Articles by Brenda Lancaster
GET’ER DONE!
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21
I didn’t know much in my early Christian life, but it didn’t take long to realize that I needed a power greater than myself if I was going to truly be Jesus’ disciple. Change was hard! (And by the way, it still is!) Somehow, I understood that any accomplishments made for eternal purposes would not happen unless I had help.
I read the Bible, but had a hard time understanding it. I searched every self-help book I could get my hands on, and listened to hundreds of sermon tapes. I asked other Christian women to teach and mentor me, but help came like a very slow dripping faucet. Like a sponge I listened to anyone who would teach me.
After a while I began to understand that man and his manual tools could only help so much. To illustrate, think of a man who needs to drive a three-inch screw into concrete. Using a manual screwdriver, he is going to struggle, pushing hard with all his might to get the job done in his own strength. Or he can pick up an electric power drill and sink that same 3-inch screw in seconds! By using his outside power source, he can get the job done without zapping his own strength, and can get much more done in the process.
After we have accepted Christ and have His power living in us through the Holy Spirit, we too can accomplish a lot more in this life. More than we could ever accomplish in our own strength.
So today – let us plug into the power source that God has already given us. His power source, His Holy Spirit, that lives inside us 24/7, but which we so often ignore. He is stronger that we will ever be. And then watch him work through us, getting more done that we would ever have imagined!
Until Next Time,
Your Traveling Partner,
Brenda
Photo credit: https://www.freeimages.com/photographer/unknowme-67461
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Grasping the Victory Part 5
“So they worshipped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy”
Luke 24:52
Well, the stunned disciples finally grasped the victory that was theirs! If this is the first day you have joined us this week I hope you can go back and read Monday-Thursday. It will make today’s Dose so much more meaningful to you!
We have witnessed this week how going through a struggle lets us experience God first hand – it lets us see Him at work in our personal life. If the disciples had not experienced such extreme hardship – extreme emotional turmoil – such doubt and failure in their own actions – they couldn’t have experienced such victory either. They would never have appreciated that victory or the ones to come. They also would never have been able to “grasp” and accomplish their mission.
It’s the same way with us, dear one.
Remember that four year long struggle I shared with you on Monday? It was one of the hardest struggles I have ever faced. Yet, though it lasted so long and was so emotionally taxing, even if I had the opportunity – I would not go back and change a thing. If I could go back and totally avoid the struggle and keep all the enjoyment the struggle caused us to lose – I wouldn’t. I never thought I’d say that because it doesn’t make sense. There will come a day, when the time is right, for us to share the details of that story, but believe me when I tell you it was gut wrenching.
But without it, we would have missed experiencing God’s faithfulness – and “grasping” – comprehending it for ourselves. All those days when we asked, “God, where are you in all this? Are you really there at all? If we could just see your hand at work…….” Day after day, month after month, for four long years we wondered if His hand was at work at all in that struggle. But we kept on believing because the Word said to – very weakly most of the time – but we didn’t give up calling out to Him. We tried to handle the struggle and its consequences according to the teachings of His Word – and it was very hard. But in the end, His truth won out – His promises remained true. I wouldn’t give up experiencing that for the comfort and material blessings of times past for anything.
You know that struggle you are facing now? Yes, that one – without going through it you will never be able to experience the victory to come. Believe me my friend – you don’t want to miss that. You don’t want to miss seeing the hand of the God of the universe at work in your heart and life in a personal way. There is no greater joy, no greater wonder in this life.
Jesus said “ ….. in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”
Believe Him. Grasp His power to overcome. Grasp His promise. Comprehend who He is and what He wants to do in your life. When you do, your life will never be the same.
Until next time……….
Your traveling companion,
Brenda
photo credit: https://www.freeimages.com/photographer/morcomm-45474
