Kimisloved.net // Living Loved

“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.”               – 2 Peter 1:5-8 MSG

I just happened upon this scripture today as it was the scripture of the day on http://www.biblegateway.com. I can’t tell you how much this passage fits with what I’m trying to do right now. These characteristics really do just build one on top of another…and right now I am completely lacking at the “alert discipline” (or self control) stage. Cause honesty is the best policy, I’m struggling right now in a major discipline in life – finances.  No, I don’t waste money by buying new clothes constantly or go to extremes like gambling, but I do have tendancies to stop at Burger King or Chik-Fil-A (which will be a harder discipline now that they take cards!) on the way home, or think I can spend a little money on little things here and there when I get paid. These kinds of habits have put me in the position of having to use my credit card or having to transfer money from my savings when emergencies come….and that’s DEFINITELY not God honoring!

I have realized that if I don’t focus on fixing those little disciplines I lack in my own personal life – like finances, keeping myself healthy, being true to my friends and kind to strangers – then God cannot further bless and further pour out what He has in store for my SAMS position, the warehouse, Ybor City! I hope you see, like I have started to see, that just like each of these characteristics build a true fellowship with Christ by growing one to the next, so does the outpouring of God’s purpose for you, which connects to the next person and the next. 

Yes, because I am lacking in my financial disciplines,  Bill at Youth for Christ, Major Mikles – and the rest of the team – are not being able to receive God’s full blessings in this ministry.

That’s why true fellowship is so important…why we need to hold each other accountable, encourage each other and, most importantly, pray for each other.  So, I’m asking for prayer.  I know what I’m going through is so little compared to so many out there, but I do know that if I don’t work to tear down this wall I’ve built up myself, then others will not get to see the full glory of God.

I hope that this makes sense…maybe it doesn’t to some, but I do hope you see that every aspect of your life needs to be completely open to God – His moving, His prodding [Definition: To jab or poke, a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something, to urge someone on, to incite to action], His power, and His care. 

Man – what an incite into my life and my heart….it may not seem big to others but this has really been an ongoing, private struggle and I want to move past it now so God can use me as He needs!

Peace…