Week 20 IBS John 4:34

February 28^th, 2015

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

            As I read this chapter this morning, above the lagoon in what would be our “backyard”, I was listening to “Your Glory” by All Sons and Daughters. The lyrics go as follows, “My life is Yours. My hope is in You only and my heart You hold, cuz You make this sinner holy…Cuz Your glory is so beautiful. I fall onto my knees in awe. And the heartbeat of my life is to worship in Your light, cuz Your glory is so beautiful.” That has literally been my anthem for this time. It has been a constant surrendering of self, a constant surrendering of my life, of my future, my family, and just everything. God has showed me certain things, for example the many verses of selling items I wrote about last week, but it ultimately comes back to God. I am here to do HIS will, not my own. I am here to do the work of Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. And wherever He takes me, I desire to do just that and further His Kingdom.

            This verse specifically though, speaks a lot. Our physical bodies need food, but Jesus had other works to do in the time for His Father. The question is what is my priority? Who is first in my life? He is number one in my life. He is above all else. All I want to do is the will of my Lord. I know I’ve said that a lot in my previous posts, but it’s true. It has really been a daily surrendering of my desires and looking to His face. I know He will open or close doors and He will lead. I just need to ask for a constant outpouring of His Spirit and keep my eyes fixed upon Him.

Lord, it’s You above all else. Truly “my life is Yours and my hope is in You only…because YOUR glory is so beautiful”.

Week 19 IBS Luke 18:22, 19:8, 21:3-4 ~Sell All That You Have~

February 22^nd, 2015

Luke 18:22 “So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘you still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’”

Luke 19:8 “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’”

Luke 21:3-4 “So He said, ‘truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.’”

            This was the theme for the week...sell all that you have, give to the poor, and give to God. Before reading the first verse, the night before I couldn’t sleep and all the items I have in my room back at home kept coming to mind. All the items that are still boxed up because my family moved right before I started IGNITE. All the items that I literally haven’t thought about the whole time being away until that night. Items that I clearly don’t need. Items that can break or get lost or eventually wither away. Items that essentially do not matter…items that I can sell.

As God has told me to just be satisfied in His presence and to continue giving Him my desires with open hands, knowing that His will is going to get accomplished, I don’t know what the future plans are for me. I am praying for specific things and I know God is going to guide me and make things clear in His perfect timing, but this is what He’s given me right now. I’m not sure exactly what that is going to look like, what is to happen, or even why God put that on my heart, but that’s the beauty of it all…God knows! My treasure lies in heaven, so those items mean nothing. My thought now though, is I’m away from it all, of course I don’t think it to be that difficult. But I know when I get home, it will be very hard, but when that time comes I need to look back at this.

Brittani, I’m writing this to your future-self, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34). Remember what God spoke to you this week in Cambodia. Remember that although it’s hard, it’s just items. This is taking a leap of faith and God will guide you from there. Remember to trust in Him and to stay out in faith as well. But right now, I’m going to continue in prayer and give all I got in this time. God has given me today, what a blessing!

Week 18 IBS Leviticus 22:29 & Luke 12:33-34

February 11^th, 2015

 Leviticus 22:29 “And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will.”

Luke 12:33-34 “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens which does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

            Free will. I chose, Lord, I chose You. I want to offer all to You, God. Every ounce of myself is Yours. You gave me so much, it is the least I can do. Every day it is necessary to speak these words and to offer myself up to the Lord and with that comes a prayer for humility and an emptying of self. God, all I want is to do your will. I have these thoughts and ideas and desires for my next steps. But I always go back to what God showed me a few weeks ago, to give those things to Him with open hands and say, “here You are, Lord, let Your will be done. You will open or close doors. And You will reveal things to me in Your perfect timing. Thank You, God, that You are in control.”

            My heart is literally torn in two. I miss my family at home, but I can’t bear to think of April 6^th, the day Kaylee and I leave. I don’t know what God is going to have for me next. I want to see my family, but I want to come back with my family here. All I know is it is in the Lord’s hands and my true joy is in Him. And that’s where the treasure comes in. I want all my strength to be serving Him, giving Him glory, and looking towards my true home, heaven. And ultimately it is Him that gives me that strength. Everything here is temporary, I have eternity with my King to look forward to! No matter where I am at here on earth, I know I will ALWAYS have God and I will have the joy of going to be with Him and the hope of the return of Jesus. So, regardless where He takes me, I know He will give me peace, and I have the bliss of my true home to look onward to.

Week 17 IBS Luke 9:61-62

February 7^th, 2015

Luke 9:61-62 “And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

            This is something that I am fully aware of, but I put myself in the man’s shoes while reading this. I would want to go back and say goodbye to my family members before leaving. I couldn’t help but feel sad and think how hard that would be. I am following Jesus, but in this moment if He told me I could never go back home, could I do it? When taking hold of the plow, looking and turning anywhere else besides forward would be foolish.  In that moment of reading this passage, so many of those thoughts flooded my mind. Then, I realize, well of course you couldn’t go back, you are choosing to follow Jesus and He is first. I thought of Luke 14:26, “’If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” I love my family members, but I love God more.

So if God had told me to do that now, I would be okay, because He is all I need. Abraham is an example of that, God told him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, and he obeyed by faith. In doing so, God provided a lamb in place of Isaac. Abraham put God first. It was interesting to read this passage in Luke and have those thoughts. I know God has brought that up to me before, but it was clearly something I needed to ponder again. Is God truly first in your life? Even my thoughts were wandering a lot about my family and such, but that’s when I realized, put God first and the rest will fall into place. There is no need to worry. Look at all He did for me, the grace that constantly gets poured out thanks to the bloodshed of Jesus Christ. How much more so should He be the ruler of my life, of my heart?

First and foremost…Christ.