"I Give Up...To Be Filled"

Emptiness is often used to describe something in a negative view. In the world of psychology a person who describes themselves as feeling empty would be susceptible to depression and/or hurting themselves. Speaking of your wallet it describes someone who is in deprivation. Used to describe a business location could mean they went out of business. On the contrary, used to describe the tomb of Jesus, it defines hope. Confident, living hope!

What does the tomb's emptiness mean to you? Is it a negative or a positive meaning? What makes it the one you chose?

Jesus gave up the comforts of heaven for the discomforts of earth. All the while, God gave up the comfort of having Jesus alongside Him for the discomfort of forsaking Jesus and seeing Him die! Imagine the emptiness that each of those two situations brought about. Does it ever cross your mind to give up something to feel an emptiness?

Yesterday we concluded our "I Give Up" sermon series by thinking about the filling we receive from the assurance the empty tomb brings to us. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Create room for Him ~ in order for Jesus to be able to occupy a space then there must be an available space. That space could be in your heart/mind or it could be in your everyday. It doesn't stop with just giving Him a spot in your heart. If He doesn't have a spot in your day, you are really missing out!
2. Force an opening ~ If you can't find an opening for Him to occupy force something out so that there will be an opening for Him!
3. Life springs forth from death ~ Jesus' death and resurrection give use life. Life that is eternal. Also a life that gives you an energy through your everyday. Life you want to pass on. Whether you are experiencing a sense of death within yourself which you need to be resurrected or you can gain life through His death, His death gives a power which is incomparable to anything else!

As Easter trickles off to a past event for 2010, may the effects of the message of Easter continue on! The message is timeless and powerful!

Praise Him for the emptiness of the tomb as we are able to be continually filled from it!

Filling up daily from the tomb's emptiness...

The Emptiness That Holds Us Back

Practically everyone would like to have some more money. Whether it is to have a more comfortable lifestyle or to just pay the bills. We are currently in a financial down time. Maybe not the worst one ever, but one which is definitely making an impact on many.

However, as difficult as it can be without money, that doesn't make a person "poor" as much as a person who has no vision, ideas, or goals in life, their career, their church, their family, etc. This brings us to this week's quote...

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

The phrase "I don't know" is one that I have said frequently in life. Aside from the few times that I really didn't know an answer, most of them were times I was being lazy in any attempt to figure out a solution. I wanted it spoon-fed to me. I didn't want to put in any effort. Have you been there?

However, when I have an idea, whether it is for a sermon, a house project, or a graphic design project, nothing holds me back. I am not saying that it is able to be finished in a day, but I am saying that I am thinking about it or working on it often, till it is completed. These things may not take much from my wallet, but that doesn't stop them from being completed and worked on.

Goals do not have to stay the same as you enter into different levels of life. What is important is that you do have goals. Even if finances make it difficult to achieve a goal, don't let that be what holds you back. If you've got a passion in your heart and mind for something...find a way to go for it!

Not letting "empty pockets" hold me back...

Monday Mentionings: Empty - Words - Job 35:9-16

One week closer…for some it is closer to Spring Break, for others it is closer to Tulsa, for others it may be a simple deadline, for others it is closer to sharing Jesus with someone you’ve been praying/thinking about, or it may not be closer to anything specific. Regardless, the past has gone, the present is here, and the future is to come. What will you do with your future? How will you help someone understand the fullness of God better this week? As we have been looking at the concept of empty, and yesterday, looking at empty words, here are some applications that you can put to use in your life…

1. Have you ever jumped into something that was more shallow than you thought? Whether it was a pool, one of those pits with the colored plastic balls, or a conversation with someone? The result may have been painful. The same result happens when we give in to any empty words of people, especially the ones that affect our faith. Be aware that Satan knows who to send your way and how to affect you. As you go about this week, keep watch for ways in which Satan is trying to get you to “jump in” to something that has no depth!

2. Sports teams, bands, employees of a company all have in common that each person has a particular role. Sports teams have different titles based on where they play on the field/court and their responsibility. A band member has a particular instrument to play to fulfill his part. Employees have specific titles or specialty areas which they are responsible for accomplishing. The Body of Christ has different members that have a particular talent to accomplish great things for God. When Moses got his assignment from God to lead the Israelites out of captivity, he said, “Who should I say sent me?” God’s awesome, straight-to-the-point answer is, “Say, I AM sent me.” As we are out in the world this week, may the words of God encourage us in our own walk to do our part in carrying out God’s plan to save man! How will you team up with the rest of us to do that?

3. On a scale of 1-5, where’s your faith? One being you’re struggling to believe in Him to five being anything God asks you are doing everything you can to push through any uncomfortable feelings to accomplish (be it evangelism or worship style). If you’re not a five, what would it take to get you there? Something from someone else or something that you and God need to work on together – either way, I pray that you will do what you can to move up from where you’re at. Don’t let the noise of the world drown out the voice of God.

People may disappoint us with empty words, but God’s words are so full that they never will!

Hope you have an “open door” week!

Filling up on Him ~

Monday Mentionings: "Empty" - Future - Amos 4:6-8

When you started the day/week, where was your focus at for the week? Maybe it was on one thing or many, we're all different. Try this one on, was what you were focused on something you looked forward to or dreaded? The power of positive thinking affects us greatly. So, if you looked at the week with dread, you are in for a much rougher road. Looking at the week with dread is like seeing the week without something - fun, enjoyment, fulfillment, etc., which means it is empty of those things. This series called "Empty" focuses on different things which we may experience a form of that word. Yesterday, we looked at how a future can seem empty. Try these applications on for size and see if they can help you as you go through your week...

1. Self-esteem is so important to how a person looks to the future. When you have a low self-esteem you may feel like life, or some aspect of it, is without hope. You may have feelings of wanting to get away, but this can have a negative effect as you are just surrounded by negative thoughts. May the words of Paul encourage you, "[You] are God's workmanship"! The idea of workmanship is like a work of art. You are unique and God can do amazing things through you - what will this week bring?

2. I've heard many times about people who wonder why their life wasn't any better after they became a Christian. They're looking for the blessings that come from being a Christian. Blessings are subjective - you may not get health and wealth blessings, but you may get a lot of other tangible blessings that you aren't noticing. Regardless, our most valuable blessing is to have Christ as a Savior. When all the "sugar" runs out of our life and it seems very bitter, God is still around. The next time you're feeling you are emptied of blessings, think about how you can see, hear, type, walk, run, breathe, or any other good thing you take for granted. We also have the opportunity to go to heaven...what a BLESSING!

3. What do you desire to happen when you come together with the family of God? I desire to be surprised by how God shows up. I am hungry each and every day for that. Do you have a desire to connect with Him some way? Have you ever lost that desire or any desire related to this? We've all probably had "valley days" - I have. That is natural, but what God hopes will not happen is that you stay in "Camp Self", that you lose all desire to go to Him. Even if the only source of hunger is where He's at, you are so content to be in "Camp Self" that you'd rather forage in the valley, than go to Him. May you never find yourself at "Camp Self" - or at least staying there! Seek Him!

May God bless you with a great week!

Spring is knocking! I love the transitional seasons!

Blessed by the Blood ~

Monday Mentionings: Empty - Earth - Isaiah 45:18

It was a great day getting together! The warm weather made me feel a bit more excited to get out; maybe you felt similar feelings.

Yesterday we started a new series called “Empty”. This series is designed to help us understand the different ways which can be empty. We started the series by looking at the earth and how it was empty, dark, formless, and void. Here are some additional ways to remember and apply the lesson…

1. Support is necessary in just about every area of life. Whether it is physical, emotional, medicinal, etc., support is crucial. God set up the earth by suspending it over nothing. However, the earth still needed support – that being support from the Creator. You need support as a Christian – you must be connected to the Creator, too. If you’re not connected to Him, you will go down quickly! Don’t have a week of empty time without connecting to Him! Take time to connect to your Creator this week by praying to Him – give Him your concerns, complaints, praises, thoughts, evangelistic hopes, ministry goals, etc.

2. What does if feel like to you to be in the dark? The earth was dark in the beginning, but Genesis 1:2 tells us that God was still there. Look for someone this week who might be experiencing life in “darkness”. They could be going through something that day, that week, or just a time in their life that seems without hope. They may not even realize that they are living life in “darkness”, but as you recognize it, take your light to them. Your light might be a compliment, a prayer, a conversation, buying lunch, sending a card/e-mail of encouragement, etc. Regardless of what your “light” is – the main thing is to take it to them!

3. God is Good…All the Time! There is nothing remotely like our God! He is awesome! Take time to appreciate our earth and all that makes our area unique. Even in the bleakness of the winter, we can be appreciative of the area that we live in. Maybe you will want to praise God for this too, but at least take time to appreciate where you live and that it was given to you to live on.

I hope you had a great start to your week!

May you have a “vision” and an intuition for those who are walking in darkness as you go about things this week!

Taking my light ~