Being Intentional

Our last blog, Next Steps, included a call to meet with God to focus on where He wants to take us next. Some have taken that step and as a result God is walking with them down a new and deeper path. In our study in Luke, we have seen already how God worked in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna, to move them along their faith journey to the next step He had for them.  

 

The letter that follows is from Judy Bond, Teaching Director for CBS-Rutherfordton Day Class, sharing her thoughts about being intentional with those Next Steps He has for us:

 

Hello Ladies, 

I thank you all for answering God's call to study His Word.  Over the past week God has brought the word "intentional" to me in various ways. I heard it at church and in a prayer Sharon Lorber from our Children’s Department prayed at Leadership Prayer on Wednesday morning and over and over it keeps popping up to grab my attention.  

I know God is calling me to be more intentional with the things he asks of me.  What is often hard is when He asks me to do things that I don't always deem to be important.  But He calls us to obedience, so I have included intentionality as a prayer focus for the week, not just for CBS but also for my personal life.  Some questions I’ve asked myself:

·       Am I intentionally setting aside time to shepherd, or just doing it when convenient?  (Remember Satan will keep you busy when you depend on convenience!)

·       Am I intentionally setting aside time to pray and do my lesson, or am I doing it when it’s convenient?  

·       Am I intentional about my prayer life, keeping a written record of needs or do I just wait until they pop into my head?  

·       Am I intentional in taking time to listen to my spouse/children/loved ones/friends, or again, do I just listen when it's convenient for me?  Do I give them my full attention or partial?  

·       Am I intentional in coveting time alone with God? Do I meet Him on His terms or do I squeeze in a few minutes here and there when it’s convenient for me? 

These are all thoughts that I have been thinking and have been challenging me. I wish it was all natural, but the natural man is not who we are in Christ.  Jesus was intentional with His Father, His followers, with us and His mission.  So, as I challenge myself to look at my own life, I pass the challenge along to you. ~ Judy

 

Spiritual growth can be a long slow journey but it starts with one intentional step followed by another. Will you take the challenge presented by Judy this week? Will you chose an area in your life and service to God and be intentional about drawing closer to Him in that one area?

Remember, the best is yet to come!

Next Steps?

"He who has called us will also work through us."        

1 Thessalonians 5:24, paraphrased 

 

As a new year begins for the Rutherfordton CBS Day Class, the leadership team is:

* praying that the ladies and children who are coming will grow and experience life change through the study of Luke.

* asking God to help us prepare ourselves for growth.

* looking for God to reveal our Next Step of faith.

 

The Christian life is a walk of faith (Rom1:17…from faith to faith) that leads us to experience increasing oneness with Jesus (2 Cor 3:18…from glory to glory) and that’s why knowing our Next Step is so crucial. 

 

This Sabbath, my family visited a church where an old friend of my husband’s was the guest speaker. I just love the Holy Spirit’s faithfulness to speak to me no matter where I am! Isaiah 43:19 was one of the verses he used for his sermon; “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

 

The Lord is always about doing a new thing in us (our Next Step). The question is, are we perceiving it? Because we can be assured that God is more than willing to show us what it is. That’s why He says; “Do you not perceive it?” If we believe that He IS after doing something new in us, then we will perceive it and we will gladly join Him in it.

 

Henry Blackaby says that when we pray for something, we also need to open our spiritual eyes and perceive (pay attention to) His answer. It may come through Scripture, the Church, the Holy Spirit, or the circumstances we’re in. Some possible Next Steps are fasting, journaling, and a more disciplined prayer life.

 

Praying God's Word
by Beth Moore

One Next Step could be to demolish a stronghold that you’ve identified. A good help for doing this is Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore. I remember struggling with anxiety attacks a few years ago. With the help of God’s Word and the authority of Jesus Christ, I demolished that stronghold that was keeping me from experiencing complete freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free! (Gal 5:1) There are many more Next Steps to raise your level of faith and improve your relationship with Christ. Until we enter Heaven, we WILL have many Next Steps.

 

Just ask God and He will be faithful to let you know. Just a clue: your next step will always begin with repentance.

 

The best is yet to come!

 

Evelyne Calton, Prayer Chairman

Rutherfordton CBS Day Class