God Uses People Who Confess Their Sins.

" God Uses People Who Confess Their Sins "

"If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:21 NLT) God uses all kinds of vessels — big vessels and little vessels, ornate vessels and plain vessels, very expensive ones and very ordinary ones.  But there is one thing God will not use: a dirty vessel. So if you’re going to be used by God, you have to do some cleanup. Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, because tomorrow the LORD will perform miracles among you” (Joshua 3:5 TEV). The fact is, God wants to do something great in your future, too. But you have to start by settling the accounts of the past. You have to clean up yesterday. How do you do that? You do it through confession. Augustine said, “The confession of bad works is the beginning of good works.”  We start by dealing with our past. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9 TEV). I’ll never forget the first time I made a "sin list." I felt like God was a million miles away, that he was distant. I couldn’t feel his power or his grace.  I felt like my prayers were bouncing off the ceiling. So, one night, I took out a pad of yellow paper and said, “God, show me every sin between me and you, and I will write it down specifically.  I committed it specifically. I'm going to confess it specifically.  We’re going to deal with it right now and get it out of the way.”  I started writing. And writing. And writing. I thought I was going to write a book, like "The Purpose Driven Sinner"!  I ended up with about nine pages of sins. It was 2 a.m. when I finished.  I confessed all those sins to God and wrote 1 John 1:9 over each. I’ve had to make a sin list many times since that night, because it’s very easy to let things come between us and God. You need to make a sin list on a regular basis so that you have a clean vessel to offer God for his use.  If you only take the garbage out of your house once a month, it’s going to start stinking.  Talk About It How long has it been since you confessed specific sins to God? As you make your sin list, what surprises you about what or how much you are recalling? ============================================================== " Live A Life That Matters " Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All your possessions & collections - whether treasures or baubles... Will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear. So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.  It won't matter where you came from, or on which side of the tracks you lived. It won't matter whether you were beautiful, handsome... Brilliant, rich or dull.   Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant. So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured? What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built   Not what you got, but what you gave.   What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, or sacrifice... that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew.... But how many people will feel a lasting loss, when you’re gone. What will matter is not your memories.... but the memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what... Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Lets make that choice NOW !  To live a life that matters

Who Defines Who You Are?

" Who Defines Who You Are? "

"The Lord turned to [Gideon] and said, 'Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?'" (Judges 6:14 NIV) Gideon was the least member of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh. His task on the day in question was the tedious threshing of wheat, a process where the cereal grain is knocked loose from the chaff.  But this devotional is not about agriculture. It's about God's ability to see you for who you are meant to be, not for what you appear to be. God saw Gideon as a mighty warrior and judge who would lead the Israelites back to their proper worship of God (Judges 6:12). Gideon, on the other hand, saw himself as just a guy cranking wheat through a creaky old wine press. But that didn’t matter to God. He told Gideon: “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14 NIV) Take note: The strength of the Sender is more important than the strength of the one being sent. God asks, "Am I not sending you?" Gideon was still stuck in tunnel vision, believing what he thought and what he saw was the truth.  To paraphrase the ancient Hebrew, Gideon told God, "I just don’t have what it takes, Lord. I know you’re perfect, but I think you made a mistake" (Judges 6:15). God, in a sense, says, "Get your head out of the wheat dust and pay attention to me. I will be with you and so, yes, you will strike down all the Midianites as if they are no more than one man" (Judges 6:16). It doesn't matter what Gideon said about himself or what others said about Gideon. Only one opinion counts: God's. What God says about Gideon is the truth. What God says about you is the truth. You are a precious child, created in his image, a sweet aroma that is pleasing to the Lord.   Talk About It -- In what ways have others described you that may be at odds with how God describes you? How about the way you describe yourself? Is it at odds with the truth God says about you? Ask God to help you see yourself the way he sees you. What about the way you describe others? Ask God to help you see them the way he sees them. =================================================     Have a Blessed Day !!!   Child asked A God:       If everything is already written in our destiny, then why pray ??? God Smiled and said :   May be in few places I have written " As You Wish "   *One day I decided to quit… I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality… I wanted to quit my life.* *I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.* *“God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”* *His answer surprised me…* *“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?” “Yes”, I replied.* *When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said. “In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. “I would not quit.” He said. “Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant… But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”* *He said to me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots.” “I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don’t compare yourself to others …” He said. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern … Yet, they both make the forest beautiful.” Your time will come, God said to me. You will rise high!* *How high should I rise?” I asked.* *How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return. “As high as it can? I questioned.* *Yes. ” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.* *I left the forest and bring back this story.* *I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never regret a day in your life.*   *Good days give you happiness; Bad days give you experiences; Both are essential to life.* *Happiness keeps you Sweet! Trials keep you Strong!!* *Sorrows keep you Human! Failures keep you Humble!!* *Success keeps You Glowing!* *But Only God keeps You Going!!*