JESUS, USE ME!
My unfiltered thoughts..
I realized very recently that God responds to our actions faster than He responds to our words.
You might have been confessing your desires to God frequently;
“Jesus, use me”, “Jesus, help me” , “God, stir me up”, “Jesus,set me on fire.”
But here’s the thing. Your actions will show if you are truly ready to be used. Your actions will show if you are giving him the chance to 'use you’.
The way you worship,the way you pray, the way you study, the way you fast, the way you serve..
It is more like your actions are saying; "Jesus, there is space for you here"
Jesus! There..is..space..for..you..here.
Your enthusiasm towards the things of God can catch His attention. God honours labour - work, action.
If you show God how ready, how hungry, and how desperate you are to know him, to serve him, to love him, to love his people, to fulfil his heart desires, He will notice you and he will work with you, in you and through you.
Concerning the way you worship, My heart has been brooding on King Solomon for a while..
Here’s what I saw…
1kings 3:2-5;
1Kgs.3.2 - Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.
1Kgs.3.3 - And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
1Kgs.3.4 - And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
1Kgs.3.5 - In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
The New Living Translation of these verses documented that..
1Kgs.3.2 - At that time the people of Israel sacrificed their offerings at local altars, for a temple honoring the name of the LORD had not yet been built.
1Kgs.3.3 - Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the instructions of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local altars.
1Kgs.3.4 - The most important of these altars was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed one thousand burnt offerings.
1Kgs.3.5 - That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!"
Did you see what King Solomon did there? He went to the most important place worship and he sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings.
That same night, God appeared to him..more like, “hello young man, you called my attention, how can I help you?’
The quality of your worship and service to God reflects your desires and intentions.
How well do you serve God?
How are you serving God?
Are you serving God at all..
In those days, the people of Israel offered their sacrifices at the local altars because a temple had not been built at that time.
Yet, they gave their very best.
How much more you and I, the temple of God?
Y’know, thinking about how Moses highlighted the articulateness of worship in the book of Leviticus, the priests in those days must have really put in a lot of work and time in service.
Lev.6.12 - And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
Lev.6.13 - The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
The New Living Translation of these verses documented that..
Lev.6.12 - Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the daily whole burnt offering on it. He must then burn the fat of the peace offerings on top of this daily whole burnt offering.
Lev.6.13 - Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.
Think..about..it!
How are you serving God?
How are you showing up to let God know that you are available for him to use you?
What are you doing to show your interest?
What are you doing to show your desire?
You have to do something. You have to do something.
Apostle Paul words to the church at Rome reasonates deeply now:
Rom.12.1 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
The New Living Translation of this verse documented that..
Rom.12.1 - And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?
To the Church at Rome, Their bodies, the sacrifice.
To the Church at Rome, Their bodies, the worship.
To the Church at Rome, Their life, on that altar as the sacrifice.
The Church, your church, is your place of Worship.
That place is to serve God and let God know that you are very ready to be used.
Your church is that altar of worship. Your church is that place to show God how interested you are in his will.
The right way to pray, the right way to study, the right way to fast. The right way to worship..Everything will be taught there. The way to respond to your training is to still stay there and spend your life there.
In conclusion, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said
Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.
I hope I translated my thoughts well?
