Heart after God Chapter 1

I am not 1oo% sure how this is going to go. I've never done anything quite like this before, so I'm telling you (really warning) that is may change as we go along. The way I see this is that the amount of time you spend reading and the amount of time I spend writing are well worth our investment. There is no better investment in our time than to invest in our journey of faith and sharing that journey with fellow travelers.

We will study two chapters each week starting March 2nd. I will be in a conference next week, so the class will not discuss chapter 2 till March 2nd. After that date, we will talk each week on the following two chapters. I am planning on posting the reading schedule on the side of my blog, just in case you need it. The study will conclude on May 11th. I am excited to spend the next 12 weeks with you, as we talk about the things the Lord is doing and the changes we see in ourselves as we take this trip together.

Chapter 1- A Heart Devoted to God

Interestingly this book begins with the same story that our last study concluded on- Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Luke 10:42- "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken from her." Mary did choose the best part, she chose to stop the busyness and sit at Jesus' feet. Continually serving without spending time at Jesus' feet is detrimental to our spiritual lives. This happens so often in the church and ladies- it should not be so. When we don't stop to spend time sitting at Jesus' feet, the joy of serving evaporates away. The time we spend with Him is what refuels us to be His hands and feet in the world. The things we do for the Lord should not take priority, but the time we spend with the Lord should.

Mary made the best choice. I want to make the same choice, and I'm sure you do too. How do we?

Proverbs 3:6- "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths." The writer of this book shares that this could the theme verse of this book. Here is where we must begin the "how" part. Daily acknowledging Him in every decision we make. This can be a hard thing, I know. With seven children here Monday through Friday, I understand that it's hard to stop and ask, "Lord, what should I do here?" or "what should I say?" If I did every, single time I'd be much happier and so would the children. I remember the times I worked and I know that it is a struggle no matter where you are or who you spend your day with. This is a daily thing, not a weekly, bi-weekly, or heaven forbid yearly.

In class, we talked about a personal prayer we should have each day. I think that it is important that it audible, so our own ears hear your choice to give the day to the Lord. I started this many years ago, it's not always audible, but I've found that if I give the day to the Lord, before my feet hit the floor, then no matter how good or bad the day goes, I know He was there with me all the time. I can rest in that knowledge and in that I have found peace in the midst of chaos- literal chaos!

After reading the part on a hot heart, I was immediately convicted. I think the verse in Revelations 3:15-16 speaks volumes when you consider that the Lord would rather we be cold than lukewarm. Ladies, cold bodies are DEAD. The Lord would rather we be unconscious of Him than to be lukewarm! How many recipes do you know that call for lukewarm water? None that I know of. Most recipes say hot or cold water. Same principal, the Lord cannot use us when we are lukewarm. Think on these verses for a while and try to let them sink in.

A tea kettle lets the whole house know it's hot. We need to be like the tea kettle in our homes, in our churches, in our community, in our world. A few months ago, I was able to go to a local tea house. I have driven by it many times and always said I'd like to go in there, but never took the time to do so. When the waitress brought us our individual tea pots, with the flavor of tea we requested, I was so delighted. I felt as if I were a princess, drinking from my own little teapot with my tea cup. I hadn't thought anymore of that outing till today. The lady of the tea house had put a warmer around the tea pot to keep the contents warm longer. Two things came to mind when I thought about that. 1- Tea isn't very good if it gets cold, in my opinion. Every time I get a mouth full of tea or coffee that isn't quite hot anymore, I want to spit it out. Imagine that for a minute. That is how the heavenly Father can feel about us. 2- The warmer works only for a short time to help keep the pot hot. The pot has to return to the heat source in order to be hot again! Are you following me? I don't know what kind of warmer you've got wrapped around you, but we have to return our source, our daily heat source must be Jesus.

My prayer is that I will be hot for the Lord, like the tea kettle that is squealing from my stove. It is my prayer for you as well.

Till next week...please feel free to comment and share with me what you've learned this week or what spoke to you specifically in this chapter.