Leading

You lead by allowing your life to be a reflection of the Lord and others will see and follow that lead if they see the Lord in you.

- 11mths of ups and downs before understanding what this means.

Next year will once again be another year of walking and learning on my own.

Shepherd of my soul

Shepherd of my soul I give you full control,
Wherever You may lead I will follow.
I have made the choice to listen for Your voice,
Wherever You may lead I will go.

Be it in a quiet pasture or by a gentle stream,
The Shepherd of my soul is by my side.
Should I face a mighty mountain or a valley dark and deep,
The Shepherd of my soul will be my guide.

Shepherd of my soul Oh You have made me whole,
Wherever I hear You call how my tears flow.
How I feel your love how I want to serve
I gladly give my heart to You O Lord.

Be it in the flowing river or in the quiet night,
The Shepherd of my soul is by my side.
Should I face the stormy weather or the dangers of this world.
The Shepherd of my soul will be my guide.

Be Devoted to Wherever God Has Placed You

"Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do it well; whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself completely; in great aims and in small I have always thoroughly been in earnest."

— Charles Dickens

This statement by Charles Dickens does not come as any surprise to me after years of faithfully watching numbers of adaptations and re-creations of his memorable work, A Christmas Carol.

The story recounts the life and times of the wealthy, cantankerous (and unmarried) Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge, whose name has since become synonymous with being a miser and greediness, has the opportunity to see his past, present and future with the help of four ghosts in a dream. As a result, he is able to change his ways (and help others), before it is too late.

Although the story does not have any specific spiritual references, the theme does cause us to reflect upon the life we are leading and the life God calls us to.

As single adults, we have the freedom and opportunities many do not have and it occasionally becomes second-nature to continue down the road of individualistic (and sometimes selfish) desires. We may not distinguish our ways "as bad as" an Ebenezer Scrooge, however, what path are we walking down—one of spiritual obedience or one of secularism?

Charles Dickens wasn't the first person to speak of working wholeheartedly, completely devoted to everything we do. Paul spoke similar words almost 1800 years earlier.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23).

Naturally, there are things we "have to do" that are sometimes difficult to put our heart into—running errands, paying bills, cleaning the house, caretaking of family members, attending holiday functions (alone), etc. Oftentimes, our participation in these and other tasks is more out of obligation than desire.

However, more important than the task or activity itself ishow we are living out our life (and faith) when it comes to our work, our relationships, our finances, our ministry and our free time. In other words, are we living our life wholeheartedly, completely devoted to the calling and talents the Lord has given us or are we counting down the hours and days we have left on earth?

Paul does not differentiate or give us an "out" to justify our behavior, he was, after all, speaking to slaves. He exhorts them (and us) to, "Do it, not only when their (master's) eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord" (3:22).

It is not very difficult to identify those who areexperiencing life to the fullest and those who are not. We can see it in the way a person approaches a new day, we can sense it in the intimate connection between two people and we can feel it in the passion of one's work.

By living each day with the hopes of just trying to get byrather than putting our whole heart and soul into what we do, we represent a poor witness of Christ in our life, we don't utilize what the Lord has gifted us with, we don't reach the potential of what the Lord wants for us and we rob ourselves of an abundant life.

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Many of us may be at a crossroad in our profession, in a relationship, in our finances or in our life. We may be facing difficulties we have never had to overcome or success we have never expected, however, regardless of all of the external influences, we must remember we are working for (and serving) the Lord and we are stewards of the gifts, talents, relationships, finances and blessings He has given to us.

The Apostle John had strong words for a group of people who struggled with this issue.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

The term lukewarm is rarely considered a complimentary term. It is usually an expression that describes something that was originally hot, but over time has cooled off. We usually prefer something that is either hot and fresh or cold and refreshing, but rarely "lukewarm."

This was the commentary the Apostle John was making when speaking to the Church of Laodicea. Due to its location on a major trade route, the city of Laodicea enjoyed much prosperity and the Church was rather independent, self-sufficient, prideful and complacent, possibly as a result of the church's opulence. For whatever reason, they lost sight of the importance of being dedicated to God's work.

It is Christ you are serving (Colossians 3:24).

If we commit our heart, soul and mind to whatever work the Lord has called us to at this specific time, we can live a life that is not lukewarm, but rather hot, purposeful and abundant.

In 1973, a student graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master's degree from Purdue University. He served as a fighter pilot, flight leader and training officer, and later became a commercial airline pilot, opened a safety consulting business, and investigated a number of airline accidents.

He devoted his life to emergency management, developing safety strategies, and helping airline crews manage emergency situations. On January 15, 2009, all of this education, training and experience came to fruition as Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger made a quick decision to guide his crippled aircraft into the Hudson River after the plane was disabled by a flock of birds.

Captain Sullenberger said in an interview following the event, "One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience: education and training. And on January 15 the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal."

He never knew those years of dedicating himself to airline safety would one day be the exact knowledge he would need to personally draw from in order to save 155 lives. It wasn't something Captain Sullenberger planned for or envisioned as he trained others for an event he had hoped would never happen, yet through tireless devotion to his calling, he made an impact not only to those 155 on board, but for thousands of others all over the world.

We don't know how every encounter and each experience we have will be crafted in the tapestry of our life. We can't fathom how some seemingly meaningless piece of information or event has actually been a deposit in our personal cache where God has planned for us to draw from at some future date.

Whatever our past was, however we have been living and wherever we think we may be headed, we can change our outlook and our future from one of individualism and survival and to one of great anticipation and abundance.

So where do we start?

For some, it may mean putting out your best everyday in a job you don't enjoy, reconciling a relationship that has been estranged, breaking off a relationship that you know is wrong, studying harder and more effectively, getting help for an addiction, appreciating those people in your life that you've taken for granted, spending more time with family, sacrificing your time and resources for others and your church, or helping someone out, and for many of us, it begins by spending more time alone with God.

Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God (1 Chronicles 22:19).

- Cliff Young

God Confidence

Today's Truth
John 15:5 (NIV) "Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing."

Friend To Friend

Paul said that he "put no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). In other words, he didn't think that he was good enough because of any particular talent or ability that he had on his own. But his confidence came from his understanding of who he was as a child of God. Someone once said, "A man wrapped up in himself makes a pretty small package." But a man, or woman, wrapped up in God is an amazing sight to behold.

I believe we can change our inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy into unshakable confidence by understanding who we are, what we have, and where we are as a child of God. However, I am not advocating confidence in self, but confidence in God - confidence in who you are because of what Jesus has done for you and what the Holy Spirit can do through you. Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5, 6 TNIV). Connected to the vine you can do everything God calls you to do (Philippians 4:13). Paul knew what he could accomplish on his own ... nothing. Oh, he could be busy. We all can do that but bearing "fruit that will remain" is another story. This paraphrase shows how he viewed his own personal weaknesses:

"I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, 'My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.' Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now that I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size-abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 The Message).

Paul had great confidence. The prefix, "con" means "with" and the root "fid" means faith." So a confident person is one who walks in faith. We walk in faith that we are holy, chosen, redeemed, dearly loved children of God who are empowered by the Holy Spirit, equipped by our Maker, and enveloped by Jesus Christ. Now that's real God-confidence.

- Sharon Jaynes

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone I place my trust

And find my glory in the power of the cross

In every victory Let it be said of me

My source of strength, my source of hope

Is Christ alone

Songs of Praise

In that day you will say:

"I will praise you, O LORD.

Although you were angry with me,

your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.

Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation."

With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

- Isaiah 12

Love

"Love until it hurts. Real love is always painful and hurts. Then it is real and pure." - Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Deeper in love - There is a longing ...

There is a longing
Only You can fill
A raging tempest
Only You can still
My soul is thirsty Lord
To know You as I’m known
Drink from the river
That flows before Your throne

Take me deeper
Deeper in love with You
Jesus hold me close in Your embrace
Take me deeper
Deeper than I’ve ever been before
I just want to love You more and more
How I long to be deeper in love

Sunrise to sunrise
I will seek Your face
Drawn by the Spirit
To the promise of Your grace
My heart has found in You
A hope that will abide
Here in Your presence
Forever satisfied