Pour It Out!

What can I say today?  There is so much on my mind that I am not sure where to start or where to go!  If you see could see in to my brain, you would see the gears working double time.  I am pretty sure they are smokin'!  When my brain is working in overload, it has a hard time focusing on just one thing.  Please, someone else tell me you are like this too!  BUT, I am going to try to focus on one thing that the Lord is teaching me.  Hopefully, I won't chase too many rabbits. (There are no guarantees!)

If you have your Bible handy, grab it and a pen (or highlighter!)  Let's look at Matthew 26:6-13.

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,
⁷ a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil,
and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.
⁸ But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying,
“Why this waste? 
 ⁹ For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
¹⁰ But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman?
For she has done a good work for Me.
 ¹¹ For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 
 ¹² For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 
 ¹³ Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world,
what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

If you write in your Bible, then would you underline or highlight these two key parts: verse 8 and verse 13!  You will want to remember these.

Since my husband and I have led worship together since before we were married over 13 years ago, we have had a long time to study the topic of worship.  Today, I am going to tell you what I think worship is.

WORSHIP IS HOW YOU LIVE OUT YOUR LIFE BEFORE THE LORD!  It is NOT a song.  It is NOT a church service.  It is NOT if you are lifting your hands or bowing your head.  Worship is NOT confined to certain times in the week.  If you are a true worshipper that is described in John 4:23, you understand that worship IS a constant pouring out of your life before Our Awesome God and King!  If you know me well, you know I love corporate worship.....did you read that......I LOVE it.....but, church services are a very small percentage of my worship each week.   

(Just as a side note, I would like to say that our lives should be in a constant state of 'pouring'!  We need to be pouring our lives into others, just as we need someone to pour into our lives.....Titus 2 women!  This is just as important for older women as it is for younger women.)

One of the most important acts of worship a woman can do is to pour out her life for her husband and her children.  People WILL think you are crazy!  Some will even with good intentions, try to convince you that God has given you too many talents and giftings to waste it staying at home with your children.  Some will never understand your devotion to your husband.  They might not understand that it brings you joy to serve him and to honor him!  There are fellow Christians who don't understand this Kingdom vision. They might look at you and think, "Why this waste?"   

Sometimes worship is costly, just like the very costly fragrance oil in the text.  Mostly it is very expensive in the pride department.  Being a wife and mother is a process of constant humbling.  Everyday you understand Paul better when he said in Romans 7:15, " I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate!"  Anybody else ever feel this way?  Everyday I work at not being impatient ONLY to find myself having to swallow my pride (yet again!) and apologizing to my children or my husband for my failures.  The Lord uses this costly perfume for refining and growth.

Something I have come to grasp in the last few years is that God loves worship.  He loves it in song and He loves it in action.  What others see as waste, he sees as beautiful!  Women, when you feel tired and like you are doing this all wrong, you need to remember verse 13.

Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world,

what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

God loves your worship!  It is beautiful to the Creator of the Universe!  The perfume that you pour out day in and day out raising warrior for Christ that you think no one sees, TRUST ME, you have an audience of One!  The meal that you prepared for your family that no one seemed to notice you worked extra hard on, He knows!  The fact that you only had 3 hours of sleep last night because of a fussy baby and still need to do everything you normally do on 8 hours of sleep, God sees your sacrifice of worship, and He knows that you did it for Him and for His kingdom!   

Worship freely without hesitation and without expecting anything in return in the moment, because the Lord is making it known wherever the Gospel is preached, and He is our reward!  Hallelujah! 

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Wedded Wednesday:Let Them Lead

I have written about 4 posts today, deleted them, and started over.  I have a lot of thoughts swimming around in my head and am having a hard time sticking to one subject.  I have really one thing I want to blog about but I have a feeling it might step on a few toes.  I usually avoid controversial issues, but here goes.  Short and straight to the point.

 

Most of you know that Billy Joe has been praying about some decisions he needs to make.  I have had a few women ask me how I feel about it, and then tell me I need to encourage him to do what I think (or feel) he should do.  I do not agree with that.  As a matter of fact, I think that is dangerous ground to tread on. 

 

My husband is a godly man who is wise and steady as a rock.  He is the head of our house PERIOD.  I will not manipulate him or claim to be more spiritual than he is.  The directions the Lord has given me is to "Be still. Be quiet. Wait."  That is what I will do.

 

There is nothing worse to me than Christian women who claim to be godly wives that manipulate and lie to their husband to get their way.  The bad thing about it is that they do it so much, they start to believe that they are doing the right thing.  I have learned that if I truly want to be a blessing to my husband, I need to learn to shut up more. (I'm working on it!  I'd probably be a blessing to everyone if I shut up more! LOL!)   Either He is my spiritual authority, or he isn't.  I believe that he is more than capable of leading my family.  I also know that he is the one held responsible by God for the way he leads, not me.  (And I am thankful to not have that responsibility.)   

 

Proverbs 19:4 says, "Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord."  Prudent means acting with or showing care or thought to the future.  When a wife acts on emotion (or impulse) with no thought to the consequences of her actions or words....SHE IS A FOOL! 

 

I am embarrassed to admit it, but I have been the cause of most of the arguments in the 13 years we have been married.  Most of them were over some stupid thing I had done or said because of an emotion I had.  Emotions are not always to be trusted.  Men are not generally led by emotion.  I believe it is a trait that makes them able to make sound decisions. 

 

If we want to be an "Excellent Wife" as Proverbs 12:4 describes, we must learn to trust our husbands and LET THEM LEAD.             

 

 



THIS IS OUR TIME!

THIS IS OUR TIME!  I keep hearing my Pastor say this.....and I BELIEVE HIM!  This is our window of opportunity!  We're alive and breathing!  We have the ability to worship and serve the Lord!

The blog entry from today are notes that I took on a sermon preached by my Pastor, Shannon Kilpatrick, June 3, 2012.  This sermon was very powerful, and I can remember it like it was yesterday.  Like I said, these are just my notes, but I still like to read over them every now and then to remind myself that this is MY TIME!  (It also reminds me how blessed I am to sit under such a Godly man!)

1 Corinthians 16

Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia). 

⁶ And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go.

⁷ For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you,
if the Lord permits.

⁸ But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 

⁹ For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.


Paul had a window. Verse 9 says for a great and effective door has been opened!  Paul knew he was in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing!

Noah had his window.  He lived in a world where everything had gone wrong-the scriptures say their hearts have continually turned to evil.  His opportunity to came and Noah obeyed.  He built the ark, preached, yet never had a convert.

Moses door opened when he was 80 years old.  It says that he saw a fire and HE TURNED ASIDE-walking through his door!  Moses made every excuse to try to get out of it.  He had a choice to cease the opportunity, and he went.

Think about other great leaders and their windows of opportunity.  Joshua!  Esther!  David!  What about the apostles!?!  Acts 1:4-14 is the story of the door being opened for them!  (Oh to have been there!)

OUR TIME IS NOW!

Revelation 3

¹⁴ “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness,
the Beginning of the creation of God: 
 
¹⁵ “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 
 
¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will vomit you out of My mouth. 

¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing
’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 
 
 ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich;
and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness
may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
 This is the church dispensation that represents the "NOW"!  Be zealous and repent.  DON'T BE LUKEWARM!  The Laodicean church age is everywhere.  There's no respect for the Ten Commandments or Pastors.  We have an opportunity to have God's presence and anointing everywhere, but we have to be willing to sacrifice.

There are doors the Lord will open for you.  WE MUST BE IN TUNE TO WHAT HE IS DOING! 
1 Corinthians 16:9 says, For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.  I love what my Pastor always says.......The devil always overplays his hand.  Keep your eyes on the one who hold the Door open, and He will take care of the adversary!