Thursday, November 13, 2008

For His Glory

“…He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3

I am currently sitting in very comfortable but still funky chair on the 3rd floor of the Reese Library at Augusta State University. I am in the very back of the library (behind the stacks) where it is just eerie quiet, but... I LOVE it. It is soooo peaceful. To my immediate left (on the desk of my little cubicle that I’m sitting in)… I have 14 books that reflect around the philosophy studies of Plato. To my upper left I have my notebook for my Media, Law, and Ethics class with the syllabus that explains the 8-10 page research paper that is due exactly one week from today. To my upper right…. Is a “sample paper” of how the research paper should flow…. And in the center of it all….right up under the computer’s monitor… is my Bible. *deep breath in*…ahhh… God’s Word.

He’s the center comfort of what should be a super stressful time, and what am I doing? I’m writing about something that has nothing to do with the philosophy of Plato, nor does it have anything to do with helping those 8-10 pages of that research paper come to life. But I tell you, I may be in a college campus library…. But you should know… I am not sitting at a computer in a library… I am sitting at the feet of my precious Savior… I may have ten million things due next week, but I am called to sit as His feet for a moment, with everything set aside, because I have the empowered sense to give Him some praise and glory…. Yes, right in this moment.

I’ll also have you know that when I took my hair down from my pony tail just a second ago…a beautiful fragrance filled my lungs. Yes… the fragrance comes from washing my hair…. I mean, I do praise God for shampoo… but the fragrance from my hair reminds me of when the sinful woman from the Gospels washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and then she wiped His feet with her hair. Then she proceeded to pour perfume from her alabaster jar onto His feet. I mean, Jesus’ loves a woman who sits at his feet (with long hair that smells good, so...therefore, He loves me!)….I mean, ya know….I’m JUST sayin’! *wink*wink*

I’ve had so many of you e-mail me wanting to know how the Pamper Me weekend went and how my testimony went. I cannot tell you how much I was blessed this past weekend. Surely you should know… my cup is definitely overflowing. I find it so wonderful that last year after Pamper Me; I left the event and couldn’t get Jesus off my mind…. And this year after Pamper Me… I left the event and I STILL can’t get Jesus off my mind. But that is okay with me, because He is right where He should be. Amen? AMEN!!!!

I have to tell you that the Lord did a work in and through me this past weekend. All I did was tell my testimony of what Christ has done in my life, but somehow He used it to be bigger than I could have imagined. All for His Glory, that is for sure. Wow… I can’t possibly explain to you how it felt to have women walk up to me and pour their hearts out to me…. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to pray with so many women there and in the Name of Jesus, ask that He would touch their hearts and continue to strengthen their souls. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to stand in the back of a full room with a precious sister in Christ, and Praise the Lord as “Amazing Grace... My chains are gone” echoed in the presence of a full room, …but at the same time sense the stillness of just the three of us. God, that precious sister, and myself. Awesome. I have chills.

But the most wonderful feeling came from having a woman walk up to me and cup her hands over my cheeks, looking me directly in the eyes with her eyes glazed over with tears and telling me that she saw Jesus in me. Wow. Never would I have imagined. Bless Him. Bless Him. I praise Him, it’s all to His Glory.

Wow. God is so good. WHEW! God is so good. CAN I JUST TELL YOU THAT GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!! Throughout this past year, I have prayed that He would use me for His glory in any way that He wanted to. I’ve told Him over and over that I give myself to Him as an offering and that it is my prayer that He would direct that offering in anyway. Wow, He does. I have to tell you that when you are completely willing to just give your life to Christ, He really does take it. It’s His life after all; we’re just along for the ride. What an awesome ride this past year has been, and it is all because last year around this time I met Jesus.

I MET JESUS. I didn’t just meet Jesus either, I became engaged to Him. When we find Jesus, we should change. When we come to know Jesus, we should change. When we’re willing to live for Jesus, we should change. When we come face to face with Christ, our entire mindset, perspective, and outlook on life should change….. and the neat thing, it changes all for His glory. It is no longer about us in this world, but we are humbled to know that it is about Him and His glory and how He wants us to be in the world, but NOT of it. Everyone who is in the world, AND OF the world, should see the difference in us as Christians. I use to get upset if someone thought I was weird… but you know what…. it’s okay if I’m weird…because IF I’m weird...then, I’m weird for Jesus. That’s just fine with me. :)

(Pause for a second!!!! I just had a guy walk behind me, and he told me that I smelled good!!! HA!!!!!!!!!! Then he looked at me “weirdly” because I started laughing! Ha! Ooohhh!! If he only knew….. that’s the aroma of Christ. I’ll say!! *wink*wink*)

Ok, back to being weird. Oh wait, I think I was done with that. Moving on. I’ve seemed to have gotten off from what I was originally talking about.

Yes, God changed me this past year through the sacrifice of His Son and the filling presence of the Holy Spirit in me, and I was able to share that this weekend. He showed up, that’s for sure. I met so many wonderful women and blessings came down in showers, no no… they came down in waterfalls… (I can’t think of a better word for water being poured heavily)…..because He used me to bless them, but in turn…. They blessed me. He blessed me. I blessed Him. Wow. Just a sharing of blessings. That is too cool!!!! Did I mention that God is sooo Good!!!!!

I was so humbled to be His servant this past weekend, and I was so thrilled at the Huge response for His glory through so many women of all different ages. Isn’t it wonderful that age doesn’t matter when it comes to Jesus. Isn’t it so sweet that I was able to hold up a 40-yr old woman as I prayed with her… just as if I was holding up my 4-yr old niece? Age doesn’t matter when it comes to loving Christ and praying to Him.

The weekend continued and my testimony was told and it was soon over, but the impact that God made just moved mountains. I mean, He was just so incredibly powerful through all the speakers there. Our Heavenly Father used each lady at that retreat to glorify Jesus. That’s exactly what happened, and I’m so thankful and honored to have been able to have the opportunity to serve Him in the most awesome way.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

To think that God had this planned all along, He knew from the moment He said, “Let there be light”… that many years later on Dec. 8, 2007 a 21-year-old girl named Miranda would yield her life to Jesus Christ… and on Nov. 7, 2008…He would allow a 22-year-old growing disciple for Christ… named Miranda to bring glory to His name through the infiltrating power of the Holy Spirit. And it just fills me up to know that He loves me so much, allowed me to have the opportunity to shed my praise for Him, and I can just imagine God looking down and seeing “that it was good.”

“…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- THAT YOU MAY BE FILLED TO THE MEASURE OF ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.” Ephesians 3:17-18

How awesome?!?! We have the opportunity to live full lives, full in the fullness of God. Don’t cha want to do that????.... Yes, I want to do that.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen”

I hope you know how much I love y'all.
Miranda

5 comments:

twinkle said...

I love how God is using you! You are so precious...
About your blog questions...
at the top of your blog page, there is a little "B" symbol that if you clik on it, it will take you to Blogger.com and then clik on "Help." You will find some answers to your questions.
Some bloggers set up for "Followers." Some just add a link to a blog they like.
Play around with "Blogger" "Help" and see if it answers any of your questions.
I clik on other blogs Blogrolls and check out blogs. If I like the blog, I paste the web address to my blog by using the "Layout" function.
Here's a link to blogger help:

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=104226&topic=12485

Paste that link in it's entirety into your search and it should give you some tips.

Let me know if you read through and find what you would like to do...but can't understand it. I'll try and help.

Nichele Lynn said...

I love it! and boy, do I mean, LOVE it! I really enjoy watching God work in you. Isn't it amazing?! Isn't the feeling amazing?

Miranda Riley said...

YES!!!!!!!!! He is awesome!!!!!!

Devoted said...

Loved your comment on the LPM blog and thought I would pop over and check you out. You have inspired me young lady, and for that I am thankful. I'll be dropping round more often, I am sure. God bless you this weekend and may you have a great Thanksgiving holiday. :-D

Gran Jan said...

Miranda: Loved reading your post on the Beth Moore blog! You are filled with the joy of Jesus and what an encouragement since you are so YOUNG!

I am Georgia Jan - enjoyed having lunch with Melissa when she drove to Macon. She is a precious and brilliant young woman of faith!

Keep living for Jesus!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Georgia Jan