Why God made me

Psalm 8, The Holy Bible



What has more power to catch our attention than reading "God made me [for]...."? It cuts to the quick of what we all want to know, what we are scared we'll never find.



Psalm 8:6 says "You [God] have made him [man] TO HAVE DOMINION over the works of Your hands; You have put ALL THINGS under his feet.



It is my destiny, and yours, to have dominion. It's why you were created. It's why He made you. To walk on the earth in the authority God has given you, as His God-formed, Spirit-filled creation. How can I do that?



Verse 4 says that God is "mindful" of us and that he visits with man. Think of that! It is my destiny to visit with God! He thinks about ME. He considers ME. He cares about me and wants to visit with me.



In Genesis we see how God made man and woman and visited them in the garden, the place where they exercised their dominion, and walked with them and talked with them. It is from that place of relationship with God, visiting with Him, that I can walk in my delegated authority on the earth. My dominion is GIVEN to me by God - He is the ultimate authority - and to walk in it as I should, I need to walk with Him.



A picture came to mind of a bride and groom walking side by side in right relationship. The groom gives his bride dominion (authority, resources, responsibility) to carry out the necessary tasks she has to accomplish. Think of the Proverbs 31 woman who is excellent not only in caring for her home, but in her business dealings outside of the home. She and her husband are working in their individual spheres of responsibility, and she has everything she needs to do it well, and his love and respect for her, the freedom he gives her to carry these tasks out - beautiful!



God has made us in the same way. We are created to walk with God in His ordained authority for us, having all that we need in Him, through Christ Jesus, for all things to be under our feet. That means we are the overcomers, not the overcome.

We are above and not beneath

We are the head and not the tail



God wants to visit with you today. To walk with you. To talk with you. It's what you were made for.

Stay True

It takes discipline to stay true to the call, to keep our feet on the road God has us on. There are so many good things pulling at us, but what has God asked of you? What is the part He wants you to play? Pleasing God, staying in tune with His plans and purposes in our lives, that can be the challenge. I am grateful when I am reminded that my most important role is following Him in everything. I try to stay in His grace. From there, I am able to do so much more than I could on my own. In fact, I am amazed at how much passion, drive, and energy I can run in when I am running in His grace, staying true to the call of God on my life. I LOVE what I do for God, and it worth the price.

Pastor Allen used to tell us, when we were younger in the ministry, that if we were burning out, likely we had stepped outside of God's grace on our lives. It's the place of striving and self-effort that we can fall into.

Let's stay in His grace and run with all we have.
Let's stay in His grace and be positioned for the "suddenly".
Let's stay in His grace and take ground.
Let's stay in His grace and see people saved, healed and delivered.
Let's stay in His grace and happily serve Him with our lives.

Let's ENJOY our relationship with God and one another.

Stay true to God's call, and love those who around you.

Getting Started

A first time blogger, it's a bit daunting to think of posting one's thoughts out there for the world to see. Is there a benefit to baring the push and pull of your thoughts, the journey of your faith, the reality of your humanity? As one prone to a melancholic bent, I can only imagine the directions I could go in at times- at times creative, sometimes doubting, occassionally powered up, and yes, ridiculoously introspective. I would hope that through it all, my desire for growth in believing, in faith, would be evident for others to see, and perhaps it would challenge as well.

We just finished our annual ministers conference and I am once again amazed at the men and women who pastor small churches in this country. There are those who believe that small churches make no impact, that they are irrelevant or lame. Yet, as I look at them, I see great courage to believe God, that He is able to use anyone, at any time. I see faithfulness that would challenge anyone. How hard is it to stay the course when you have "success" at your door? I read of a successful pastor of a mega-church, he was a young man, praised for what was happening in his ministry. It was awesome to read about what he was able to accomplish through the vehicle of ready resources at his fingertips. Yet, I couldn't help but wonder what success is there in inheriting everything that is called your "success"? When I consider the price that many pastors I know pay on a daily basis - in their wallets, confidence, energy, faith - it was hard to be truly impressed the story.

We have lived in San Diego for 9 years now, and in that time we have seen pastors come from around the world to start churches in our beautiful city. Some have come with extended resources: staff and money, that make small church pastors envious (yes, we struggle with it like you do). Some of them believe they have what it takes to crack San Diego open, (that they have the 'formula' for success). Yet most of them have not lasted. Some have redefined themeselves and their purpose. For some, it was simply too hard. Discouraging to work so hard, to plow through your resources with little to show for it. There's also a lot of comparison we suffer - how does our "success" measure up to someone elses - and we believe that it somehow must not be God, that His blessing is not on it, or whatever. And then there are the small church pastors who are still here, still planting, watering, weeding, tending, believing. I honor them.

I'm not kidding myself. I want to see a profit from my efforts as a pastor. I want "success". I would love to have abundant resources. I struggle with comparison as much as anybody. But I am also impressed with the faithful men and women who just won't give up.

A woman shared a testimony this week from her own life. There was a point in her life when she struggled with sin, couldn't shake it, was drawn to it like a magnet. She kept returning to it, knowing it was the wrong choice, but unable to stop. One day, on her way to sin, she heard the Lord say to her heart that He did not condemn her. She continued to sin, but also continued to hear this message reverberate in her heart. She experienced well-intentioned believers try to talk her out of her sin, pointing it out, challenging her, judging her at times. Yet it was the sovereign work of God in her heart, expressing His unconditional love and acceptance for her, that eventually did it's work in her life. She no longer is a slave to the sin, she is free. What amazes me about this (there are many things, actually), is that she did not give up on God, the church, or Christians. She is still, all these years later, loving God and His Body. THAT is a miracle. She didn't give up. THAT impresses me.

So, to all those in small churches, no matter your role, believe God and don't give up so easily. Continue in what God has called you to do and resist the trap of comparison. Do your best to learn, grow, improve, "succeed", but keep it in perspective. Give your all, give your best, keep believing. And don't forget to love on people while you're at it. Encourage their efforts, their success and their faith.