I want to abide in the vine so that I can bear much fruit.

Bruce Wilkinson makes a comment in "Secrets of the Vine" about Christian leaders and their quiet times of devotion. He says that of all the people he knows in significant leadership positions have those times in the mornings. He believes that making the sacrifice to get up early and seek the Lord's face first thing in the day is of utmost importance to be effective in abiding. It is much more difficult to get up early and spend some quality time than to spend a few minutes before bed with a "punch the clock" type mentality.

I can't say that I disagree, although I have always been an evening guy. Maybe I need to make some changes in routine.

If anyone is actually reading this I would be curious as to what your thoughts are. What works for you?

Currently re-reading "Secrets of the Vine" by Bruce Wilkinson

I ran across a couple of things that are hittin' the nail right on the head for me...

"For the Christian, rampant growth represents all those preoccupations and priorities in our lives that, while not wrong, are keeping us from more significant ministry for God. Without pruning, growing Christians will only be able to live up to a fraction of their potential."...

"To make room for the kind of abundance He created us for, He must first cut away parts of our lives that drain precious time and energy from what's truly important. His plan for pruning is anything but random, and He works in every life uniquely---what He judges as wasteful for me might be necessary for you."

Bruce Wilkinson

Good stuff...When He prunes I have found that He will also change the desires of your heart to match His, this cuts down on the pain involved. Of course this is as a result of you asking Him to change your desires and seeking out the very heart of God through fasting and prayer. It is much easier to change and make changes in your life when the changes to be made are also the desires of our heart. I believe He wants the desires of our hearts to match His own.

I have to say something about an earlier post...I read it again and thought it sounded a little harsh.

I mentioned that people go abroad to preach the gospel around the world when our neighbors are going to hell around us. I don't have a problem with people that have been called to go abroad to minister...but I do think that this type of ministry has been glorified by the church as a "Higher calling."
We need people doing both...without both the church will die.

Sometimes we sit in our little Missionary meetings and have our committees to talk about mission work and I just don't see much mission work going on in our own lives as the local church.

We as a church might give $xxxxx to our mission budget, but do we spend that much on a ministry to the needy in our community?
Probably not.
Just an observation about our local view of mission work.
I want to be as deliberate about our mission here at home as we are about our mission abroad.

I want worship to be a way of life for me. We get so confused in our view of worship in the American Church. Worship isn't a set time, it is a lifestyle. I want to live worship in every way. I want people to see my life as a life of worship, a sacrifice of praise, an offering to God Most High.

Lord teach me to worship You at all times, I want lead in worship by example not merely in our "worship times" but in the way I live.


Here is a good article on worship as a lifestyle:
Elements of a Life of Praise and Worship

Accepted an offer on our house after it was on the market for only one week. Things are moving fast and it is hard not to be anxious and worried about the details. We don't even have another house lined up yet.

Being anxious and worried is a byproduct of us not being able to see the big picture. I know there is a house out there that we are supposed to buy, He just hasn't revealed it to us yet.

Last night our furnace went out at home and I began to get frustrated as I do so often when things don't go the way I think they should. The Holy Spirit came to me and told me not to allow the enemy to get me into a place where I become ineffective. I don't have to be frustrated about situations and circumstances because I know there is someone greater than I that is in control of them.

We woke up this morning and our thermostat read 1 degree warmer than it was last night when we went to bed with no working furnace. He is Faithful...He is Faithful...He IS Faithful

Try this comment link...I think it actually works...

Boy am I craving the simple life...too many distractions...too much time eaten up by the things I do...

I wish I could just do the things I am passionate about and forget the rest...sometimes it is not so simple. Responsibilities call from different directions and when we are overwhelmed we need to rest...rest in the grace given us...grace given for each day to do the will of the Father. Today is the day to live in...not the next or the one after that.

Good message Sunday morning...
I didn't realize how "event" driven we are in the American Culture until it was made clear to me Sunday. We are obsessed with making worship an event rather than an experience of intimacy with our creator. We talk about how to attract more people and we create bigger and bigger events to draw people. Are we afraid of letting Jesus be the main attraction? or are we afraid that making Jesus the main attraction means we have to become more intimate with Him? Our fear of intimacy stems from our own selfish desires. We know that the more intimate we get with our creator the more things of the flesh we will have to give up. We love our flesh more than we crave intimacy.
We are slaves to our appetites
What do you crave?
Fleshly desires?
Intimacy with the Great I Am?

The question was asked,how many Christians would show up to an event like this?:
$10 registration(sounds good already)
no meals will be provided
no conferences held
no keynote speaker
this will be a 5 day fast
no workshops on how to fast and pray
no hotel rooms needed
The $10 is for bottled water for 5 days
you will sleep on a foam mat on the floor

Would anyone show up? Would you? Are you driven by events or intimacy?

As I see it...if we wait until we feel like we are in a position to minister before we actually do then we probably never will. The Apostle Paul was a man that ministered to people whether he was being beaten by them, in their jails, being tried as a criminal in their courts, or even being stoned by them. Why aren't we ministering to people around us first of all? Why do we feel the need to go abroad to reach people when our neighbors and co-workers are going to hell? Maybe to make us feel better about our own disobedience in this area? Our fear of how we will look or what people will think has kept us from ministering to the very people we are closest to. When will we get over this selfishness to finally see and do what needs to be done?
I hope soon.

My prayer for today:


"Lord I come to give You much more than just a melody
Please take me and break me right now God I don't want to leave unchanged
I never want to be the same."

Shaun Groves(After the Music Fades)

Why do we in America insist on buying bigger and bigger houses just to fill with a bunch of junk we don't really need? And then when we run out of room we go rent a storage unit and put the rest of our junk in there.
We are a nation of over-indulgence, greed and glutony. The chuch doesn't look much different than those outside the church in our materialistic culture. We have bought into this mindset and it has made the church in America ineffective.
We have become like the pharasees who gave out of their wealth instead of the widow who gave all she had.

Lord purge us of this cancer that has destroyed our generosity by enslaving us to our selfish desires.
Help us to live far enough below our means that we can give back to you the resources needed to do the work you have called us to.
Break our hearts, our pride, and our seflish ambitions.
Whatever it takes...whatever it takes.

"The spiritual disciplines are activities which allow you to be able to do what you cannot do by direct effort. They are also tools of intimacy with Christ which draw you closer to Him. I had known this truth for some time, but like many in our teaching-centered Christianity, I was content with knowing the right way to live and not actually living the right way."

Alan Hartung(theooze)

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."
James 1:26

With the same mouth we praise God and curse men. Our "beliefs" are worthless if this is our pattern of living.

Lord, clean up my mouth so that I speak only what is encouraging and uplifting so that you might been seen through me.