Lord, I want to hear you by Donna Mitchell

Hey, I read this online and found it really helpful for me and I believe some of you are struggling with hearing and knowing God's will for your life. So here it is:

I’ll call her Jane. Jane is a new believer. We meet Monday evenings in prison. She is being transformed by God right before our eyes and weekly speaks the most profound truths. Last week was no exception. Jane looked at us and said “you know how you say the Lord continually whispers and speaks to us”? Well He is showing me that when I am completely surrendered to Him, I can hear Him whisper, but when I take back control I don’t hear Him.”

Profound. True. There are many of us who have been walking with the Lord for years and we have forgotten or have not realized this simple truth.
Like Jane, I want to be fully surrendered moment by moment. I don’t want to resist or rebel against the Lord. I wrote in my journal “LORD, I want to co-operate. I want to surrender to Your will, Your assignment, Your conditions, Your timing, Your opportunities and design…LORD to the best of my ability, I surrender myself to You. Please help me flourish moment by moment, accepting the grace You give.”

I remember being in Bible College when a student asked the professor “how do you know God’s will?” The Professor pondered the question for a few moments and then responded, “If you want God’s will with all of your heart, He won’t let you miss it.”

We often want to hear specific direction from the Lord. We cry out for clarity. Maybe surrender is the prerequisite – wanting God’s will above our own regardless of the cost. He won’t let us miss it. The night Jesus made the choice to go to the cross for us, He cried out to His Father in Luke 23:42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” In the quietness of surrender, God’s whisper is impossible to miss.

Write out or cry out your own prayer of surrender in the midst of where you are walking today.

Questions: What keeps you from crying out, “not my will, but Your will be done?” Ask the Lord to search your heart and bring you to a place of complete surrender and deeper trust.

Cell Mission

9 characteristics to cultivating a successful community
- taken from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (Chpt 18 & 19)

1) authenicity
Be Real - True community does not have superficial fellowship.
2) mutuality
Be dependent on one another - Learn the art of giving and receiving by building reciprocal relationships.
3) sympathy
Be understanding - Quick to listen and slow to speak.
4) mercy
Be forgiving - Never hold grudges because the Lord first forgave us.
5) honesty
Be honest - Speak the truth in love.
6) humility
Be humble - Focus on serving others.
7) courtesy
Be considerate - Respect one another's differences.
8) confidentiality
Do not gossip - What is shared in the group needs to stay in the group.
9) frequency
Make regular contact - Deep fellowship takes time.

Let's familiarise ourselves with this 9 characteristics(refer to it from time to time) and make it our mission for cell development. When the cell grows, the individual benefits.

New layout!

Thank you Pearlyn for the new blog skin!