an idol??

Lately i've been feeling God's pull on my heart to examine my heart, my motives and especially my priorities.

As i was searching and asking God to reveal the problems in my personal life i noticed that the biggest thing i've been worshiping is me...

i've been making sure i'm comfortable...
making sure i'm taken care of...
that i have enough money...
that i get what i need and that i'm happy...

I haven't been letting God be first in everything i do...
I've been so selfish...

i have asked God to be the center of my life, and that He would take control of everything, but i didn't completely let that go of everything...

I keep trying to hold on to those things i think i can control...
i want to make sure that everything i do is going to work out, so i figure the best way to make sure things work is if i take control...

i've been so wrong...

i need to let go...

i need to be uncomfortable...
i need to give 100%...
no more apathy...
no more judgment....
i need to stop thinking i know what's best...
i need to serve more...
i need to sacrifice more...

I've made myself an idol...
and i've been worshiping that idol more than i worship my Creator...

maybe you know what i'm talking about...
maybe you are saying "that's is exactly where i'm at joe"

i'm not going to try and give you advice on this one...
i mean...
i'm just as guilty...

here is what God's word says...

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said to him, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love our neighbor as yourself."

Philippians 2:3-4
Let nothing bed done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others.

Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before me.

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.

Matthew 19:30
But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

1 Corinthians 10:24
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

1 John 4:7
...let us love one another...

slave or son!!??

Galatians 4:6-7 says,
"God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

Do you ever wander away from God?? Do you ever just get so busy that there seems to be no time to give God attention??
It seems that there are so many things to do that we simply put God lower and lower on the priorities list because we think "well...God is always there...He'll take care of me"

I's gonna be honest with you...i do this...a lot

I get so busy and I seem to push God out...

but yet our souls are crying out!! they are crying out to God, the Creator of the universe, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Father.

then, when we don't turn to God with our time and our choices things seem to start to get harder.

problems start to arise
temptation seems to be overwhelming
everything seems to be going against us
we start to lose hope

we've all been there...it sucks

but the best part is this...
"WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES, BUT A CHILD"

did you get that??

YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!!!

we don't have to think we aren't worth it
we don't have to listen to the lies anymore
we don't have to think God has forgotten about us
we don't have to feel worthless anymore

we have a promise...
because we are God's children He has a plan for us..

a plan not to harm us
not to do us wrong
but a plan of hope
peace
love
joy


that is something to celebrate!!

Abba, Father
Thank you for giving us a future and a hope. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ and what He has done for us, your children.
We owe you our lives.
I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ who have forgotten that they need you. They have lost focus and have tried to go their own way.
Father! I pray that you be merciful to them and that you will show them a way back to your perfect will for their lives.
Thank you Father!!!

your servant,
joe

lately in life

I have not really updated what's been going on in my life in quite a while.
Soooo....I thought I would keep my peeps up to date :)

School is in full swing and it's keeping me super busy. I'm only taking 15 credits this semester because I had an A-Term class before the semester even started. I'm really enjoying my class on Postmodernism and the Emergent Church movement. The class is really engaging and the discussions are engaging.

I'm also working in the GBC Kitchen this semester. I'm only working about 10-12 hours a week, but it definitely keeps me busy on the days I don't have classes.

Personally: I'm doing really good. God is working in a new way in me each and every day. I was having a hard time with doing daily devotions and significant time to God. This last week thought I've been doing really good with that. God has been speaking to me about disciplining myself to organize my priorities and to give my top priorities more time.
I've been especially surprised about how content I've been so far this semester. I've definitely had a sense of God's presence throughout the days so far, and it has helped so much. I know a lot of that contentment has been because of you all praying for me.

Thank You!!!

Lastly I just want to encourage you with a verse God has been laying upon my heart. It's Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

To know that God is going to continue to use His children, no matter what happens in our lives is exciting for me to think about. He has a plan for us and He's going to complete it!!!