it was about my future. “take the blinders off and open your perspective of what I want to do with your life. your view is too narrow.” scary, powerful, thrilling, uncertain.
My wedding day. I’m in the basement of the church in one of the Sunday school rooms putting on my Tux. I heard clear as a bell “Do not marry her, she’s not the one for you.” I wrote it off as pre-wedding jitters. A few years later, she left.
It wasn’t in words so much as actions. One job ended, and within a week another door for a much better job in a much better place opened. It was without a doubt God telling us to move on.
To leave my job even in a whacked out economy because it was not where I needed to be anymore. And my husband and I haven’t felt this peaceful in months.
When my husband took over the role of the OKC Campus Pastor at LC.tv, I was blown away at the needs of the people…the hurts in their lives…the pain in their eyes. I was overwhelmed and wondered how in the world we’d meet them all because we are just one couple.
Love your friend in and through his struggles with homosexuality, don’t condemn him and don’t shun him until he “gets right” with me. I am more concerned with him entering relationship with me than him not being gay. (After hearing these words, this is a challenge but I am doing my best to follow them)
“In that day,” declares the LORD,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.”
Hosea 2:16
Basically, He wants to teach me to learn what it means to be the Bride of Christ. To grow in intimacy with him, to delight in him as much as he delights in me… To view him as you would view husband not just a Father or Master.
Was moping about my inadequacies and failures. God said “I don’t want you to be perfect so that I can do something with you, I want to do something with you because you’re NOT perfect. That way, everyone will see that I am all powerful.”
When I asked God why he had lead me to be involved in several different ministries/churches for the majority of my adult life, when those things wouldn’t be successful, He told me “I lead you through those things to keep you on track, to teach you what you needed to know. I never promised you success in a material, tangible way. You need to grow up. That was part of the growing process.”
He keeps telling me that I am called to be a part of spreading the gospel of my jack-up-edness (he uses creative words with me) and his sufficiency, even in this crazy economy where nobody will join my team of financial partners. So I press on.
These things are happening for a reason. Even though you can’t fully see it, I’m leading you somewhere where you will make a difference in the lives of many. Just trust me and follow my voice.
Our 3 yr. old son had over a dozen seizures last weekend and I was struggling to put complete trust in God. He reminded me that he was faithful. Always.
“pray with your family this morning before you leave for work”…turns out it was def. what my wife needed this morning in particular…she homeschools with 4 kids…
I was in Neiman Marcus this weekend with my mom when The Fray’s song You Found Me came on. It always brings tears to my eyes because it makes me think about how everytime I fall, God finds me, picks me up, patches my wounds, and sends me back out. He never fails me.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.”
When I hit a crossroads I kept hearing that scripture over and over in my mind.
God is reminding me to not have anything in priority over Him and to trust Him to take care of things that I cannot control. It’s amazing how those two things work together.
Don’t become weary in doing good… in time, you’ll see. Be good to everyone, but especially, ESPECIALLY good to those who belong to the family. Yes. I mean her. Be good to her. You’ll see.
This whole thread is so interesting to me… Reading this as the resident social theorist and skeptic, I’m really struck by how much God seems to sound like a Rick Warren book and how un-extraordinary most of this stuff is. Why hasn’t God told anyone something falsifiable or concrete? And how would you know that God said any of this stuff to you rather than it just being what you want to think that God is saying?
Just my initial thoughts: your comments are most welcome.
I told God I wasn’t leaving the prayer room until I had something from Him. Much later I stood up to walk out not hearing Him but with full confidence that He was with me. I’m still waiting in the silence yet have peace in knowing He’s near. Well, sometimes I’m not at peace but that is my flesh and the enemy.
He sent an angel in my path. This was a complete stranger who approached me and came inches from my face in a busy store (when my marriage was hanging by a thread). “One day we well be working in the vineyard. All this stuff will pass away. I’ve been married to the same woman for 60 years. Give it all to God and He will give it back to you…. that is all I have for you today”. (Dunno if that is helpful to the skeptic who posted earlier, but I haven’t read RW, so can’t speak to that).
More recently a simple “I love you” when my heart ached and a friend visited and was loving me as only someone following Jesus could.
After losing my niece, my sister ( my nieces mother) and my mother in less then 1 1/2 years I went through a period of depression. Hearing the verse where Jesus told Lazarus to ‘come forth’ out of the grave God spoke to my heart and said, ‘(my name) COME FORTH’. Wow- it wasn’t audible but it was definitely the voice of the Lord allowing me to come out of the pit. I have been through the valley of the shadow of death and God was with me. Praise the Lord.
After watching my best friends walk away from a church that completely changed their lives and all the relationships they had built within it, God told me that I must be a good steward of the relationships He puts in my life. Just as I am a good and responsible steward of the money and resources He gives me, I have to be responsible and make the tough decisions to remain a good and responsible steward of the relationships I have. In short, that means stop being scared of hurting someone’s feelings when I speak the truth in love.
First of all, it’s not like the Lord talks to me “audibly” every day (though I am trying to be a better listener)…Between a serious illness my wife is battling and the economy turning upside down, my family has went through a tremendous financial storm to the point of losing our vehicles and fighting to keep food in the house. I prayed numerous times daily about this but because of my “pride” did not really reach out to anyone for help ( I guess mostly I was embarrassed it had come to this considering I had been earning in six figures for a couple of years)……………..As I prayed more I did feel much closer to God and more at peace about the situation (if you can be at peace with something so serious) but to be honest, things seemed to get WORSE. I was in the shower praying again for the NTH time for God to intervene on my family’s behalf and I heard these words as clear as he was standing in the shower with me —-”Chris, I love you. How can you expect me to help you if you won’t let my people know you are hurting?”
It still gives me chills to this day…..I KNOW I am not alone in anything I go against on this Earth…I have the Lord and his Church. I wished I could say everything is magically OK but we are still struggling. The Lord did send a tremendous blessing of almost $6k that allowed us to keep our house. Sorry to make this sound like a lecture but God is faithful and he does speak to us in a lot of ways.
PS—For S. Pihlaga—-I think I can relate to where you are coming from and I would like to suggest 2 great books (other than the Bible of course)—–Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and The Reason for God by Timothy Keller….Also if you’d like to talk you can email me at chrsgraham9@gmail.com…I am not a pastor or anything, just a guy and a father trying to get out of the darkness…
Chris Graham, your word from the Lord really struck a chord with me. I think pride and difficulty trusting others with our pain does keep God from moving in the Church.
His silence is reigning supreme on the matters I’d love to hear about most. I’m taking it as the opportunity to refocus and follow where he is leading me.
Today, “Your nurturing is your gift. Use it for My purposes.”
Today started off kind of rough– rushed morning, headache, various assignments with deadlines fast-approaching… And as I walked to my second class (because I’d slept through my first) I thought, “Today just isn’t my day…”
To which He replied, “That’s right, Nina. Today’s not YOUR day, it’s Mine. So breathe, turn your focus toward my face, and choose joy in the midst of it all.”
I was down, real down had just left my x whom was my best and only friend. I heard Jesus say ” I’ll be your best friend” and it was so clear; made me instantly relieved and tears fell like rain
RAIN IT DOWN
it was about my future. “take the blinders off and open your perspective of what I want to do with your life. your view is too narrow.” scary, powerful, thrilling, uncertain.
My wedding day. I’m in the basement of the church in one of the Sunday school rooms putting on my Tux. I heard clear as a bell “Do not marry her, she’s not the one for you.” I wrote it off as pre-wedding jitters. A few years later, she left.
“be quiet, beloved. I’ve got it all in my hands and I have plans for you no matter where you are.”
It wasn’t in words so much as actions. One job ended, and within a week another door for a much better job in a much better place opened. It was without a doubt God telling us to move on.
That I’m not fasting for my purposes but for better clarity of what His purposes are for me.
“Would you PLEASE stop trying to do this on your own?! Let ME do this THROUGH you!”
God: What you meant for evil, I turned it around and meant it for good.
Me: and then I saw your glory!
God: Yes you did.
“I want you to go to DR Congo…”
To leave my job even in a whacked out economy because it was not where I needed to be anymore. And my husband and I haven’t felt this peaceful in months.
this IS the answer to what you asked for! it’s just not what YOU wanted the answer to be.
“Wait. Stop trying to answer your own prayers. My timing is so much better than yours. Just trust me and be patient.”
God’s telling me that my success and failure (at least according to the world’s standards) are not up to me. They’re up to Him. My job is to obey.
break up with current boyfriend and hold out until I’m 28 (three months).
When my husband took over the role of the OKC Campus Pastor at LC.tv, I was blown away at the needs of the people…the hurts in their lives…the pain in their eyes. I was overwhelmed and wondered how in the world we’d meet them all because we are just one couple.
God’s answer?
One at a time, Cindy. One at a time.
Now that, my friend, is freedom.
Love your friend in and through his struggles with homosexuality, don’t condemn him and don’t shun him until he “gets right” with me. I am more concerned with him entering relationship with me than him not being gay. (After hearing these words, this is a challenge but I am doing my best to follow them)
“In that day,” declares the LORD,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.”
Hosea 2:16
Basically, He wants to teach me to learn what it means to be the Bride of Christ. To grow in intimacy with him, to delight in him as much as he delights in me… To view him as you would view husband not just a Father or Master.
“get the hell out of phoenix and live w/ your inlaws already! your wife needs her mom and you need to humble yourself.”
after a few months, He then lifted me up
Move 1600 miles across country to help plant a church…don’t worry about money, I’ll take care of it.
Was moping about my inadequacies and failures. God said “I don’t want you to be perfect so that I can do something with you, I want to do something with you because you’re NOT perfect. That way, everyone will see that I am all powerful.”
i do have a plan…remember Jer 29:11? and this is not it.
Let go of the ladder and trust I’ll catch and protect you – it’s not in your control – it is in MINE.
“don’t eat breakfast .. again” as in the 10:00am second breakfast, round two…
not telling you what to do just asking if you’re willing….
To give. And give. And give. Then give some more.
*Note: This is the best comment thread EVER in the history of ragamuffinsoul. All of these words are expounding:
Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Quit trying to build your Kingdom and get busy on Mine
When I asked God why he had lead me to be involved in several different ministries/churches for the majority of my adult life, when those things wouldn’t be successful, He told me “I lead you through those things to keep you on track, to teach you what you needed to know. I never promised you success in a material, tangible way. You need to grow up. That was part of the growing process.”
Stop talking
“I love you”
You are meant to live for so much more……I dare you to move.
(And yes, He used Switchfoot to tell me that. I am not even a big Switchfoot fan.)
Life is precious . . .
He keeps telling me that I am called to be a part of spreading the gospel of my jack-up-edness (he uses creative words with me) and his sufficiency, even in this crazy economy where nobody will join my team of financial partners. So I press on.
These things are happening for a reason. Even though you can’t fully see it, I’m leading you somewhere where you will make a difference in the lives of many. Just trust me and follow my voice.
Give until it hurts. Even though you have no idea where it’s going to come from, to trust in Him to provide the way.
“I love you….and see that guy who did that horrible thing to his daughter? I love him too.”
Go to India again, and get other people involved in what’s going on there, by selling some of your photography.
Honestly…I can’t remember.
Our 3 yr. old son had over a dozen seizures last weekend and I was struggling to put complete trust in God. He reminded me that he was faithful. Always.
Go to Brazil and plant churches and to not worry about my wife that He’ll work on her heart.
I am reminded to pray for you all. I love you guys.
After reading all of the comments so far. He tells me again. I am in control. That you are were I want you for this season.
this is an awesome thread!
God’s been speaking a lot lately, but the LAST time was last night: http://vickydublu.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/i-think-in-pictures/
“pray with your family this morning before you leave for work”…turns out it was def. what my wife needed this morning in particular…she homeschools with 4 kids…
I brought you and your wife together to tear down the gates of hell and pull people from the flames. Your marriage IS worth working on.
“It’s time to go back.” It was scary. God even gave me a nudge out the door.
God is doing a Leonardo, “Do you trust me?”
No orchestra, though. Just the question.
Full Time ministry is His calling for my life…..but in His time
I was sitting in a hotel room with my husband, Brian, at a church plant conference. And God said,
“It’s time to tell him about your affair!”
So, I did.
I was in Neiman Marcus this weekend with my mom when The Fray’s song You Found Me came on. It always brings tears to my eyes because it makes me think about how everytime I fall, God finds me, picks me up, patches my wounds, and sends me back out. He never fails me.
Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.”
When I hit a crossroads I kept hearing that scripture over and over in my mind.
God is reminding me to not have anything in priority over Him and to trust Him to take care of things that I cannot control. It’s amazing how those two things work together.
Don’t become weary in doing good… in time, you’ll see. Be good to everyone, but especially, ESPECIALLY good to those who belong to the family. Yes. I mean her. Be good to her. You’ll see.
This whole thread is so interesting to me… Reading this as the resident social theorist and skeptic, I’m really struck by how much God seems to sound like a Rick Warren book and how un-extraordinary most of this stuff is. Why hasn’t God told anyone something falsifiable or concrete? And how would you know that God said any of this stuff to you rather than it just being what you want to think that God is saying?
Just my initial thoughts: your comments are most welcome.
just because I told you to ask her to go visit churches with you as a friend doesn’t mean you can’t ask her out. look at her, she’s beautiful.
Trust me and my timing
I told God I wasn’t leaving the prayer room until I had something from Him. Much later I stood up to walk out not hearing Him but with full confidence that He was with me. I’m still waiting in the silence yet have peace in knowing He’s near. Well, sometimes I’m not at peace but that is my flesh and the enemy.
G: “Get rid of the Xbox.”
S: “But… Call of Duty’s coming out and…”
G: “Don’t care. It’s an idol. Lose it.”
S: “Yessir.”
Do not take that job. I know it will hurt. I am faithful. The door is closed
He sent an angel in my path. This was a complete stranger who approached me and came inches from my face in a busy store (when my marriage was hanging by a thread). “One day we well be working in the vineyard. All this stuff will pass away. I’ve been married to the same woman for 60 years. Give it all to God and He will give it back to you…. that is all I have for you today”. (Dunno if that is helpful to the skeptic who posted earlier, but I haven’t read RW, so can’t speak to that).
More recently a simple “I love you” when my heart ached and a friend visited and was loving me as only someone following Jesus could.
After losing my niece, my sister ( my nieces mother) and my mother in less then 1 1/2 years I went through a period of depression. Hearing the verse where Jesus told Lazarus to ‘come forth’ out of the grave God spoke to my heart and said, ‘(my name) COME FORTH’. Wow- it wasn’t audible but it was definitely the voice of the Lord allowing me to come out of the pit. I have been through the valley of the shadow of death and God was with me. Praise the Lord.
How far would you be willing to go for me if you had no fear?
After watching my best friends walk away from a church that completely changed their lives and all the relationships they had built within it, God told me that I must be a good steward of the relationships He puts in my life. Just as I am a good and responsible steward of the money and resources He gives me, I have to be responsible and make the tough decisions to remain a good and responsible steward of the relationships I have. In short, that means stop being scared of hurting someone’s feelings when I speak the truth in love.
First of all, it’s not like the Lord talks to me “audibly” every day (though I am trying to be a better listener)…Between a serious illness my wife is battling and the economy turning upside down, my family has went through a tremendous financial storm to the point of losing our vehicles and fighting to keep food in the house. I prayed numerous times daily about this but because of my “pride” did not really reach out to anyone for help ( I guess mostly I was embarrassed it had come to this considering I had been earning in six figures for a couple of years)……………..As I prayed more I did feel much closer to God and more at peace about the situation (if you can be at peace with something so serious) but to be honest, things seemed to get WORSE. I was in the shower praying again for the NTH time for God to intervene on my family’s behalf and I heard these words as clear as he was standing in the shower with me —-”Chris, I love you. How can you expect me to help you if you won’t let my people know you are hurting?”
It still gives me chills to this day…..I KNOW I am not alone in anything I go against on this Earth…I have the Lord and his Church. I wished I could say everything is magically OK but we are still struggling. The Lord did send a tremendous blessing of almost $6k that allowed us to keep our house. Sorry to make this sound like a lecture but God is faithful and he does speak to us in a lot of ways.
PS—For S. Pihlaga—-I think I can relate to where you are coming from and I would like to suggest 2 great books (other than the Bible of course)—–Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and The Reason for God by Timothy Keller….Also if you’d like to talk you can email me at chrsgraham9@gmail.com…I am not a pastor or anything, just a guy and a father trying to get out of the darkness…
“trust me”
and then, jaxon came
he’s my third child
well, fourth, really… b/c my third went to heaven at 7 wks gestation
God is awesome!
Chris Graham, your word from the Lord really struck a chord with me. I think pride and difficulty trusting others with our pain does keep God from moving in the Church.
fight for the orphans.
Finish the book.
His silence is reigning supreme on the matters I’d love to hear about most. I’m taking it as the opportunity to refocus and follow where he is leading me.
Today, “Your nurturing is your gift. Use it for My purposes.”
Today started off kind of rough– rushed morning, headache, various assignments with deadlines fast-approaching… And as I walked to my second class (because I’d slept through my first) I thought, “Today just isn’t my day…”
To which He replied, “That’s right, Nina. Today’s not YOUR day, it’s Mine. So breathe, turn your focus toward my face, and choose joy in the midst of it all.”
I was down, real down had just left my x whom was my best and only friend. I heard Jesus say ” I’ll be your best friend” and it was so clear; made me instantly relieved and tears fell like rain