Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my spirit with Your Spirit and my heart with Your heart, so that Your will becomes my will and Your ways become my ways, more and more, every day.
"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith" (Philippians 3:7-10).
I've tasted and seen much of what this world has to offer. At one time in my life I strived to be bad. I embraced and excelled in, being identified with the culture of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Then different situations awakened me to see the darkness and sin of my lifestyle. For a period of time that followed, I tried to do good and be good through what I believed religion required of me. I strived to complete it’s check list and I exceedl in jumping through its hoops. As passionately as I pursued being identified in the worlds system, pursued and succeed at pleasing religious systems and structures, leading them and being accepted and identified with them. But whether I was trying to please the rulers of this world or the leaders of religion I was not at peace and I was not pleasing You Jesus. What I've come to know is that what I really want, deep down inside, is to please You. Jesus. And the only identity I want to succeed in being identified with is in You. That's become my hunger and my passion. And by the power of the grace of God that stirs my heart and moves my soul, by God I'll settle for nothing less because I've come to know I'll never be satisfied with anything less.
"I want to know Christ" (v. 10). I want to "gain Christ" (v. 8). I want to "be found in Him" (v. 9). I want to be free from trying to live a life that somehow defines success as "having a righteousness of my own," based on my own abilities or hard work or self-will or self-righteousness. And I want to embrace a life where I daily humble myself to willingly choose to be desperately dependent on You alone; hungering and thirsting for more of You, more of Your Presence, more of Your Spirit, more of Your power at work in me to change me from the inside out to be more like You every day. This is the righteousness of a right heart that I'm asking You to form in me.
So as best as I can and all by Your grace, this is the choice I choose to make today and that I pray I will make every day: "I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own.... I press on toward the goal for prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus" (v. 12-14). To be like You and embrace Your work in me, from the inside out by Your Spirit within me, is my goal. And You are my Prize. May I settle for nothing less and never be satisfied with anything less. May my ministry be about leading people to nowhere else but You, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you'll be free from the expectations and demands of the world and religion, and be free to pursue Christ by the desire and power of His Spirit at work within you, as nothing will stop Him from pursuing you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
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My prayer every morning is, “Please send me the ones no one else wants.
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My wife Nancy and I are in a new season of our ministry of pouring completely into planting and growing simple house churches in our neighborhoods, and having “boots on the ground” serving in our community.. Please pray over this season in my life and that of my family. Please partner and support myself and One Direction community through setting up a monthly donation now for next year, or a one –time gift by clicking the link below. Donation checks can be made out to ODC, PO Box 1293 Madison, Al 35758. Thank You Thank You!