Vicarious Faith

vi·car·i·ous

   /vaɪˈkɛəriəs, vɪ-/ Show Spelled

–adjective

1.

performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place ofanother: vicarious punishment.

2.

taking the place of another person or thing; acting or servingas a substitute.

This morning my pastor preached a sermon that really struck a chord with me. I find myself always learning from him and his wisdom because I truly believe he seeks the truth and is a true man of God. Today he spoke on "Vicarious Faith". Exercising MY faith for the benefit of OTHERS. He posed questions like.....when was the last time you fasted for someone else? when did you last petition God to send whatever blessing HE had in store for you, to send to someone else? when was the last time you spent more time begging God to supply someone else's need above your own? WOW......when was the last time I truly wanted to see God use me for the benefit of someone else? For His blessings to flow to me and THROUGH ME. We read in the bible where the four men that took their friend to see Jesus to be healed. When they arrived, they couldn't get into the door to see Jesus, there were so many people there. They didn't give up. They thought outside of the box.....they wanted God to use their faith to heal their friend. So what did they do? They came in through the roof....Jesus healed their friend. That man benefited from their faith, their determination. Did they gain anything from it, other than getting to witness their friend being healed....NO!!! Matter of fact, they are nameless in the Bible.....because the only recognition that is important is GOD's!!!!

I do pray for others. I do beg God to use me.....but I am challenging myself to truly have vicarious faith. I want God to use me in a way that benefits others for HIS honor and glory....not for the praise of man.

writing on the wall

okay...well the other day I was wishing for things to be simpler....ya know....written out on a wall for you....WELL......I believe one of the decisions I was facing was basically answered for me....

I am so thankful I can trust GOD and know that HE will answer my prayer.....whether or not it is the way I had wanted or not.

There are going to be some very exciting things happening soon and I can not wait.

lately

Okay....so lately I have been feeling confused.....pulled in many different directions......and questioning am I being stupid or wise?

I don't like being 35(tomorrow) and feeling so overwhelmed with decisions. Truly don't know which path to take......about a couple of different things going on right now. Sometimes I wish the Lord's will was written clearly on a wall somewhere. Really needing some guidance and direction.

Also, I have a praise.....they were able to remove ALL of the cancer from my dad's arm. WOOTWOOT!!! But now we have another prayer request.......my dad has been experiencing some severe abdominal pain for a few weeks now. Well, he went to the Dr., they ran some test and as of this morning, he was told he has an enlarged liver(which can only be caused by one of 3 things. Either liver disease, cancer, or heart problems) He is being sent to a specialist to have more test run and hopefully a diagnosis. Please continue to pray for him. He will be turning 68 in April!

So, as I mentioned above......I turn 35 tomorrow. Last year on my birthday I received a horrible phone call about our "GREAT"and they day after my birthday, our Great died. I am feeling so sad.....and don't feel much like celebrating. I miss her so much and just the mere thought of her, makes me cry!

Anywho......I am just so thankful, I have my Lord and Savior to take the petitions to! For HE knows the way all I have to do is follow!!!