Originally published Wednesday, 24 October 2012.
Welcome to day 10 of Stress Points to Life Points
Stress Point Spritual Maturity: LIVE IT OUT!
A constant movement toward the throne of our King. That is one facet of spiritual maturity. We recognize that our purpose in life comes from worshipping Jesus and . When our life itself reflects a heart felt worship, we realize that everything else takes second place. For me, this is a day by day decision –– to allow Him to be my passion. I don’t always want to do the right things nor do I always want to worship my King. But, I know deep down His ways and making Him my passion leads to only good things for me in the long run. Here is a bit of a formula that I’ve come up with to keep me on track with finding my life passion and growing spiritually.
~Make Jesus My Main Focus-as we read in Stress Point, focusing on the throne of the King is key in every stress point of life. Digging into the Bible daily is a huge part of developing that lazar focus.
~Pray Daily At His Throne- If I’m not constantly in conversation with the Lord, I’m not opening up doors for Him to guide me. I don’t always hear answers right away, but the daily communication leads to an intimate connection to prepare me to receive direction.
~Believe We Serve a BIG King- I’m constantly reminding myself that He is bigger than I can even fathom. Thus, He is ever capable to take control of my life, purpose and passion...if I am willing to hand it over.
~Pray Some More- I’m learning day by day the importance of prayer, prayer and more prayer. I can’t jump into things feet first. I can’t assume that I know all the answers.
~Be BOLD And Go For Your God-Given Dreams- Search out what talents and gifts God has blessed you with. After prayer, worship, more prayer and time in the WORD, go for it...live out your faith and live out your dreams!
Truth Points: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:26-30 ESV)
From my book Stress Point: Thriving Through Your Twenties In A Decade Of Drama
The world tells us that we are the master of our own destiny. That we make our dreams happen; that we hold the key to success in life. Though well- meaning dreamers like to spread this sentiment on greeting cards, with doodles on notebooks, in tweets, or through status updates, this misguided notion locks us into a state where we think we are in control of our destiny, our life path, our stress points.
There is freedom when we relent to His control. Why, you might ask, is there freedom in worshiping our Master? Won’t I miss out on the exhilaration of making life decisions for myself? Why would we feel tied down if we really grasp just who our Master is?
O Eternal One, our Lord, Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth; Your magnificent glory shines far above the skies. (Psalm 8:1 THE VOICE)
Approaching the throne to daily worship the Master means we also rid our heart of pride. I should say, we attempt to rid our heart of pride, for pride is one of those heart conditions most difficult to eliminate. But again, as we have journaled together in this book, the holy nature of our God inspires us to put our pride aside even though it is our nature to believe we are in control. One way that I put my own pride aside is to literally bow down before my Master or even lay face down on the floor. I usually do not take this posture in public. These are heartfelt expressions reserved for intimate, quite moments with God in my own house. I release the part of my heart that does not lift my Master up above all and physically remind myself that He is high and lifted up, above all of my life junk. He is greater than what I think I can accomplish on my own. {From Stress Point page 222-223}
Life Points: When we find something in life that we are passionate in life, it is easy to grip that thing with clinched fists in an effort to hold on to it and control it. On the flip side, when we are more passionate about our love and worship of Jesus, we are more ready to hand over our life’s passion to Him. For today’s Life Points, I would like you to join me in a seemingly simple prayer. It is simple in that it is short and sweet and to the point. It is dynamic, though, in what exactly we are praying. I encourage you to make this your daily prayer.
Father God, Help me to love YOU more. Give me a heart and a passion for You alone. I will trust that everything else will fall into place. Amen.
What are your thoughts on a simply dynamic prayer such as this. Do you see the benefit in these few words?
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