Seizing Your Moment
Over the next couple days I would like to discuss what it means to seize the divine moments God brings our way. God presents us with divine moments and opportunities each day. He longs to touch reality with eternity, and he wants to use us to do it. What does it take to seize the vision that God has given you? What does it take to embrace God’s vision as our own and impact the world for his glory?
I believe it begins with a divine encounter with God himself. Seizing our divine moment seems to always begin with being seized by the Holy. His love and grace arrest our attention and call us from a life of sin, bottom-feeding living, and selfish quests, to a higher purpose of living – living in covenant relationship with Him and pursuing his mission and vision.
Has his grace seized you? Melted your heart?
Read and ponder these verses: Acts 9:1-6; Philippians 3:12
Popularity: 6% [?]
December 9th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Peter and Andrew were fishing like any other day when they had an encounter with God, Saul was persecuting others when he had an encounter, and their lives changed forever. Today can be the day that an encounter with God will change our lives as well.
December 10th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Where Marvin cited Acts 9:1-6, being the obnoxiously voracious reader that I am, pressing on, verses 7-9 reads as follows:
"The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. "
There is a lot that could be said about these verses, including stuff about not being able to see with our physical eyes, only our spiritual ones. But I want to point out the last verse. Saul performed an "absolute fast," taking in nothing like nourishment for THREE DAYS!
That's quite a feat, and I wouldn't recommend anyone doing that for more than a day. However, God has recently revealed to me that fasting is supposed to do something special in your life, because Jesus fasted in the desert, conquering Satan, before he started using his Holy power. I don't know what *exactly* fasting does…I have theories, but perhaps God will reveal that to me. I started fasting (for a week) from videogames/internet surfing on Tuesday. The book I'm reading, _Fasting: Opening the door to a deeper, more intimate, more powerful relationship with God _ (Jentezen Franklin ) says that fasting only counts if it's food. I've heard contrary things (which speaks to how nobody has the ultimate answers to the Word except the Lord himself), but I'm going to begin a three day fast of food on Friday.
I say all this because God has been pressuring me (through the Spirit, my wife) to step my game up. At first, I was hostile. I even became angry…enraged. I NEVER EVER get angry, about anything! So I know (now that I've had time to think about it), that this anger may be some evil spirit that does not want me to draw closer to God. So maybe God is trying to call me now, so that I can "trample snakes" and whatnot.
I can only continue to pray that He will reveal something to me. I'm just hoping that I'm not doing enough or trying too hard, missing the forest for the trees.
December 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Let's seize our divine moment by being seized by him. Today just may be the day.
December 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Man, i am proud of you. I will be praying for you during your fast. You're right, people have different views on what to fast from. Because the Bible was written during an agricultural society/culture, food was a main source of distraction. They didn't have all the distractions we have today. Because we are an industrial culture, we must contextualize our fasts to include other things as well. That was a side bar comment.
I am praying that God will reveal his will and purposes for your life and your family's life. Father, in the name of Jesus, give Maurice resurrection power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, may it be operative in his life over the next several days. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Stay strong, brother.