Wanting More

“Trust the Lord with all your heart. DO NOT lean on your own UNDERSTANDING. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Since I re-dedicated my life and chose to think about my life differently, there has been a lot of question of HOW? Sometimes my soul would scream I want more of you Lord… so bad. I need you. Let me, the people pleaser, the overachiever, be the first to say: no one can make it happen for you, you have to find it on your own.

How do I get a closer relationship with Jesus Christ? How can I hear Him, with out wondering if this is me or HIM.  I actually pondered the thought of  needing a book, “How to Feel the Holy Spirit for Dummies”……. Was I wanting it too much?  Was I not being patient? Was I getting in my own way?  Well the thought itself, on the title of my pretend book, “The Holy Spirit for Dummies” was not justifiable or TRUE.

First, we are not dummies.

Second, the gift of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus left with us when He returned to Heaven, so we could  find discernment and understand what the TRUTH is. ( Read James 5)

You cannot just read something or try sleeping on the book and it stick in your brain/soul.  [insert sound of a magic wand here] You are automatically changed.- NOT. I promise you that if there was such a thing as a magical wand, I would have already bought it. – It takes hard work and discipline; You get back what you put into the effort. I can testify that it is not the easiest route either. When you desire something, or have received a taste of something spiritual- your soul begs of you to want more.

Why? The Lord made us in His image. Therefore there is a natural longing for this type of comfort. One must deny the ways of the world and decide to follow THE Word to find this feeling-The Truth. I do believe that if you ask the Lord for forgiveness that He will forgive you. But with that being said, we have the responsibility and accountability to serve and honor Him.- Everyday- not just that hour on Sunday or that second hour on Wednesday.

Let’s get back to the HOW…

It is simple. I will tell you the first steps I made. Maybe it will help you in some way.

1. So we know that God gives us a choice to follow Him. He will never make us.

I made the choice to figure out how I needed to change my heart. I had to humble myself. I had to admit that the route I was on was going the WRONG way. Let me just say, I had the petal to the metal. I was going so fast, I kept my eyes closed ignoring the fact what I knew I was doing, was wrong and not pleasing to God. I thought I was carefree, but I was being careless with the blessings God had given me.

I worked, played, I slept and spent a lot of time with a new smart phone.

How am I supposed to read the Bible (THE TRUTH). It is hard to read, when will I have time?

I CHOSE TO DELETE MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT. If I did not have time for devotion, I did not have time to study everyone on Facebook either. Plus, I knew that I subconsciously compared my self to the happy couples, children and vacation photos.

I MADE TIME.  We will always make time for the things WE want to do right?

So the first steps are THAT SIMPLE.

Make a Choice

Visit churches that teach The Word, (PS if one of the home groups serves wine and cheese, try another church:)

Make time every day- AM preferred (yes, that meant that I could not wait until the last minute to get up!!!)

Don’t overwhelm yourself. Start small. Get a daily devotional book to get you started. (15 minutes in the AM)- It gets your day started off POSITIVELY.    I had to choose the AM, because I fell asleep reading in the evening. I am such an exciting person aren’t I!

Then start reading the scripture’s chapter from your devotion, so you can gain context from the Bible.

Journal during your quiet time.

When you feel that you are handling the 15 minute application and add on the chapters in the Bible.

Then find a reading guide that will keep you on tract. Daily reading that will allow you to read through the Bible. May I suggest starting with the New Testament. It is OK, It took me one year to read through the new testament. Then I started on the Old Testament. Oh my, did I start seeing how the bible was structured, who wrote the books and why.

Guess what. God used normal people to write stories in the Bible and tell how He worked through them for a purpose.

OK, its OK to get off of the reading schedule only if you are reading more than less. I personally read the book of Ruth. Guess what? It was a story I could read, imagine that!

PS I have never reactivated my Facebook account. I was using Facebook against my healing and started using my reading plan to feed my faith. BOY was I Hungary. I wanted more.

My prayer for each of you no matter where you are in your journey, that you take time to explore a spiritual daily devotional.- they have all kinds. Try this one. Hearing from God Each Morning by Joyce Meyer or this one, Proverbs31. Take time to slow down.  Just sit in the quiet if you need to. I promise, you need this.  Curl up with a comforter and focus on your COMFORTER-Jesus Christ. Smile and Thank Him for what you do have.

If you have read the bible through and through I want to suggest a new book for you. When the Natural Meets the Supernatural by Chris Sustar

I am praying for you.