Are we Fruitful?

As I was doing my bible study by Kay Arthur, she asks this question. "Do you know people who acknowledge the worship of God yet don't seem fully aligned with His Kingdom? If so, what things seem to take priority in their lives and do these things take precedence over God and His work?"

Talk about a loaded question! The answer is most assuredly, yes. I thought about it and I came to a realization that all things take priority over God in the lives of people who haven't begun to understand who God is and what surrender actually means.

Even as Christians it is so easy to get bogged down and side-tracked in this materialistic, success-driven, 'all about me' world that we live in. We want to say all the right things, wear all the right clothes, do all the right stuff and appear all the right ways. We are willing to do what it takes to be 'somebody' in the world. But are we willing to do what it takes to be committed to being somebody in God's Kingdom?

We can know God and we can confess Him as Lord. But is our allegiance to Him? Are we living in total obedience and unwavering loyalty to Christ and the spreading of the gospel? Are we seeking things when we need to be seeking truths? Are we seeking pleasure when we need to be seeking purpose?

If most of us (including me) are honest with ourselves, we would admit that we aren't completely surrendered to God's will. We have this inborn longing and need to fit in. The dissatisfaction we so often feel in our lives feeds our desire for more of something. We want to make more, to have more, so we spend more, to be more and then we desire more, so we have to make more! How crazy is that!

What we need is more Jesus. More time spent in the Word. More time spent in prayer. More time spent communing with God. More time producing fruit.

God deserves our firsts and not our lasts. Anything less than our best is divided allegiance. Our number one focus should be Christ. We need to give more than just lip service to our Lord. We need to make Christ the top priority in word and deed. Let the fruit that we bear be witness to this. Deny ourselves. Take up our cross. Follow Jesus.

"Therefore by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:20)

Seeking Him,
Beth

Making Memories

Just thought I'd post a few pics of what my 2 oldest grandyoungin's and I did Saturday. I had purchased a gingerbread snowman kit and we tackled it with full force. (of course, I thought it was an actual gingerbread man until Mikaela informed me otherwise!) I think Eli ate more frosting than he put on his snowman and he used a TON of sprinkles. He also took one last lick off of the bottom of the snowman before I dunked him and his sister in the tub. Mikaela had a great time also, but her long hair kept getting in the frosting so needless to say, she had a much needed hair washin' when I put them in the bathtub. We had tons of fun and that's all that matters. Price of gingerbread kit - $7.00. Making memories with my sweet grandbabies - priceless.

Loving my Jesus,

Beth

Because of Christ

Because of Christ, I am made righteous. I aspire for holiness and desire sanctification. I have been redeemed.

Because of Christ, I don't have to worry about my identity with the world. I don't need others to define who I am. I am defined only by Jesus and the price He paid for me at Calvary!

Because of Christ, I have been engrafted by grace into His family. The family of God. I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Because of Christ, I am a child of the King! My greatest accomplishment is accepting God's free gift of Grace - my salvation - and becoming a disciple for Him.

Thank you, Lord, for having mercy on me. Thank you for saving a sinner like me. Thank you for being the redemption for my sins. May I always be a disciple for your Glory.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)

Seeking Him,
Beth

Do you have any empty boxes?

I sat in front of the tree on Christmas Eve night. The house was quiet. I was the only one still awake. And I started thinking... I looked at all our decorations from 24 years of collecting, the white lights all aglow. The blinking angel on top of the tree which quit blinking that night..Passels of presents under the tree wrapped and ready to be eagerly opened in the morning. The day that we so anxiously look forward to would soon be here and then as quick as it came it would be over.

All the list making, the cards we sent out, the shopping, the money spent, more shopping, the wrapping of presents, the stuffing of stockings, the christmas caroling. All the preparation of food and candy and cookies. All these things that preoccuppied our time and lives would soon be behind us.

We allow all this to raise our stress levels, tire ourselves out and spend more that we need to spend. We get so overwhelmed by it all that sometimes we are ready for it to be over before it even starts. That in itself is the saddest part of the whole thing.

We miss the reason we celebrate. We miss the immaculate conception. We miss the angel. We miss Mary and Joseph. We miss the star. We miss the shepherds and wise men. We miss the baby in the manger. We miss Jesus.

We put so much of ourselves into the "things" that we think make up Christmas, that we neglect the only thing that matters.

The birth of our Savior. Born in a stable in Bethlehem. Born to become King. Born to save us from our sins. Born to die. Born to rise. Born to come again. Hallelujah!

Now, it's the morning after Christmas and all that's left is remanents of paper, empty wallets, empty stockings, empty boxes.

Let's fill our boxes back up with praise, worship, giving, love, forgiveness and kindness. Let's keep our boxes full of Jesus so that we don't miss Him in our daily lives. Let's fill our hearts to overflowing with the love of Christ. Let's fill our boxes with gifts to lay at the feet of Jesus.

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, God with us" (Matthew 1:23)

Loving my Jesus,
Beth

He is Here

Have you ever had a church service where the presence of God just abounds? We experienced that on Sunday (yes, I know that I am the Preacher's wife, but it's true..) The presence of God just filled the sanctuary and you could feel Him everywhere! You could not only feel Him and sense His presence, but you could hear it. Sweet voices giving praise to our God. Sweet voices that sounded so angelic. Voices that were sincere. Voices filled with worship. Voices that cried out to Jesus.

"Surely, the presence of the Lord is in this place.
I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
I can hear the brush of angel wings, I see Glory on each face.
Surely, the presence of the Lord is in this place."

When we totally surrender ourselves over to worship, God will show up in a mighty way. He desires to be right in the midst of our praise. There is nothing like the feeling of having God's presence wrap itself around you like a warm blanket. It envelopes our being and the warmth floods our souls. You can feel it on your skin like a chill in the air. You can feel the presence pressing down on your head. You close your eyes and are transported to another place. A place where holiness abounds. A place where nothing matters except Christ. A place where you are communing one on one with the Savior. A place of peace.

If you have ever experienced this, it's something you desire to feel again and again. You never want the sweet fellowship to end. Can you imagine what Heaven is going to be like? Continual worship. Continual fellowship. Continual presence of God. Continual Glory. Face down. At His feet. Praising.

"And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:

Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

Revelation 5:13 (NKJV)

Loving my Jesus,
Beth