What's Next To Do?

I have decided to start daily devotions from the book My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers!  I want a closer more personal walk with God!  So Today is the first day!

"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them"  (John 13:17)

Be determined to know more than others.  If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea.  Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened.  If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock.  You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself - begin to have spiritual discernment.

When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more.  Examine where you have become sluggish, where you began losing interest spiritually, and you will find that it goes back to a point where you did not do something you knew you should do.  You did not do it because there seemed to be no immediate call to do it.  But now you have no insight or discernment, and at the time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-controlled.  It is a dangerous thing to refuse to continue learning and knowing more.

The counterfeit of obedience is a state of mind in which you create you own opportunities to sacrifice yourself, and your zeal and enthusiasm are mistaken for discernment.  It is easier to sacrifice yourself than to fulfill your spiritual destiny, which is stated in Romans 12:1-2.  It is much better to fulfill the purpose of God in you life by discerning His will than it is to perform great acts of self-sacrifice.  "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice..." (1 Samuel 15:22).  Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been.  "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know..." (John 7:17).


I have always believed in God, and tried living the life I thought was "good,"  but looking back, I didn't have the relationship I needed with him.  As a child I was not raised in a church environment, but when I was able to drive I started going to church on my own.  It has always been so frustrating to sit in a Sunday school class or a church sermon, and not understand what the lesson is on.  I, to this day, still don't know some of the most common Bible stories that children learned growing up.  When I read Taegan the stories out of his Children's Bible, not only is he learning something, but I am too.  I want so desperately to be able to walk in to an "adult" Sunday school and not just sit there lost as we are being taught the lesson.  I want to be able to participate in the discussions and know what I am talking about.  In doing these devotions, I pray I will be able to better understand things, and gain a closer intimate relationship in my walk with God.  Steve and I have been going to church here in Columbus every week, for a couple months now, and we hope to find a Sunday school class that best suits us.  I am so excited to get back in  a routine of going to Church!  I will admit that We didn't go as much as we should have back in SC, especially when Steve was gone to basic and AIT, and I know this is no excuse, but it was so hard to walk in that church service without Steve every Sunday.  I can't remember one time that I would go to a service and not cry because I didn't have my Steve with me.  Although the services were wonderful, my heart was just so broken, and I believe that is where my walk with God faded.  I am determined and very excited on getting back on track with my spiritual relationship, not only for myself, but for my family as well!  I want Taegan and Jocelyn to know, love and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.  I believe and know that they will lead by my example.  I want to show and teach them how precious a relationship with God is, not by me telling them, but by them seeing my relationship with him.  Prayers are more than welcomed, and much needed!  :)