This guest post is brought by a dear friend of mine, Gina B aka my dollface. She is a treasured sister in Christ to me (as well as too many others) and a wonderful daughter to the King. You can check out more of her writing on her Wordpress blog, Where Can I Run from Your Love - Psalm 139.

❤ † ❤

Throughout the seasons in our lives, we tend to allow ourselves to be consumed by things. These things that consume us are of a wide variety. Our mind can be the root cause of wildfires that lead to devastation  One destructive thought, if not quarantined, will engulf the entire mind. The thoughts that should be controlled are not fruits of the Spirit. Dangerous thought patterns can consist of bitterness, anger, unforgiveness & jealousy. If not surrendered to God, these will eventually manifest into speech and seep into our speech & behavior.

“And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6)

Our speech can set the tone for entire walk through this life, so we must be sure that we are not leaving fires burning on the sides of the road. Not only can it lead to burnt bridges, but it can block and hinder the work of God in our lives.  He cannot enter in when there is a wall of fire.

Instead, He guides in His word as to what kind of fire we should be kindling:

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

The question we should be asking ourselves daily is what are we being consumed by? What is our driving force?

Allow God to be the Fire that consumes you…extuingish any fires other than Him. Welcome & invite Him to consume you and let Him fan into flame His perfect will into your fire.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thu  let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  for our God is a consuming fire.” – (Hebrews 12:28)

“…for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.” – (Song of Solomon 8:6)

“And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15

Person A: Volunteers several times a week for many years with a variety of organizations. 

Person B: Volunteers once in a while with no set schedule and no set organization.

So I ask, who is the better person … A, B or are they both the same?

Well that is really for none of us to now eh? For we do not to the heart of the people involved, only God does. People equate quantity with ultimately being better (whether it be money, physical possessions or time spent), but yet what if person A’s heart was just doing it for “outward gain and recognition” and never really “meant” any of it at all? Perhaps person B was a single mother of 3 who had to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet, but yet at her free moments turned them over to serving others, instead of wasting any moments sitting on a couch?

You may be able to fool the world with your outward appearance, words and acts, but God knows what makes you tick and what has come about to make you tick that way. It is one of the things that people mean when they say you cannot run from God.  But do not think of this as a burden, nor do not be scared. Likewise, as He does know ALL OF YOU, He still decided to send His son to die and be resurrected FOR YOU. He counted you special enough to be born, despite any self-serving actions, slight manipulations of people and unspoken evil thoughts about your fellow man you may have had or will have in the future; for it is in Christ we are MADE PURE – not through ourselves least any man should boast. 

Don’t run from who you are, don’t try to hide it. Should there be something in your life or within your make-up you feel you wish to/should change, seek God – ask Him to comfort and lead you to a solution of rectification. Every being mindful that we are commanded, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthy things” in Colossians 3:2, for that is when a believers mind can get all sorts of jumbled as we are NOT OF THIS WORLD.

I commend you all though, as we live in a generation where keeping your mind set upon God is not an easy task and in the months and years to follow, it will be ever-more difficult. However, your use tools – read your Bible – communion with others, be fervent in prayer and you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be able to withstand all that comes your way.

Dear Heavenly Father, We humbly thank You for sending Your son, Jesus, to die and rise again for the replacement of our sin. May we search ourselves for things that you find undesirable and may we seek You to search our hearts as well. May we not be motivated by outward forces, but my Your will, desire, correction and ultimately, love, for all others. May we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, to better serve this space, for as so long as You allow us to be here. In the name of the perfect One, we pray ><>

SiC <3