Bible Verse of the Day


2 Peter 1:5-8


For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

2011 Vision Requirements

New year, renewed vision, restored dreams…all good things, all gifts from God. As we make our way back into the routines of daily life after the mission trip, it is evident we cannot go back to what ‘normal’ was before. The vision and direction God gave us requires a new ‘normal’. I’m not sure what that entails yet, but I know it is not the stale ‘normal’ of last year.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure my old ‘normal’ was crowded and jam-packed. Had you asked me two weeks ago if I could add a few more bundles of responsibilities to my load, I would have laughed aloud…probably in hysteria. Today, I KNOW my load has shifted, my priorities updated to accommodate His plan in my life, and my ability to keep the pace required has been shored up by His strength, nothing I could have done on my own.

The question is, will I…can I…stay out of His way and allow Him to lead? I want to be all holy-roly and shout words of affirmation with enthusiasm. Yep, that’s what I want to do. Knowing myself and my fleshly habits of picking up the ball and running in the directions I want to go, I can’t say with confidence that I will maintain my position as the follower…not without some serious intervention anyway. I am better than I used to be about it but I am nowhere close to being where I need to be! I need daily reinforcement, thus the devotional blog I send. It corals my mind and focus, putting God first in my day, upfront in my mind and reinforces the knowledge that He is in control…I am His ‘worker bee’ seeking the dictates He puts before me.
 
As we move into 2011 with new clarity and vision, let us encourage one another, holding each other accountable as Christian brothers and sisters and support one another through prayer and words of affirmation. God’s direction will always be on target, His marching orders may seem overwhelming when viewed through our human eyes but let’s not lose sight of the fact that it is HIS work, HIS strength and HIS purposes…He will not leave us floundering alone. Our first step is to step out of HIS way and let Him lead our lives, our dreams and our destinies. He will be faithful to do His part, we must be faithful to do ours.

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