A Captive Heart

Today in my devotional time there were several verses that spoke to me and gave me a lot to think about. Questions I asked myself after reading this chapter were:  How can I serve Him and what does He want me to do?  How do I not cause offense to others so that His ministry is not discredited?  How do I love and minister to unbelievers, yet not become worldly myself?

I am only going to choose one of the three verses to blog about, but I encourage you to read the whole chapter.  It is one of those chapters that really makes you think.

2 Corinthians 6:1 “And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain”.

This was yet another reminder to me that I have been called to work with Him.  I am not to receive his gift of grace and do nothing with it.  If I were to receive a brand new car from my husband, how would he feel if I just thanked him and left it sitting in the driveway?  And, what are the chances I would even do that?  Well, I can honestly say I wouldn’t.  I would be super excited about that gift and want to show it off to the world?  So how does the Lord feel when we receive His gift, and do absolutely nothing with it?  Shouldn’t we receive this gift and want to show it off to the world?  Of course.  His gift is the most valuable gift that we will ever receive!

So this brings us to the part of Him wanting us to be workers in the kingdom with Him.  My biggest question is always the same.  What does He want me to do?  I often feel pathetic and so unqualified to do anything for Him.  I know I have been called to minister to my own children, as He put that on my heart last June.  But I also know there is more for me to do.  It doesn’t end there.  Not that ministering to my kids is not super important.  It is.  And because of this nudging  we have decided to homeschool our two youngest children this year (our oldest two are out of school).  This is a sacrifice for our family and will be my focus most of the day.  However, how can I serve Him in everything I do?

Guzik says “God’s best for our life is never a state of ease and comfort and indulgent inactivity – even if we did all those things together with Him. God wants us to be workers together with Him, not “couch potatoes” or “pew potatoes” together with Him”.

Well, at the end of the school day, after I have spent 5-6 hours teaching and hopefully ministering to my girls…I don’t want to be a couch or pew potato.  I want to show them, through my actions, what it means to work together with the Lord.   The disciples of Jesus walked with Him, and served with Him daily.  I need to see my kids as walking with me and serving with me daily.  I need to disciple to them like Jesus.

What does it mean to be a disciple? Here are 7 conditions of discipleship:  cross bearing, self denial, leaving everything, abiding in His words & teaching, supreme love for Christ, love for others, and fruitfulness.  Clearly, discipleship is not easy.  However, discipleship is working together with Him, and, most importantly, it is what He called us to do.