Read it. Do it.
This is a little goofy, but its got a pretty good message.
“If you’re a Christian God shouldn’t be number one in your life, He should be everything in your life.”
Praying about something is not spiritual. Mormons pray. Krishnas pray. Buddhists pray. Hearing from God and doing what God says is spiritual.
—Keith Green
This is a screen shot from the documentary my best friend is making titled “Hope for Haiti.” Delmonte is 19 years old and is the only person who has a job in his family. He buys all the food, pays the bills, and pays for school for his younger brother and sisters.
Delmonte and I really connected while I was down in Haiti, and he will hold a special piece of my heart forever. The amount of joy and passion this young man has for his Father in heaven has truly affected me and my own relationship with our Lord and Savior. I’ve never met anyone so rich who has nothing.
I would appreciate your prayers for my young friend. The coach of the soccer team at the University of Central Florida was in Haiti and saw Delmonte playing soccer and offered him a full scholarship in the states if he would play on his soccer team. Delmonte is in the very difficult, extensive, and expensive process of trying to get a visa to go to school in the States. Please pray for him and his family while he makes a tough decision to leave the family he supports to go on and get a better education.
Morning Glory
Every morning when I was in Haiti I would wake up earlier than everyone else so I could go up to the roof and watch the sunrise over the mountains (which was completely gorgeous). I took that time to start my day in the word and just spend some time with the Lord. The first morning we were there He spoke to me very clearly, and my hand couldn’t write fast enough for what he was saying to me. I just want to share a bit of what I wrote down that morning in my journal.
“These are my people and nothing you see here will be like anything else. I have my hand on them. Thats why I sent you. You are part of my plan Charity. you are here so I can show my great works, sufficient love, grace, and mighty power through you to Haiti. Humble your spirit and turn your heart, eyes and ears to me and watch me work and use you. Remember I handpicked you for this, you didn’t choose me, I chose you and that’s why you are here.
Trust that when you stretch out your hand to heal, I will heal. When you go to pray, I will turn and listen. When you begin to cry i will come and sweep you up. When you laugh I will rejoice right along side of you…And when you step on the plane home, I will compel you to come back.”
This may not seem like a whole lot to you, but when the Lord told me this I was overwhelmed with his awesome presence and glory. He is so good, and to think that I can be used by him is a privilege and an honor. He is so amazing. It is all for your glory. Every day.
Week 6 Day 5
Exodus 29:1-30:10
Matthew 26:14-46
Psalm 31:19-24
Proverbs 8:14-26
Matthew 26:39
He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Week 2 Day 5 (Wineskins)
Genesis 26:17-27:46
Matthew 9:1-17
Psalm 10:16-18
Proverbs 3:9-10
Matthew 9:17
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old wineskins would burst from the pressure spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is preserved in new wine skins so that both are preserved.”
As I was reading today, I felt like the Lord was showing me something very clearly as I read this verse. It may not seem like anything important, but the principal can apply to our lives as Christians.
When we take the first step to follow Christ we become a new creation as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” When we accept Christ into our lives, he wipes out everything, and remakes us as a beautiful new creation, much like a new wineskin.
However some of us may look new on the outside, fitting the description as new, yet we choose to fill up our insides with everything old. We fill it up with our old sins that we try to get away with, hurt from our past, condemnation from sins we have committed, anger, strife, guilt, doubt and the list could go on and on. So we have now accepted this amazing gift the Lord has given us of this new wineskin, yet we choose to junk up the inside with everything from our past that didn’t work then and won’t work now. We have seen a change on the surface, on the outside, but our own actions still fill us up with filth on the inside.
Just as an old wineskin will burst and leak out and ruin the new wine because it can’t handle the pressure, a heart change won’t last unless their is a new lifestyle to go along with it and vise versa. You won’t stand long allowing old sins into your new lifestyle in Christ. We can’t preserve our new life if we are putting old habits into it, and we can’t put new habits into the same old lifestyle….it won’t work, it won’t last. Until both your inside and outside focus is on Christ, you will crumble under the pressure.
I am asking God today to make me like a new wineskin, and fill me with new wine. Cleanse me from the inside out and help me to preserve my heart for you. Help me not to fill your new creation with old sins that you have already forgiven and forgotten, and help me not to dwell on the condemnation that has stemmed from them. Help me to live as your servant pure and holy from the inside out. I love you and thank you for your patience and grace with me.
Eating but never full!
I’m eating, but I’m never full. I just can’t see how that is possible in Christ. I’m satisfied, but not completely, because I always want more of my Savior. It’s not that I feel like something is missing, but rather every time I get another little taste of His glory it’s not enough, because I want more and more. He fills my cup completely, but once it’s to the top, my cup grows so He can fill it even more.
My flesh sits in awe of Him and I’m still for just a moment until I start chasing after Him again. The more He feeds me the hungrier I become, and the deeper I want him planted in my heart. I’m never fully satisfied because I’m greedy. I want Him all to myself at all times.
The first time you truly experience Him you finally realize what you have been missing out on and how great He is. I’m not just talking about feeling loved by the Lord or getting emotional, but rather that overwhelming feeling of complete and total surrender to a holy and glorified God. I want that everyday. I want to stand in “awe” of Him with a holy fear. I never want to stand still. I always want that hunger to keep chasing and wanting more.
Lord help me to keep running after you. Keep my heart yearning for your embrace. I want to know you inside and out. Keep my heart from becoming complacent and satisfied with where I’m at, but rather spark a fire in me that spreads to everyone in my life. Help me to burn bright so that people see you clearly in me. Help me to live holy and pure in your sight and live up to your standards and not the worlds. Thank you for choosing me, loving me, taking time with me, being patient with me and holding my hand every single day. I love you more than anything.
Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
This picture just made me start to tear up a little bit because it’s so powerful. As beautiful as a bride may look on the outside on her wedding day, what makes her truly beautiful is Christ.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
1 Peter 3:3-4
