Living In Your Sweet Spot

“Each person is given something to that shows who God is.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

“Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory." (Rom. 11:36)

*Excerpt from Cure For the Common Life by Max Lucado:

“The breath you just took? God gave that. The blood that just pulsed through your heart? Credit God. The light by which you read and the brain through which you process? He gave you both. Everything comes from Him… And exists for Him. We exist to exhibit God, to display His glory.”

You have been gifted and blessed uniquely. The enemy would love to tell you otherwise. 1 Cor. 12:7 makes it clear that we have each been given “a special way of serving others”. You were uniquely formed and created & endowed with one blessing after another so that we would as Lucado says “make a big deal out of God”. In his words:

Use your uniqueness (what you do)

To make a big deal out of God (why you do it)

Every day of your life (where you do it)

And when we do this, we will be living in our sweet spot.

Lord reveal to me the gifts you have given me. Make me aware of the unique talents, skills, passions, gifts…that You have bestowed, and then help me use them for your glory.

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." -Helen Keller

Are We Fighting or Feeding the Monster?

The following was written in response to a question posted 0n the blogsite http://virtuealert.blogspot.com/.

The question written in to the blogsite regarded a stronghold, addiction, habit, unhealthy desire... that we may pray about and ask God to take from us. Yet even after praying and struggling through it, the temptation is still staring us in the face. Why is that? Is God not hearing our prayer? Why after we prayed and prayed to have it removed are we still battling this same monster?

This one was taken right off our prayer wall and I think it's worth discussing because I think a lot of people are dealing with this. Here is what I have learned the hard way. If I'm struggling with something and it's not getting better, then I'm probably not really struggling with it. I'm probably feeding it. I'll explain.

Let's say this desire to have sex is like a monster that lives in your heart and head. Something in you wants the monster to go away but something else (hello sin nature) kind of likes it and wants it to stick around. So you pray and pray that God will take it away but instead of going away the monster just keeps getting bigger and stronger. What's the deal? You're praying but for some reason God isn't fixing the problem. Has He given up on you or are you not praying right or what? I think the place to start is to look at your actions and see if your actions are working against your prayer. Do you watch sex scenes from your favorite movies over and over? Do you look at things you shouldn't on the internet and TV? Do you let your mind wander into places it shouldn't go instead of taking every thought captive and obedient to Christ like it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5? If you talk about sex with your friends a lot and fill your mind with it via TV, movies, books, and the internet - then you aren't really struggling against it no matter how much you pray. You're feeding the monster and making it stronger so that it has more control over you every day. It's like if you pray that God will make you skinny but you eat 2 boxes of Krispy Kreme a day. Never gonna happen. So my question to you is what are you actually doing, other than praying, to fight this thing? Are you willing to sacrifice the things that keep you focused on sex or romance and shift your focus to Jesus? If you're feeling down on yourself read Romans 7 and you'll see that even Paul had monsters to fight.

When Jesus offers us freedom He always requires that we walk away from our sin, that we stop doing those things that are keeping us in chains. He offers Himself in exchange for the monster but you have to let go of the one in order to hold on to the Other. There isn't room in your heart for both. And remember this - some battles are long and hard but don't ever give up because in the end Jesus always wins.

Written by Jamie Lamb

A Purpose & Plan

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mothers womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in the secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before even one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16

Written by Tiffany Edwards:

I was combing my 3 year old's hair and I asked her how she got to be so cute. She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know Mommy--I just am" was her response. I laughed and saw this moment as a teaching moment and began to quote the beautifully penned words of Psalm 139. As I told her about God weaving her little body together and choosing her name her face began to light up. I asked her, "Do you think God went, 'Oops--there's another baby!' ?" She giggled and said yes. I then told her that He did the exact opposite. He had her planned before the foundations of the earth were even set in place. He created her with a purpose, a specific plan and a life that only she could live. As she grew to know Him more and love Him, He would reveal that purpose and plan little by little until she goes home to be with Him in heaven. As the words spoken through me by the Holy Spirit fell on my little girl's ears, her eyes were bright and her smile was wide.

As she ran outside and I was processing the conversation we just had, I wondered how many of us needed to hear the same thing. I wondered how many people live and die without ever knowing that they were created for a specific purpose, the first of which is to know the One who created us and glorify Him through our existence (Ephesians 1:3-14). Even though she was only 3, knowing that she had a purpose and she didn't happen by mistake, made her radiant. Regardless of how old you are, knowing you have a purpose, that your short existence on earth was not a product of chance, is something that will change you from the inside out. My prayer for you this morning is that as you let the Psalmist's words in 139 penetrate your soul, that your heart would be radiant knowing that He formed you, He set forth the days of your life and He created you with a very specific purpose. Praise the Lord for His creative workmanship that resulted in you!

A Couple Quotes to Think On

"Faith is not clinging to a shrine, but an endless pilgrimage of the heart, audacious longing, burning songs, daring thoughts, an impulse overwhelming the heart, usurping the mind- these are all a drive toward serving Him who rings our hearts like a bell."

- Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."

- Mark Batterson

Psalm 119

Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.

Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.

They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.

You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.

Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!

Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.

I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.

I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Praise be to you, O LORD;
teach me your decrees.

With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.

I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.

I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.

Do good to your servant and I will live; I will obey your word.

OPEN MY EYES THAT I MAY SEE WONDERFUL THINGS IN YOUR WORD.

Psalm 119: 1-18

The Unsatisfied Soul: An Accident Waiting to Happen

Excerpt from: A Woman & Her God (by Beth Moore)

An unsatisfied soul is an accident waiting to happen. Consider the saying, ‘Nature abhors a vacuum.’ Human nature also abhors a vacuum. It other words, we avoid feeling empty and always find ways to fill it. God created that void so we would seek Him. We are not satisfied by simply accepting salvation and then ascending to heaven when the time comes. Instead, God wants us to have relationship with Him during our lifetime. When we don’t, we set ourselves up for disaster. If we don’t find satisfaction with God, we will look for it somewhere else. We will default to one of two things: Subsistence living or substitute living.

Consider the word subsistence. One definition of the helpless is that they are poor & needy, ‘subsisting on the alms of others.’ The picture painted here is a beggar.”

We were created as needy people. We need to be loved. We need to be affirmed. We need to know we are valued & significant. These are not weaknesses. This is how we are wired. Yet it becomes a weakness when we look to people or things to fill what only Christ was made to fill. As Beth Moore illustrates, we are like people walking around all day long with an empty cup asking people to fill it up. We may go to our spouse, children, friends, and coworkers asking, “Can you fill my cup?”

“The problem is that we go to them seeking what only Christ was meant to provide. We can affirm one another, even fulfill one another, but it was God’s design right from the beginning that He alone would satisfy our soul’s desire. We were meant to thrive on the riches of His love. We were never meant for subsistence living.”

Substitute living is seen in when we fall into idolatry. We may not have a physical image that we bow to, but idolatry is when we worship or bow down to anything besides God. A person can become an idol to us. Our career can become an idol. The very gifts that God has given us- children, hobbies, careers, finances, friendships, a spouse- can become our hope, security and/or identity. And when this happens we are setting ourselves up for failure. The very thing or person we have placed so high & exalted as our hope will eventually let us down. Christ is the only one worthy of our worship & hope.

Satisfy my soul’s deepest longings Lord. Fill me today with you. Where I am seeking a friend, spouse, child, career, to fill my cup- Reveal that to me. Let me not confuse the gift with the Giver. You are the giver of life, the One who satisfies our soul. And today I choose you God to fill my cup to overflowing.

Who Are You Listening To?

"Most of our unhappiness in life is because we are listening to ourselves rather than talking to ourselves."

-Martin Lloyd Jones

God's truth is the only constant, unchanging, rock upon which we can build our identity, our relationships, our marriages, our families. In times that our natural mind wants to do the talking & operating, we are wise to stop listening (to our flesh or the lies around us) and begin speaking God's truth over our lives (our situation, our marriage, our bondage). We act on what we believe, so we must guard carefully what we listen to.

Truths From a Childrens Bible

And the Lord said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God." Exodus 16: 11, 12

Written by Tiffany Edwards:

I have been a believer for more than 20 years and I must say that it has been in the reading of simple Bible stories and explaining the truth of God's word to my three and four year old that the truth and God's Word penetrates and pierces my heart in the most profound way...

The Bible story a few days ago was about the bread that fell from heaven. We have been studying the Israelites the last few weeks and I am always astounded by God's patience with them as they continue to grumble, slander one another and doubt God (none of which I am familiar with of course...) This time was no different. In just a short time, they had experienced God's powerful hand as he separated the Red Sea and then closed it on their ensuing enemies; provided sweet water when there was only bitter water available and now, just days later, they have the audacity to doubt and grumble yet again. I don't know about you, but when my children do this I begin to unravel and get angry with them for their ingratitude and doubt in regards to my care for them. It is not that God never got angry with them, but what speaks so loudly is His loving correction in response to their grumbling and His continued faithfulness in the midst of their infidelity and doubt. This story is yet another example.

They were hungry... they were thinking of Egypt and longing to go back--at least there they had food. Again, they doubted. Again, they grumbled. Again, God answered. They wanted food and God granted them their want. He provided bread from heaven in the morning and meat from heaven in the evening. My girls were astounded by this-- "God would send down treats and donuts if we ask???" Inquired my 4 year old Lanie. I smiled at her simple faith. I explained that God could and definitely does provide for us today in special ways, but that it probably wouldn't be anytime soon that she would see cream filled long johns with chocolate frosting falling from heaven...although, God is blessed by the simple faith of children so who knows...

Anyway, they were intrigued and I knew I had their attention, so I continued. "Do you know what they did? They gathered up enough food to last them a week and stored it away. But, do you know what God did to that stash of food?" Their eyes grew wide in wonder, I continued, "worms. God sent worms. They went to get their breakfast in the morning, and all they found was worm infested yuck." As I explained God's divine reason for this, the simple truth of God's word pierced my heart yet again. You see, these people had seen God at work in some of the most powerful ways recorded throughout all of history, and yet they continued to doubt. This did not change God's faithfulness, but he did know that he needed to teach them in the most concrete way to trust him in everything--so, he used their breakfast to teach this lesson. He wanted them to depend on him daily for their food. The fact they gathered and hoarded spoke volumes about their inability to trust God to rain bread from heaven for yet another day. Perhaps it was because they knew they didn't deserve it and for once they would actually get what they deserve...

As I am blessed with another day of life, health and blessing, I am overwhelmed by God's continued faithfulness for this whiny, no good, self centered woman who continues to doubt Gods care for her regardless of the care He has given in the past. There are so many times that I am tempted to hoard for fear that God won't continue to provide and it is in those times that my strength wanes the most and my own provision seems so inadequate. I am beginning to learn that God is faithful today and He promises to be faithful tomorrow, whatever that may bring. It is not up to me to know what tomorrow will be or if today will be my last--that is not important. What is important is knowing that God gives strength for today. He is faithful right now and will remain faithful evermore...that is all that matters and that is all I need.

His mercies are new every morning--and I am humbled that he would care enough for me to cover the ground under my undeserving feet with fresh bread directly from heaven to sustain me for whatever may come today. Praise His Holy Name!

Starbucks Sunrise

What could be more refreshing then starting your morning off with a cup of coffee & time in God's presence? Come join us as we watch the sunrise & enjoy time with the Lord on Monday mornings in June. We will meet as a group for a few minutes and then break off individually to spend time in prayer & journaling for ourselves, our marriages, jobs, children... Gaining a vision from the Lord for the upcoming week ahead.

*Bring only your Bible, a pen & journal
*Starbucks in Coppell (Denton Tap next to Tom Thumb).
*Mondays in June starting June 1st
* 6:00-7:00 a.m.

Pressed Down & Shaken Together

"A generous man will prosper; He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Prov. 11:25

"Who am I that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given only what comes from your hand." 1 Chronicles 29:14

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

Lord give us generous hearts. It is a Biblical principle that we will be blessed as we bless others. Not only this- We have been blessed so that we will bless others.

Remind us that it is by your generosity that we have received one blessing after another. Let us hold loosely to the temporary and pour into what is eternal. For the great glory that You alone are worth of.

Making Much of Him

There is a concept we have mistakenly bought into as a culture and it is this: That in order to find life & joy, happiness and purpose we must look INWARD. We must make much of ourselves in the way of comfort, pleasure, self-exaltation, self-searching ... and that through this we will "find ourselves" and find happiness.

There is a concept central to the gospel. It is quite contrary to the lie we often believe- So foreign to our natural thinking and foreign to our culture that we must intentionally seek out God's wisdom, lest we forget it's truth: That God's chief goal is to make much of Himself. God's central purpose is to magnify Himself. It is why He sent His Son... For His glory. It is why He blesses us with all He graciously gives... For His glory. And until we get that, until we stop believing that life is about us and our comfort... The life of Christ will never explode in us. We will merely settle for so much less than all that God designed for us.

As John Piper says:

"Most people do not immediately see God's passion for the glory of God as an act of love. One reason for this is that we have absorbed the world's definition of love. It says: You are loved when you are made much of. God's love for us is not mainly His making much of us, but His giving us the ability to enjoy making much of Him forever. In other words, God's love for us keeps God at the center. God's love for us exalts His value & our satisfaction in it. If God's love made us central and focused on our value, it would distract us from what is most precious; namely, Himself. Love labors and suffers to enthrall us with what is infinitely and eternally satisfying; God. Therefore God's love labors & suffers to break our bondage to the idol of self and focus our affections on the treasure of God. "

In John 11: 1-6 we see this depicted in the life & death of Lazarus.

"Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary & her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.' When He heard this, Jesus said 'This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's son may be glorified through it.' Jesus loved Martha and her sister & Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days."

As Piper points out, it is clear that Christ's intention was not to spare the family grief. He was in no hurry to immediately relieve the grief- which can be seen in the fact that Jesus either let him die (by remaining where we was for 2 more days) or else tarried in raising Lazarus because something more was driving Him. He was motivated by a passion for the glory of God.

How many of us would have thought it cruel for Jesus to allow his dear friend's brother to die, with-holding His power to heal Lazarus. Many may even see this as harsh and unloving that Jesus did not bring immediate healing to take his friends grief away. Yet as Piper says "This shows how far above the glory of God most people value pain-free lives." But this is not true love. "Love keeps God central. Because the soul was made for God."

Lord forgive us for the times we believe life is about us & our comfort. Forgive us for foolishly thinking that your love is somehow tied to our happiness & that it can in any way change based on our circumstances. Help us to trust you in the unseen & uncertain, knowing that there is something BIGGER at stake... The magnificent glory of God and the eternal lives of mankind. Lord today let us take our eyes off of ourselves & fix them upon you. Let us make much of you today.

Who He Says I Am

Why is it so crucial that we know who we are in Christ? Because we will act on what we believe. Knowing we have an enemy who actively seeks to undermine the value God has placed on our lives & the awesome plans He has for us when we are abiding in Him, we must be all the more actively & intentionally filling our minds with the truths of God's word- What He says about us, our purpose, our destiny.

"If my Father says something about me, even if I cannot see it yet, I can rest assured it is so... and begin to put on that truth... and walk in it. I can no longer blame someone else for how I view myself. I cannot make the old excuse 'that is just the way I am', because it is no longer 'the way I am'. I take back the stolen ground by simply being in relationship with my Father. His holy genes are not part of my inheritance from Him. I must simply stand and be who He says I am."

-Dennis Jennigan, This Is My Destiny

The Greatest Sacrifice

This Sunday as we celebrate Mother's Day and all the love, joy, & sacrifices that go into being a mother, there is one sacrifice worth pondering. In a message by John Piper, he says this:

"When you think about yourself as a parent & your love for your child, imagine pulling your sweet child into your lap and saying 'You know I love you right? Well I have a mission for you my precious child. I have some enemies who hate me & deserve to die. In order to keep them from dying & to offer them hope, I am going to have YOU take their place.' When you think about God.... remember this. When you think about the Bible....remember this. Despite anything else you might get hung up or confused by as you read God's word, remember that fact. "

We could not imagine that as parents. Yet this is what the God of this universe did. He sent forth His Son to die the death we deserved so that sinful man could be given fullness of life & eternity in heaven.

His sacrifice brought fullness of life & hope. Are you living in it? We ought not waste such a precious gift.

Unquenchable Thirst

"Why does God allow us to spend so much of life in the heat of battle? Because He never meant for us to sip His Spirit like a proper cup of tea. He meant for us to hold our sweating heads over the fountain and lap up His life with unquenchable thirst."

-Beth Moore, Praying God's Word

Wisdom- The Crown of Splendor

"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2

"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who cherishes understanding prospers." Proverbs 19:8

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; It is to his glory to overlook an offense." Prov. 19:11

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; Through knowledge its rooms are filled and rare & beautiful treasures." Proverbs 24:3-4


Lord we ask you for wisdom. James 1:5 says that if we lack wisdom we should ask You who gives generously. Your word says that gaining wisdom is supreme... that it will protect us and be a crown of splendor upon our heads. (Proverbs 4: 5-9) In faith we ask you to pour out your wisdom upon us today- That we would be women of virtue & wisdom living with the favor & blessings of God upon our lives.

Godliness with Contentment

"But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction." 1Timothy 6:6-9

"Whoever loves money never has money enough: whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. " Ecclesiastes 5:10

Oh the things we think will "fill" our ravenous souls appetite. When does the endless cycle, the lust for more ever end? When is the heart fully satisfied? Jeremiah even speaks to how deceptive the heart is above all else (17:9). If I do not intentionally place my hope and trust in Christ (and do it daily... for I've noticed I will quickly default back to natural operation) then I will become like the words of Jeremiah, my heart will soon and all too quickly turn away from the Lord-

"Cursed in the one who trusts in man (or in money, in appearances, in a career, in friends, in myself), who depends on man for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert." (17:5-6)

That resonates with me: "He will not see prosperity when it comes". Without Christ, my souls ravenous pit will always long for more, more, more... all the while blinding eyes to the prosperity and joys before us. Contentment then becomes a choice as to where I am placing my heart. If left to ourselves, we can easily become the very people Solomon is referring to in Ecclesiastes 5:10: We will never be satisfied even with prosperity. There will never be enough income to satisfy our longs lists of wants, enough vacations, enough approval from man, enough things on our social calendar, enough status... there is never enough. Like a child, our natural flesh will always want "one more", especially if that one more is in the hands of someone else.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8

This is true contentment. One that chooses to place our hope in Christ instead of the temporal and deceptive whims our hearts. The Lord has used my sweet grandfather as a reminder to me of the words of Solomon- that we can spend our whole lives chasing after the wind, and miss out of true contentment and joy all the while. Coming to America from Germany his family had many social and economic hurdles to overcome. He is a hard worker, faithful and diligent at all he does. He worked his whole life to climb the corporate latter, but it became his life. He has provided well for his family and retired well, with plenty enough to outlive his 200th birthday (oh I hope you live that long Lou!). But yet so many times he reminded me of the fact that success and money is not all that our young culture thinks it to be. If our hope is in it, it will leave us disappointed.


Lord today let me choose to set my heart, my hope, my confidence in You. You alone fill all the desires of my longing soul. For you alone fill everything in every way (Ephesians 1:23).

The Beauty of Solitude

"Come away to a quiet place" beckons the voice of Christ. The practice of solitude. John Ortberg in his book The Life You've Always Wanted calls solitude the "furnace of transformation":

"Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us. According to a much-traveled analogy, if we put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will immediately hop out. But put the frog in water that's at room temperature and heat it slowly, and the creature will stay there until it boils to death. Put him in a lethal environment suddenly and he will escape. But introduce the danger gradually, and he will never notice.

The truth is that the dangers to which we are most vulnerable are generally not the sudden, dramatic, obvious ones. They are the ones that creep up on us, that are so much a part of our environment that we don't even notice them.

The deeper truth is that we live in a lethal environment. American society is filled with ideas and values and pressures and temptations about success, security, comfort, happiness...that we will not even notice unless we withdraw on occasion. "

But how do we fight this temptation to be squeezed into the mold of society? By slowing down and making time, choosing to have time to be still & alone. Busyness becomes the enemy of our souls if we do not intentionally take time in solitude and reflection with the Lord. As Ortberg continues:

"The truth is, as much as we complain about it, we are drawn to hurry. It makes us feel important. It keeps the adrenaline pumping. It means we don't have to look too closely at the heart or life. It keeps us from feeling our loneliness. In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding. Scaffolding is all the stuff we use to keep ourselves propped up, to convince ourselves that we are important or okay. In solitude we have no friends to talk with, no phone calls or meetings, no television, music or newspapers to occupy and distract our minds... Just me and my sinfulness, my desire or lack or desire for God."
(From the chapter: An Unhurried Life)

Oh that we would enter into the furnace of transformation and get away with Christ. To push pause on our fast-paced lives. To reflect. To listen. Lord teach us to get away with you. Reveal to us the beauty and power in solitude.