often hear I do not feel His presence with me. I have found that during these 'Dry' seasons, if I will continue to Praise and Worship Him, this is often a time of testing and growth, becoming more mature in Him. He does not leave me, but maybe takes a step back to allow me to grow into the full potential He has for me at that particular time in my walk with Him, a deeper walk, a stronger relationship. Praise and Worship is so much more than going to church on Sunday, singing a few songs, perhaps raising your hands or clapping to the music, if this is your style of Praising Him. Praise and Worship should be a lifestyle for you, no different than prayer or reading your Bible. It should be an everyday part of your life. The Psalms 150 v6, "Let everything that has breath, Praise the Lord !" I ask are you breathing ?? You may be saying, "I have a hard time Praising and Worshiping, focus on WHO He is and ALL He has done for you. God gave His Son, that our sins might be washed away. Jesus gave up everything that we might have everything !! That alone, if He never did another thing for you or I, that is more than enough reason to Praise and Worship Him. God is real no matter how you or I feel, He is there, Heb 13 v 5 in the Message Bible, God assures us, " I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you." I urge you this very day , IF Praise and Worship are not a part of your daily life, begin today for, This IS the Day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it !! My Pastor preached on Praise and Worship this past Sunday, God always confirms His Word. I want to leave you with a couple of high point of his sermon. # 1 Do not allow your Praise and Worship to be governed by your emotions ! # 2 To delay your Praise, may delay your answer ! # 3 Be consistent in your Praise and Worship, let it become a lifestyle ! # 4 Your Praise releases Power in the Spirit realm ! # 5 The enemy can not stop your problem from moving, unless he hinders your Praise and ! Until next time, "Keep your Eyes on Jesus !"