"Anointed For A Purpose" 5-10-08

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be anointed by God for a purpose? Have you ever wondered what it takes for you to be chosen by God to truly make a difference in the world? Read on, and find out. This passage is from 1 Samuel 16, where the Lord sends Samuel to anoint a king over Israel. This is what the Lord's own criteria is for a man of God:

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV)

This is great news! The outward appearance of a person matters not to God: it is the heart that He sees, and it is the heart that He responds to. Regardless of your skin color, your stature, or your physical strength, God can make you into a great man or woman of righteousness.

So let me ask you, do you want to be anointed by Him? Do you really want to make a difference? If you do, submit your whole heart to Him; leave nothing unchecked. Let Him dig deep and change even those things that you never thought could be changed. Let Him purify your heart; let Him bring the sins of your flesh to light, so that when He looks upon you, He sees a heart covered in the blood of His Son, made pure by His death and resurrection, ready for a life of blessed service.

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."(John 3:19-21 ESV)

Blessings in Christ,
Andrew

"The Spirit of Worship" 5-9-08

Worship. Most of us know about worship in Church, how we stand and sing praises to His name. But did you ever consider the reason why we worship?

Last Sunday our little Christian Band put on the Worship Service for my Church. At first I wondered how they would deal with us "rock" kids leading worship. (Ask me why I was stuck on what they might think again? Bother..silly me).

It was in fact so anointing in that room, the Spirit was moving all about us. We weren't doing it, God was. We all came together with possibly different views, and praised God together. We gave Him sincere thanks and our love for Him was shown. What a feeling to be felt.

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. John 4:23

9 Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9

5 Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His footstool——He is holy. Psalms 99:5

To me, we are worshiping a God who not only created us, but also died on the cross for all our sins, and to an awesome God who loves us unconditionally. He is more than just deserving. He is most Holy.

We want to give God the glory, and we want Him to know that. So when we worship, worship with all your heart and soul, and in our own way we are telling our Abba Father, 'Thank You, thank you for dying for me, thank you for creating me, thank you for loving me even though I don't deserve it. Thank you sweet Jesus.'

So when you worship, are you making a joyful noise until the Lord? Are you giving Him the Thanks that we need to relate to Him? He wants to hear us, for it is a 'pleasing and wonderful sound'. Oh and who cares if you think you can't sing or not. God isn't picky in His music and song selections.*

Let's worship together,
Whitney

"Let's Get Personal" 4-20-08

It means a lot to be a Christian. It's not just a word, and it's more than just going to Church or youth group. It's more than just memorizing bible verses.

Christianity is all about having a personal relationship with Christ. Without Jesus in our lives, Christianity may as well as just be an empty word.

So what should we be doing to maintain that personal relationship? Going to Church to fellowship with our fellow Christians is certainly good and nurturing. So is reading the Bible. We could sing, dance, pray. All of theses are good and help us grow.

But it all comes down to the personal part.

Think of personal relationships you have with people. Does it not involve a dialogue between you and another? It involves passionate listening and understanding, really getting involved with the person, and so much more. Such it is with Jesus.

So I urge each of us to not just be a Christian, but to live the full meaning of it.

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:28-29

As in the verse above, don't just be a Christian on the outside; be one on the inside.*

Who is your best friend?
Whitney

"A Beautiful Love Story" 4-18-08

I love the way Singer/Rapper Toby Mac describes God's love:

"This ain't no ordinary, its extrordinary love!"

God's love is indeed extrordinary. To think that He gave up His life on the cross for our sins, when we were so undeserving...This is the Greatest Love Story of all.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:3

But this incredible love does not stop there. The story continues. God still loves us, and no matter what we continue to do today in sin, His love is still waiting to envelope us. Such grace and mercy....such love. In other words, He loved us then, and He loves us now. What a beautiful love story.*

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.1 John 4:7

But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God's unfailing love
for ever and ever. Psalms 52:8

Cloaked in His Love,
Whitney