The Lamp Unto My Feet...
"Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)
One of the hardest things we face on a daily basis has nothing to do with troubles or tribulations, but with trying to discern between flesh and spirit.
"What do you mean?" you may ask.
You see, vision is something inspired by the Spirit, but after vision comes patience. Many times, we will walk out (or even run) in front of God's designed plan and try to make it work despite the urging of the Spirit for us to come back and let Him do the work in front of us.
I know within my heart of hearts that God has purposed Renewed Life Fellowship as a future group of believers that will work wonders in His name, but I also know that every man faces the same hardship in jumping ahead of God...and I am not without exception.
"Thy Word is a lamp..." means that Jesus, and the words He speaks, are intended to be followed step by step. It's much like what happens when you are walking with a flashlight in the dark. You can see very well directly in front of you, but even when you shine the light into the distance, you can only see so far before it becomes dark again.
This is the perfect design the Father has put in place for our protection, and we tend to forget this when we are following the desire in our heart. "What?" you proclaim.
Think of it this way...have you ever tried to jump out in front of the light from a flashlight? If you try to do this, you will find out two things.
First, unless you place the flashlight in a single and sturdy position, you will never be able to jump in front of it. You would have to hand the light to someone else to hold while you walk out in front, or you have to lay the light down.
Second, you will always end up in the dark when you jump ahead of the light. This may seem to be an elementary principle, but it is still the truth.
You see, the world is filled with darkness, and the only Light we have comes from God's Word. But in the verse shown above, it is clear that His Word is only supposed to light our steps...to light the path, but not the entire journey. Why?
If we had the entire journey lit, why would we need God? God is looking for those that will trust Him each step along the way. He doesn't want us to jump out in front of the Light of His Word, because when we do, we inevitably end up in darkness. What happens to you when you try walking in the dark? You fall...and God doesn't desire that.
God loves you and I so much, that He will go to great lengths to keep us from making that simple mistake...that elementary bumble. Sometimes it comes in forms we wouldn't expect, and most of the time it seems to be harsh. But when we step back from the tree, we can see the forest God is protecting us from walking into.
All of this is said so you will understand the next statement...Renewed Life Fellowship is temporarily postponed because I, as the visionary of RLF, have stepped out in front of the flashlight, and by God's mercy and love, have been pulled back to look at the forest in front of me.
The one thing I know for sure is that God is desiring things to be done correctly, and with no harm to any person. The other thing I know for sure is that I, as a potential minister of His Word, do not desire any harm to any person that would be under my leadership.
Because of these two things, it has become evident that God is trying to get my attention, and is urging me to pull back the reins to come back into the protective Light of His Word. I've stepped outside the boundaries of the vision, and have tried to do many things on my own, instead of step-by-step.
This is hard to admit, mainly because I don't want to admit that it's true. I try to keep myself in check, but at times, I can still fall short of the vision by stepping forward of the Light, and this I have done. I still have a number of points to grow in before God is going to open the door to RLF, and it is better for me to admit this now than to ignore the truth and hurt people that fall under the ministry God has given.
For this reason, I am pulling back the reins, and will not pursue the building of Renewed Life until God brings to light the step when it comes. For those that have searched out an opportunity to minister thru RLF, and to those already committed to it, I personally apologize for not bringing this forward sooner, but as you may know, it sometimes takes a 2 x 4 to get a donkey's attention!
When the time comes for fulfilling the vision laid in front of me, I will contact each of you personally by the email address already provided. Until then, I will simply fall back under the submission of His Word, and will bask in the Light upon my path. I urge each of you to do the same, and pray that God will guide each of you according to His will.
Until then...be richly blessed according to His riches in glory!
--Pastor Brad
One of the hardest things we face on a daily basis has nothing to do with troubles or tribulations, but with trying to discern between flesh and spirit.
"What do you mean?" you may ask.
You see, vision is something inspired by the Spirit, but after vision comes patience. Many times, we will walk out (or even run) in front of God's designed plan and try to make it work despite the urging of the Spirit for us to come back and let Him do the work in front of us.
I know within my heart of hearts that God has purposed Renewed Life Fellowship as a future group of believers that will work wonders in His name, but I also know that every man faces the same hardship in jumping ahead of God...and I am not without exception.
"Thy Word is a lamp..." means that Jesus, and the words He speaks, are intended to be followed step by step. It's much like what happens when you are walking with a flashlight in the dark. You can see very well directly in front of you, but even when you shine the light into the distance, you can only see so far before it becomes dark again.
This is the perfect design the Father has put in place for our protection, and we tend to forget this when we are following the desire in our heart. "What?" you proclaim.
Think of it this way...have you ever tried to jump out in front of the light from a flashlight? If you try to do this, you will find out two things.
First, unless you place the flashlight in a single and sturdy position, you will never be able to jump in front of it. You would have to hand the light to someone else to hold while you walk out in front, or you have to lay the light down.
Second, you will always end up in the dark when you jump ahead of the light. This may seem to be an elementary principle, but it is still the truth.
You see, the world is filled with darkness, and the only Light we have comes from God's Word. But in the verse shown above, it is clear that His Word is only supposed to light our steps...to light the path, but not the entire journey. Why?
If we had the entire journey lit, why would we need God? God is looking for those that will trust Him each step along the way. He doesn't want us to jump out in front of the Light of His Word, because when we do, we inevitably end up in darkness. What happens to you when you try walking in the dark? You fall...and God doesn't desire that.
God loves you and I so much, that He will go to great lengths to keep us from making that simple mistake...that elementary bumble. Sometimes it comes in forms we wouldn't expect, and most of the time it seems to be harsh. But when we step back from the tree, we can see the forest God is protecting us from walking into.
All of this is said so you will understand the next statement...Renewed Life Fellowship is temporarily postponed because I, as the visionary of RLF, have stepped out in front of the flashlight, and by God's mercy and love, have been pulled back to look at the forest in front of me.
The one thing I know for sure is that God is desiring things to be done correctly, and with no harm to any person. The other thing I know for sure is that I, as a potential minister of His Word, do not desire any harm to any person that would be under my leadership.
Because of these two things, it has become evident that God is trying to get my attention, and is urging me to pull back the reins to come back into the protective Light of His Word. I've stepped outside the boundaries of the vision, and have tried to do many things on my own, instead of step-by-step.
This is hard to admit, mainly because I don't want to admit that it's true. I try to keep myself in check, but at times, I can still fall short of the vision by stepping forward of the Light, and this I have done. I still have a number of points to grow in before God is going to open the door to RLF, and it is better for me to admit this now than to ignore the truth and hurt people that fall under the ministry God has given.
For this reason, I am pulling back the reins, and will not pursue the building of Renewed Life until God brings to light the step when it comes. For those that have searched out an opportunity to minister thru RLF, and to those already committed to it, I personally apologize for not bringing this forward sooner, but as you may know, it sometimes takes a 2 x 4 to get a donkey's attention!
When the time comes for fulfilling the vision laid in front of me, I will contact each of you personally by the email address already provided. Until then, I will simply fall back under the submission of His Word, and will bask in the Light upon my path. I urge each of you to do the same, and pray that God will guide each of you according to His will.
Until then...be richly blessed according to His riches in glory!
--Pastor Brad
