What are you doing?

What Are You Doing?

Romans 12:6-8(NIV)
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully




We want God to do all sorts of things for us don't we?  We want Him to answer all our prayers exactly the way we want them answered and quickly. We want God to bless us and give us all the things we want, need, and "think" we need.  We can even want church to be exactly how we think it should be, sing the songs we want, spend money the way we want, have the traditions and programs I like, and the list is endless of things we want from God or want God to do.

However, the better question is:  What are YOU doing for God?  If being a Christian was just about us giving our opinions and/or coming and sitting on a church pew on Sunday mornings and attending church, we'd all be super-christians.  But, being a Christian or being the church, is not about attending a church service or getting our way. As a matter of fact, being a christian really is the opposite.  It's about "being" the church and not attending a church service, and it's about "giving" ourselves to God in worship and service and not just giving an opinion.

So, What are you doing?  Where are you serving?  How are you giving? Are you truly committed to God and His church?  We give tons of cash to a house payment, car payment, or our hobbies of golf, boating, or camping, but what do we give God? We spend countless hours scrapbooking, fishing, going to little league, or cheer competitions, or yard sales, but how much time a week do we devote to serving God?  We use our abilities to help with school athletic boosters, PTO, little league officer, Kiwanis or Lion's club, or countless other causes(most are good), but if we are asked to volunteer, serve, lead, or teach at church, we don't have time.

So, What are you doing?  Do you spend time each day in prayer talking to God?  Are you spending regular amounts of time reading or studying the Bible or involved in a weekly Bible study or SS class?  Are you doing your part in the church and volunteering and serving in some way in one of it's programs or ministries?  Are you committed to giving financially to God. Remember you are giving to God through His church, not just giving money to "your" church. 

So, What are you doing? Are you serving? Are you giving? Are you leading? Are you committed? Are you doing your part? Are you giving your best to God? Are you

Be careful what you ask for

*sorry it's been a few weeks since my last blog. We have been in process of moving and getting internet and getting settled.

Be Careful What you Ask for

How many times have you wished for something or asked for something or prayed to God for something you wanted or wanted to do?  You finally get what you thought you wanted and you now have regret? dissapointment?  frustration?  Because what you thought you "wanted" or "needed" was not what you wanted, needed, or what was best for you? It may not even be what God intended for you?  Or it may be something God wanted you to have or do and you fight against it, even though you asked for it.

I'm not sure what your situation, problem, or what it is that your life doesn't have or you think you want, need, or have to change?  However, I do know that sometimes we ask for things we don't need, we want things that are not healthy for us, and we can even pray to God for things we know aren't in His will.

How can we avoid this?   I think 1.) You pray, but pray unbiased to God, and truly be open to His will, not yours. Not what you want or think you want or need, but pray for God to give you or do or show you what HE wants for your life.  2.)  Weigh the options.  You have to look at the pro's and con's and the positive and negatives of what you think you want or need or are asking for.  Take time to truly evaluate and see if what you want or asking for is because you are being selfish, might be being negatively influenced by someone or something, or just havent researched the consequences of if you actually got your wish. 3.)  Seek Godly counsel.  Sometimes we go around and ask for advice from people until we find one that tells us what we want to hear, so we think we got affirmation or justification to what we want.  However, this is wrong.  We need to talk to people we trust, know will tell be completely honest with us, and tell us like it is, and then we need to respect their honesty and thank them for being a real friend and consider highly their honest counsel.
4.) Change your mindset.  Stop being guided by emotions, feelings, pleasure, selfishness, fantasy, or lies.  Be realistic when you think you want something. Ask why do I really want this?  What is it I really hope to get out of this?  Is it truly worth it?  How am I going to feel once I get what I think I want?  We've got to think, evaluate, view, and pray with a right mindset that is open to the option of maybe what i'm asking for I don't need, don't really want, is not best for me, or will cause more problems.

These are just my suggestions from my experiences and the experiences I've seen in others, but I pray they help you.  We need to be very very careful what we ask for, what we pray for, and what we think we "want" or "need".  From a christian standpoint, we especially need to involve God in all things and seek His will and strive to live our lives with Him as our guide and helping us make our decisions and choices in daily life so that we don't do things or get things that will hurt us, cause us pain, or leave us with regret. 

Sometimes God will give us what we want, even though it's not His will because He's tired of our rebellious heart.

Psalm 81:12(NIV)

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

But, God truly wants us to use wisdom, discernment, and grow to what we ask for

Proverbs 4:26(NIV)Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways

Ask for God's will when we ask for anything, not "our" will, but God's!
1 John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.