Will we endure the fire...

Over the next few months, Justin and I will be visiting different churches to find the one that is the right fit for the two of us... this is a big deal. He's traditional... and I'm well... a member of Zion Church ;-) Today we visited Reid Temple's Silver Spring satellite campus. The title of the message today was Firm Foundation... with I Corinthians 3:10-16 has the reference. In this passage, Paul discusses the foundation on which Jesus Christ is the bases of our decisions. As the message continued, he addressed the value of our fruit... will our actions and decisions withstand the fire? This made me think about a period in my life as a leader of Alpha Nu Omega, Inc. when I questioned if the fruits of my labor were actually good fruit... had I made the right decisions... would my actions truly reflect what God desired for my life and the lives of those around me. Would it in fact stand up against the fire...

Even now, I ask myself those same questions as a regional officer... Will the actions of the MART stand against the change in leadership? Will the sacrifices of time, energy and sleep strengthen the integrity and recognition of the organization that has had such a profound impact on my life? Then I began to question if I based my actions on the firm foundation of Christ, or did I base it on the hubris that comes along with holding a title and position.

Members of ANQ... ask yourselves, will the actions you've taken and decisions you've made regarding building the kingdom under the banner of ANQ stand the test of time? Or will the ashes simply blow away and disappear...

The Devil's in the Details…

In Exodus 24-31, God provides Moses with a very detailed plan for the tabernacle. As I read through this encounter between God and Moses, I marveled at the amount of detail that God had invested in this plan for a place for Him to embody to speak with His children. It made me think of how detailed His plan must be for my life. I can only imagine they measurements, outlines, etc. that He has spread out over the course of my life.

But, the amount of detail also overwhelmed me...as the reader it seemed like overkill to a certain degree. Did God really need to be so meticulous? But, then I began to think of how overwhelming this encounter had to be for Moses... what if he got a measurement wrong or if he skipped a step entirely... Would God's presence be able to enter has He intended? Again, this made me think of God's purpose for me? I'm sure that it is very detailed and if delivered all at once quite overwhelming, so I'm grateful to receive in portions.

Another element that I found amazing came in chapter 31. In verses 1-11 God calls several craftsmen by name who He has given specific skills to complete the task of building the tabernacle. That's when it hit me, God has identified specific people before He fashioned me that had the specific skill set needed to complete the design for my life THANKS EVERYBODY!!!

Unfortunately, the book of Exodus doesn't end here... in chapter 32, the people of Israel throw all the hard work of Moses out of the window because their life of blessings, holiness and virtue took to long to explain. After years of slavery, God revealing His love and affection for them, they simply said, "forget this dude Moses, he's taking too long and we don't even know if he's coming back." This really stood out to me, mind you this isn't the first time I've read this passage... experience sure sheds a new light on old things... how often have I delayed the start of my journey into the promise land because the start of the trip was taking too long? What have I created as a golden calf in my life because I haven't let God's blueprints for my life take shape?

After reading this I thought about the old saying, "the devil's in the details". In this situation for me, it may be true. In this passage, God gave so many details that more time passed than the people of Israel cared to wait, allowing time for them to succumb to their own selfish and sinful nature. The passage of time has healing effects, but it also opens the doorway for our own evil nature to take control, if we fail to remember that their is a plan and for that plan to be a success we have to wait for all the details.

In the deep end..

At the start of the year I started again with the Bible in 90 days challenge. I've attempted this challenge before, but I was overwhelmed by life making it hard for me to keep up with the amount of reading. However, this time I'm making a commitment to finish, not to just say that I have read the whole bible... which in itself is an accomplishment... but to be able to put things in perspective.

It seems like everyone else around me is surfing on a spiritual high... still amped off the church slogans from the New Year's Eve services (The service I went to the slogan was W.I.N. (Walking in Newness) in 2010). I seem to be belly up and fighting the current and struggling to catch my breath. My arms and legs are getting weak from trying to stay afloat...

Daddy, pull me close.

So much to say... so little time..

it seems. I have a few different topics running through my head to write blogs about. A blog about rock climbing, another about being a sheep and a shepherd, how calendars can show time gained and wasted, and simply one about the new year. Maybe, I'll get time to work on those this week. But, who knows... school starts next week, the PT job continues, AND I've started that Bible in 90 days challenge again. I have to get these words out.. I have to get these thoughts out... I think I'm going into mental overload.