I love the dear friend who addressed this concern with me. She was bringing to my attention the sin of pride. Have I made this blog about me? Am I trying to earn praise or pats on the back? Are the intentions of my heart pure? Am I humble? Oh Lord, search my heart and find if there is any evil way within me...
I found the post below as I was responding to a comment on our blog. (Thank you Christy Fitts!) I've realized that I'm becoming a radical because my heart agrees with what is below. No, we are not all called to the same things, but we are all called to something. Something!
Over the past year, our family been called to traveled the all-to-often-avoided road of complete faith. And, it's been radical as our lives look radically different. Honestly, God is doing a transformational work. Some would say we are living as fools in the world, but I think there is a passage in the Bible about that. Are we fools, or are we fools for Christ?
While I'm not sure what that looks like for you, God is beginning to show me what it looks like for me and our family. The vision for you may look completely different, and that is what the body of Christ is all about. We can praise Him for that, can't we? We celebrate what God is doing in and among His people. He is too creative to work the exact same way in everyone.
This blog was started nearly three years ago. It was designed to be an altar of remembrance of God's faithfulness in our lives. As I share what the Lord is doing in our lives, I pray you do not see it as the Beebe story, but God's story. It is about HIM ONLY! Ugh! This is not about us! As you read the story of Abraham in scripture, is the story about Abraham or about God? Is the story of Moses about Moses or about our incredible Lord? Please, please, from the depths of my heart, I share because of what God is doing. I desire to praise HIM for His work in my sinful heart. Do I sound like Paul? Do I share too much? Do I sound self-righteous? Do I come across as critical? Have I lost humility? I pray not. My vessel is still being molded, my eyes still being opened, my heart still being stretched.
Other books, blogs, etc... have led me to an unquenchable thirst for more of him. Others have shared what this has looked like in their own family and their ideas have helped us. I'm grateful for their willingness to share God's testimony in their life because it's helped me in my own walk with Jesus. Thankfully, God worked in the lives of other's in order to transform mine. HE ALONE should be praised! I've held on to too much...for too long...for my own comfort... I'm just beginning to understand the freedom of unhindered obedience, and it's a journey I am still on...and will be until the day I die. Less and less of me, Lord, and more and more of you... May everything be for Your glory - ALONE!
Here is the post I referred to earlier:
O God, Upend Our Stagnant Faith
"Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers."
~F. Chan Crazy Love
Have you noticed what's going on in the body of Christ? There's a movement of devotion among God's people unlike anything I've ever seen. Our God is calling us to a deeper faith walk with Him. Why? To glorify Himself because His returning is drawing very near. It is time to gather the harvest of souls. NOW is the time. But for us to gather that harvest we as the body of Christ have to be LIVING OUT what we believe. We can't plead with nonbelievers to give their hearts to God when we can't even show what He looks like or how He behaves. See we are supposed to be a representation of Him. We call ourselves Christians, "little Christs." But do we LIVE like it?
The Truth Project says it like this, "Do you believe that what you believe is really real?" How much do we trust Him? How much do we believe Him? Just how big do you think God is???
Read this excerpt from A Holy Experience:
"I may wax on about knowing God [is] real, but do I live with shoes off, trembling on holy ground, wearing my crash helmet, braced for His electrifying Presence? Do I only pay lip service to believing, not waiting for the burning ember of His Spirit to burn these lips clean? Do I mumble prayers...not expecting earth to rip open and fire balls to rain down? Do I believe He's just real enough just to comfort me, get me past heaven's pearly gates... but not real enough to blazingly tear up my comfortable days?
A Prayer:
God on High, is the body of Christ so drowsily indifferent that it's shockingly obvious? We don't really know You're real.
Upend our stagnant faith,
turn us over,
us in need of radical conversion
a wild stoking of our first love,
into all consuming-flame
feeding off You,
the I AM who soul-loves."
Know that you are deeply loved by God and that He is madly in love with you Sweet Ones.
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