Pride is the Problem

1 Chronicles 28:9-10
"And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father's God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he'll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he'll leave you for good. Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!"

God has chosen some of us to enter His Special Forces and build His kingdom, but He can not stand for a single ounce of pride in our lives.

Barn sour horses decide to go back to the barn on their own when they are tired of working. The owner must go get the horse and put it back to work in order to train the horse that the work is not done until the master is satisfied. Once the horse has been trained, it gains the trust of the owner.

Each time I let pride creep back into my life, I start to become self sufficient. God must go get me and put me back to work until the pride is once again stripped out of my life. God can not use me to build His kingdom until I have been trained and gain His trust.

Proverbs 16:18-19
First pride, then the crash—
the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.
It's better to live humbly among the poor
than to live it up among the rich and famous.

Shattered Pride

Psalms 51
^1-3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.

^4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

^7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.

^16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.

Heart of Worship

Psalms 54:6-7
I'm ready now to worship, so ready.
I thank you, God—you're so good.
You got me out of every scrape,
and I saw my enemies get it.

Thank you Jesus for the freedom, and now I am ready to worship.

His Anointed

Psalms 20:4-6
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

I know that the battle is already won, and you deserve all the glory. Thank you Jesus for choosing me.

what do you hear?

Manna Fairy, Manna Fairy, what do YOU hear? You hear the LORD whispering in your ear...

She came again tonight and left 4 bags of grocries on the door step... we serve a very mighty God who whispers to all of us from time to time...do you listen? What do YOU hear?

God please pour out your blessings on the ones who listen to your urgings... and help me to be more like them...

Who am I?

1 Chronicles 17:16
Who am I, my Master God, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this place in life? But that's nothing compared to what's coming, for you've also spoken of my family far into the future, given me a glimpse into tomorrow and looked on me, Master God, as a Somebody.

God, why did you pick me? Why did you lead me on this faith journey? Why did you plant a seed of entrepreneurship in my soul? Why did you promise me a future far beyond what I could dream of?

I believe that God invites us all on a faith journey, but many are unwilling to step out in faith. What has God called you to do? Are you willing to put logic behind you and take a blind step of faith? Are you willing to make the short term sacrifices in order to see God's will done in your life?

Mana Fairy Strikes Again

Last week we ran out of milk early in the week. I was on the way to Walmart only to find 2 half gallons of milk on the doorstep. God is so good!

The wonderful ladies from Linda's Sunday school class sent $200 just in the nick of time. We are so thankful for their ability to hear from God and be obedient.

Even after my faith filled post last week about Daily Bread, I was struggling with a bad attitude on Saturday. We were down to our last $10, and I was starting to get nervous. I remembered my post on the way to the airport, and I made a conscious choice to turn toward God. I turned on some Christian music and started praising. I was able to leave it in His hands.

Last night, my parents blessed us with a large check for all the work that we had done on their home while they were on vacation. It was far beyond what I had expected, and God reminded me that "Your Grace is Enough."