LISTEN TO SANDY

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)

1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Inspect and expect”, she said.

“She” is Sandy our passionate “prayer” leader.  Sandy shows up before each Sunday service at our home church, AHOP, and leads us in prayer.  We pray for the service, we pray for specifics but mostly we pray for GOD’s will to be done.

That is one of the things I love most about Sandy. She is a “WILL-seeking” wonder.  She seeks and listens for GOD’s WILL relentlessly.

Not many people know this, but when I first started at AHOP the whole “hearing from GOD” things was still a bit “new”.  Yes, I grew up in the church and all, but during my time of REAL rebellion, I stopped listening to or for GOD for anything.  So the thought of Him “speaking” to me still seemed a little too weird and frankly impossible.

Just being honest. 

So there was an occasion early in my FREEDOM ministry when I needed to “hear” what GOD had to say about a particular issue.  I didn’t trust myself to be discerning and I was encouraged to “ask” Sandy and a couple of our other prayer folks for their insight on the subject at hand.  That was my first experience with Sandy and her constantly tuned ear.

Sad to say, Sandy and her partners offered incredible insight and discernment to my request.  They gave me a plan to follow.

In my arrogance and ignorance, I well, "ignored" it. 

What followed was about 9 months of “additional unnecessary challenge” in the ministry to say the least.  It was then that I learned to listen to what Sandy was “hearing” from the Lord and more importantly PAY ATTENTION and apply.

That brings me to yesterday’s “Sandy” moment.

Sandy “heard” that we were to INSPECT and EXPECT.

Then she referenced one of my favorite passages.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

In other words we are to DAILY take inventory of ourselves to make sure we are NOT merely going with the flow of the culture around us, but rather ALLOW GOD to inspect our hearts and minds and TRANSFORM them to look more like His.

For when we do, we get a GLIMPSE of WHAT GOD EXPECTS from us today; and an better opportunity to walk in His perfect will for this day.

So like I said, I've learned my lesson. I am going to HEED what the LORD had for Sandy yesterday and apply it to today.  In fact I am going to share my favorite version of that little passage to bring today’s encouragement home even further.

Romans 12:2(MSG)

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you…

“Your call will become clear as as your mind is transformed by the reading of Scripture and the internal work of God's Spirit. The Lord never hides His will from us.”― Charles R. Swindoll

Thanks Sandy...

 

I love you all!

Freedom Church