Stagnant and foul or not ?

I have written in a previous post that it is very easy for me to be a hermit. Things get gray and cloudy here in Oregon. The rain falls and the wind blows day in and day out in the winter time. The rain continues throughout many of the weeks in summer as well. I am not a huge fan of rain, and certainly not when I see it often.

It is so easy for me to be the typical suburbanite that waves to the neighbor on my way into my garage (if my garage was clean enough to drive into) and doesn’t see them again until I am driving away from my home.

Because of my ‘simply’ me lifestyle, I have noticed when I wasn’t reaching out to others, and seeing their needs, my joy meter got dull and lifeless.

I still have not reached out to my neighbors, to me that feels extremely awkward, as I clearly see with a quick nod they do not want to be bothered. But I have reached out to others in different ways and I know the Lord daily stretches me. It is so important that I be life giving.

Even if I don’t feel like it, I must be giving into others. It is such a blessing to know that other people are blessed because I took the opportunity to let the Spirit of the Lord work through me, to meet a persons need, in some way.

I was reminded today that if we do not step out and do Ā new things and bless others and dare I say, just LIVE than we will not have fullness of JOY. God said that He came so that we can have life and have it abundantly, not so that I could sit on my carcassĀ behind my closed doors, all alone and hermitize (yes this is my made up word, but it fits).

In order to live Ā life to the FULL I must be moving forward in some way.Ā If water stays still and does not move then it becomesĀ stagnantĀ and foul. I must allow the Spirit of the Living God to move through me,Ā completingĀ the work he has before me, not stopping and letting the work die, but seeing it to completion.

ChallengeĀ this day my friend: Ā I encourage you to be aĀ conduit. It is time to let the living water flow in your life (the Holy Spirit).

Take back the life that HE desires for you! Our circumstances do not have to dictate a stale, motionless,Ā existence but one that can be refreshing and a blessing to the thirsty. There are SO many that need to see a moving river and not a green murky pond.

How will YOU Ā or have you stepped out and been used for the Kingdom in a new and fresh way?

Stop in and leave a comment letting me know the work He has done in you and give me some fresh ideas šŸ™‚

John 7:38-

Whoever believesĀ in me, as Scripture has said,Ā rivers of living waterĀ will flow from within them.

8 Replies to “Stagnant and foul or not ?”

  1. Before I start reading the bible, I always pray that God would teach me something while reading his word. Today GOD taught me about his Perfect LOVE. 1 John 4:7-21
    I’m in a bible study taught by Beth Moore called Loving Well.
    The question for todays journal entry is: How do you feel when you realize that someone’s love for you is motivated by his or her desire to be loved? My first response was, “well, how selfish is that!”…..then I asked myself, “How and why do I love GOD?”……OUCH. That went straight to my heart.
    Pefect Love, that is God’s love.
    Thank you Lord for Loving me! I pray I can learn to Love like you!
    Lord show me to LOVE like a living river, and not hold it in and become a stagnant pond!

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  2. I was looking for a like button but I see there isn’t one. Thank you for sharing ! I will work on loving WELL this day!

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  3. Finally I’ve been put in the right place and time to speak with the gentle and pious Christian woman across the way from us. She is newly widowed. This must be God’s timing. She told me that she is mostly doing okay. She reads her Bible and listens to Jim Swaggart’s radio station all day; she also said her son has been ordained. How hard it must be for her to be without her husband who died this year! It’s hard to imagine, and I guess scary for me to imagine, as my husband just turned 70.

    My prayer is that the Lord would plunk me down in the right place at the right time, and make me a true help to someone by just being kind.

    Thank you for your great Christian posts, Shaey! Bless you, danililly!

    your sis,
    Maria

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  4. Maria
    Praise the Lord for that opportunity! So blessed am I to hear this report. I find the best peace is to know that our God KNOWS the plans He has for us! It is such a great gift to know this and be able to follow that gentle leading šŸ™‚ He is SO good!
    Be blessed sister ~ Have a fabulous week with many GOD moments

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    1. You have a fabulous week too! He will provide the balance so that you can hermitize and socialize. As you are saying, He knows all about His kids and leads us.
      Bless you, sister!!

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  5. Our local Ronald MacDonald House needs volunteers for cleaning & such, so I volunteered to clean the kitchen every Friday morning. This put me in contact with a number of anxious parents whose children were facing serious health issues. I also volunteered to tutor English to newly-arrived immigrant women as a supplement to their ESL classes.

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