My sentiments vs My Ministry- What's the difference?

Couple of weeks ago my Houston mom said during Bible Study "People often stick around with others due to sentiments or memories". I raised my indivisible "GUILTY AS CHARGED" flag when she said that. So here I am weeks later, sitting in my closet (yes my CLOSET!!! It's the least distracting place in my room to do devotions. The most damage I could do in there is clean it up, and that is a damage I am willing to accept) reading the book of Matthew. I came across the story of the birth of Christ. Of course everyone and their mama has heard about the birth of Christ, and if they haven't YIKES!!! Peace be with you!. Any who, I was reading the part when the angel appeared to Joseph, and told him to pack and move to Egypt until it was safe. So Mary and Joseph did just that, in the middle of the night the new mom packed up everything, and traveled to Egypt. According to timeanddate.com that is roughly 264 miles on your handy dandy donkey. Can't you just imagine how full of joy that trip would be. There's you, a brand new mother who probably have not received much rest, then there is the baby, whom you must take care off, and your luxury ride THE DONKEY...hhhaaayyyy!!! let's do this!!! Ummm not so quick. I am all for sacrifices, but I am not sure if I would have been down for that trip as a brand new mom. Then she had the great pleasure of doing it again from Egypt to Nazareth (Israel). The point I am trying to make in all of this is that many can say Mary made a lot of sacrifices to make sure that her baby was kept alive. Of course most mothers do this for her children. 


Fast forward to a few decades, and in Mark chapter 3 there is a scene where Jesus offends his own mother while doing his ministry. 

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law

 ²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹ When his family^[b] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

 ³¹ Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. ³² A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

   ³³ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

 ³⁴ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Christ knew what his ministry should all be about. He knew plenty would be offended even those close to him, but he also knew he came there for a purpose, a plan, and at any cost he must fulfill it. At no time in this passage do we see Jesus pausing for a minute and saying "hmmm I remember when I was a baby my parents took me all the way to Egypt and back on a donkey. She (Mary) suffered so much for me. I just want to be nice to her. I don't want to hurt her feelings, and I don't want people going up to her door saying what a crazy kid she has. I want her to have a good reputation here". He knew he had to say what he had to say because it was truth and people needed to hear it. 


As I read this chapter, and I visualized Joseph and Mary's journey my "GUILTY AS CHARGED" flags went up again. Then revelation hit....Mary's purpose in her lifetime was to give birth to the Messiah. She was God's chosen vessel for this task, and she did just that. She did what any mother should do, and would do. It was the Messiah's job to bring truth and light into a world that was dying, and full of legalism. 


All of us are placed here with a plan and purpose, but often time we let our memories from our past,and sentiments hold us off from moving forward. We stay in relationships that does not progress, we stay with friends who has been there since kindergarten, and even though you know GOD is calling you to move forward the idea of leaving them and the memories is too much to bear. Christ said "I must be about my father's business"  Luke 14: 26 states “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.


It's great to have memories, and it's great to have sentiments, it is great to love others, but are those things stopping you from your purpose. As I read this chapter I honestly started thinking about the times I put aside things time and time again for my family. Not because I agreed with what was going on, but out of pure sentiments about the "sacrifices" they have made for me once up on a time in a land far far away. There were times I said "I will not do this" only to turn around and do the exact same thing because I had a flash back of a sleepless night they had to endure because of me. But I never thought what if their sole purpose was to endure nights like that and go through some things. Because if they  had not gone through what they had went through then I wouldn't be here today, to tell people my story. 


Can you differentiate between your sentiments/memories and your call? Or like me is it all tangled together?

At the end of myself

This Sunday after church I had the pleasure of sitting down and talking to someone who pretty much does mission work for a living. I have always had a fascination with working in the field, but wanted to do it ALL for the right reasons. I feel as thought often time people get into doing GOD's work for their glory and actually not for GOD. I had strong feelings against that. So we left the conversation at keep praying on it, and see where GOD leads you. As I drove back home I couldn't help but get a bit emotional about my conversation with George. He talked about coming to the end of yourself, completely giving up who you are, and living for Christ. I asked myself a few easy and hard questions like

"Are you willing to give up something as simple as starbucks?"
"How about those manicures and pedicures?"
"How about the life you planned out for yourself?"

The last question is what made me stop dead in my tracks. The AMERICAN DREAM.....A nice house, nothing too fancy or overwhelming, but an actual home. The career that I've been dreaming off since I knew what a career meant, the husband, the kids, Disneyland....the great American dream dangled before me and I did not know the answer. The Bible says that the reward in heaven is much greater than anything I could fathom here on Earth, but is my flesh willing to let go off the American Dream, and truly come to the end of myself and become all for the cross. I realize that if I chose to go that route that my kids (should I be blessed with any) may not have the best education. They might have to attend a school somewhere in a 3rd world country. They may never experience any of the luxuries that I wanted them to have because mommie didn't have it. Then I took the kids out of the equation and asked myself "Are you willing to let go of your plans?" The house you want for yourself, the career with the nice paycheck?, all the things you thought your life should be.

I have to say my eyes filled up with tear as a popular gospel song played in my mind

I Give Myself Away- William McDowell

There is a particular part in the song that says "My life is not my own To you I belong I give myself, I give myself to you"

I wondered at that moment  how many people under stood the strength (for lack of a better word at the moment) of those words. I wondered how many people actually meant it. I wondered how many people are willing to give up their dreams to take up the cross.