Today I am listening to the Power of a Focused Life by Mike Bickle compliments of the Virginia Tech HOP website. I'm on the second teaching, and it has been a very practical teaching so far. Just now, he is talking about Mt 13:22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. (NKJV) and Mark 4:19 "and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (NKJV) and Lu 8:14 "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. (NKJV) Cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches, desires for other things, and pleasures of life---all of these things choke the word of God in my heart. A good thing he mentioned is that when he began to understand this at age 19, he went to his leaders for a list of things that fall into these categories. Then, he cautioned from doing that saying that you need to ask the Lord, and that it is not the responsibility of others to create this list for you. This resonated with me because I have been searching for that same kind of list, but I can just trust God to show me. This gives me the freedom from a religious spirit and fear of a religious spirit because it will be my list. I have felt like if I give this and that up, it will seem religious, but not so, says the Lord. He will lead me, guide me and protect me from a religious spirit because He desires my heart to be fertile soil for the seed of His word, and He must weed some things out. In his mercy, He says to me, lay down these pleasures of life, and desires for other things so that I may reveal myself to you more fully, for I desire you more than you desire me. Mandy--Cherished Daughter of God
That's good Mandy, I found that when I focus on loving Jesus, and pressed in through the hard times, some of those cares and desires began to disappear. Suddenly one day I happened to notice, hey, that doesn't bother me anymore. Cool God !
Good post, Mandy. I think a big key for me was seeing that I could miss out on the good things God would give if I left Him, even to do "good things"; he wasn't dangling them in front of me in order to make me jump to produce fruit. He was saying, "Come here, walk with Me. There's an unfolding story we'll share forever. Hundred-fold obedience will be delightful and a labor of love, keep your eyes on Me."
I had a vision almost two years ago that still captivates me. It was one of those "late morning" sleep times, when you are close to waking up. In this experience, I found myself sitting in a small boat. I looked up and realized Jesus was sitting just across from me. I got so excited I almost had a heart attack. Anyway, He was smiling at me and seemed very pleased and happy to be with me. Smiling, he gestured over the right side of the boat. "Let your net down here". He pointed to the water and with that the dream ended.
Ps 27:4 One thing I have desired from the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to pray in His temple.(MKJV)
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Name: Mandy Home: United States About Me: I'm Mandy. Wife, mother, worship leader, photographer and lover of Jesus.
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That's good Mandy, I found that when I focus on loving Jesus, and pressed in through the hard times, some of those cares and desires began to disappear. Suddenly one day I happened to notice, hey, that doesn't bother me anymore. Cool God !