And We Are Changed by Priscilla Shirer

Priscilla is so full of godly wisdom and I enjoyed reading her book. You’ll find below my summary of what I personally found to be the salient points in this book:

• Our primary calling in life is fellowshipping with God. We may be playing a lot of different roles throughout the day – from caring for the elderly to supervising staff at work to being a good spouse to planning our kids’ after school schedule. But all of these don’t change the fact that our primary calling in life is a love relationship with our savior.
• We were created for the express purpose of living a life that pleases and brings glory to God. Therefore nothing we do (that is not in line with this mission) will bring us satisfaction, fulfillment and freedom in life. We should also beware of only doing ‘good things’.
• We encounter God in different ways throughout our day and lives. The question is whether we will recognize those encounters with Him. When we encounter God, we realize how needy of Him we are.
• Nothing should replace our personal alone time with Christ, not radio time with our favorite pastors, listening to podcasts, reading books or even corporate worship (Whew). We can incorporate all these into our special time with Him but they should not altogether replace our firsthand consumption and experience of Him. We need to stop depending so much on hand-me-down truth and instead chase after God and find Him by ourselves. (Yes, you have a spiritual right to receive firsthand revelations straight from the Lord).
• The enemy wants us to be so busy working for the Lord that we neglect what matters most which is our personal relationship with God. – We only find true freedom and fulfillment in life when we chase God with all our might. This is why we can have all the wealth in the world but still be empty – because we are not striving after the right things.
• Whenever and wherever we serve; whether it’s at our job, ministry, or in our families, we should do this as unto the Lord. With a good attitude and without grumbling.
• Let’s think of our relationship with God like a marriage. How it feels when we and a spouse’s relationship has been strained to that of mere housemates ?(lacking friendship and intimacy) is the way it is when we don’t prioritize our intimacy with God.
• God is not moved by congregation numbers. He’d rather be with few people who are truly hungry for Him than thousands who are just coming to put up a show.
• Pruning is part of the process of encountering God, so we need to embrace it when we are for example instructed to give up certain habits or possessions.
• We should also pay attention to our circle of friends since we can’t avoid being influenced by our friends. Our relationships should be those of ‘iron sharpens iron’. (Take an inventory of who you’re letting feed your spirit)
• As His children, we must ask the Lord what gifts He has given us and pursue Him wholeheartedly with those. We need to stop seeking recognition or envying those who are evidently walking in their gifts. Instead, get to work – you are an integral part of the ‘jigsaw puzzle’ too. Take your place.
• Future fruit is always the result of present obedience. Our obedience is required not only for our benefit but also for that of other people (even those we may never meet in our lifetime).