Have you
thanked Him?
Have you
praised Him?
Have you
made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?
Have you
taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?
1
Timothy 2:1 (The Message)
The
first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone
you know.
Many of you
know I work at Woodhaven (www.woodhavenohio.com) along with some of the others “stuff” I do. And I was having a recent review with my boss Jeff when we got to talking about “blogging”.
Jeff didn’t know that I share this little blog as a tool in my recovery and he shared that his wife had been blogging
quite successfully for a while now.
It was then
that Jeff and I began to talk about how the LORD was working in his life. He has found a wonderful church home. He is a part of a life-group that does just
that, breathe life into he and his wife.
But here of late the LORD was “pushing” him to do “more”. And I believe that “more” is Jeff and his
bride bringing a ministry of hope and possibility birthed from their own struggles
and challenges.
So a couple of days ago, Jeff shot me this little note of a blog HE had written,
something that he said five years ago wasn’t even a possibility; to write about
recovery, but to write about the LORD in his recovery. Well like you have heard me say on this forum
time and time again, Ephesians 3:20 is LEGIT!
Go look it up!
So, with
Jeff’s permission, I thought I would share a blog from a fella who swore he
would never blog. I pray that it
inspires you as it has me.
Pastor G.
The word
"convicted" has dual meanings.
1. The act or process of
finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law.
or
2. A strong persuasion or
belief.
I know the first definition
all too well - being a convicted felon a number of times over. I have never
felt convicted to do something before though. I have been telling Katelyn
lately that she should probably write a blog soon. Her typical answer is
something like “Babe, what would be really nice is if you would write one.” I
usually roll my eyes and drop the subject. Truth be told, I hate writing! It is
probably one of my most unfavorite things to do. But here I am. Writing. Why,
you ask? Well, it’s because I got this overwhelming feeling of conviction this
morning at church.
Over the course of the last
two weeks I have been listening to “The prayer of Jabez,” by Bruce Wilkinson
& David Knopp. Also, I have been reading the corresponding scripture, 1
Chronicles 4:10. Over and over. Again and again. The scripture reads as
follows: “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me
and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so
that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.”
Each morning, I focus on a
different portion of the verse and pray about it. This morning my focus was on
“and enlarge my territory.” At some point during the sermon at church, I
stopped paying attention to the specific words being spoken by our pastor and
started contemplating a “larger territory.” Now, a larger territory to me
doesn’t mean more houses or a bigger yard. It actually means to create a bigger
area of influence for God, through me. I started thinking that before I pray
for “more territory” I should probably work inside the territory that I have
already been blessed with; our page and blog. We have focused mostly on our
personal stories, including recovery and our dogs. But the newest part of our
journey is us being baptized, joining a church, and choosing to live for
Christ; which admittedly is not an easy task after years and years of living a
completely different life than the one we are called to live.
I struggle daily with the
way that I speak, the things that I put in my head (Howard stern radio) and my
humor; just to name a few. Another thing I struggle with is being vocal about
my choice to be a Christ Follower, which in turn is me not serving
wholeheartedly. I guess that is one reason I felt so convicted to write this
blog. To make it known, just as we’ve made our struggles with addiction known.
So that we can be a source of hope for anyone else struggling with addiction.
Or a decision to live out-loud for Christ. Or just to even make that choice to
become a Christ follower.
I don’t know much, but what
I do know is that my life is better when I actively chase a relationship with
God. My recovery is stronger, my relationships are better, I act more genuinely
and with more intention. Our household has made a commitment to follow God and
part of that commitment for us, just like everything else, is to be transparent
about it and strive to provide not only hope to others, but to show you how we
do it.
We have found other people
pursuing God with the same thirst we have. We've built relationships and gotten
to know people that we never would have had an opportunity to meet without our
church - Christ's Church. We get to live life with them. I know now why I felt
convicted. Until this point, I have allowed this part of me to be a secret. I
have allowed the territory that I have, to not be influenced by God through me.
I choose not to let that be the case anymore.
“But if serving the Lord
seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,
we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 NIV 🙏🏻Have a blessed day!
I love you
all.
OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE
