Great Stuff...

Tonight I had the opportunity to listen to a radio broadcast of the second part of a sermon preached by Chip Ingram. I have heard him speak before on the radio and at first I was just tuning him out since I was searching on the internet for useless stuff. But, God got ahold of my attention and guided me to listen to the words that Pastor Ingram was saying. He was speaking about knowing God as He longs for us to see Him; Pastor Ingram has even written a book and recorded a CD series regarding this topic titled: "God: as He longs for you to see Him"...I am considering ordering this through the website called "Living on the Edge", here is the link: http://www.livingontheedge.org/home/
When God finally got my attention and I started to listen, Pastor Ingram was speaking about seeking God to know Him better. How if we want to know God in a deeper way and know His heart more intimately we have to seek Him.

It has been my prayer for a while now to know God better, for Him to deepen my faith and love for Him. I have heard often lately that when we ask for wisdom and guidance we will be given it when we seek Him with all our hearts and believe that He will give us what we ask for.

This then led me to the question of HOW to seek Him, and once I am seeking Him and learning about Him how do I know that I am learning? Pastor Ingram answered these questions in his sermon tonight. Here is, briefly, what he enlightened me on.

We are told in Proverbs HOW to seek God in chapter 2:1-5.
v.1 "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,"-this tells us the first way to seek God: The intake of God's word.
We seek Him by learning about his character, commands, miracles, and so forth through reading His love letter to us, the Bible.

v.2 "turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,"-this tells us the second way to seek God: Attitude, being teachable.
When we turn our ear to wisdom and endeavor to understand God's directions for our lives through the Bible we begin to see Him more and what He asks of us.

v.3 "and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,"-this tells us the third way to seek God: Passionate prayer.
There is a difference between just praying and being passionate about it. Many times we pray and treat God as if it is a duty for us to pray to Him, and we see Him as a means to getting what we want; we beg for Him to guide us or provide, as if we have to beg for Him to know our needs and desires. When we pray passionately we are crying out to Him with all our hearts, with an intense belief and faith that He hears us and that He longs to give us answers. When we pray passionately we are intentional in how we pray, we are specific, and we are bold in approaching the throne of God. Not bold as in arrogant in who we are, but bold in Him and His power to answer us.

v.4-5 "and if you look for it as silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."-this tells us the fourth way to seek God: Priority-intentionality.
We have to make seeking God our priority in life. Think of how men and women throughout the ages have fervently sought riches and material worth...this is how we should seek God: fervently. We have to CHOOSE to seek Him in every moment of every day. We have to actively choose to live life intentionally in all we say, do, and are. We have to purposefully make time in our day to spend with God in the study of who He is. This makes me think of a relationship between a man and a woman. The beginning of the relationship is when it is most evident, but in the good relationships this quality is present throughout a lifetime; the man and the woman take the time to get to know each other in a deep and personal way. They take notice of the other's favorite foods, places to go, things they like to do, books they like to read, their favorite colors, the way their face looks when they are experiencing different emotions, etc. They make time in each and every day to spend together in the other's prescence, all the while studying them and searching out how to show them their feelings in ways that will be the most clear to the other just how much they are cared for and loved. This is how God longs for us to learn about Him, as if He is our significant other. God's word tells us that Christ is the Bridegroom and that God's children are the Bride. This just further tells us that we are to learn and study God as if He were our lover, we have to be just as purposeful in our study of Him as we are in our study of the human love of our lives.

As if this wasn't heavy enough, Pastor Ingram then posed the question of how you know you have an accurate view of God. He said that he found the answer in a book titled "Knowing God" written by Mr. Parker. This is what Parker has to say about how we know we have an accurate knowledge of God.
1. Those who know God have energy for God-a person who knows God will be active in service to God, they will seek to do God's work here on earth with enthusiasm and joy.
2. Those who know God have great thoughts about Him-a person who knows God will have a well-rounded view of who God is, they will view Him as more than just a magical genie who grants our wishes or as a being who enacts His judgement on our enemies/ourselves. A person who knows God will know that God is our father, friend, lover, healer, leader, provider, protector, a sovereign being, etc.
3. Those who know God show great boldness for God- a person who knows God will not be shy about sharing the good news of Christ with people who come across their path, they will freely share their testimony and love for God.
4. Those who know God have great contentment about God- a person who knows God intimately will be content to know that He has all things under control; they will freely submit themselves to God's will and not have great anxiety or worry about life.
This one hit me really hard since I have been struggling with anxiety in my life recently, God is using it to show me more just WHO He is and how He is deepening my faith in Him. When we are content in life it is a choice. I have spoken about this before in this blog, contentment comes from choosing and from trusting. When we are content in God we know and trust that He knows best and will not lead us astray or leave us in times of need or plenty.

So, I know it was long but it was a really great sermon. I hope this makes you stop and think, and that it deepens your walk with God.

In Christ,
Diana

I searve a WONDERFUL God!!!

God has been growing, allowing me to be tested, and teaching me a LOT lately. I will tell you the truth, it has been a hard time in my life and if someone had told me back when I first became a follower of Christ that I would go through what I have in the past three months then I would have either laughed in their face or ran screaming in fear. But, God being the wonderful and sovereign being that He is knows that we can only handle a little bit at a time and doesn't let us know it all before it is time to know it.
God has been growing me in my faith. He has brought me continually to a place of surrender of my desires and plans for my life, He has allowed me to go through testing of my faith that is stronger than I ever knew was possible (terrifying at times where my blood actually ran cold through my veins), He has been teaching me what it means to have TRUE faith, teaching me how to see Him for who He really is, and teaching me to see ME how He sees me...a BEAUTIFUL woman that He created to fulfill a purpose that only I can fulfill.
I have seen MANY answers to prayer in my life in the past three months as well. It is wonderful to know that though I have been going through the hardest times of my life, through it all God has been blessing me as well.
Here are just a few of the answers and blessings God has given me:
1. God has allowed me to see His blessings and answers to prayer through the victory of confessing parts of my past to my parents that I felt so ashamed of I had kept them hidden for over six years. I was so scared to tell them that I had to literally pray that God make me move since I was physically unable to do it myself. God is good, and when I finally confessed to my parents things I thought they would be disappointed and hurt over they told me the exact opposite...they love me even MORE for telling them and for allowing God to grow me so much through it.
2. In late April and early May I was very concerned that I might have some VERY serious health problems. I was physically ill at the thought of possibly having to face the problems I was concerned I might have. Through prayer, godly counsel, study in God's word, and logical thought processing I was able to determine that I did not have the problems I thought I might but that instead Satan was attacking me fiercely in this worry. After prayer and peace in the answers God had already provided for me, I decided that I needed to go to the doctor and have some tests run for further confirmation of what I already knew to be true so that Satan would not have a foothold to create doubt in my mind. In the end, PRAISE GOD, the tests further confirmed that I did not have anything wrong with me at all! :) God is good!!!
3. I have been praying for my brother, James (Jay), for a LONG time. My prayers have been that he would come to a place of submission to God and allow God to lead his life, as well as his romantic relationships; that God would place the right people in Jay's life to guide him and speak truth to him in love, and that if God chose it I would be willing to be used to speak these words of truth. I have also been praying that God would strengthen the relationship that Jay and I share since our relationship with each other was not good and hadn't been for many years. God is good and answered every one of these prayers in one fell swoop this past month! My relationship with my brother is entirely different from what it has been in the past, and we are VERY close now; God chose to use me to speak truth and love to my brother and he was receptive to it, and Jay has developed a relationship with Christ that is stronger than I have ever seen him have before...he is now seeking for God to be the center of his life and relationships, and seeking to be a man after God's own heart!
There are many more answers to prayer that God has given me, but these are just a few. I am still walking through the valley of growth and testing, but I know that God is with me through it all and He has blessed me with many wonderful people to guide and love me through it all.
I want to encourage anyone that is going through times of struggle to hold fast to God and seek Him continually through it all. If you are reading this and you do not know God, or feel that you don't know Him as well as you would like to, I would LOVE to talk and pray with you. God wants the BEST for us, and the only people standing in the way of that happeing is OURSELVES.
Thank you to those of you who have been upholding me through this time of growth in my faith and who I am as a daughter of the King. You are more precious to me than I can ever express. I pray many blessings upon you all.
In love,
Diana