Kris spoke to us through her life story. A Christian from an early age, but realizing she had been "faking" it by her teen years. She had a realization of what true faith was, the power of the Holy Spirit and a renewed love for the Word and the Lord. As a result she pledged to live her life for the Lord. Convinced he had great things for her to do.
Application: Are we faking it, too? Do you really know that it's not works that get you to heaven but faith & belief in Jesus' death on the Cross? Do we really want to live our lives for God - willing to do what he's called us to do - or do we say that, but make all our decision based on what we want to do? Do you LOVE God? Our relationship isn't supposed to be based on obedience but love. Out of our love for God, we desire to obey. Otherwise our faith becomes a set of rules we have to follow; never being sure that we've done enough.
Kris spoke about loneliness. During the first several years of her married life, they moved a few times and her husband was finishing his schooling to become a pastor. She was desperate to find women (especially pastor's wives) who could share their wisdom with her, mentor her, disciple her. But she found no one. Those she asked for advice gave no advice at all. She longed for fellowship with a godly woman. At last, she found that - a woman willing to "teach me what she had learned so far."
Application: Are you lonely? Do you long for this sort of companionship? Ask God to bring a woman/women into your life! Be bold and ask a woman whom you respect if she would have the time to mentor you, pray with you or simply spend some time together talking about life. Sign up for a bible study at church. Join the official women's mentoring program at First MB. Invite ladies over for coffee or a playdate. Take the first step!
I also know that some of you are more than qualified to encourage a woman "not so far down the road of life and experience" as you are. Consider how you could invest into the lives of women whom you have contact with!
Kris used the metaphor of a collander to describe a woman. "We go empty so fast!" Like the collander which drains out the water, our daily living, busy schedules and long to-do lists drain us, too. We have to be filled by God and do it continually to be able to live our lives well for Christ. She said, "When I'm empty, I'm ugly, vindictive, angry..."
Three things we need to do:
- Seek God
- Identify our sin and confess it
- Be a blessing to others
contrite (repentant) in spirit, and who tremble at my word."
Application: Seek God - can be extended time or brief. We should be doing both. Give yourself grace for those times in life when it's hard to set aside extended time, but don't give yourself permission to ignore that precious time. I think most of us usually "have time for God" it just doesn't make our priority list and actually happen - other things gain priority. I love Kris' directive to spend a few minutes each night in confession. Ask God to reveal the sin in our lives. Confess it. Ask for help to change in those areas. Lastly, "be a blessing to others" - the world around us should take notice of a difference in Christians - and it should be a GOOD difference!
I thoroughly enjoyed the message Kris had to share. I hope this wrap-up encourages you to pursue God in a more intimate way. I did purchase the "Adorned in Humility" and "Extreme Spiritual Makeover" DVD sets, so if you are interested in a bible study we will have those available for check-out. The workbooks are $10.00 each and you can purchase those online at http://krisgoertzen.com/.
~Tiffany
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