It's way past my bedtime right now, but I wanted to at least jot down a few things before I closed my eyes tonight.
Saturday, 3/9/12 12:03AMThe Lord has been gently revealing Himself to me this Lent. In one way, He is re-iterating the Truth that we as Christians are called to live our daily lives as witnesses for the Lord. Praise God.
One way in which this Truth was revealed, was on the road driving and having someone "honk" at me/my car and raise both hands in my rear view mirror. I found myself getting a little irritated, that quickly turned into a reality check like, "how sad is that, that someone got that mad they had to honk their horn and share their frustration/anger with some stranger in another car." Although at the time I didn't want to, I began to pray for the person, and try to submit myself to them by switching lanes and smiling as my heart was softened with God's love.
This is not the first time that I have had a "revelation" about our call to live out our Christian witness in our daily lives, even on the road. Letting someone in front of me, or waving on another car to go first out of a parking lot, these small acts of kindness, as random as they appear, are ways in which I received so much love and joy from the Lord because of my sacrifice for another.
Another moment, this occurring today, that allowed me to once again see God's call to us as Christians, was questioning myself "why do I love to sing praise and worship?" It's not because I have the greatest voice (which clearly I don't) or because I want to be in front of people and have all eyes on me (clearly not the driving force here!), it's to give God glory by calling His Holy Spirit to shower His love and grace upon us; it's to help others dive into worship of Jesus, Our Great God! It's for God's glory, not my own!
This is important to remember because our daily actions, our lives, are not our own. Yes, God has given us life to enjoy in His love on earth, but He has set us apart for so much more than that! Eternal glory with Him in heaven!
This brings me to the point that our motives, physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, need to be aligned with God and His Kingdom, so that the deepest part of our being is self-less. Yes, God's blessings "feel" good, or are "exciting" and filled with such great joy and peace, but it's not for our own self satisfaction that God has these great plans for us; it's just a reward to walking in God's footsteps and following His path of Truth and Love.
God is worthy, not because He is a God of reward, but because He is God, all powerful, ever-living, God Almighty! King of the Universe! He is worthy of all our praise, all our worship, all our life! When we seek The Lord, and love Him with all our being, He is invited to have His way in our heart and life. He doesn't push Himself upon us, but gives us opportunities to give ourselves back to Him, for He rejoices over the one lost sheep when he returns home.
Okay... I shall return to this topic.
Lord, God, Almighty Father and King, I give You great thanks and praise for freely giving Yourself to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. May we all, with great humility, accept our imperfections and need for You in our lives, so that we can freely give ourselves back to You and remain in Your Kingdom on earth. To You be the glory, forever!
My love and peace through Jesus Our Lord, be with you always,
Goodnight,
Erin
