A Christ-Centered Christmas

Please pray for me tonight as I will share at a Ladies' Night Out on creating a Christ-Centered Christmas. I am very excited about this topic and sharing the ideas from women around the US who have emailed their own ways they make Christ the center of the season. I will be posting several ideas over the next weeks that were shared with me. I want us all to pray and ask God how He wants us to focus our homes, families, and lives on Him throughout the year and especially during the time called Advent that we celebrate His birth! Have a wonderful day!

Thoughts...

On my Google homepage, I have My Utmost for His Highest on there and it updates me every morning so that I can read it. Over the weekend, I did not read over the passages so I took a few quiet moments this morning to read them.

I have to tell you that BOTH of them were amazing! If you have never read this book, I highly suggest that you go to this site and read a passage each day. They are convicting and really hit home each day for me. I have my daily time alone with God in His Word (still in the book of Mark!), but I love reading Oswald Chambers and the challenges he gives to our daily lives.

Check out his bio below and then take a few moments to read the past few days passages. I pray that you will find a fresh conviction and challenge from God's Word and the exhortation of Chambers...I know I sure have!!!

Here is the link for daily devotions:

http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php


Oswald Chambers Story

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was born July 24, 1874, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Converted in his teen years under the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, he studied art and archaeology at the University of Edinburgh before answering a call from God to the Christian ministry. He then studied theology at Dunoon College. From 1906-1910 he conducted an itinerant Bible-teaching ministry in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

In 1910, Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs. They had one daughter, Kathleen.
In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London, where he lectured until the school was closed in 1915 because of World War I. In October 1915 he sailed for Zeitoun, Egypt (near Cairo), where he ministered to troops from Australia and New Zealand as a YMCA chaplain. He died there November 15, 1917, following surgery for a ruptured appendix.

Although Oswald Chambers wrote only one book, Baffled to Fight Better, more than thirty titles bear his name. With this one exception, published works were compiled by Mrs. Chambers, a court stenographer, from her verbatim shorthand notes of his messages taken during their seven years of marriage. For half a century following her husband's death she labored to give his words to the world.

My Utmost For His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. It has become a Christian classic.

More thoughts...

Last night in bed, God brought more insight about yesterday's passage. He reminded me that in the times He seems to turning over the tables of procrastination, pride, self-centeredness, doubt, worry, and laziness and running out the judgemental thoughts, careless words, and impatience in my "temple"...He is teaching me more about Himself. He is reminding me that I am to focus on Him alone through prayer and His Word.

Last night, it was a wonderful reminder that discipline is good for my soul. He is not in a fit of rage and righteous anger (as I always imagined in my mind when reading this passage). He is purposeful and He is teaching. What an awesome example for myself. What a great reminder about discipline!

So, even if today it seems like the tables of your life are being turned over, that Jesus is running out the sin that so easily entangles, and He is blocking those thoughts, actions, and words that do not glorify Him in your life today. Take heart! Be encouraged! He is teaching us more about Himself...and ourselves. He is pointing us to Himself and teaching us how to be a people of the Word and of prayer.

That you Jesus for that reminder last night. Thank you for your Word and reminding me to be a woman of both your Word and prayer. When those things are first in my life...those strongholds must break down and evil will flee. Thank you for loving me enough to turn over a few tables in my heart today!

Mark 10:15-19

"And as he taught them..."

This is the story of Jesus reaching Jerusalem with his disciples and seeing the moneychangers and those selling doves in the temple courts. He drives them out and turns over tables and benches! I had read all of that and knew it well as I read over these passages. But, since I take the Word of God very slowly and meditate on each part of the passage, I saw something that I had never seen before today.

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As he turned over tables and benches and blocked people from carrying their merchandise into the temple courts...it says he taught them. That really made me think and meditate today. I had always thought of this time as Jesus really getting angry. In my mind I saw Him full of righteous anger...but very emotional and definitely NOT teaching these people. Oh, what a wonderful little insight I got today into my Lord Jesus.

Though He is disciplining...He is teaching. I need this lesson today! My life is a teaching lesson...in everything I do. Those around me (my children, friends, the lost world) should not see my life as simply an emotional reaction to life! As Jesus entered this situation, He took action to discipline and rebuke...but He was teaching them through scripture WHY He was doing this.

I had never seen that little phrase before and it really challenges me - especially with my own children. Lord, may I use each moment of discipline and rebuke as chance to teach my girls more about you through scripture. May I follow your example of teaching today. May I not simply live a reactive life...but a life rooted in your word that uses every situation to point people to You alone. Thank you for your Word today...it is my life!

Central Asia Summit!

On Thursday and Friday of this week, some friends and I headed to the Central Asia Summit offerend at Eastside Baptist Church. It was AWESOME! We had an amazing time of learning, interacting, sharing...and more learning! We each were challenged in many ways and encouraged to continue to reach out to those around us with the love of Christ.

This was a representation of a mosque. It has lots of facts about Islam. It was very informative. We had the opportunity to go to a session by an Iranian man who was a Muslim. He is not a believer and he came to share his story and all about Islam. It was great to hear from someone who was raised in that religion and who still ministers to those in Central Asia. It was a powerful time.They had several "snapshots"of Central Asia all over the buildingwhere we could learn all about life in the countires found there. This is a yurt and I decided that I could SO live in a yurt! I could so dig the nomadic lifestyle.This was a room that impacted me the most. We entered this room and there were walls filled with black squares. On those squares where people groups all over Central Asia. They told the population and the number of believers. Most of the had populations of around 1 million with 0 believers. It made me cry as I walked to each square and prayed over them.

This was in the center of the room. It symbolized the thousands of people...with only one light glowing. The rest of the candles are waiting to be lit. It was a powerful symbol to me. That night Paula, Rhonda and I went to a Muslim tea. It was for all the women to attend and it allowed us to learn about Muslim women and how we can love them. We each got to have a scarf to cover our heads as we entered. We took off our shoes and found a table (on the floor) where we sat and met with a woman who lives in Central Asia. Our hostess ministered to the Afghan people. She shared tea and life with us.

This was an amazing event and I can't wait to have one of my own very soon! I love tea and it reminded me that as I share tea...I can share LIFE with ladies. I am praying that God will show me those in my apartment complex and neighborhood and community that I can share LIFE!

It was a great Summit and I am challenged again to reach out daily with the love of Christ. Right now I am memorizing and trying to apply Mark 10:43-45:

"If any among you would be first, (s)he must be a servant. If any among you would be great, she must be a slave to all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many."

For the past 2 weeks, I have asked God to make this true in my life EVERY day. Moment by moment He is putting this question in my mind:

"How can I serve ____ today?"

This is asked about my husband, my children, my family, my church, my friends, and those I come into contact with each day. It is a HUGE challenge! I am finding how much I desire to be served each day. But, God's Word is refining that part of my life day by day. I have been on that verse for 2 weeks and I am still working on making it an active part of my life. I love the Word of God!!!

Thanks Shannon, Paula, and Rhonda for sharing this awesome weekend! It wouldn't have been the same without you guys. What a blessing you are to me!

Central Asia Summit

Today I am headed with 3 other ladies to the Central Asia Summit. This is going to be a wonderful time of focused time learning about the Muslim influences in that area. We will have the opportunity to meet many people in that region and also attend several Equipping Tracks. We choose 4 tracks that will help us to learn about the roles of women in that region and ways we can become Kingdom Women.

I am thrilled to be going with some wonderful friends and hearing from Paula Hemphill as she and her daughter are a big part of the women's track they are offering. They also have an amazing Muslim Women's Tea experience tonight! This is a way that we can focus our prayers on the Muslim world as we pray for Jesus Christ to become a treasure to them. We ask that the veil of unbelief be lifted from their lives as we focus on ways to interact and share with Muslim women. We want to "Share Tea & Share Life" with them!

Please keep us in your prayers as we attend this summit. We desire that God speaks personally to each of us. We know that God's heart is for the nations and we want to be a part of that heart this weekend...and every day!

Mark 10:43-45

"But, whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be a bondservant to all. For even the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and be a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45

Am I more concerned with being served today or serving others?

Am I truly a bondservant to all?

Do I truly seek to serve in every area of my life?

Is my service motivated out of a love of Christ and a joyful response to His death for my sins on the cross to pay my ransom?

Am I humble enough to serve even when I am not served?

Do I seek first to serve in my marriage...or to be served first?

Am I a servant in parenting my children?

Am I serving others in my job out of an overflow of a gratitude for the way Christ chose to serve the world by His death and Resurrection?

How am I being a bondservant to all...those around me today that I come into contact with all around me?

Take time to confess the areas of your life where you desire more to be served than to serve. Confess pride and selfishness. Allow God to penetrate your heart and life with His Word today. Enjoy applying His Word to your life and meditate on it all day today! May you be satisfied in His Word this morning in order to truly become a servant to all!

Thrive!
Frances