Did you ever know that GOD WANTS TO USE YOU!!! God can use ANYONE, buuuuuut He wants to use YOU!!! Sometimes there are things that God directs to do and our first thought is, Oh I can't do this! I need to find someone else to do this!!! I tell my sis this A LOT...she's probabley rolling her eyes even as she reads this, LOL, buuuuut sometimes she'll tell me oh YOU need to go talk to so and so about going to church or a Bible study!
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Annnnnnnnd I'm like, WHY ME??? And she'll say, because your BETTER than me at talking to people! ANNNNND I SAY, yes, buuuuuuut WHY DID GOD, put them in YOUR PATH and NOT MINE??? And she'll say, weeeeellll because... and I'm like NO THERESA, God wants to USE YOU!!! I told her, i'm willing if no one else will or can do it, buuuuuuuuut, for SOME REASON...God CHOSE YOU!!!
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Often times God will give us a soul or even just a job that he wants us to do and because of our own inadaqucies we think, Oh i'm NOT qualified, I'm not good enough and we try to pass it off onto someone else!!!! One thing that the Abbotts taught us our whole lives growing up is, IF they asked you to do something, you said YES!!! If they asked you to testify, YOU TESTIFIED!!! If they asked you to sing, YOU SANG!!! If they asked you to clean, YOU CLEANED!!!! If they asked you to be in choir, YOU WERE IN THE CHOIR!!! If they asked you to direct the Christmas play, YOU DIRECTED THE CHRISTMAS PLAY!!! If they wanted you to write it, YOU WROTE IT!!! If they asked you to teach Sunday School, YOU TAUGHT SUNDAY SCHOOL!!!
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Bro. Abbott always taught us that we needed to have a heart that was willing to say YES to WHATEVER was asked of us!!! I mean, with a few understandable exceptions when sick or whatever, but they never wanted us to have an attitude of when it was COMFORTABLE for us and on OUR TERMS, that THEN God could use us!!! He said if we go somewhere and we're requested to sing, you better have song ready to sing and NOT to come up with an excuse or to say that you were on vacation, YOU SANG!!! There were times Bro. Abbott would just hand me the mike at alter call and say I want you to sing, and I was thinking WHY ME??? I'm NOT a singer, I'm a WRITER!!! Ooooo buuuuut I didn't say that, I just SAAAAAANG!!!
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This past Conqueror's Conference they did a singspiration before one of the night services and they wanted people to volunteer to sing, well, it turns out that there was a grand total of about three groups that were going to sing. One of the people in charge was like, MARY!!! We NEED VOLUNTEERS!!! I'm like, heeeeey don't look at ME!!! Then Someone else said to me, Mary, Why don't YOU sing!?!?! I was like, WHAAAAAAT ME??? Nooooooo!!!
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They were like, WHY NOT??? I'm like, BECAUSE, I'm NOT a SINGER!!! They were like, WELL you sing at OUR CHURCH!!! I'm like yeah, buuuuuut thats our church, i mean IF I mess up at my church, big deal...BUUUUUUUUUUT...this is a YOUTH CONFERENCE!!! Like do you know just HOW EMBARRASSING that will be??? God's like, Oooooo so its all about WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK huh??? Ooooo CONVICTION smacked me up side of my face...I'm like UH FIIIIIIIIINE.
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Sooooooo I went and told the person in charge...then I did a quick practice...and with a pounding heart I waited for church!!! Annnnnnd when it was time for the singspiration, I went up and sang my little song...Ooooo it was the most nervous, terrifying feeling I had felt, buuuuuut I did it!!! I refused to let the fear of smirks or talk later on hinder me from saying YES, to God!!! Because what does it matter what PEOPLE think, I wasnt singing for PEOPLE anyways!!! We need to remember that when God asks us to do something, HE IS THE ONE THAT WE ARE DOING IT FOR!!!
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Its easy for us to say YES to something that we are GOOD AT!!! Its easy for me to say YES to write something or to speak or testify for something, because, I KNOW that I'm GOOD AT IT!!! And I don't mean that in a concieted way, I KNOW MY STRENGTHS!!! Buuuuuut its a WHOLE LOT HARDER to say YES to something that we're unsure of ourselves in doing it! Buuuut God doesn't want us to put our confidence in our OWN ABILITY, buuuuuut IN HIM!!!
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"And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither
heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of
speech, and of a slow tongue."God said SOOOO WHAT???...that doesn't matter...Whats a little SPEECH IMDEDIMENT to me??? HELLOOOO...I MADE YOU!!! "And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb,
or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt
say." Buuuuuuuuuut Moses just couldn't be ok with God saying it didn't matter...He musta been thinkin about WHAT the Eyptians were going to think of him..."And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt
send." God said OK FINE, i'll get someone else to help you...buuuuuuuut YOU were my FIRST CHOICE!!!"And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart."Moses didn't have enough trust in God to believe that God could ACTUALLY use him DESPITE his inabilities"And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do." Annnnnnd soooo God made Aaron and Moses a team, buuuuuuuuut he didn't NEED AARON to USE MOSES!!! "And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall
be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God." (Exodus 4:10-16)
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In God's original plan, he was going to use Moses, just the way that he was!!! God wants to USE YOU!!! It doesn't matter to God HOW good you are at something, WHAT matters is YOUR AVAILABILTY and the WILLINGNESS in your heart to him when he asks you to do something!!! God doesn't see us the way we see ourselves!!! Our weaknesses don't matter to God because our STRENGTH IS IN HIM!!!
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God can use someone else, buuuuut he wants YOU!!! Sometimes I don't know WHY i'm driving to Glendale to bring people to my church in SCOTTSDALE!!! Sometimes i'll even suggest, you know there is a REALLY good church like five minutes from you??? And I'll hear OH NO MARY, I want to go to church with YOU!!! Annnnnd it can be A LOT OF GAS, buuuuut i just have a deal with God, AS LONG AS HE PROVIDES THE GAS, I'LL PROVIDE THE TRANSPORTATION!!!
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Inviting people to church and bringing people to church, I am pretty good at this.... buuuuuut OH MAN I get nervous trying to help pray someone through to the Holy Ghost!!! Oh I can put my arm around someone just at the alter and PRAY WITH THEM!!! Buuuuut the actual LEADING someone into how to pray, I get soooo SCARED and nervous about it!!! I'll look around to see where all the GOOD ALTER WORKERS ARE...buuuut if they're busy praying with someone else...guess WHAT??? God wants ME!!!
Did you know that God wants YOU!!! Not just your momma, not just your daddy, not just your sista, NOT JUST YOUR BROTHA, not just your granny... YOU!!! Don't pass it off onto someone else...
Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."
GOD WANTS TO USE YOU!!!
♥Mary Frances :)
