Ridding Ourself of Selfish Ambition.

3 Do nothing out of SELFISH ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:3-11, NIV)

While the journey is filled with promise of all that is to come, our challenge begins first with what we are willing to give up. We are instructed to do nothing out of selfish ambition (greed or vain conceit or pride). When we live life fueled by these motives, we choose the life of a fool. Ambition itself is not wrong, ambition is not the problem it is selfish ambition.

The challenge is the more self-oriented we are, the more controlling we are. What drives us to want to be so in control of things, even people and behaviors? Maybe fear or trust. For me the freedom to live in peace and allow God to be God and to be in charge gives me great rest from that nonstop fight that takes place. Fact, people are people and will do what they want—when, where and how. It is not my job to manage them or their behavior. This does not prevent me from investing in people. I do invest and it is God who brings the harvest. Imagine no more selfish ambition--just free to live a simplified life serving Him and really allowing Him to be God!
So the challenge is to ask our self, “Have we eliminated God from parts of our life? Do we find our self-trying to be God in our lives and in the lives of others?” After you answer these questions you will find out what you need to release back to Him. Releasing ourselves back to Him and emptying ourselves will lead us to a path of freedom and greatness for Him! Freedom--that is what I want!

Praying for your best.

Blessings,

New Seed Springing Forth

"And the Lord said, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." (Luke 17:6)

What's ready to spring forth from you? Sometimes we ignore what we don't see. In my case we have lived in the same house for 14 years and recently we have been overtaken by crabgrass! Yuk that means take all the grass out and start over retill and uproot the weeds and allow it start fresh.

This is a challenging time because your front yard looks bare BUT the hope is some new grass will come in and be healthier! We sometimes are not as interested in health as we are appearance! How many seeds have gone to waste, because we were too focused on the tangible things? Transferring that to spiritual thinking what is waiting to spring forth from the seed God has planted in you? Anytime you purchase seeds, each packet has a set of instructions on how to plant it, how long it takes to germinate and how soon you'll see results.

We have the same instructions for what God has germinating in us. His Word, prayer and being led by the Holy Spirit. Yielding to God will plant it, obedience will help the germination keeping the weeds out and faith will cause it to come to pass! We just have to be patient! "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) One seed of love, can repair broken relationships, one seed of faith can carry us through the most difficult times in our lives. Whatever seed of destiny the Lord has placed in you, hold onto it. Don't allow anyone, any situation or circumstance steal your seed. Follow His instructions so you can watch it spring forth into a great harvest! Get used to the idea that God has a plan!

Blessings,