Knocked between the eyes...

Our church is going to be kicking off our fall programming this week, so all the volunteers have been meeting a couple of times in the last week and doing training in preparation for this fall.

On Saturday, we had a speaker named Ron Frost who came and taught us about what it truly means to live out our church's missions statement--We exist to be transformed together by the Gospel of Christ, to live out the Great Commandment, and to fulfill the Great Commission--all for the glory of God.

We talked about and struggled with and looked at what Scripture has to say about how this happens in the lives of our children, youth, young adults, and adults in our church.

Although there were SO MANY things that I learned and walked away with from the morning, two things really stood out for me.

The first was from John 15. (I had just read this passage on Friday during my Sabbath Rest time, so it was REALLY fresh in my mind.)

4 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

- John 15:4-6

This passage really hit me like a load of bricks.

I LOVE serving people. I LOVE working with our youth students. I LOVE meeting and connecting new moms. I LOVE mentoring girls. I LOVE doing things for God.

But, I wonder, if sometimes, my LOVE for doing things for God supersedes my LOVE for God and my desire to be connected to Him.

Ouch!

And I believe God has given me an ability to do A LOT of things at once and to do them fairly well. My mother in law is always telling me how "quick and fast and good" I am at doing a variety of things. I like being efficient, and I try to do everything with excellence. It's not a prideful thing, but simply how God has wired me.

But therein lies a very serious problem. A lot of times...too many times...I rest in my own strength to do those things.

Again...OUCH!

And, to make matters worse, I've done a terrible job being connected to the Vine... especially since I've been feeling so poorly due to morning sickness. I've found myself doing more "drive thru" devotions and prayer time than anything else. And, as John 15 reminded me, I can do NOTHING...

NADA...

ZERO...

ABSOLUTELY ZILCH for God when I'm not connected with Him.


And, if that wasn't enough to put me in my place, at the end of Ron Frost's teaching time, he had some time for questions and answers. A friend of mine asked, "What do you do when you just don't feel like doing devotions and praying? Do you just do it anyway until the feelings come or take a break until you feel God again?"

Good question...

Ron's answer, literally, knocked me between the eyes...

He said it wasn't a matter of whether we felt like it or not. Emotions and feelings had nothing to do with it. What it did have to do with was affection. Either your affection lies with seeking God and pursing and knowing Him more...or it lies with...

sleeping in...

being on facebook...

reading a fiction book...

playing a video game...

Something GREATER than God holds our affection. It's not a matter that "I don't feel like it." It's a matter of "I feel like doing this (fill in the blank) MORE right now than reading my Bible or praying."

Ouch! I'm getting a serious "headache" by this point.

How true! How simple! How completely convicting...

So now I've been quite aware of "where my affections lie." I've realized how much time I spend on facebook or reading other people's blogs or simply choosing to do something else (like laundry) that CAN WAIT until after I spend some time with my Savior.

If I expect (and desire) to be used to further God's kingdom, I NEED to be connected to the Vine daily, and I NEED to examine closely where my affections lie,


and I NEED to allow God to do some much needed pruning so that I can be more effective for Him.