This morning in church I kept thinking about this, my college roommate Bianca had this on a poster in our room, I have always loved this one:
I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed.
I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)
By Dr. Bob Moorehead
Pastor Gary challenged us this morning to do something risky for God. It's amazing to what lengths we go through in this life to be safe, to buy all the insurances we can, to not feel too stretched or uncomfortable. And most of us can survive pretty well right along without feeling like we have to step outside of our comfort zones. Lately the human condition is making me grow weary and my soul is restless, I do so desire to completely empty myself out so I am nothing but a vessel, for what He can fill me up with is far better than all the junk I have been putting in there! But what is my challenge? Do I even recognize it when God leads me to it.
Right now two little visitors are on my back porch and playing with my daughter. I am beginning to think of them as her entourage! When we pull in the driveway these two kids from two different homes make a beeline for our car. Craig and I laugh about having to duck and cover if we need to run outside for a minute because these kids seem to have a radar for us. One is a little boy who lives behind us and is four and his Grandma has custody of him as his mother has been in and out of jail for drugs, so he calls his Grandma, "Mom" and his mother "Aunt". My heart goes out to this little boy who sits on his porch all day waiting for someone to come along that he can talk to. The other child is the little girl I met at the track a while back. She is about 7-8 years old and roams the neighborhood all day with absolutely no parental supervision, feet so dirty they are black as night and she is always asking me for food. In fact her big sister is about 12-13 and they informed us her mom works till 3 am and leaves them home alone and her sister hardly looks capable of handling everything (especially because it doesn't occur to not tell people they hardly know that they are home alone every day until 3 am!) This girl calls me "the nice lady", a name that I feel very obligated to live up to. It's hard for me to think of this as my mission field and it hardly seems like that important of a mission.
My mother and I were talking about dreams and visions whether personal goals for yourself or ways you can see yourself being used by God. My current problem is I can see lots of areas that I would envision growing, stretching, serving but I either don't know where to begin or I constantly try to "help" God work out all the details. It's no wonder that much of the time I feel like I accomplished nothing. I seem to forget that I am NOT the potter, I am just the lump of clay. After all a lump of clay serves no purpose, it is only after the Master's hand transforms the clay into something that it's purpose is known! I am going to work on giving each and every day to God and pray that he will help ME see HIS vision and I know the details will already be worked out when the time comes!
Today that mean opening my porch, my kids toys, my bathroom and my Popsicle stash to two lonely young children in hopes that God would use me to give them an extra dose of love. You see I can't imagine how hard it is to be a single parent or a Grandmother parenting her Grandchild while likely feeling additional distress over the hardships she is watching her daughter struggle with. I imagine both of these women could use an additional dose of love and help too. So I guess while caring for their kids I am also caring for them. Is this the most exciting act of service I can imagine? No, definitely not. But my prayer will be to make impact where God desires, even if it is just for my daughter to see me opening my home to people in need. I am a person who is too easily held back by fear. My fears keep me from doing things all the time. But "perfect love drives out fear" and my savior certainly has perfect love for me. He knows my heart and he will put me where he wants me to do what he wants me to do, right now I am going to focus on being that lump of clay! Hope you are ready and willing to put yourself on the potter's wheel too! Thanks for listening.
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