Long time........ No Posting
Alright,
To be honest I have been going threw a "dark time" in my walk. Nothing really that was not self inflicted. I was allowing things in my life to "blind" me to what God wanted from me. I was creating walls and turning my back on the only one who had the answers for me.
In the times of trying to do what is right and following after what you believe is God's direction, I am amazed at how easily we can fall into sin. Thank God for eternal salvation. How often I would have to go Back and ask God to save me again. I am so glad that I can talk to Him and ask for help to over-come my faults and weaknesses.
So this will actually be short..... I think.....
Working on bus 101 has been a blessing. Being a leader for a group in RU has been a blessing and a challenge. I am just grateful that God has chosen to use me. Anyways, my bus route has been one of the biggest areas of attack in my walk.
So I took over the route because I truly believe God was directing me to do so. In no way did I think I was qualified to be the captain on the route. We had a good number of children riding the bus when I started. Now comes the time of testing in my life. You see I had been on a route that I still believe died due to my personal struggles in my walk with God. No faith and constantly working the route under my own power.
Once again with 101 I began to lose my trust in God on the route. I started to work it under my own strength and call it my route and not His. The numbers started to fall away. Thank God for the faithful few who rode the bus because they wanted to be in church. I saw what was happening and knew where it could end up.
Remember, I was going threw a time where my walk with God was struggling. In my mind, I wanted His help, but I had to face things that I either did not want to, or did not think was part of the problem. I finally decided to move in a direction. Thanks to the sermons at missions conference. I went and talked to those that I felt I needed to. And then did something I never thought of before..... well at least not in this manner..
One missionary talked of "carpet bombing" your area of service in prayer before putting your feet on the ground. This struck me as "genius". How often I have approached soul winning or inviting people to ride my bus with fear. Fear of what the people could say or do. Fear of the power of this world. How foolish of me to not trust in the one who has already over-come the world. So with Easter Sunday coming up, I started to pray over my area. I asked God to go before us and prepare the hearts of those we would be talking to. I asked Him to bless our attempts and if it was His will to give us a new rider or two (such little faith I have).
We went out on Saturday and the war of the spiritual realm started in my life. Nothing bad was happening on the route, but I was struggling with the perceived attitudes and support of my workers (I thank God for them). I struggled against my fleshly response and kept asking God to help me. We knocked on our normal doors and started to stop and invite the children we saw out playing. As "normal" we got the answers you always expect, but God gave us a few who said that they wanted to come.
Now Sunday comes. I have the calls made as I run to get poptart's and juice for the children we are about to pick up. I come back and am told we had one answer the phone and they said no. Now normally at this point I get frustrated and depressed. But not this time. I told my workers that we will be stopping at all the houses that said yes on Saturday. In my heart I prayed and told God... It's your route. We then board the bus and I pray over the route and the children that God has prepared to ride.
At this point I am fighting myself and the devil about my route again. The constant reminder of my old route. The fact that I have failed and am failing again. "Look at the numbers you are having. Your killing another route."
Now to look at what God did. We get to the first stop. No answer on the phone, but the children came. We stop by many houses and children came. To God be the glory. All said and done. He gave us 29 on the bus (workers and riders). That was 8 new riders. God is good.
On another note, my thoughts about God's route and what he did... Hey!! accuser of the brethren! You have been beating me up about my past route. You have been pointing at failures. By chance did you see what my God did for us yesterday? Yeah... you got nothing on this.
Laterz...
To be honest I have been going threw a "dark time" in my walk. Nothing really that was not self inflicted. I was allowing things in my life to "blind" me to what God wanted from me. I was creating walls and turning my back on the only one who had the answers for me.
In the times of trying to do what is right and following after what you believe is God's direction, I am amazed at how easily we can fall into sin. Thank God for eternal salvation. How often I would have to go Back and ask God to save me again. I am so glad that I can talk to Him and ask for help to over-come my faults and weaknesses.
So this will actually be short..... I think.....
Working on bus 101 has been a blessing. Being a leader for a group in RU has been a blessing and a challenge. I am just grateful that God has chosen to use me. Anyways, my bus route has been one of the biggest areas of attack in my walk.
So I took over the route because I truly believe God was directing me to do so. In no way did I think I was qualified to be the captain on the route. We had a good number of children riding the bus when I started. Now comes the time of testing in my life. You see I had been on a route that I still believe died due to my personal struggles in my walk with God. No faith and constantly working the route under my own power.
Once again with 101 I began to lose my trust in God on the route. I started to work it under my own strength and call it my route and not His. The numbers started to fall away. Thank God for the faithful few who rode the bus because they wanted to be in church. I saw what was happening and knew where it could end up.
Remember, I was going threw a time where my walk with God was struggling. In my mind, I wanted His help, but I had to face things that I either did not want to, or did not think was part of the problem. I finally decided to move in a direction. Thanks to the sermons at missions conference. I went and talked to those that I felt I needed to. And then did something I never thought of before..... well at least not in this manner..
One missionary talked of "carpet bombing" your area of service in prayer before putting your feet on the ground. This struck me as "genius". How often I have approached soul winning or inviting people to ride my bus with fear. Fear of what the people could say or do. Fear of the power of this world. How foolish of me to not trust in the one who has already over-come the world. So with Easter Sunday coming up, I started to pray over my area. I asked God to go before us and prepare the hearts of those we would be talking to. I asked Him to bless our attempts and if it was His will to give us a new rider or two (such little faith I have).
We went out on Saturday and the war of the spiritual realm started in my life. Nothing bad was happening on the route, but I was struggling with the perceived attitudes and support of my workers (I thank God for them). I struggled against my fleshly response and kept asking God to help me. We knocked on our normal doors and started to stop and invite the children we saw out playing. As "normal" we got the answers you always expect, but God gave us a few who said that they wanted to come.
Now Sunday comes. I have the calls made as I run to get poptart's and juice for the children we are about to pick up. I come back and am told we had one answer the phone and they said no. Now normally at this point I get frustrated and depressed. But not this time. I told my workers that we will be stopping at all the houses that said yes on Saturday. In my heart I prayed and told God... It's your route. We then board the bus and I pray over the route and the children that God has prepared to ride.
At this point I am fighting myself and the devil about my route again. The constant reminder of my old route. The fact that I have failed and am failing again. "Look at the numbers you are having. Your killing another route."
Now to look at what God did. We get to the first stop. No answer on the phone, but the children came. We stop by many houses and children came. To God be the glory. All said and done. He gave us 29 on the bus (workers and riders). That was 8 new riders. God is good.
On another note, my thoughts about God's route and what he did... Hey!! accuser of the brethren! You have been beating me up about my past route. You have been pointing at failures. By chance did you see what my God did for us yesterday? Yeah... you got nothing on this.
Laterz...
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