Be Faithful

Let there be no reservations, no walls... Just an open door in my heart for You! I want to give all that's inside of my heart to You.

God has been teaching me a lot about boundaries lately. It's not an easy lesson, let me tell you that. It came about because I kept hitting walls with people and I didn't understand why. Why aren't people letting me in? The males in my church community are so private, I thought, and they don't want to get to know me at all. I felt so rejected, and I didn't understand why they were being like that. I've never really had to deal with boundaries. In fact, I lack boundaries in many areas of my life. I blurt out what I think all the time no matter how intimate. I lack boundaries with food. I lack boundaries with the people in my life, including my family. I was informed that it's inappropriate for me to keep close male friends. At first I was so defensive. "Why!?" I asked, shocked. "What difference does it make if I'm single and they're single?!" I truly believed God used me in various intimate settings to speak to others. This ma

Romans 5:3, 6 MSG There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't ro und up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But Go

Tell me, what has [the thief on the cross] done to warrant help? He has wasted his life.  Who is he to beg for forgiveness? He publicly scoffed at Jesus. What right does he have to pray...,  "Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom"? Do you really want to know? The same right you have to pray....  You see, that is you and me on the cross.  Naked, desolate, hopeless, and estranged. That is us. That is us asking.... We don't boast. We don't produce our list. Any sacrifice appears silly when placed before God on a cross.... We, like the thief, have one more prayer. And we, like the thief, pray. And we, like the thief, hear the voice of grace. (Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment)