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Galat220
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Name: Patrick
Country: United States
State: North Dakota
Metro: Grand Forks
Gender: Male
Interests: Christian Spirituality, family, worship, playing guitar, and backpacking
Occupation: Other
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message me
Member Since:
2/14/2006
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| Well I think this will be one of my last posts on xanga because I've officially made the jump to myspace. I've discovered it to be more convenient to connect with some of my friends from school. I also just like the flexibility of it better than xanga. Anyway, feel free to check it out at: www.myspace.com/deep_blue_rising
If you have a myspace account feel free to add me. Xanga has been fun and I will still check on it every once in a while, but I won't be posting much here anymore.
Take care and Merry Christmas!
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| The war between my spirit, which desires godly things, is constantly at war with my old nature. Sometimes, actually most of the time, I hate the battle. I want to be done fighting against my fallen nature and I so desire to be perfected in Christ. How long can I live in this wretched state?
Today I have rejected the idea that I want Christ to be the center of my life. Heresy you might cry but is it? I don't want Christ to be the center of my life, I want Christ to be my life, my everything, totally consumed by Him. This is far greater than just Christ as center. It is Christ all consuming in my life and my desires. That is what I want. I want to want Christ more than anything. I want to want Christ - that He might be my goal. I want nothing less and I will not let up till I have reached my ultimate desire -- to be consumed by Christ and His mission for my life.
I wish I could have been at youth tonight to hear Heidi and Emily. The national EFCA summit has been interesting. We went go-carting tonight -- what a blast that was. Just picture 20 crazy youth pastors going at it on the track! It was intense...and a blast.
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| "I want to know God's will for my life." This is a common question that just about all seeking believers ask. I was reading more of A.W. Tozar this morning and he illuminated again a great point. We can only know God's will for our lives when we are at a complete place of surrender. This means surrendering our own desires, plans and expectations to Him and His leading and trusting in His goodness. In other words, knowing God's will is directly coupled with being at a complete place of surrender. We cannot know God's will when we are holding tightly to our own dreams and desires. Everything important to us must be completely and utterly nailed on the cross (the whole idea denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Christ) if we are to know God's will.
Why are we as Christians so powerless, empty, colorless and shallow? Could it be that we've held tightly to our own selfish, petty desires and traded them for the richness and fullness of God's all surpassing grace?
This is something I have been growing in lately. I haven't "arrived" by any means. But I am gaining a better understanding of this and it is wonderful, it is deeper, it is refreshing. When I am more surrendered to Him I often think why I don't surrender more to Him. It is a paradox which I will never understand.
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| "The doctrine of justification by faith -- a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort -- has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such a manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God...Christ may be 'received' without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is 'saved,' but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God. In fact, he is specifically taught to be satisfied and is encouraged to be content with little."
--A.W. Tozer
Tozer really nailed the state of the Church (as in Church I mean universal Church). While Christians have "received Christ" fewer yet have a genuine hunger for Him.
Personally I hope that I will never be satisfied until I enter eternal glory! May I always thirst and hunger for God.
I am praying for all of who have started (or will be starting) school recently!
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| Desires do not equate reality. Oh I desire God. I yearn for a greater working of His spirit deep in the depths of my soul. I long for a mighty working of His Spirit to pour out to His people and for the lost to see and turn to His glory. I long for heaven on earth, where pain, death and sorrow are completely done away with. I cling to hope that I've only found in Christ.
But my desires do not equate reality.
I long for righteousness. I hate sin. I profess Christ with my lips. I worship Him in song.
But my desires do not equate reality.
I am broken when I sense those I care about are hurting. My heart truly breaks with them. I desire to help them.
But my desires do not equate reality.
I long for people to embrace and study God's Word and to live by Christ's mission -- to glorify God by enjoying Him always and sharing with others the joy found in Him.
But my desires do not equate reality.
You see, if my desires matched my reality then I wouldn't have a difficult time getting out of bed in the morning to seek His face, to pray for those who are spiritually lost, and to lift up those who are discouraged. I wouldn't find it difficult to fast in order that I might seek Him more fully and completely. And praying without ceasing would come naturally.
I clearly identify with the Apostle Paul when he wrote in Romans 7: 14-25, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! "
Thanks be to God my reality is Christ.
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