i freakin love...

my utmost for his highest. it's so good, and challenging. i started copying and pasting quotes from the last few days to make note of in this blog, and really ended up copying whole days worth of material. it's just really good.

tonight, i especially feel challenged to become "broken bread and poured out wine". he talks about God allowing things to squeeze us to become wine for the consumption of others. today's devotional is on Mark's account of the transfiguration. they key line is

"We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength."

how true. i love the inspirational moments. and maybe i believe that the more time i spend there, the more i can stay on the mountaintop and see more clearly who God is, the better off i am. but if i am to be like Christ, mountaintops will be rare, and sacrifice will be much more the routine.

worship can take me to my mountain. and i love taking time to spend quietly playing before God, singing in my heart, singing out loud, whispering under my breath, or silently meditating in His presence. i love it. i need it. but i also have to consciously translate those moments to the everyday valley encounters with others. i have to allow that same grace to flow THROUGH me as it has TO me... i have to. that's the real test. the ability to find the mountaintop is not nearly as valuable to an authentic walk with Christ as the ability to hold onto that inspiration in the mundane.

If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony.

i believe that. to be sure you're doing what you're called to do, in spite of everything else around you, is ultimate fulfillment and peace. it's not easy, or without doubts and questions... it's not constant, because i'm not. but when i shut up and rest in the assurance i have that God has been given control of who i am and what i do, and that he will steward that well, there's no greater peace.

The mountaintop is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something.

so have i let my mountaintops accomplish what they need to in my CHARACTER (as opposed to my MIND)... God is not out to educate us, and the gospel isn't a matter of only right teaching. most of humanity's problems won't be cured by simple instruction, but by an encounter with the Holy Spirit... a little water on faith seedlings in the hearts of men, that begin to grow as they allow themselves to be good soil for that faith to grow in. i don't need more instruction, i need more application. and it's a decision i make. we all have to decide that we're in this for real, and it's time to DO what we KNOW. and APPLY as soon as we LEARN.

i'm tired, and i need to quit rambling, but i'm going to make an effort this week to draw some mountaintop inspiration for the daily walk a little more regularly. and start pouring out a little wine... :)