Make Room for the Lord

This devotional from Homeward blessed me and I wanted to share it with you. We constantly try to put God in a box, and He doesn't belong there!

This devotional was written by Robin Dugall You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion–how I violently persecuted the Christians. I did my best to get rid of them. I was one of the most religious Jews of my own age, and I tried as hard as possible to follow all the old traditions of my religion. But then something happened! For it pleased God in his kindness to choose me and call me, even before I was born! What undeserved mercy! Then he revealed his Son to me so that I could proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.— Galatians 1:13-16 (NLT) God is a God of surprises. Wouldn’t you expect God to choose a powerful man with a reputation of inspirational leadership, and not a small, shepherd boy to be a King? Wouldn’t you expect God to announce His coming with as much pomp and circumstance as possible, and not through a wild, locust-eating man crying in the wilderness? Wouldn’t you expect the King of Kings to be born in a palace with its accompanying fanfare, rather than in a barn? If there is anything we learn from the Bible, it is to expect the unexpected and to make room for God, who often shows up in unexpected times and places. As people who love God, we have to learn to make room for God. In other words, as Oswald Chambers once wrote, we need to learn “to give God elbow room.” The key is to keep your life so constant in its contact with God that His surprising power may break out at any moment. Always be in a state of expectancy, and see that you leave room for God to come, as He likes. Above all, nurture a sense of spiritual expectancy. One of the lessons God is trying to teach all of us is how to wait upon Him and move as He moves. As we know from Jesus’ own words, “the Spirit blows where it wills…” In other words, sometimes, all we need to do is allow ourselves to be moving with the Spirit as the Spirit moves. Be on the lookout for the Lord. Ask God to teach you to give Him the elbow room He desires. To comment on today's devotional, click here. GOING DEEPER: 1. How do you hem God in? Do you really expect God to surprise you today? Why or why not? 2. What would it look like in your life if you were to give God more “elbow room”? FURTHER READING: Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 19:26; John 3:5-8 To change your email address, click here.

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FREEDOM MEANS RESPONSIBILITY

The bible says in paraphrase you have been forgiven alot so forgive alot. And again, those to whome much has been given much is expected. Thanks Max, for sharing this uplifting piece:

If you wish to be free yourself from enslavement, you must choose freedom and the responsibility it entails. There's a price for every freedom, something to be given up for every liberty. It's up to you to weigh the price you must pay for each of your freedoms. Everything you want has a price. There's a price you'll pay for changing things and a price you'll pay for leaving things as they are. Freedom is the opportunity to make decisions. It's the capacity to take a hand in your own development. Freedom is the right to choose. It's the right to create for yourself the alternatives of choice. No one is free who is not master of himself. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences of your actions. ©2006 by Max Steingart Reproduce freely but maintain © notice

Be of Courage -- You Will Conquer

Isaiah 40

29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Micah 5

9 Your hand shall be lifted against your adversaries, And all your enemies shall be cut off.

You need not grow tired of the fight because you know you will persevere. Leaders choose to persist and continue to persist.

Are You a Champion?

This is a favorite quote from Slay Your Giant

Champions compete to win. But they also know they are not always going to win. There will be heartbreaking losses along the way. Champions refuse to avoid the game in order to avoid loss or failure!

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--
Eric Standlee
Prospered not to increase my Standard of Living,
but to increase my Standard of Giving

"I am a person of action"

From The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews:

I am a person of action I inspire others with my activity.  I am a leader.
Leading is doing.  To lead, I must move forward.  Many people move out of the way of a person on the run; others are caught up  in his wake.  My activity will create a wave of success for the people who follow.  My activity will be consistent.  This will instill confidence in my leadership.  As a leader, I have the ability to encourage and inspire others to greatness.  It is true: an army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep!
...
I am a person of action.  I am daring.  I am courageous.
Fear no longer has a place in my life.  For too long, fear has outweighed my desire to make things better for my family.  Never again!  I have exposed fear as a vapor, an impostor that never had any power over me in the first place!  I do not fear opinion, gossip, or the idle chatter of monkeys, for all are the same to me.  I do not fear failure, for in my life, failure is a myth.  Failure exists only for the person who quits.  I do not quit.

Andy Andrew's material is available at www.andyandrews.com.  I am very moved by his story The Traverler's Gift and the video he did speaking about it.  Besides, he is very funny.

--
Eric Standlee
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ericstandlee
Prospered not to increase my Standard of Living,
but to increase my Standard of Giving
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