As I walked out early one morning, the stars looked lovely. As I looked at them The Lord spoke; "They don't have to think about shining, they just do." We were made greater than the stars and were simply just made to shine. "A city set on a hill that cannot be hidden." (Matt 5) We were not created for our selves. We were made to be servants. We were made to be the servant of The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Maker of Heaven & Earth! We were made to serve Him. A servant was not made to serve themselves, they were paid, in our case bought, for another purpose. We were not made to want ice cream, to do things that please ourselves. A child that is always asking for things for themselves is called selfish. We were made to give. If we follow and obey The Lord, just as any good earthly father, He will interpret our needs and wants, and as a loving Father, will bless us.

Which child do you want to lavish on? A child who is always asking for stuff, (James 4) or a child that never asks for anything? The Lord is the same way, He's just more gracious than we are. 

If we built a house, we'd want every color, every texture, to be pleasing to us. We may even say "We are building this for the glory of God" yet if we are building with our pleasures in mind, we may be a little misguided. (We have been called to liberty, but as Paul says let us not "use liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. Gal 5:13)

I was not made to please myself, I was made to please God. My desires are way out of whack as I serve to please myself. 

"Lord, let us be humble servants that do not live to please ourselves, but live to please You You have made us like the stars in heaven to shine. Let us just shine as we were made to be, in Jesus name. Amen!" 

As I walked out early one morning, the stars looked lovely. As I looked at them The Lord spoke; "They don't have to think about shining, they just do." We were made greater than the stars and were simply just made to shine. "A city set on a hill that cannot be hidden." (Matt 5) We were not created for our selves. We were made to be servants. We were made to be the servant of The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Maker of Heaven & Earth! We were made to serve Him. A servant was not made to serve themselves, they were paid, in our case bought, for another purpose. We were not made to want ice cream, to do things that please ourselves. A child that is always asking for things for themselves is called selfish. We were made to give. If we follow and obey The Lord, just as any good earthly father, He will interpret our needs and wants, and as a loving Father, will bless us. 

Which child do you want to lavish on? A child who is always asking for stuff, (James 4) or a child that never asks for anything? The Lord is the same way, He's just more gracious than we are. 

If we built a house, we'd want every color, every texture, to be pleasing to us. We may even say "We are building this for the glory of God" yet if we are building with our pleasures in mind, we may be a little misguided. 

I was not made to please myself, I was made to please God. My desires are way out of whack as I serve to please myself. 

"Lord, let us be humble servants that do not live to please ourselves, but live to please You You have made us like the stars in heaven to shine. Let us just shine as we were made to be, in Jesus name. Amen!" 

What we are missing in the Body.

Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. We all want growth, we all want The Lord to direct and guide us, but we can have neither unless we do it God's way. When was the last time you were ministered to by an Apostle of God? How about a prophet? How about the last time you witnessed a pastor, evangelist, apostle, prophet & teacher all in the same place ministering together? If you read the above promises like the ability to speak the truth in love, growing up in Christ, having a whole body, all of that is tied to God equipping the saints through what some call the 5 fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. What are we missing? If this is not in operation in our cities, in the Body of Christ, then how can we be equipped, how can we be fully edified, how can we come to the unity of faith? We need the whole expression of the body of Christ, not a fragmented part. "Lord bring in the missing pieces, and wash away all the pieces that we've instituted that are makeshift examples of your will. We need You, all of You, and not just small part. We love You Lord and commit all of our ways to You, in Jesus name, amen. "