4. Relationships are selfless, grow people in their pursuit for God not for me.

Are we getting the hint yet that our example as disciples is Christ…and that example is love. Sure we understand that God wants us blessed, sure we understand that He wants us whole – but eventually we have to take the position of being on e team instead of being the object of the team. The team has a mission to disciple and reach the lost. Discipleship is the teaching of Godly truths that help break the ungodly behaviors, and the ungodly strongholds sooooo that we can become on elf the disciples…discipling. Our feel good is the understanding of the relationship, not the relationship itself. That righteousness spoken of in the Word literally means right standing. It is an instant place of relational position with God. It is not earned, it is given by grace. We have a next step that includes our decision to honor with our lives. We need to embrace the passion to be more like Him in our personally integrity, and our selfless mission. The great commission was all selflessness. I was taking to a very good saxophone player recently, living the good life of traveling professional musician. I asked him what made him successful, and if there were better payers out there. His comment was huge. He said that he sees guys all the time that can outplay him in a single note, but he has something they dont. Personal integrity. He answers calls, he shows up on time, he appreciates opportunities, and he is wiling to work hard. I see that as a problem with American Christianity. We have taken the gift given to us by Christ, and we have made it a personal call service. We will do what it takes for our feel goods. Whether its financial principles, or self promotion, or simply indulging the areas in our life that make us feel good. Disciples are sent to do one thing, disciple. They go in to all the world, saving the lost and making disciples. Disciples that will go into all the world. So, I guess I am asking myself and anyone who is reading this morning – what are we doing with our lives. Are we pursuing our personal ambitions just to make sure our life has hit the pleasure mark of what we are wanting? Or are we laying aside our plans, understanding the need for saving that which is lost…truly reflecting the life of Christ. His sacrifice was not just in dying on a cross, it was in the entire existence of His fleshly living reflecting God. It was the EVERYday denial of what HE may have wanted so that He could grow those around Him…selflessly.

God, in my conversations, attitude, responsibilities and heart today – help me to be selfless in everything. I am Yours.
B

First let me prelude what I am about to say with this – I love fire! Haha! Yeah, you guessed it, I am a huge pry maniac. I don’t know when or how it started, but I love making fires (or burning anything really).

But I want to just share a few things I have learned, and then something that God has revealed to me during this fast that just rocked my world!

First, in order to have fire you must have some kind of ignition, or spark, basically something that is just hot! Without this it’s really hard to make anything catch on fire… okay yeah, its impossible. This is why you will see someone who is hiking always have dry matches, or in my case, a heavy duty lighter . Without these ignition systems… NO FIRE .

Second, you have to have some type of fuel. Wood, gas, propane, etc… No fuel = no fire. (Prov 26:20)

Last – Oxygen! Just like we need oxygen, so a fire needs oxygen to burn. If you’ve ever been trying to start a fire in a barbecue pit for almost an hour, only to realize the air inlet hole wasn’t open…Yeah, doesn’t work too well.

So I think we’ve established the three things you need to make or have a fire.

Ignition+Fuel+Oxygen = FIRE!

So a few days ago it was like 37ºF which is pretty cold for Louisiana… intelligent me, decides it would be cool to start a fire in the fire pit and drink coffee and talk to Jess. Well it just so happened to be the windiest night of the two week long winter season…. So like a good little boy scout I get all the wood together so I don’t have to blow on the wood to get it going, or even have to get out some gas or lighter fluid (which would be fun). But with all the wind it seemed as though I would never get going. Until it hit me – if I block the wind then I can get the fire going. So I moved around the pit until I found the optimal place to block the wind… And what do you know? FIRE!!!

Then as I began to sit back and enjoy the fire, God gave me a revelation. If I position myself where God needs me to be, he is waiting with the matches and lighter to start a fire in me (Psalm 119:2). It’s the same for everyone! If you will position yourself (physically, spiritually, and financially) then God is waiting to pour himself into, onto, and all around you.

-huddy

Lord, let me passionately pursue You, by silently serving man. By passionately pursuing You I am placing the importance in the right position. That being said, it generates success nearly immediately and that is why I have to have the understatement of silently serving man. The fact is that I have a tendency to desire mans approval and accolades. I spent years looking for success through fleshly eyes and not through Your eyes. My actions,my heart, my defensiveness, my personal successes all added up to nothing. Like Paul write I count my gains as losses when I realize that my struggles to look good to those I lead or am led by actually hindered me from being You in every situation. To gain after personal success is the opposite of what Christ life was and is. E entire existence of Christ life was to live and become a sacrifice for me. We all get the die a sacrifice as we think about the cross and the days leading up. The torture, the pain, the ridicule handed so that we can have eternal life and a blessed fleshly existence. But, the life that Christ lived was a complete sacrifice. I think about how many times I self-indulge, or self-preserve in situations. Christ didnt have that option. He couldnt sin if he was going to be our sacrifice. Every temptation He had to overcome in the flesh…every self defense He had to lay aside in the strength of the flesh. And I stress about how my mistakes may make me look, or my inadequacies prevent me from being the perfect example. Seriously what is this life for, if it isnt for others. What are blessing for if it isnt for others. I understand why Your Word talks about storing treasures in heaven. Its Your opinion that makes my world complete, and its Your will that makes my life impact full. Its Your direction that produces the most fruit (seen or never seen) and its Your presence, expression, and love that changes the hearts of people. Not me, not my two cents, not my way of doing things. I feel like this doesnt make sense but You know my heart this morning. I want my reward to be Your words of affirmation that I have done what You have asked me to do. I want to live, breathe and speak Your love and expressions to everyone in my life and every soul that I encounter. I what to be the tool that You use to make everyone in every situation know that You are calling them to their greatness. I want to be a part of Your plan to spread Your love to the deepest part of every heart so that can see the awesomeness of who You are and who they are in You. Here I am today, solely wanting to be Yours, and I am…Yours.
B

God, I was reading – still in Timothy and it reminded me of my part. I know that You give me favor and opportunity but I still have to do my part. It says in chapter four, 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Its not so much what the gift as it is my decision to not neglect. Neglecting is when I dont take the time to nourish and develop those things that You have placed in me. Its loving people, leading people to their growth, and tapping into the Holy Spirit in people. For me. So I need to exercise and receive knowledge about those. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to fine tune each area of my life, and weed out the things that; stunt my growth, distract from growth, and are growing the wrong things.
Stunting my growth is much like when my dad told me about how his smoking stopped him from being taller. While Ive never been a smoker, there are some things in life that the devil tries to (or I try) to do that becomes a stunt for growth. If I held on to bitterness or unforgiveness it would literally stop growth in loving people. Distracting from growth is simply self-indulgence. I cannot be a self indulging person. Last night Nili wanted to talk and share with each other rather than watch a show on tv. Tv is a distraction simply said. It rarely promotes relational growth, and almost never leads to great outcomes. When I am not neglecting the gift, I am not allowing distractions in my life. Lastly wrong things growing…in me I see the areas that are selfish. The areas that I am pursuing because they bring me pleasure. I am not saying that everyone needs to quit their bowling league, but I am saying that if I am going bowling to escape from my personal gift and responsibility en I have to quit. Basically if I am to do my part in this life, then every part of this life has to have purpose. While that may seem boring, or waaayyyyy sacrificial, even religious – when I personally stand back and look at these things that I feel I am missing out on (movies, tv shows, golfing all day) I quickly realize that non of them bring me fulfillment and none of them produce the life that I want to live. So, for now I think Ill keep my Golding to 6 times a year (helps that I live in Chicago now and part of the year you simply cant golf).

God, please help me today to be the sharpest tool in the shed. Help me to be on target Ll day with Your presence and Your will. I need You to help me with that. I need You to be In every thought, every reaction, and ever decision today. I love You and thank You for loving me. I trust You with my life today – please lead it for me.
All Yours
B

God, I have heard this many times….blameless. Ive given much excuse to that word labeling the Grace of God for being the blameless factor – but alas I must embrace the personal responsibility. Reading Timothy today I find myself reflecting differently than I normally would. We had a staff meeting the other day where I shared about the importance of our personal integrity. We, who are in ministry, are paid by those who give to the church out of obedience. So, when I read the passage this morning about the things expected of a deacon, and a bishop…it hit me the selflessness required. Im not just supposed to pursue holiness for the sake of myself, but truly for the salvation of others. The entire daily life of Christ and His blamelessness was for the restoration of the original relationship. Assimilating that into my existence, the love of God towards others now drives us to live holy yet look with grace towards others. Many times when we live holy for our personal feel goodwe become judgmental of others. In my life I see that because of the internal selfishness (angry and judgemental because I feel a pressure to be something out of fear and not a relationship). But when my pursuit of holiness becomes about others and is based in the understanding of Gods love in me…then the alignment becomes beautiful and I can live the Christ life.
God, I feel like Im not explaining this well – but You know my heart. I cant live blameless without You, and You want me blameless not because You love more but because You can use me more. So God, forgive me for my selfish moments and my pride. Forgive me for those self-indulgences. Help me to die daily and rise in Christ in every situation. I hand You my day, I need Your Grace, I long to be a vessel that is capable, pliable, and useful for Your demonstration of love. Thank You for this moment and the day. I am Yours. I love You

B

So my second goal is something that God has placed on my heart for years – yet I still struggle to live it completely. Goal 2 is to love everybody. 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
I remember when God first told me that He loves everybody. It was perfectly timed when I was dealing with who I thought was an unloveable person. The truth is that we find the key to loving everybody right there in the letter to Timothy. Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving thanks… When I see that it unlocks what my POSITION is supposed to be in relation to people. I am to be the Christ to the them. Think about it, Chris is our intercession, He is ever praying for us, He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession on our behalf. His entire position is to be the support and life-support to our success in life and in love with God. Now that Christ is in us, when we allow Him to be in our thinking – we naturally will begin to react to people in a life- support way. When I really think about the phrase – some people are hard to love (which is completely true) the fault isnt in them – its in me. The hard part is always our pride.
Nice little zinger there at the end.
God, here I am. You have been challenging me to live another level of loving people, I accept the challenge. I see that my next level is to pray. Not just react right, or make it about them in my relationships – but to literally pray for all, give thanks for all, and to stand in the gap for all. I want to be Your servant and Your extension of love in all I do. Here is my day, everything I am, think, or speak – help it to be a reflection of You. Help me to be the most loving, hardest working, deepest pursuing, integrity driven person for You today. Im in love with You and…thank You for everything!
I am Yours
B

God, I remember when I was in the military and our commander sent us into someone elses battle. At the time it was fun and funny that it was such a poor decision on his part. I have used that story to get a lot of laughs, but…I look this morning when reading about Pauls charge to Timothy and it really wasnt that funny. 1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; War a good warfare. That isnt just that I put up a good fight for faith and for God, but also that I am fighting the right things. I think too often I live for others, but I fight for myself. And when I do fight for others I am often doing it to make myself in a better position. That day when our commander sent us into battle (one that wasnt ours to fight) he wasnt trying to help, he was trying to fulfill a selfish ambition and look good. We have to remember that this is about others and not really about ourselves. Wen our troops are in other countries they are not truly fighting for our freedom, they are fighting for others and for those oppressed people. That is why their sacrifice is so great, to lay their life for a stranger and a friend.
Let me be that person today, not holding on to anything that is self preserving or self promoting. Lead me to fight the right fight, and do it for the right reason. Lead me to make this life and this day about others. Today I die first thing this morning that I can live for You. I love You God.
Here I am, here is my day…let me be the most skilled, hardest working, highest integrity person at life today. Only by Your grace, and only for Your glory.
B

So, at the beginning of each year we spend time as a family seeking God for what we are to do. I also write down things about my goals, what weve accomplished, whats on the horizon, and whatever we need to add or modify. And… In that process I typically end up with some spiritual truths about what I am to do and be; with that comes the following blogs (what an intro)! Today Im going to give the first of five things I felt that God gave me for this year last night…
1. Own my moment… Being the best I can be for Him
I am sure that you have heard me say this before, but owning our moment means living this very minute in a way that honors God. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a popular scripture that states that we need to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and lean not unto our own understanding. In all of our ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths. Owning my moment is found in the heart of that scripture;
A. Trusting in God – In order to trust I have to know. Owning my moment means that I am close to God. Spending time with Him daily is not an option. If We want to grow and be used by God, we have to know Him and spend time with Him.
B. Dont put much weight in how or what you think… Listen to the spirit. Leaning on our own understanding normally isnt enough insight and understanding to take advantage of our moment. we have to learn how to immediately listen to the Spirit. Put up you spiritual understanding.
C. In everything I do, acknowledge God. The word acknowledge is the Greek word YADA which means to know by experience. That means that as i own my moment, I have to know God by experience. That means that my goal (point) of every situation is to find God and be Him in the situation. It is that living for God that we can own our moments.

See owning the moment isnt about your growth or your gain, it is always about others. If my goal is what is best for me, then I am missing the point of my existence.

Thanks for reading,
Love God, and love people
B

That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (2 Thessalonians 2:2 KJV)

Do not be shaken in mind… I know that the scripture is talking about being steadfast knowing that You are coming is soon. This morning it spoke to me concerning the steadfastness I need to have in my thinking. I cAn no longer allow my mind to travel or entertain any hint of offense or idleness. What is my calling, what is my purpose? Is it to obtain for the gathering of what I want or is it really to be available for others? I know the answer, but why is it then that I choose so often to preserve self, through time or thought. I want to be all Yours, even in my thoughts. I have changed and earned a lot of behavioral this, I schedule purposeful recognition of leaders, I have plans to send and personalize encouragement. It has become who I am In Action, but I want it to become who I am in thought. God, help me to let you take over every thought every idea. I simply want to be Yours with nothing held back, nothing under my control. I truly want to be Your son and servant. I need to be Yours in order to do the best I can. I remove all my predetermined ways of thinking in order to know the way You think. The love that You have for others. The compassion You have on the hurting and the passion You have for the lost! I want that reflected in me, at work, at home, out and about. I need You soooo much. I love You soooo much. This is me, this is my day. I am Yours, help me to be Your love!
I love You
B

11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; 1 Thes 4:11

How can this be about leadership and selflessness? The fact is that we often do thing loudly so that others see, we often do others business so that others can appreciate and we often ignore doing the work before us in order to do what we want to do. Why do I do the things I do…am I aiming to please God and reach others with His love, or am I aiming to look good to others.
This past Sunday pastor Corey was talking about the Holy Spirit and in the process mentioned that if everyone spent more time reading and care taking their relationship with God as they did with Facebook, there wouldnt be an epidemic of lawlessness of sin. It got me thinking about facebook, and why I post on it. Why do I waste my time. It is such a beautiful tool of self promotion, and self indulgence … And I arrange everyday. I tell myself that i am just keeping up to know what people are doing. But, seriously. I get the argument that it is a great witnessing tool, but it seems to be a better clarification of the hypocrisy that resides in american Christianity. Last week our secretary asked pastor Corey and myself about biblical people to look up to that loved a life after God. My pastors answer was great…he mentioned people in the old testament versus the new. In the old they encountered God and and still had major sin in their life because of the atonement of the sacrifice versus the forgiveness of a savior. In the new testament they had the power of the Holy Spirit and the relational restoration brought by the son of God. So, what is our excuse then. We look to the failures of David in comparison to our own and feel some sense of accepted e because the lack of severity in our own lives, but when we look at our life to the apostles or to Christ. What is my excuse anyways?

So back to Facebook and selflessness. What is my purpose of existence, what is my motivation in all my relationships? Why do I live and what do I live for? Those are the real questions worth answering. Not what color socks someone wears…just saying

God, here I am. I need help today to be Your servant. I want to be diligent with study, with the work of my hands, and with the responsibilities handed to me. I want my mouth to Your instrument of love today. God I place all my dealings and goings in Your hands. Please love on me and help me to be Your son and servant. Holy Spirit, I attend my spiritual ear to Your words. I lay aside my agenda and my desires to wholly Yours. Speak in my ear and guide my heart today please. Help me to be an agent of love, I am Yours, here is my day. Do in and through me as You please.

Thank you for everything God!