halfway there...

"After you give yourself to the Lord, he begins to break what was offered to Him.  Everything seems to go wrong, and you protest and find fault with the ways of God.  But to say there is to be no more than a broken vessel - no good for the world because you have gone to far for the world to use you, and no good for God either, because you have not gone far enough for Him to use you.  You are out of gear with the world, and you have controversy with God.  This is the tragedy of many a Christian." -Watchman Nee, NCL

is this true?

At first one like myself might think that God could use us at any stage... whether we have given our all or not... and I think it's true, for the sake of his own glory, He will sometimes use one who is lukewarm.  But how much can you do with someone who is only half into what you are doing.

...Say you are on a mission to find a long lost family member in France, but you only have one week's time to go on this search.  You go to Paris ... and are so attracted by the Eiffel tower and "L'Arc de Triomphe, the designer clothes and the beautiful gardens ... that you find yourself spending less time what you originally came for, even though time is short.

Is this not we are today?  Are we not lukewarm? Are we not seeking after vanities of vanities? Are we not often grasping after something that is dying?

I sometimes obey the Lord, I sometimes get up early enough for morning devotions, I sometimes pray for the lost and struggling, I sometimes trust in the Lord's strength instead of my own,  I sometimes really mean it when I say 'Lord I give you my all".

I also sometimes choose tv over the Lord, I sometimes fool around too much on facebook even when an urge comes for me to go to bed.  I sometimes don't talk to people even though I should, because I'm a coward and often don't trust in the Lord's strength.

"'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.  The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'" - Revelation 3:15-22




"My giving myself to the Lord, must be an initial fundamental act.  Then, day by day, I must go on giving to Him, not finding fault with his use of me, but accepting with praise even what the flesh finds hard.  That way lies true enrichment....I do no consecrate myself to be a missionary or a preacher; I consecrate myself to God to do His will where I am, be it in school, office or kitchen or wherever he may, in his wisdom, send me...May we always be possessed with this consciousness that we are not our own." - Watchman Nee, NCL


It is all or nothing my friends... may we, by the Lord's grace, be zealous and repent, and may He anoint our eyes with salve that we may see what is real, the reality of His Lordship and his coming kingdom.  May our deepest desire be after solely this, and may our eyes not waiver from the Prize.  

stop moping around .....praise Him!

lately there has been a lot of fog.  a lot of not knowing what the future will look like.  a lot of not knowing what to do with the current circumstances.  a lot of not knowing how to process different happenings in life.  not knowing how to be a good testimony, not knowing how to face the challenges that come up at work, in the body of Christ, and my personal experiences.  i've finally come to the point of not knowing anything.

with little strength, little wisdom, and a way full of uncertainty ... I come before the throne of grace.

i have been reminded recently, by the Holy Spirit, that I need to lift up my voice in praise.

giving praise to God ...during the times of utter chaos and confusion, during times where the clouds have just rolled in, during times that it seems everyone is swimming the opposite direction, and times where strength is non-existent....  giving praise to God in these times seems so irrational, doesn't it?  ... i mean the rest of the world would tell us to blame God ... remember Job's experience?

But one of God's great mysteries .... is that when we praise Him in the midst of crisis... how often do we feel immediately strengthened by Him?  when we Praise for no other reason apart from his death on the cross .... even in this... do we not find rest in giving Him praise?  Do we not somehow, because of lifting our eye to give thanks to Jesus, feel so incredibly blessed, and suddenly in the Lord's presence.  What a blessing it is to lift our hearts and our thanks to Jesus in times of difficulty.

He is always worthy of being praised, but I believe that if we're willing to praise Him during these hard times, then we have recognized that life is not all about us.  We've finally come to a place where we can say, "Jesus, I love you and worship You, because you are seated on the throne!  You are Lord, and King, and Your Name is to be ever trusted!"  ... when we do this, even in praising Him, we are denying ourselves, and because of this ... we can enter into the Joy of the Lord, and be at peace.

So praise Him!  He is always worthy of our praise ... but are we willing to offer it up?  Are we willing to stop moping around, and lift our praises, our hands, our hearts and our lives to worship the King?
oh... in doing so, we will find much greater fulfillment then we currently know in our circumstance.



Lord, teach us to praise you, help us to lift our voices and sing a song of thanksgiving, to the One who has given us everything.