He is Our Life

This morning has been such a spiritual blessing. Beth Moore in her entry for yesterday from her book 'Praying God's Word Day by Day' wrote: "The Giant step in the walk of faith is the one we take when we decide God is no longer a part of our lives. HE IS OUR LIFE." My scripture reading then took me to Colossians chapter one and and the pages are marked up from a few years past when I took verses 9b-14 and changed the wording from the second person and personalized it to me. It is my prayer again today as I travel into this new year ready to be transformed for God's work. Here is The Message version:

"... asking God to give you [me] wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We [I] pray that you'll [I]) live well for the Master, making him proud of you [me] as you [I] work hard in his orchard. As you [I] learn more and more how God works, you [I] will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll [I] have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your [my] teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us [me] strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us [me]. God rescued us [me] from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us [me] up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us [me] out of the pit we [I] were in, got rid of the sins we [I] were doomed to keep repeating. "

As I enter this new promise land of 2008 (thank you Beth for this insight!) I must evaluate my own obedience to my Lord.

Deuteronomy 11:12 (The Message)-The land you are entering [2008]

to take up ownership isn't like Egypt [2007], the land you left,

where you had to plant your own seed and water it yourselves as in a vegetable garden.

But the land you are about to cross the river and take for your own

is a land of mountains and valleys; it drinks water that rains from the sky.

It's a land [2008] that God, your God, personally tends—he's the gardener—

he alone keeps his eye on it all year long.

I pray that God will open my eyes and my heart to anything unclean that I might have. It is my desire to be empty of myself so that I can love God more, so that I can listen to His voice and hold fast to Him.

And that you may love the LORD your God,

listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.

For the LORD is your life,

and he will give you many years

in the land he swore to give to your fathers,

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

~Deut. 30:20 (NIV)

What must we do to be transformed to radical obedience-make Him our life, not just part of our life. It's going beyond scripture reading and Bible study. It's going beyond memorization of Gods word and prayer. It's going beyond living for yourself. It's going beyond being willing but being willing to be made willing. It is living God truth in His faith and and by His grace. Truly it is going beyond ourselves and letting God!

Question of the day....What do you do personally to make this happen?

In His Graces~Pamela