12/24/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: John 10:10 " For I came to give you life, and give it to you abundantly."
Christmas is an exciting time in a house with a 4 and 6 year old. Their excitement reaches a crescendo as the big night approaches when the gifts can finally be opened and the joy of their hearts can finally be fulfilled after a seemingly endless period of waiting. They have been counting down with their advent calendars, each day representing one step closer to the night of opening their gifts. But I have been focused on teaching them that the greatest gift that they will ever receive in their lives has already been given. It was given on Christmas because that is when God chose to send His Son into this dark world to establish a beach head for reconciling this world back to him for eternity. He sent His Son humbly into the world, born into the darkness in a manger, with a few cloths and some hay all that there was to keep him warm. The second He was born, the evil forces of darkness in this world were already trying to kill him, with the mind of King Herod already working to destroy anything that would challenge his earthly throne. When he heard that the baby King had been born in Bethlehem and that He was to become the King of the Jews , he instantly felt insecure and and threatened. The ultimate result were the first martyr's for Christ, when he ordered all boy babies who were born in Bethlehem and under the age of two to be killed. Welcome to the world Jesus, we've been waiting for you. But God had the perfect gift waiting for us, and His plan could not be thwarted, as reconciling the world back to Him had been the goal since the fall in the Garden of Eden. Sin had to be dealt with once and for all. Mankind would be the beneficiary of the greatest gift. It would be a gift that we could never deserve or earn. We weren't owed it by any means. We didn't have to receive it,we would never be forced to take it,but we could never loose it. It would never be taken back, like many of our earthly gifts that our kids don't either want or the sizes are wrong. Even though the price of the gift would be enormous, we wouldn't have to pay a dime to get it. The price for our sin would be paid in full and we would never even get a bill. Eternal life is the reward for all who will simply recognize who Christ is and what He did for us on the cross to get it. God is asking if you will receive the greatest gift of all this Christmas. It brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self control and humility in a way this world could never offer. The gift is waiting to be unwrapped by all who claim it. May this Christmas be the best ever as we truly embrace the reason for the season. Don't forget that the greatest gift has already been given, and no earthly gift can ever compare. Amen!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Home Alone
12/16/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Chronicles 4:10 " Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, " Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."
Today, I turn 47 years old. I was doing some reflection recently on my life and my path up until this point. Like all of us, there have been lots of peaks and valleys. There have been some things that I wish I could do over, say over or get another crack at, but that's not how life works. We must move on and learn from our mistakes. There have also been some things that I wish I would have tried to do, but because of my personal fears or doubts, I didn't do. Those things sting even worse. Most of my 47 years on this earth were spent without walking with the Lord. Those days, in retrospect, were lonely and fearful. I was searching for my path and was constantly aware that I didn't have the strength to measure up or to make it on my own. The pains and disappointments were too great, the failures too numerous and recent, the lack of confidence covered over by a facade of false pride. I was barely hanging on, using many different instruments to try and dull the pain and survive, wondering if I could make it one more day. I started to feel a calling on my life about 15 years ago, that there was someone or something out there that was trying to reach out to me and offer me a life line. It was a feeling in my soul and in my heart that someone was looking out for me and wanted to pull me out of my malaise. I didn't realize at the time that is was Jesus Christ, and that He truly had a better path for me. In fact,I was fighting the thought that I even needed help in my life, because on the surface everything looked fine from the world's perspective. I had a great job, made great money, had lots of great friends and life was an endless party. But deep down in the depths of my soul, I was empty and hurting. I had lived most of my adult life without a relationship with my father, and I was desperately seeking the world's approval, mostly from a performance standpoint. I wanted people to validate me and tell me I was good enough and that they cared. But the enslaving chords that wrap around you when you live for other people's validation began to eat away at me. I began to resent their approval because frankly, they didn't even know me or what I wanted or needed. I needed a dad's approval. That is when Jesus Christ broke into my life and filled all of my missing parts. He showed me the love of my Heavenly Father and how I was forgiven of all of my sins though His atoning sacrifice. He showed me what true love felt like, from an eternal perspective. His grace began to permeate my soul, and we have been on a journey together to create a new path for my life ever since. It is in fact difficult to explain, but I am sure that I have been given a new life, a life that has less pain and more love, that continues to learn and grow in leaps and bounds and that will continue to do so until the day I die. I have a path that leads to life, abundant life, as Jesus promised in John 10:10 " I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." I have found that in my quiet time, when I am home alone and spending time one on one with my Savior in prayer and relationship, that I am learning to hear His still, small voice and it is leading my steps and filling my heart with an overflowing of joy. It is the type of joy that Peter expressed in 1 Peter 1:8-9 when he says " Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." The path that I am on now is filled with wonderment and anticipation in the hope of the glory of God. There are still many potholes, and pain in this life, but the light is now enveloping the darkness, and I know that through Him, all things are possible. I crave the time spent alone with Him, as he prepares me for my next assignment or trial. True wisdom is found in the everlasting truth of scriptures, but practical application of those truths in our lives is only found from relationship with Him on a daily basis. Without that practical application, there would be no power or chance for lasting change. The peace that surpasses all understanding is the end result of our time spent alone with Christ, but the glory is in the path that He takes us on that leads to fulfillment in our life. When we pray for big things, like the prayer of Jabez above, we must expect Him to answer it and anticipating that it will happen, but not in our time but in His perfect timing. He wants us to ask, and then we wants us to believe. James points out in James 1:6-7 that " when a man asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man shall not think he will receive anything in the Lord." Anyone plus God is an unbeatable army and through faith, is a force that can move mountains. God loves impossible odds and using underdogs to bring glory to His name. Just see David vs Goliath, or Gideon vs. the Midianites, or Moses vs. his own doubt and fears. Home alone with the Lord is where those big dreams begin, deep in a man's heart and soul, where the Holy Spirit enters in and redirects our path. My life has never been the same since I answered his knocking on the door of my heart. It was the best decision of my life and set me on the path to eternity knowing how much I am truly loved and cherished by my Creator. It has freed me up to do my best work for His Kingdom, for which he has uniquely designed me, with whatever time I have left on this earth. Amen!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Chronicles 4:10 " Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, " Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."
Today, I turn 47 years old. I was doing some reflection recently on my life and my path up until this point. Like all of us, there have been lots of peaks and valleys. There have been some things that I wish I could do over, say over or get another crack at, but that's not how life works. We must move on and learn from our mistakes. There have also been some things that I wish I would have tried to do, but because of my personal fears or doubts, I didn't do. Those things sting even worse. Most of my 47 years on this earth were spent without walking with the Lord. Those days, in retrospect, were lonely and fearful. I was searching for my path and was constantly aware that I didn't have the strength to measure up or to make it on my own. The pains and disappointments were too great, the failures too numerous and recent, the lack of confidence covered over by a facade of false pride. I was barely hanging on, using many different instruments to try and dull the pain and survive, wondering if I could make it one more day. I started to feel a calling on my life about 15 years ago, that there was someone or something out there that was trying to reach out to me and offer me a life line. It was a feeling in my soul and in my heart that someone was looking out for me and wanted to pull me out of my malaise. I didn't realize at the time that is was Jesus Christ, and that He truly had a better path for me. In fact,I was fighting the thought that I even needed help in my life, because on the surface everything looked fine from the world's perspective. I had a great job, made great money, had lots of great friends and life was an endless party. But deep down in the depths of my soul, I was empty and hurting. I had lived most of my adult life without a relationship with my father, and I was desperately seeking the world's approval, mostly from a performance standpoint. I wanted people to validate me and tell me I was good enough and that they cared. But the enslaving chords that wrap around you when you live for other people's validation began to eat away at me. I began to resent their approval because frankly, they didn't even know me or what I wanted or needed. I needed a dad's approval. That is when Jesus Christ broke into my life and filled all of my missing parts. He showed me the love of my Heavenly Father and how I was forgiven of all of my sins though His atoning sacrifice. He showed me what true love felt like, from an eternal perspective. His grace began to permeate my soul, and we have been on a journey together to create a new path for my life ever since. It is in fact difficult to explain, but I am sure that I have been given a new life, a life that has less pain and more love, that continues to learn and grow in leaps and bounds and that will continue to do so until the day I die. I have a path that leads to life, abundant life, as Jesus promised in John 10:10 " I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." I have found that in my quiet time, when I am home alone and spending time one on one with my Savior in prayer and relationship, that I am learning to hear His still, small voice and it is leading my steps and filling my heart with an overflowing of joy. It is the type of joy that Peter expressed in 1 Peter 1:8-9 when he says " Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." The path that I am on now is filled with wonderment and anticipation in the hope of the glory of God. There are still many potholes, and pain in this life, but the light is now enveloping the darkness, and I know that through Him, all things are possible. I crave the time spent alone with Him, as he prepares me for my next assignment or trial. True wisdom is found in the everlasting truth of scriptures, but practical application of those truths in our lives is only found from relationship with Him on a daily basis. Without that practical application, there would be no power or chance for lasting change. The peace that surpasses all understanding is the end result of our time spent alone with Christ, but the glory is in the path that He takes us on that leads to fulfillment in our life. When we pray for big things, like the prayer of Jabez above, we must expect Him to answer it and anticipating that it will happen, but not in our time but in His perfect timing. He wants us to ask, and then we wants us to believe. James points out in James 1:6-7 that " when a man asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man shall not think he will receive anything in the Lord." Anyone plus God is an unbeatable army and through faith, is a force that can move mountains. God loves impossible odds and using underdogs to bring glory to His name. Just see David vs Goliath, or Gideon vs. the Midianites, or Moses vs. his own doubt and fears. Home alone with the Lord is where those big dreams begin, deep in a man's heart and soul, where the Holy Spirit enters in and redirects our path. My life has never been the same since I answered his knocking on the door of my heart. It was the best decision of my life and set me on the path to eternity knowing how much I am truly loved and cherished by my Creator. It has freed me up to do my best work for His Kingdom, for which he has uniquely designed me, with whatever time I have left on this earth. Amen!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Knee Mail over email
12/14/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Ephesians 6:18 " And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
We live in a highly distracted world. Busyness seems to be an important element of feeling good about ourselves in this technology driven world. We feel justified that life is going good when we are busy. We don't have time to worry about all the things that are wrong in our lives when we are busy. Email is a constant reminder of how much we have to do and how "busy" we are. It is also a great cause of so much stress, as we never seem to have enough time to do it all and still leave time for ourselves and the pleasure we deserve. I believe that busyness is the devil's way of distracting us from God's power and purpose in our lives. When we are distracted, we are not engaged in the things that God most desires for us, and that is a blossoming relationship with Him. Instead of Email, we should be focusing on Knee Mail! Time spent in prayer with our Lord is the key to being renewed, refreshed and reinvigorated. Our souls are in need of rest,and that can only come through the source of the unremitting water found in the living God, Jesus Christ, tapped into through prayer. We can toil around under our own efforts, trying to act busy, but in the end that will only lead to weariness and futility. This was clearly illustrated in the Psalm 127:1-2, when it states " Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for He grants sleep to those he loves." We can be so much more productive when we are in tune with the Lord through prayer rather than when we are trying to look busy for the accolades of man. Praying is key for many different reasons, but mostly because when we are close to the wisdom of God, we get thoughts that we wouldn't necessarily get on our own. Good thoughts are possible on our own, but God thoughts come only through prayer. Prayer helps us to catch the opportunities that God throws our way. Living in prayer mode is the difference between seeing coincidences and Providences in our lives. When we pray, Providences happen. When we don't pray, they don't happen. It is really that simple. One of the amazing gifts of the Holy Spirit through prayer is that we don't have to manufacture opportunities. He just helps to bring them our way. It is a great part of God's portfolio. He prepares God ordained opportunities that are awaiting us when we tap into them through prayer. God opportunities is His gift to us. What we do with them is our gift to Him. Our job is to seize those opportunities that He presents to us. I believe there are some keys to an effective prayer life and most of them are quite obvious. We must take time out of our day to spend time alone with God. If we need to get up early or stay up late, than that is what we should do. It is in quiet time with God that we learn to hear his still, small voice that leads us. We don't need to prepare a whole list of agenda items, but we need to just be still with him and let Him lead us. Sometimes, we should just come to Him and say, Lord I don't know what to say to you to you right now, but trust that You know what I need to hear. Please let me seek your wisdom and have you reveal it to me. We must trust in the Lord's answers when we pray to Him. Sometimes the answers we get may not be what we want to hear, but they will always be the best way for us. He sometimes will tell us no, but when He does we must trust that it is for our protection and out of His love. That is one of the hardest things to get our arms around. We always want things in our time and with our plans, but many times that would lead to a less than optimal outcome. We need to completely put our trust and faith in Him. C.S Lewis once said that " I am sure that someday I will be more grateful for my prayers that didn't get answered rather than the ones that did." That is simply because some of our prayers are misguided and would be damaging to us if answered. Sometimes are prayers are simply out of alignment with God's will. We pray for comfort instead of character. We pray for the easy way out of a situation, instead of the strength to make it through. We pray for no pain, when the result would be no gain, and maybe rob us of the opportunity to glorify Him in the end. Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of the difficult circumstances we are in. There are many practical aspects of the benefits of prayer. When we are praying, we take our attention of off of us, and put it onto God. This instantly helps relieve stress in our lives because it changes our perceptions from what is wrong with us, to what is right with God. We find that most of our problems are not circumstantial, but perceptual. We re-frame our problems and it is like hitting the refresh key on our computers. When we pray for others and their needs, we align ourselves with the humility of Christ. We put others first in our thoughts and that selflessness is a sign of humility that God appreciates. Prayer helps us to be less self conscious and more God conscious. As Paul states in the Bible verse above, we should learn to pray on all occasions as this brings glory to God, who seeks a continual, interactive relationship with us through Christ Jesus. When we are happy, we should praise God. When we are going through difficult moments, we should seek God. When we are in quiet moments, we should worship God. When we are going through painful times, we should trust God and in every moment of our days and our life, we should thank God, for who He and how much He has revealed His love for us in Jesus Christ. What keeps us from an effective prayer life? What inhibits us from time alone with God? I believe the biggest one is our feelings of guilt and unworthiness. We just don't think that God would care about us because of all of the sin in our lives. But if that were the case, than there would be no one praying on earth, because we are all sinners. However, for our prayers to be effective, we must come before God cleansed from our sins. We must simply ask for Him to reveal those areas of our lives where we have fallen short and ask Him to clean us from those sins, and then we can stand before Him cleansed and He can hear our prayers free from the inhibition of our sins. Isaiah warns us that our sins can keep Him from hearing us and our prayers from being effective in 59: 1-2 when he says " Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that He will not hear." I believe we also must concentrate on our praying. We must put down our mobile devices and our busyness, and learn to grasp God's power, love, omniscience and holiness. We must stay focused on Him and give Him room for His glory in our lives. We also are inhibited by our fears of praying wrong. Our over-analysis leads to paralysis in our prayer life. It is ok that we don't know how to pray or what to pray for at certain times as Romans 8:26 promises that the Spirit will intercede on our behalf, " We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." the Lord understood our weaknesses and provided us with the Holy Spirit to allow us access to directly communicate with our Heavenly Father. Most people lack anticipation and faith in their prayer life, which leads to a lack of passion around it. I have certainly been struggling with this for many years, as I want instant gratification for my prayers, like the Lord is some type of cosmic vending machine, where my prayers go in His his slot, and my answer comes out of the other slot. It takes endurance and hope and faithfulness to have a meaningful prayer life. That is how God teaches us and tests us through our endurance. Impatience is a prayer killer. Endurance and faith leads to our prayers being answered in His perfect timing and in His perfect, loving way. May we all learn to make more time for Knee Mail, at the expense of time on email. May our busyness make way for the rest of our souls that we so need and desire. May we find true wisdom in God's ideas from time humbly spent on our knees in awe of Him. May His abundance bring a harvest of blessings in the areas of our lives where we are perfectly aligned with His will for our lives and for His way to accomplish it. Amen!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Ephesians 6:18 " And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
We live in a highly distracted world. Busyness seems to be an important element of feeling good about ourselves in this technology driven world. We feel justified that life is going good when we are busy. We don't have time to worry about all the things that are wrong in our lives when we are busy. Email is a constant reminder of how much we have to do and how "busy" we are. It is also a great cause of so much stress, as we never seem to have enough time to do it all and still leave time for ourselves and the pleasure we deserve. I believe that busyness is the devil's way of distracting us from God's power and purpose in our lives. When we are distracted, we are not engaged in the things that God most desires for us, and that is a blossoming relationship with Him. Instead of Email, we should be focusing on Knee Mail! Time spent in prayer with our Lord is the key to being renewed, refreshed and reinvigorated. Our souls are in need of rest,and that can only come through the source of the unremitting water found in the living God, Jesus Christ, tapped into through prayer. We can toil around under our own efforts, trying to act busy, but in the end that will only lead to weariness and futility. This was clearly illustrated in the Psalm 127:1-2, when it states " Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for He grants sleep to those he loves." We can be so much more productive when we are in tune with the Lord through prayer rather than when we are trying to look busy for the accolades of man. Praying is key for many different reasons, but mostly because when we are close to the wisdom of God, we get thoughts that we wouldn't necessarily get on our own. Good thoughts are possible on our own, but God thoughts come only through prayer. Prayer helps us to catch the opportunities that God throws our way. Living in prayer mode is the difference between seeing coincidences and Providences in our lives. When we pray, Providences happen. When we don't pray, they don't happen. It is really that simple. One of the amazing gifts of the Holy Spirit through prayer is that we don't have to manufacture opportunities. He just helps to bring them our way. It is a great part of God's portfolio. He prepares God ordained opportunities that are awaiting us when we tap into them through prayer. God opportunities is His gift to us. What we do with them is our gift to Him. Our job is to seize those opportunities that He presents to us. I believe there are some keys to an effective prayer life and most of them are quite obvious. We must take time out of our day to spend time alone with God. If we need to get up early or stay up late, than that is what we should do. It is in quiet time with God that we learn to hear his still, small voice that leads us. We don't need to prepare a whole list of agenda items, but we need to just be still with him and let Him lead us. Sometimes, we should just come to Him and say, Lord I don't know what to say to you to you right now, but trust that You know what I need to hear. Please let me seek your wisdom and have you reveal it to me. We must trust in the Lord's answers when we pray to Him. Sometimes the answers we get may not be what we want to hear, but they will always be the best way for us. He sometimes will tell us no, but when He does we must trust that it is for our protection and out of His love. That is one of the hardest things to get our arms around. We always want things in our time and with our plans, but many times that would lead to a less than optimal outcome. We need to completely put our trust and faith in Him. C.S Lewis once said that " I am sure that someday I will be more grateful for my prayers that didn't get answered rather than the ones that did." That is simply because some of our prayers are misguided and would be damaging to us if answered. Sometimes are prayers are simply out of alignment with God's will. We pray for comfort instead of character. We pray for the easy way out of a situation, instead of the strength to make it through. We pray for no pain, when the result would be no gain, and maybe rob us of the opportunity to glorify Him in the end. Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of the difficult circumstances we are in. There are many practical aspects of the benefits of prayer. When we are praying, we take our attention of off of us, and put it onto God. This instantly helps relieve stress in our lives because it changes our perceptions from what is wrong with us, to what is right with God. We find that most of our problems are not circumstantial, but perceptual. We re-frame our problems and it is like hitting the refresh key on our computers. When we pray for others and their needs, we align ourselves with the humility of Christ. We put others first in our thoughts and that selflessness is a sign of humility that God appreciates. Prayer helps us to be less self conscious and more God conscious. As Paul states in the Bible verse above, we should learn to pray on all occasions as this brings glory to God, who seeks a continual, interactive relationship with us through Christ Jesus. When we are happy, we should praise God. When we are going through difficult moments, we should seek God. When we are in quiet moments, we should worship God. When we are going through painful times, we should trust God and in every moment of our days and our life, we should thank God, for who He and how much He has revealed His love for us in Jesus Christ. What keeps us from an effective prayer life? What inhibits us from time alone with God? I believe the biggest one is our feelings of guilt and unworthiness. We just don't think that God would care about us because of all of the sin in our lives. But if that were the case, than there would be no one praying on earth, because we are all sinners. However, for our prayers to be effective, we must come before God cleansed from our sins. We must simply ask for Him to reveal those areas of our lives where we have fallen short and ask Him to clean us from those sins, and then we can stand before Him cleansed and He can hear our prayers free from the inhibition of our sins. Isaiah warns us that our sins can keep Him from hearing us and our prayers from being effective in 59: 1-2 when he says " Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that He will not hear." I believe we also must concentrate on our praying. We must put down our mobile devices and our busyness, and learn to grasp God's power, love, omniscience and holiness. We must stay focused on Him and give Him room for His glory in our lives. We also are inhibited by our fears of praying wrong. Our over-analysis leads to paralysis in our prayer life. It is ok that we don't know how to pray or what to pray for at certain times as Romans 8:26 promises that the Spirit will intercede on our behalf, " We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." the Lord understood our weaknesses and provided us with the Holy Spirit to allow us access to directly communicate with our Heavenly Father. Most people lack anticipation and faith in their prayer life, which leads to a lack of passion around it. I have certainly been struggling with this for many years, as I want instant gratification for my prayers, like the Lord is some type of cosmic vending machine, where my prayers go in His his slot, and my answer comes out of the other slot. It takes endurance and hope and faithfulness to have a meaningful prayer life. That is how God teaches us and tests us through our endurance. Impatience is a prayer killer. Endurance and faith leads to our prayers being answered in His perfect timing and in His perfect, loving way. May we all learn to make more time for Knee Mail, at the expense of time on email. May our busyness make way for the rest of our souls that we so need and desire. May we find true wisdom in God's ideas from time humbly spent on our knees in awe of Him. May His abundance bring a harvest of blessings in the areas of our lives where we are perfectly aligned with His will for our lives and for His way to accomplish it. Amen!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
We are Sheep and He is the Shepherd
12/07/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Isaiah 53:6 " We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
As a kid I always hated it when I would get blamed for something I hadn't even done. I guess I was a victim of circumstance, running with a less than savory crowd, with one of the ill-conceived plans,I would always get the blame. They would point at me and say he did it. Well, I will admit that I was guilty by association, but many times I had been just an innocent bystander to the shenanigans of the day and yet had been left in the lurch. Well, whatever I felt was really not that big of a deal as it never left too big of a mark on me and eventually I began to get myself out of the group that was pulling me down. The old saying that a mentor of mine likes to say, " show me your friends, and I will show you your future 100% of the time" sure was true as I look back on my life. Whoever I was hanging with at various times in my life, my identity was found in that group. Whether it be smart nerds, sports jocks, or party rats, I was able to quickly assimilate into that group's identity and to start to take on the group's characteristics. We all were like sheep, following each in whatever direction we were heading, whether good or bad. We found safety in the flock. That's what sheep do. They try to stay close together and not think too much on their own, for when they do that they are relatively safe as a member of a larger group. But at any given moment someone, or some sheep, could leave the herd and find themselves quite vulnerable. They loose their identity when they leave the herd. Isaiah points out in the scripture above that we all, like sheep, have gone astray at one time or another. We have tried to go our own way, apart from our good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and have become weakened and vulnerable. We humans tend to act very much like sheep at various times in our lives. We are fearful, not that smart, and slow to embrace change. We tend to over think things when things are going well and under think the consequences of our actions when we are being sinful. Sheep, like us, easily fall pray to their enemies both internal and external when they try to go it alone. Many times, the Sheppard must lead them to food, or they will starve to death. It is the same thing with us as Christians when we go astray from our Good Shepherd and He must lead us to our spiritual food for the nourishment of our souls. Thank God that Jesus is the one who is the Good Shepherd, and is always there to restore us when we get off course, nudging us back onto the path that is best suited for us. Without Him, we would surely lead ourselves right off a cliff. Jesus patiently searches for His lost sheep and when He finds us and we return to Him, he greatly rejoices. He never grows tired or lackadaisical in His pursuit of us. Revelations 3:20 assures us, " behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and him with me." When we find ourselves back in the care of our Good Shepherd, we are repaired and restored. In the scripture above from Isaiah 53:6, we see that all of our sins were heaped upon Him who was totally blameless, so that God could reconcile all of the lost sheep back to Him for eternity. The pain Jesus had to withstand to accomplish the Father's mission was excruciating and beyond our realm of comprehension. Imagine how Jesus must have felt when the reality of the weight of the world's sin was cast upon Him. What an unimaginable blessing that the Good Shepherd loved His sheep so much that He was willing to lay His life down, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order that we may rejoin His flock forever. Just like the Prodigal Son, we once were lost, but now we're found. The Good Shepherd cares about each one of His sheep individually enough to search for us until He finds us and returns us home safely. Amazing Grace indeed!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Isaiah 53:6 " We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
As a kid I always hated it when I would get blamed for something I hadn't even done. I guess I was a victim of circumstance, running with a less than savory crowd, with one of the ill-conceived plans,I would always get the blame. They would point at me and say he did it. Well, I will admit that I was guilty by association, but many times I had been just an innocent bystander to the shenanigans of the day and yet had been left in the lurch. Well, whatever I felt was really not that big of a deal as it never left too big of a mark on me and eventually I began to get myself out of the group that was pulling me down. The old saying that a mentor of mine likes to say, " show me your friends, and I will show you your future 100% of the time" sure was true as I look back on my life. Whoever I was hanging with at various times in my life, my identity was found in that group. Whether it be smart nerds, sports jocks, or party rats, I was able to quickly assimilate into that group's identity and to start to take on the group's characteristics. We all were like sheep, following each in whatever direction we were heading, whether good or bad. We found safety in the flock. That's what sheep do. They try to stay close together and not think too much on their own, for when they do that they are relatively safe as a member of a larger group. But at any given moment someone, or some sheep, could leave the herd and find themselves quite vulnerable. They loose their identity when they leave the herd. Isaiah points out in the scripture above that we all, like sheep, have gone astray at one time or another. We have tried to go our own way, apart from our good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and have become weakened and vulnerable. We humans tend to act very much like sheep at various times in our lives. We are fearful, not that smart, and slow to embrace change. We tend to over think things when things are going well and under think the consequences of our actions when we are being sinful. Sheep, like us, easily fall pray to their enemies both internal and external when they try to go it alone. Many times, the Sheppard must lead them to food, or they will starve to death. It is the same thing with us as Christians when we go astray from our Good Shepherd and He must lead us to our spiritual food for the nourishment of our souls. Thank God that Jesus is the one who is the Good Shepherd, and is always there to restore us when we get off course, nudging us back onto the path that is best suited for us. Without Him, we would surely lead ourselves right off a cliff. Jesus patiently searches for His lost sheep and when He finds us and we return to Him, he greatly rejoices. He never grows tired or lackadaisical in His pursuit of us. Revelations 3:20 assures us, " behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and him with me." When we find ourselves back in the care of our Good Shepherd, we are repaired and restored. In the scripture above from Isaiah 53:6, we see that all of our sins were heaped upon Him who was totally blameless, so that God could reconcile all of the lost sheep back to Him for eternity. The pain Jesus had to withstand to accomplish the Father's mission was excruciating and beyond our realm of comprehension. Imagine how Jesus must have felt when the reality of the weight of the world's sin was cast upon Him. What an unimaginable blessing that the Good Shepherd loved His sheep so much that He was willing to lay His life down, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order that we may rejoin His flock forever. Just like the Prodigal Son, we once were lost, but now we're found. The Good Shepherd cares about each one of His sheep individually enough to search for us until He finds us and returns us home safely. Amazing Grace indeed!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
At What Cost?
12/4/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Luke 9:25 " For what shall it profit it a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
I have been thinking a lot lately about what success means to me. What would I do with my life if money wasn't an object, and I could do whatever I wanted? I feel like once I can concretely answer that question in my own heart, than I will have found the answer to my life's dream.What unique gifts has God given me that can help me fulfill my part in His eternal mosaic? I have been introspective about how I am living my life, what my goals and ambitions are, and what would I do to leave a mark on this world if I could do anything I wanted. It has been a winding road, trying to find the path with which I want to live the rest of my days out on this planet. One thing that I have become painfully aware of is that every one of my actions will have an impact on the legacy that I will leave behind for eternity and I want to thoughtfully consider each action before diving headlong into it. In other words, I want to be aware of the costs of each of the decisions I make, because every decision does entail a cost. What is the cost of someone who is so driven to get ahead in his career that he works 100 hours a week and never has the time or energy to enjoy himself? It could be depression caused by burnout. It could be his family suffers, or his health, or his inner beauty begins to fade as he sees everyone around him as an impediment to what he wants to achieve. What is the cost to someone who makes it big financially and gets all of his dreams answered, only to find out that he doesn't have the internal makeup and root structure in place to handle his success? It could be that he blows his money on a lifestyle of drugs, alcohol and women that leads to his demise and downfall. What is the cost to a person who is so competitive that he literally can't tolerate losing in any facet of his life? It may be total loneliness or pent up rage. There is always a cost to our actions and our decisions. When we take time to deeply reflect on what is truly important to us, then we will put a structure in place in our lives that prioritizes the things we value most. I have lived for most of my adult life believing that success was tangible, that it could be measured. I have recently come to understand that at least in my life, my personal definition of success is more intangible; It is to be measured by things that aren't easily measured in our world's eyes. Time spent with my family is a major priority. My children's happiness and contentment with their lives is a major priority. Helping people who are less fortunate than me is a priority. Using my God given gifts to glorify the One who created me is important. I can't drive those things, I can't sell them on Craig's List, but I can make decisions that take into account how those things are effected by my decisions. Let's face it, we live in a world where people are willing to do or say almost anything to get ahead. But what does get ahead mean in our society today? In most cases, people view obtaining wealth as the measure of success by which they want to be measured AND MANY WILL DO ANYTHING REQUIRED TO GET IT, INCLUDING LIE, CHEAT OR STEAL. Others seek power or influence. They view success as the end goal and the means will justify the end goal in a way that they don't really care about all of the baggage they accumulate on their way to their goal, as long as they get there. Just look at the mess most of the top politicians in this country have made of their personal lives in their quest for power and influence. Scandals seem to always be right there by their side. Extra-marital affairs are commonplace. Deceitfulness is prevalent in their lives as they try to hide from the truth of what they have become. They are willing to forfeit their souls to get what their heart desires. Many times though, I have heard people say they have gotten exactly what they wished for, only to find out that it left them without the fulfillment they had planned on. They soon realize that the rush that the world promises never lives up to the hype. In fact, many times it left them even more empty when they had to reflect back on all they had given up in order to obtain their desires. When we back away from God and try to be our own kings, what we quickly find is that the enslaving chords of this world begin to grip around us and capture us, and begin to chip away at our own personal beauty. We become slaves to the things that we worship. We must be very careful about what we allow to be our master, for we all become what we worship. God repeatedly warns us about getting caught up in our own plans, and striving so hard to obtain them. He tells us to stop striving and to put our trust in Him. A Pastor friend of mine said something this week that was so poignant to me. He said " If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plan." Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us to " Trust in the Lord, with all of our hearts and lean not on our own understanding, and in all our ways acknowledge him, and he will make our paths straight." We have choices every day, and every choice has consequences. It has caused me a lot of pain in my life by not thinking about the consequences of my actions before I did something. Only afterward, when the pain had been inflicted in many different ways, would I say, well that sure was a stupid thing to do. I sure wish I hadn't done that. We can rely on our own wisdom and plans, choose to be our own kings, put our heads down and plow ahead to what we think will bring us success and contentment. Many times our way may bring us short term pleasure, but often times it will lead to long term pain. We tend to have a problem with this thing called sin, which the results of tend to stay longer than we want them to stay and cost us more than we want to pay. Have you ever made a mistake and just wished that the ramifications of that mistake would just go away? I made a grievous error in judgement a few years ago when out of pure impetuousness and greed I purchased two investment homes in Arizona. I had not done lots of thorough research on the areas in which I purchased, nor the required thought process of why exactly I was buying these houses, only that the rates were low and they required little down payments, and I would make a quick buck and sell them. Well, it turns out that was right at the top of the real estate market and just before the big crash we have endured. Well, almost 5 years later, I can honestly say that the pain has been severe, both financially and emotionally, and I wish I had never sought the glory of being a " real estate magnate." We don't have to trust in our wisdom, we can put all of our trust in God's. Psalm 1:5 says that if we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, that we can " be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." The cost of following God and seeking His righteousness is ALWAYS less than following our own wisdom. Every decision we make has a cost. We never get the time back to change what has already been done. Those consequences are already written in stone. Thanks to Jesus Christ we can be forgiven of our sins and have them permanently removed from our records, but we can never undue the consequences of our actions. If I go have a beer with a friend after work instead of seeing my son's baseball game, I can never erase that decision and the pain I caused him when I didn't show up when he expected me to. He may forgive me, but I can't undo what has been done already. I want my life to reflect that which I hold dear to me, based on the decisions I make. I know now I need God's strength and power to make the right decisions. When we sink our roots deep down into the Lord, He will provide us with an unremitting source of living water, even during those drought periods of our lives. True peace is found there.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Luke 9:25 " For what shall it profit it a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"
I have been thinking a lot lately about what success means to me. What would I do with my life if money wasn't an object, and I could do whatever I wanted? I feel like once I can concretely answer that question in my own heart, than I will have found the answer to my life's dream.What unique gifts has God given me that can help me fulfill my part in His eternal mosaic? I have been introspective about how I am living my life, what my goals and ambitions are, and what would I do to leave a mark on this world if I could do anything I wanted. It has been a winding road, trying to find the path with which I want to live the rest of my days out on this planet. One thing that I have become painfully aware of is that every one of my actions will have an impact on the legacy that I will leave behind for eternity and I want to thoughtfully consider each action before diving headlong into it. In other words, I want to be aware of the costs of each of the decisions I make, because every decision does entail a cost. What is the cost of someone who is so driven to get ahead in his career that he works 100 hours a week and never has the time or energy to enjoy himself? It could be depression caused by burnout. It could be his family suffers, or his health, or his inner beauty begins to fade as he sees everyone around him as an impediment to what he wants to achieve. What is the cost to someone who makes it big financially and gets all of his dreams answered, only to find out that he doesn't have the internal makeup and root structure in place to handle his success? It could be that he blows his money on a lifestyle of drugs, alcohol and women that leads to his demise and downfall. What is the cost to a person who is so competitive that he literally can't tolerate losing in any facet of his life? It may be total loneliness or pent up rage. There is always a cost to our actions and our decisions. When we take time to deeply reflect on what is truly important to us, then we will put a structure in place in our lives that prioritizes the things we value most. I have lived for most of my adult life believing that success was tangible, that it could be measured. I have recently come to understand that at least in my life, my personal definition of success is more intangible; It is to be measured by things that aren't easily measured in our world's eyes. Time spent with my family is a major priority. My children's happiness and contentment with their lives is a major priority. Helping people who are less fortunate than me is a priority. Using my God given gifts to glorify the One who created me is important. I can't drive those things, I can't sell them on Craig's List, but I can make decisions that take into account how those things are effected by my decisions. Let's face it, we live in a world where people are willing to do or say almost anything to get ahead. But what does get ahead mean in our society today? In most cases, people view obtaining wealth as the measure of success by which they want to be measured AND MANY WILL DO ANYTHING REQUIRED TO GET IT, INCLUDING LIE, CHEAT OR STEAL. Others seek power or influence. They view success as the end goal and the means will justify the end goal in a way that they don't really care about all of the baggage they accumulate on their way to their goal, as long as they get there. Just look at the mess most of the top politicians in this country have made of their personal lives in their quest for power and influence. Scandals seem to always be right there by their side. Extra-marital affairs are commonplace. Deceitfulness is prevalent in their lives as they try to hide from the truth of what they have become. They are willing to forfeit their souls to get what their heart desires. Many times though, I have heard people say they have gotten exactly what they wished for, only to find out that it left them without the fulfillment they had planned on. They soon realize that the rush that the world promises never lives up to the hype. In fact, many times it left them even more empty when they had to reflect back on all they had given up in order to obtain their desires. When we back away from God and try to be our own kings, what we quickly find is that the enslaving chords of this world begin to grip around us and capture us, and begin to chip away at our own personal beauty. We become slaves to the things that we worship. We must be very careful about what we allow to be our master, for we all become what we worship. God repeatedly warns us about getting caught up in our own plans, and striving so hard to obtain them. He tells us to stop striving and to put our trust in Him. A Pastor friend of mine said something this week that was so poignant to me. He said " If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plan." Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us to " Trust in the Lord, with all of our hearts and lean not on our own understanding, and in all our ways acknowledge him, and he will make our paths straight." We have choices every day, and every choice has consequences. It has caused me a lot of pain in my life by not thinking about the consequences of my actions before I did something. Only afterward, when the pain had been inflicted in many different ways, would I say, well that sure was a stupid thing to do. I sure wish I hadn't done that. We can rely on our own wisdom and plans, choose to be our own kings, put our heads down and plow ahead to what we think will bring us success and contentment. Many times our way may bring us short term pleasure, but often times it will lead to long term pain. We tend to have a problem with this thing called sin, which the results of tend to stay longer than we want them to stay and cost us more than we want to pay. Have you ever made a mistake and just wished that the ramifications of that mistake would just go away? I made a grievous error in judgement a few years ago when out of pure impetuousness and greed I purchased two investment homes in Arizona. I had not done lots of thorough research on the areas in which I purchased, nor the required thought process of why exactly I was buying these houses, only that the rates were low and they required little down payments, and I would make a quick buck and sell them. Well, it turns out that was right at the top of the real estate market and just before the big crash we have endured. Well, almost 5 years later, I can honestly say that the pain has been severe, both financially and emotionally, and I wish I had never sought the glory of being a " real estate magnate." We don't have to trust in our wisdom, we can put all of our trust in God's. Psalm 1:5 says that if we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, that we can " be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." The cost of following God and seeking His righteousness is ALWAYS less than following our own wisdom. Every decision we make has a cost. We never get the time back to change what has already been done. Those consequences are already written in stone. Thanks to Jesus Christ we can be forgiven of our sins and have them permanently removed from our records, but we can never undue the consequences of our actions. If I go have a beer with a friend after work instead of seeing my son's baseball game, I can never erase that decision and the pain I caused him when I didn't show up when he expected me to. He may forgive me, but I can't undo what has been done already. I want my life to reflect that which I hold dear to me, based on the decisions I make. I know now I need God's strength and power to make the right decisions. When we sink our roots deep down into the Lord, He will provide us with an unremitting source of living water, even during those drought periods of our lives. True peace is found there.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Friendship
12/1/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the Day: John 15:13 " Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
One of the biggest questions I ponder in my relationship with the Living God is what does He really want or expect from me? This questions can take on many different iterations and lead down many winding paths, depending on what kind of mood I am in at any given time or how I am viewing this question I am asking myself. In other words, through what lens am I viewing this question? I know that He wants me to follow him and to trust him and to love him and I believe that I try to do this to the best of my abilities on most occasions and want to continue to get better at his throughout my life. I realize that there is always room for improvement and I want to do better, be more consistent. Some days I do great and totally feel in harmony with my Lord and Savior, and other days, well not so much. Always it is because me and my love are imperfect, while He and His are always perfect. I guess sometimes I feel as though I just don't measure up, although I know He would never say or think that, just the adversary messing around in his playpen called my mind. But the other day, the answer to the original question of what does God and Jesus want from me became crystal clear after reading a book called " Secrets of the Vine." He wants my friendship most of all. He truly wants me to be his friend and that takes a willingness to spend time with him on a consistent basis. Like any relationship, the more time spent, the better that relationship will grow to be. He is always there and available, so it is incumbent upon me to draw closer and to willingly learn more about him, and in turn He will reveal to me more about Himself. Like any relationship, when you love being with someone, or some thing, you naturally want to spend time with them. You are willing to prioritize that person or thing in your life. I know now that Jesus Christ wants me to be His friend and He wants me to abide in Him, for the Bible tells me so. He is not ever Jealous of me, but He is jealous for me. Why would I not want to invest as much of my time as possible with Him, who is the author of all creation. He plays so many roles in the world and in my life that He is the fountain of wisdom that never grows old or dry out. At any given time, Jesus can be a Witness of truth, a Prophet, an Intercessor, a Warrior, a Priest or a King. He is always all of those things, but He can be any of those things in my life at the exact time that I need Him to be. But the only way I can find out what He is saying to me is to be His friend and to be in continual fellowship with Him. Most people say Love is the key to a healthy relationship and i would certainly agree with that statement, but love without time spent is unfulfilled. I can tell my children I love them, but if I don't spend time with them, they will always wonder in the back of their minds why I am not making them a priority in my life, and hence whether i truly love them. In this life, our actions always speak louder than our words, and we will always be judged not just on what we say, but on what we do. As a mentor of mine once said to me, don't tell me why you don't have time for something, tell me why it's not a priority. We all get the same amount of time in day, but how we spend it is totally up to us and says lot about who we are and what we care about. Can you imagine how Jesus must feel when we choose not to spend time with Him after all He did and continues to do for us? Time together = love. We need to be friends with Christ. Proverbs 17:17 says, " A friend loves at all times," and Christ loves us consistently and wants to be our friend. We can read all the books in the world, go to all the bible studies and attend church every week and we can be left feeling burned out and no closer in our relationship to Christ. But if we take time to be in His presence, alone and aware,present and engaged, our friendship will blossom and fulfill us like no other. That is why in John 15, Jesus implores us to abide in Him, to remain in him and his words to remain in us, so he can be our closest friend. He can protects us, guide us, love us and help us to grow in our faith and in our understanding of who He is in our own individual life. He wants to give us the answers to our dreams and to see us bear much good fruit. But most of all He wants to be our friends. Praise God for the fact that the King of all Kings wants to be my friend. I want to be His as well.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the Day: John 15:13 " Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
One of the biggest questions I ponder in my relationship with the Living God is what does He really want or expect from me? This questions can take on many different iterations and lead down many winding paths, depending on what kind of mood I am in at any given time or how I am viewing this question I am asking myself. In other words, through what lens am I viewing this question? I know that He wants me to follow him and to trust him and to love him and I believe that I try to do this to the best of my abilities on most occasions and want to continue to get better at his throughout my life. I realize that there is always room for improvement and I want to do better, be more consistent. Some days I do great and totally feel in harmony with my Lord and Savior, and other days, well not so much. Always it is because me and my love are imperfect, while He and His are always perfect. I guess sometimes I feel as though I just don't measure up, although I know He would never say or think that, just the adversary messing around in his playpen called my mind. But the other day, the answer to the original question of what does God and Jesus want from me became crystal clear after reading a book called " Secrets of the Vine." He wants my friendship most of all. He truly wants me to be his friend and that takes a willingness to spend time with him on a consistent basis. Like any relationship, the more time spent, the better that relationship will grow to be. He is always there and available, so it is incumbent upon me to draw closer and to willingly learn more about him, and in turn He will reveal to me more about Himself. Like any relationship, when you love being with someone, or some thing, you naturally want to spend time with them. You are willing to prioritize that person or thing in your life. I know now that Jesus Christ wants me to be His friend and He wants me to abide in Him, for the Bible tells me so. He is not ever Jealous of me, but He is jealous for me. Why would I not want to invest as much of my time as possible with Him, who is the author of all creation. He plays so many roles in the world and in my life that He is the fountain of wisdom that never grows old or dry out. At any given time, Jesus can be a Witness of truth, a Prophet, an Intercessor, a Warrior, a Priest or a King. He is always all of those things, but He can be any of those things in my life at the exact time that I need Him to be. But the only way I can find out what He is saying to me is to be His friend and to be in continual fellowship with Him. Most people say Love is the key to a healthy relationship and i would certainly agree with that statement, but love without time spent is unfulfilled. I can tell my children I love them, but if I don't spend time with them, they will always wonder in the back of their minds why I am not making them a priority in my life, and hence whether i truly love them. In this life, our actions always speak louder than our words, and we will always be judged not just on what we say, but on what we do. As a mentor of mine once said to me, don't tell me why you don't have time for something, tell me why it's not a priority. We all get the same amount of time in day, but how we spend it is totally up to us and says lot about who we are and what we care about. Can you imagine how Jesus must feel when we choose not to spend time with Him after all He did and continues to do for us? Time together = love. We need to be friends with Christ. Proverbs 17:17 says, " A friend loves at all times," and Christ loves us consistently and wants to be our friend. We can read all the books in the world, go to all the bible studies and attend church every week and we can be left feeling burned out and no closer in our relationship to Christ. But if we take time to be in His presence, alone and aware,present and engaged, our friendship will blossom and fulfill us like no other. That is why in John 15, Jesus implores us to abide in Him, to remain in him and his words to remain in us, so he can be our closest friend. He can protects us, guide us, love us and help us to grow in our faith and in our understanding of who He is in our own individual life. He wants to give us the answers to our dreams and to see us bear much good fruit. But most of all He wants to be our friends. Praise God for the fact that the King of all Kings wants to be my friend. I want to be His as well.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving
11/23/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 75:1 " We give thanks to you, o God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds."
We as Americans take time every year to stop and give thanks for all of the gifts we have been given. It is a truly American tradition and it is awesome. We eat turkey, watch football and spend time with our families and the people we care about most. We feel pride in our country and in our generous hearts. It connects us to the Pilgrims who suffered greatly in both their voyage to America and in their first year of settling here, but still took time to thank God for making it here alive and for the blessings they had received upon arrival. Although challenged greatly during that time, they still recognized and appreciated that the God of the universe had provided for them in amazing ways, and humbly and in reverence, they wanted to praise Him. We as a country are going through some very difficult trials as well right now. The financial crisis shows no sign of abating, unemployment is high, many people have lost their homes and their confidence and there is a real tenseness around our whole political process. But we must still remember that the God of our founders still is worthy of our praise and Thanksgiving as we are the most prosperous and blessed country that has ever been created. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 states " Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I believe as Christians that we should naturally be joyful and give thanks on a daily basis. The recognition of the magnitude of what Jesus did for us on the cross at Calvary should always give us hearths full of thanks, and that should naturally extend to all facets of our lives, especially our prayer life. The grace with which God has set us free from our sins and transgressions should always lead to an overwhelming thankfulness. 2nd Corinthians 9:15 says ' Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." I hope that I reflect that joy and thankfulness to those who know me best on a regular basis. Sometimes the world overwhelms us, and can snatch our joy for awhile and turn our thankfulness into despair or disillusionment. But we must remember even then that life isn't about waiting for the storm clouds to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain. By focusing on Jesus, and what He did for us, our thanks should be as free flowing as a river after the spring snow melt cascades down into it. Our great nation was founded with a reverent respect and gratitude for what God had given us. As Christians we recognize also what God has given us in Christ. Hebrews 12:28 summarizes then what our natural response should be, " therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." I thank God for our country and for the things He is doing in my life and will continue to do in Christ Jesus, and I pray that we will have a revival in this country back to the One who is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. May God bless the United States of America.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Psalm 75:1 " We give thanks to you, o God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds."
We as Americans take time every year to stop and give thanks for all of the gifts we have been given. It is a truly American tradition and it is awesome. We eat turkey, watch football and spend time with our families and the people we care about most. We feel pride in our country and in our generous hearts. It connects us to the Pilgrims who suffered greatly in both their voyage to America and in their first year of settling here, but still took time to thank God for making it here alive and for the blessings they had received upon arrival. Although challenged greatly during that time, they still recognized and appreciated that the God of the universe had provided for them in amazing ways, and humbly and in reverence, they wanted to praise Him. We as a country are going through some very difficult trials as well right now. The financial crisis shows no sign of abating, unemployment is high, many people have lost their homes and their confidence and there is a real tenseness around our whole political process. But we must still remember that the God of our founders still is worthy of our praise and Thanksgiving as we are the most prosperous and blessed country that has ever been created. I Thessalonians 5:16-18 states " Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I believe as Christians that we should naturally be joyful and give thanks on a daily basis. The recognition of the magnitude of what Jesus did for us on the cross at Calvary should always give us hearths full of thanks, and that should naturally extend to all facets of our lives, especially our prayer life. The grace with which God has set us free from our sins and transgressions should always lead to an overwhelming thankfulness. 2nd Corinthians 9:15 says ' Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift." I hope that I reflect that joy and thankfulness to those who know me best on a regular basis. Sometimes the world overwhelms us, and can snatch our joy for awhile and turn our thankfulness into despair or disillusionment. But we must remember even then that life isn't about waiting for the storm clouds to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain. By focusing on Jesus, and what He did for us, our thanks should be as free flowing as a river after the spring snow melt cascades down into it. Our great nation was founded with a reverent respect and gratitude for what God had given us. As Christians we recognize also what God has given us in Christ. Hebrews 12:28 summarizes then what our natural response should be, " therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." I thank God for our country and for the things He is doing in my life and will continue to do in Christ Jesus, and I pray that we will have a revival in this country back to the One who is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. May God bless the United States of America.
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Test of Stewardship
November 18, 2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Luke 16:10 " Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
What we do with what we are given tells a lot about our relationship with God. If we see all the things we are given as "ours" we are missing the big picture that really everything we have is "His." There is no one I know that has figured out how to keep hold of what he has on earth once he has passed into eternity. The old saying that there "aint no U-haul behind the hearse" applies here. On the day we pass, we will never have to write another check, pay another bill, make a deposit into our checking account or try to figure out the value of a home. It will all be meaningless in the blink of an eye. But Christ spent a lot of time preaching about money because he knew how important it would be in our lives. In the 16th chapter of gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd manager. I believe the message delivered here is a key to understanding God's expectations for the opportunities he gives us in our lives. He wants us to use our resources to benefit His kingdom and to touch people's lives from a platform of hope and love that illustrate the love that we have been given as believers in Jesus Christ. We should always keep in mind the hierarchy of the relationship between God and money. If God is our master, than money is our servant. It can be used for Kingdom building purposes that will be pleasing to the Lord and will have eternal consequences for us as well. We should keep in mind that what we do with what we are given today will be something that we must give account of before Him for eternity. Think of all of the faces we will get to see in heaven from the people whose lives have benefited from our generosity. Many of these people we will never even meet on earth, but they will be the benefactors of our giving to a homeless shelter, or an Evangelical Church or a mission's trip. How great will it be to see how the money or time or conversation you gave impacted other people's lives for eternity. On the other hand, If money is our God and God is a servant to that wealth, woe be to us. If we hoard what we are given and do not act as faithful and trustworthy steward's of all we have been given on earth, how lonely will it be when we show up to a party in Heaven, and there is no one there to join us. The guilt and shame of our selfishness will haunt us. John 16:11 warns, " So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" The implication here is that if you have not been trustworthy with things that are temporary or perishable, how in the world can God trust you with things that are imperishable? The problem with our stuff here is that it is temporary. But how we view it is key. If we truly understand that it all belongs to God, then we should act like that in our mindset and actions. I am learning as I go in life how to practically apply these lessons in my own life. I don't believe that the people who advocate giving it all away are being practical because God expects us to be good stewards with all He has given us, including our families, and leaving them homeless or without food, would be failing in our basic responsibilities. If we all gave everything away to those who play that guilt card, then they would all be very rich and everyone else would be very poor. That would not solve anything. But I believe God is interested in the intentions of our hearts and our willingness to view everything that He brings into our life as an opportunity to prove our worthiness as stewards. I believe this applies to not only money and possessions but also to opportunities and motivations. Do we do our best with what we have been given at any given time to make decisions that are worthy of God? Do we trust that when we give it away, then he can bless it one hundred fold? I have struggled throughout my life with letting go of "my stuff." That I believe is traced back to my childhood and living with the stress and uncertainty of knowing if my mother would have enough money from week to week to provide for us as my parents messy divorce always entailed a good deal of stress around the control mechanism of money. But by the grace of God, I have never had to miss a day of eating in my life. As my relationship with God has continued to develop, I have been trying to grow in my understanding of the relationships between God's expectations and money. I am trying to become a truly joyful giver, one who sees the benefit of giving as much more rewarding than the fear of my own insecurities about "loss of my stuff." That is where I think the breakthrough is occurring in my walk. The mindset with which I approach decisions are starting to change from my perspective to God's perspective. I want to understand and live out the truth that none of what I have is mine and therefore I should pay it forward. This is also true of any wisdom or conversation that are needed to be shared. A good steward is always looking for ways to benefit others to please God. The steward with a heart focused on God can not help but be generous and bold. On the other hand, when we look at ourselves, we tend to become fearful and have a narcissistic tendency to view things as ours. Like we can do anything with the wealth we have been given except use it for our pleasure and ultimately in most cases, our pain. A man's heart that clearly understands that God is master, and money is a servant, will make good decisions that will lead to an eternal abundance awaiting him in Heaven for he will have touched many. The heart of a man who views money as the master will be held captive by his greed and held in bondage by his lack of generosity. John 16:13 clearly states that " No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." I believe that when you faithfully serve God and have a heart that is in alignment with His will, that His abundance will continue to flow through those who are proving themselves to be worthy stewards. He will continue to give you opportunities to prove your worthiness. If you view things from the perspective that He is the Creator of all abundance, than what a blessing it is in your life to be able to pay it back to Him in a way that glories Him and grows His Kingdom work. You will make friends and influence people for His glory through your actions. Praise be to God that He entrusts enough to prove ourselves worthy of being His stewards. May we take this privilege and responsibility with the seriousness it requires.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Luke 16:10 " Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
What we do with what we are given tells a lot about our relationship with God. If we see all the things we are given as "ours" we are missing the big picture that really everything we have is "His." There is no one I know that has figured out how to keep hold of what he has on earth once he has passed into eternity. The old saying that there "aint no U-haul behind the hearse" applies here. On the day we pass, we will never have to write another check, pay another bill, make a deposit into our checking account or try to figure out the value of a home. It will all be meaningless in the blink of an eye. But Christ spent a lot of time preaching about money because he knew how important it would be in our lives. In the 16th chapter of gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd manager. I believe the message delivered here is a key to understanding God's expectations for the opportunities he gives us in our lives. He wants us to use our resources to benefit His kingdom and to touch people's lives from a platform of hope and love that illustrate the love that we have been given as believers in Jesus Christ. We should always keep in mind the hierarchy of the relationship between God and money. If God is our master, than money is our servant. It can be used for Kingdom building purposes that will be pleasing to the Lord and will have eternal consequences for us as well. We should keep in mind that what we do with what we are given today will be something that we must give account of before Him for eternity. Think of all of the faces we will get to see in heaven from the people whose lives have benefited from our generosity. Many of these people we will never even meet on earth, but they will be the benefactors of our giving to a homeless shelter, or an Evangelical Church or a mission's trip. How great will it be to see how the money or time or conversation you gave impacted other people's lives for eternity. On the other hand, If money is our God and God is a servant to that wealth, woe be to us. If we hoard what we are given and do not act as faithful and trustworthy steward's of all we have been given on earth, how lonely will it be when we show up to a party in Heaven, and there is no one there to join us. The guilt and shame of our selfishness will haunt us. John 16:11 warns, " So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" The implication here is that if you have not been trustworthy with things that are temporary or perishable, how in the world can God trust you with things that are imperishable? The problem with our stuff here is that it is temporary. But how we view it is key. If we truly understand that it all belongs to God, then we should act like that in our mindset and actions. I am learning as I go in life how to practically apply these lessons in my own life. I don't believe that the people who advocate giving it all away are being practical because God expects us to be good stewards with all He has given us, including our families, and leaving them homeless or without food, would be failing in our basic responsibilities. If we all gave everything away to those who play that guilt card, then they would all be very rich and everyone else would be very poor. That would not solve anything. But I believe God is interested in the intentions of our hearts and our willingness to view everything that He brings into our life as an opportunity to prove our worthiness as stewards. I believe this applies to not only money and possessions but also to opportunities and motivations. Do we do our best with what we have been given at any given time to make decisions that are worthy of God? Do we trust that when we give it away, then he can bless it one hundred fold? I have struggled throughout my life with letting go of "my stuff." That I believe is traced back to my childhood and living with the stress and uncertainty of knowing if my mother would have enough money from week to week to provide for us as my parents messy divorce always entailed a good deal of stress around the control mechanism of money. But by the grace of God, I have never had to miss a day of eating in my life. As my relationship with God has continued to develop, I have been trying to grow in my understanding of the relationships between God's expectations and money. I am trying to become a truly joyful giver, one who sees the benefit of giving as much more rewarding than the fear of my own insecurities about "loss of my stuff." That is where I think the breakthrough is occurring in my walk. The mindset with which I approach decisions are starting to change from my perspective to God's perspective. I want to understand and live out the truth that none of what I have is mine and therefore I should pay it forward. This is also true of any wisdom or conversation that are needed to be shared. A good steward is always looking for ways to benefit others to please God. The steward with a heart focused on God can not help but be generous and bold. On the other hand, when we look at ourselves, we tend to become fearful and have a narcissistic tendency to view things as ours. Like we can do anything with the wealth we have been given except use it for our pleasure and ultimately in most cases, our pain. A man's heart that clearly understands that God is master, and money is a servant, will make good decisions that will lead to an eternal abundance awaiting him in Heaven for he will have touched many. The heart of a man who views money as the master will be held captive by his greed and held in bondage by his lack of generosity. John 16:13 clearly states that " No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." I believe that when you faithfully serve God and have a heart that is in alignment with His will, that His abundance will continue to flow through those who are proving themselves to be worthy stewards. He will continue to give you opportunities to prove your worthiness. If you view things from the perspective that He is the Creator of all abundance, than what a blessing it is in your life to be able to pay it back to Him in a way that glories Him and grows His Kingdom work. You will make friends and influence people for His glory through your actions. Praise be to God that He entrusts enough to prove ourselves worthy of being His stewards. May we take this privilege and responsibility with the seriousness it requires.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Abundance of the Vine
11/16/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the Day: John 15:5 " I am the vine and you are the branches. if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
The 15th chapter of the gospel of John is one of my favorite chapters in the whole bible, because it uses the analogy of the vineyard to make it's point and I happen to be a person who loves every type of grape and the wine they produce, in moderation of course! Jesus is using the Vineyard analogy because it was one that most people in His time could relate to, being that most people lived off the land. He sets the hierarchy straight right off the bat and He makes it perfectly clear that He is the Vine, responsible for the abundance of all good fruit, and we are the branches. Branches that are not connected to the vine are worthless, and no matter how good they look at a given time, they are destined to wither away and die, for they can no longer bear any fruit. John 15:7-8 says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." This gives me great hope, that God the Father will be glorified if I bear much good fruit. So what is my responsibility? To abide in Him who is the vine, Jesus Christ. His wisdom and word must be the defining truth in my life. Abide means to remain or continue in a particular condition, attitude or relationship. In this case, we must remain in relationship with Christ if we expect to bear much good fruit. In order for us to bear an abundance of fruit for God's kingdom, pruning will be required from time to time. Pruning can be a painful experience in the short term, but in the long term it prepares the branches for a much larger and more abundant harvest. It cleans up the branches and allows for more light to enter in to help grow the grapes in the future. Pruning removes growth that is dead or dying to encourage new fruit to develop. We are in need of clean up and pruning on an on going basis in our walk with the Lord, but we must remember that it is being done so that we can produce even more fruit in the future. How does God prune us? He cuts away the parts of our lives that drain precious time and energy on less than ideal pursuits. He may take things away from us that are keeping us from fully abiding in Him. He works in each life uniquely to prune that branch in the way that it needs to be pruned. He is the Vine and we are the branches, so we must grow our faith through this pruning process. However, this chapter of John also warns us that if we try to go off on our own way and do it ourselves, we will be cut off from the vine and bear no good fruit. John 15:6 says, " if anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." Pruning can indeed be painful, think of giant shearer's coming to do their work on the branches, but the abundant harvest can't come without the pruning first taking place. God has a place of abundance He wants to take us to, but we must abide in Him. Abiding in Him is a command and it is imperative. It is not a suggestion or a request. Jesus using the term abide 10 times in John 15. I think He is trying to get our attention! Whenever a theme repeats in the Bible, we best pay attention. He wants us to abide in Him so He can protect us, but also so we can enjoy a deep friendship with God in order to feel His joyful presence. He craves a relationship with us on the deepest level, and like any relationship, that takes time spent together. He will remove, or prune away the things that take away from that time spent together so that we can bear more fruit in the future. In essence, a part of us ( self ) must die so that a new better part can come to produce even more fruit (Spirit ) in the future. Our busyness on things that don't really matter and only serve to distract us will be removed. In their place, an abundance of fruit that comes from abiding in Him will come to be harvested. The grapes will be the fullest and sweetest we have ever tasted. All praise and glory to God!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the Day: John 15:5 " I am the vine and you are the branches. if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
The 15th chapter of the gospel of John is one of my favorite chapters in the whole bible, because it uses the analogy of the vineyard to make it's point and I happen to be a person who loves every type of grape and the wine they produce, in moderation of course! Jesus is using the Vineyard analogy because it was one that most people in His time could relate to, being that most people lived off the land. He sets the hierarchy straight right off the bat and He makes it perfectly clear that He is the Vine, responsible for the abundance of all good fruit, and we are the branches. Branches that are not connected to the vine are worthless, and no matter how good they look at a given time, they are destined to wither away and die, for they can no longer bear any fruit. John 15:7-8 says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." This gives me great hope, that God the Father will be glorified if I bear much good fruit. So what is my responsibility? To abide in Him who is the vine, Jesus Christ. His wisdom and word must be the defining truth in my life. Abide means to remain or continue in a particular condition, attitude or relationship. In this case, we must remain in relationship with Christ if we expect to bear much good fruit. In order for us to bear an abundance of fruit for God's kingdom, pruning will be required from time to time. Pruning can be a painful experience in the short term, but in the long term it prepares the branches for a much larger and more abundant harvest. It cleans up the branches and allows for more light to enter in to help grow the grapes in the future. Pruning removes growth that is dead or dying to encourage new fruit to develop. We are in need of clean up and pruning on an on going basis in our walk with the Lord, but we must remember that it is being done so that we can produce even more fruit in the future. How does God prune us? He cuts away the parts of our lives that drain precious time and energy on less than ideal pursuits. He may take things away from us that are keeping us from fully abiding in Him. He works in each life uniquely to prune that branch in the way that it needs to be pruned. He is the Vine and we are the branches, so we must grow our faith through this pruning process. However, this chapter of John also warns us that if we try to go off on our own way and do it ourselves, we will be cut off from the vine and bear no good fruit. John 15:6 says, " if anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." Pruning can indeed be painful, think of giant shearer's coming to do their work on the branches, but the abundant harvest can't come without the pruning first taking place. God has a place of abundance He wants to take us to, but we must abide in Him. Abiding in Him is a command and it is imperative. It is not a suggestion or a request. Jesus using the term abide 10 times in John 15. I think He is trying to get our attention! Whenever a theme repeats in the Bible, we best pay attention. He wants us to abide in Him so He can protect us, but also so we can enjoy a deep friendship with God in order to feel His joyful presence. He craves a relationship with us on the deepest level, and like any relationship, that takes time spent together. He will remove, or prune away the things that take away from that time spent together so that we can bear more fruit in the future. In essence, a part of us ( self ) must die so that a new better part can come to produce even more fruit (Spirit ) in the future. Our busyness on things that don't really matter and only serve to distract us will be removed. In their place, an abundance of fruit that comes from abiding in Him will come to be harvested. The grapes will be the fullest and sweetest we have ever tasted. All praise and glory to God!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Like Little Children
11/12/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Mark 10:14-15 " Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
The Bible is full of references to little children. It is something that is obviously very important to God. How we are to raise them up and train them in the ways of the Lord, Proverbs 22:6, the responsibilities that we have in raising them properly, Colossians 3:21, and how we discipline them will be things that we are held accountable for before the Lord. But the above verses had me bewildered for the longest time. What does it mean that unless we receive the Kingdom of God like a little child we will never enter it? Well, I think that it has to do with two things that became clear to me over some readings and some other scriptures that began to shed some light on the meaning. Little children are humble, fully recognizing and accepting their dependence on others for their survival and they are willing to listen to instruction in most instances ( add jokes and disclaimers here ) to further their growth. When we are little children, we have no agenda of our own. We pretty much do what our parents have in store for us at any given moment. We may wish to change up the plans or itinerary on occasion, but we don't have the means necessary to accomplish it, meaning money or transportation, so we go with the flow. The key is that most of the time, kids not only want to please their parents, ( add jokes and disclaimers here ) but they actual like being dependent on them. They are free to play and enjoy living life while the parents plan out their agenda and fill in the calendar. I believe the meaning of the scriptures above is along these lines of thinking. We must not only recognize our need for our savior Jesus Christ, but we must also accept it. In humility, we admit that our sinful nature will lead us to our grave and we must depend on someone greater than us to lead us from our predicament. We need to follow a teacher with more wisdom and love than we can ever accumulate. He knows what is best for us. We must learn to listen to His will, and turn our agenda over to him. Our hearts should be joyful as we are freed up like little children to enjoy life and focus on our stability in Him. Matthew 18:3-4 seems to confirm this train of thought, " I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." So this seems clear to me now that we must completely reverse our way of thinking in order to change and become like little children. Most of my early life, say from 12 years old on, was spent wanting to grow up fast and gain my independence, proving to myself and my parents that I could survive on my own. As I became a college student, I didn't want to live under their rules any more. At a certain age, this is mostly a great sign of progress in our lives, when we can move out of the house, support ourselves and make our parents proud. It is the same goal the parents have for their children. However, what the Bible is telling us is that while that is all well and good, and we should be all that we were created for using the God given gifts to the best of our ability, we also should be aware that we have an eternal destination that requires us to humbly admit our dependence on somewhere far greater than us. We must go forth with this as a main tenant of our life and become like little children in our acknowledgement that we can't get there on our own. When we not only recognize this fact, but also fully accept it, then we can truly begin to change again, to humbly learn to have the mindset of little children, and to trust in God's plan for our lives. For He truly knows and wants what is best for us. May we find freedom in that truth. Matthew 18:5-6 tells us how serious God is about this humble conversion process and the consequences for anyone who would try to interfere with it " And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." See the world through the eyes of a little child, fully and gratefully dependent on your Father in Heaven, and that will make God smile.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Mark 10:14-15 " Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
The Bible is full of references to little children. It is something that is obviously very important to God. How we are to raise them up and train them in the ways of the Lord, Proverbs 22:6, the responsibilities that we have in raising them properly, Colossians 3:21, and how we discipline them will be things that we are held accountable for before the Lord. But the above verses had me bewildered for the longest time. What does it mean that unless we receive the Kingdom of God like a little child we will never enter it? Well, I think that it has to do with two things that became clear to me over some readings and some other scriptures that began to shed some light on the meaning. Little children are humble, fully recognizing and accepting their dependence on others for their survival and they are willing to listen to instruction in most instances ( add jokes and disclaimers here ) to further their growth. When we are little children, we have no agenda of our own. We pretty much do what our parents have in store for us at any given moment. We may wish to change up the plans or itinerary on occasion, but we don't have the means necessary to accomplish it, meaning money or transportation, so we go with the flow. The key is that most of the time, kids not only want to please their parents, ( add jokes and disclaimers here ) but they actual like being dependent on them. They are free to play and enjoy living life while the parents plan out their agenda and fill in the calendar. I believe the meaning of the scriptures above is along these lines of thinking. We must not only recognize our need for our savior Jesus Christ, but we must also accept it. In humility, we admit that our sinful nature will lead us to our grave and we must depend on someone greater than us to lead us from our predicament. We need to follow a teacher with more wisdom and love than we can ever accumulate. He knows what is best for us. We must learn to listen to His will, and turn our agenda over to him. Our hearts should be joyful as we are freed up like little children to enjoy life and focus on our stability in Him. Matthew 18:3-4 seems to confirm this train of thought, " I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." So this seems clear to me now that we must completely reverse our way of thinking in order to change and become like little children. Most of my early life, say from 12 years old on, was spent wanting to grow up fast and gain my independence, proving to myself and my parents that I could survive on my own. As I became a college student, I didn't want to live under their rules any more. At a certain age, this is mostly a great sign of progress in our lives, when we can move out of the house, support ourselves and make our parents proud. It is the same goal the parents have for their children. However, what the Bible is telling us is that while that is all well and good, and we should be all that we were created for using the God given gifts to the best of our ability, we also should be aware that we have an eternal destination that requires us to humbly admit our dependence on somewhere far greater than us. We must go forth with this as a main tenant of our life and become like little children in our acknowledgement that we can't get there on our own. When we not only recognize this fact, but also fully accept it, then we can truly begin to change again, to humbly learn to have the mindset of little children, and to trust in God's plan for our lives. For He truly knows and wants what is best for us. May we find freedom in that truth. Matthew 18:5-6 tells us how serious God is about this humble conversion process and the consequences for anyone who would try to interfere with it " And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." See the world through the eyes of a little child, fully and gratefully dependent on your Father in Heaven, and that will make God smile.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Hope
11/4/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Romans 18:24-25 " For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
What exactly is hope? I think it means different things to different people at different times. If you are sick, you hope for better health. If you are unemployed, you hope for a job. If you are hungry, you hope for food. If you are in bondage, you hope for freedom. In any of these cases, it relies on some future event happening that will relive the stress of a current situation or predicament. It is forward looking in nature. As the Bible verse above states, we do not hope for what we already have, but rather for something we feel can improve our circumstances in the future. So by its very nature, hope may require some or all of these characteristics before it becomes manifested in our lives: faith, patience, determination, belief, renewal, enthusiasm, persistence, vision and resiliency. I am sure there are others depending on you personal situation. There is the idea of hanging in there until things change for the better. The old saying " If there is life, there is hope" applies here. But in Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale, he turns that around to say " If there is hope, there is life." I like that one better because it mentally postures us to expect good things to happen through our faith in God. The Bible is full of God's promises to deliver us from our trying circumstances, but we must believe in what it says. That takes faith and without faith, there can be no hope. I have found that when we actually go through trials in our life, it is easy to say you have faith or hope in the promises of God, but in actuality our faith is so weak. We struggle to believe that God's promises can apply to us or to our situations. We grow impatient and start to doubt God's ability to deliver us from our distress. I believe this happens because we are trying to tell God what we need, instead of trusting in what God wants to accomplish through our trials. It is the biggest problem in my prayer life. I tend to prayer for things that I want rather than to seek God's wisdom and trust in His plan. Instead of forcing my will into the equation, I am learning to trust more. It is an ongoing battle because of my impatient human nature. I want comfort, when He may need me to have more character. I want a job that makes me feel good about myself and my ability to provide for my family, and he may want me to grow in my faith by having me trust in him more. He may want to give me a dose of perspective. Failure may help me to appreciate success more in the future. The idea is that to have hope, I need faith, and that comes from realizing that God's promises are real and true and that I must depend on him for everything in my life. My hope must be anchored in my belief. I hope for financial freedom so that I can spend my time on earth touching others from a platform of hope and love, using the compassion that was given me in Christ Jesus. He knows that because He gave me that dream. I believe that someday that will happen. I must anchor that in my reading of the scriptures that God will work "all things for the good of those who believe" and have faith that He will " deliver me at the perfect time," because He loves me and He is my Father. But I can't make myself believe. Faith is a gift from God available only through the Holy Spirit. When I am connected to the Spirit in prayer, my faith and hence my hope, is strong. But when I look at myself or my circumstances, my faith can quickly dissipate and fear can replace hope. Therefore, I hope only through my faith in the ability of the Holy Spirit to connect me to the energy and love of the living God in Christ Jesus, that He can bring manifestation of my hopes in my life to fruition. Romans 12:12 says to " be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer." Being joyful in our hope is what allows us to carry on when times are tough. We can find freedom in that. It keeps our eyes on the future and that hope that is ours in Christ Jesus and off of our current circumstances. Easier said than done I have often found. But so very real when we allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith and to be joyful in our hope. When there is hope, there is life!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Romans 18:24-25 " For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
What exactly is hope? I think it means different things to different people at different times. If you are sick, you hope for better health. If you are unemployed, you hope for a job. If you are hungry, you hope for food. If you are in bondage, you hope for freedom. In any of these cases, it relies on some future event happening that will relive the stress of a current situation or predicament. It is forward looking in nature. As the Bible verse above states, we do not hope for what we already have, but rather for something we feel can improve our circumstances in the future. So by its very nature, hope may require some or all of these characteristics before it becomes manifested in our lives: faith, patience, determination, belief, renewal, enthusiasm, persistence, vision and resiliency. I am sure there are others depending on you personal situation. There is the idea of hanging in there until things change for the better. The old saying " If there is life, there is hope" applies here. But in Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale, he turns that around to say " If there is hope, there is life." I like that one better because it mentally postures us to expect good things to happen through our faith in God. The Bible is full of God's promises to deliver us from our trying circumstances, but we must believe in what it says. That takes faith and without faith, there can be no hope. I have found that when we actually go through trials in our life, it is easy to say you have faith or hope in the promises of God, but in actuality our faith is so weak. We struggle to believe that God's promises can apply to us or to our situations. We grow impatient and start to doubt God's ability to deliver us from our distress. I believe this happens because we are trying to tell God what we need, instead of trusting in what God wants to accomplish through our trials. It is the biggest problem in my prayer life. I tend to prayer for things that I want rather than to seek God's wisdom and trust in His plan. Instead of forcing my will into the equation, I am learning to trust more. It is an ongoing battle because of my impatient human nature. I want comfort, when He may need me to have more character. I want a job that makes me feel good about myself and my ability to provide for my family, and he may want me to grow in my faith by having me trust in him more. He may want to give me a dose of perspective. Failure may help me to appreciate success more in the future. The idea is that to have hope, I need faith, and that comes from realizing that God's promises are real and true and that I must depend on him for everything in my life. My hope must be anchored in my belief. I hope for financial freedom so that I can spend my time on earth touching others from a platform of hope and love, using the compassion that was given me in Christ Jesus. He knows that because He gave me that dream. I believe that someday that will happen. I must anchor that in my reading of the scriptures that God will work "all things for the good of those who believe" and have faith that He will " deliver me at the perfect time," because He loves me and He is my Father. But I can't make myself believe. Faith is a gift from God available only through the Holy Spirit. When I am connected to the Spirit in prayer, my faith and hence my hope, is strong. But when I look at myself or my circumstances, my faith can quickly dissipate and fear can replace hope. Therefore, I hope only through my faith in the ability of the Holy Spirit to connect me to the energy and love of the living God in Christ Jesus, that He can bring manifestation of my hopes in my life to fruition. Romans 12:12 says to " be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer." Being joyful in our hope is what allows us to carry on when times are tough. We can find freedom in that. It keeps our eyes on the future and that hope that is ours in Christ Jesus and off of our current circumstances. Easier said than done I have often found. But so very real when we allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith and to be joyful in our hope. When there is hope, there is life!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
From Suffering to Enlightenment
11/3/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: psalm 34:3 " Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
November is the month that we give thanks for all that we have as individuals and as a Nation. We should be sure to remember ultimately that we are thanking God for all things. For it is from Him that all things are given. But let's face, life is often filled with painful experiences, whether it is a loss of a job, a house or other earthly possessions, a painful divorce, or a bad diagnosis from the Doctor. At these moments, thanking God or being thankful in general can be the furthest thing from our minds. We often fall in to a place or despair and separation from God can easily take place. We may even feel like blaming God when things are going against us in our lives. But we must remember that there is always a purpose in our various trials, and ultimately they are opportunities to draw closer to God, rather than running away from Him. In the book " In A Pit With A Lion on A Snowy Day, the Author, Mark Batterson, reminds us that when we face trials, how we respond is critical to how much we grow through our trials. He says it is imperative that when facing adversity, that we stop focusing on what is wrong with us, and instead we focus on what is right with God. God is good always and wants what is best for us. Sometimes we have a hard time letting go of our independence and trusting in our dependence upon him, especially in tough times or difficult trials in our life. But our ability to be filled with gratitude even during our suffering is the gateway to our greater dependence upon Him in all areas of our life and can ultimately lead to living a less stressful life as we gain the deeper knowledge of who is really in control. Ever since Eve reached for the fruit in the Garden, we have been reaching for our independence from God ever since. Sometimes God uses trials and hardships to shake us enough that we realize that our ways are not the best ways. Only through letting go and letting God transform us during our trials can we begin to reach the enlightenment that we seek. When we recognize His ability to transform our suffering into something beautiful on the other side is when we can begin to praise Him no matter what, even during those painful periods. Starting each day out with a prayer of all that we are thankful for would seem to be a good way to begin each day. I am going to try and do this for the rest of November and notice how my thoughts change. I am going through a tough time emotionally right now having lost my job in June after 17 years in the same industry. I find myself quickly becoming fearful whenever I look at my situation from my own perspective. I begin to doubt myself and my ability to provide and I feel like I have no control over the situation and it scares me. On the other hand, when I get in the presence of the Lord, and pray for His will to be done in my life and begin to humbly thank Him for all He has provided for me during my life, I quickly feel His grace and peace rush in to my place of fear. By being grateful, their is no room for fear at the same time. Clergyman Henry Ward Beecher said " A humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow." Being humbled can be a very good thing if we allow our low position to make us aware of God's high position and the gap that exists between our thoughts and ways and His, as Isaiah tells us in 55:8-9. When we focus on the length God went to to save us from the depths of our sin, and realize how much His only begotten Son suffered so that we could have eternal life, then our momentary, light affliction ( 2 Cor 4:17 ) can be truly transformational, and we can learn to give thanks far more easily. The Irish writer G.K. Chesterton said in his book " Irish Impressions", that the critical thing in life is whether you take things for granted or with gratitude. I had been taking my job and my lifestyle for granted, rather than with gratitude. By taking that away, I believe one of the lessons for me was to be more grateful for the blessings in my life, and not to take things for granted. It has opened my eyes to my need to have more compassion for others who are struggling and to be more dependent on God. If I become more grateful, I will naturally become more loving and compassionate, and in the process I will become more like Jesus wants me to be. Giving thanks in hard times can be tough, be going through tough times without God is impossible. I need to trust in His plan to turn my suffering into enlightenment. Praising all that is right with Him, when things are trying for me, helps me to keep my focus where it should be, on the Creator of life, who "in all things works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose" Rom 8:28. If in God's love the big purpose of all of our various trials is to draw us closer to Him, than they are not really trials at all, but rather enlightening experiences to the truth about how much we are dependent upon Him and how great His love is for us though Christ Jesus. At that point, we may be amazed at how easy giving thanks becomes.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: psalm 34:3 " Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
November is the month that we give thanks for all that we have as individuals and as a Nation. We should be sure to remember ultimately that we are thanking God for all things. For it is from Him that all things are given. But let's face, life is often filled with painful experiences, whether it is a loss of a job, a house or other earthly possessions, a painful divorce, or a bad diagnosis from the Doctor. At these moments, thanking God or being thankful in general can be the furthest thing from our minds. We often fall in to a place or despair and separation from God can easily take place. We may even feel like blaming God when things are going against us in our lives. But we must remember that there is always a purpose in our various trials, and ultimately they are opportunities to draw closer to God, rather than running away from Him. In the book " In A Pit With A Lion on A Snowy Day, the Author, Mark Batterson, reminds us that when we face trials, how we respond is critical to how much we grow through our trials. He says it is imperative that when facing adversity, that we stop focusing on what is wrong with us, and instead we focus on what is right with God. God is good always and wants what is best for us. Sometimes we have a hard time letting go of our independence and trusting in our dependence upon him, especially in tough times or difficult trials in our life. But our ability to be filled with gratitude even during our suffering is the gateway to our greater dependence upon Him in all areas of our life and can ultimately lead to living a less stressful life as we gain the deeper knowledge of who is really in control. Ever since Eve reached for the fruit in the Garden, we have been reaching for our independence from God ever since. Sometimes God uses trials and hardships to shake us enough that we realize that our ways are not the best ways. Only through letting go and letting God transform us during our trials can we begin to reach the enlightenment that we seek. When we recognize His ability to transform our suffering into something beautiful on the other side is when we can begin to praise Him no matter what, even during those painful periods. Starting each day out with a prayer of all that we are thankful for would seem to be a good way to begin each day. I am going to try and do this for the rest of November and notice how my thoughts change. I am going through a tough time emotionally right now having lost my job in June after 17 years in the same industry. I find myself quickly becoming fearful whenever I look at my situation from my own perspective. I begin to doubt myself and my ability to provide and I feel like I have no control over the situation and it scares me. On the other hand, when I get in the presence of the Lord, and pray for His will to be done in my life and begin to humbly thank Him for all He has provided for me during my life, I quickly feel His grace and peace rush in to my place of fear. By being grateful, their is no room for fear at the same time. Clergyman Henry Ward Beecher said " A humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow." Being humbled can be a very good thing if we allow our low position to make us aware of God's high position and the gap that exists between our thoughts and ways and His, as Isaiah tells us in 55:8-9. When we focus on the length God went to to save us from the depths of our sin, and realize how much His only begotten Son suffered so that we could have eternal life, then our momentary, light affliction ( 2 Cor 4:17 ) can be truly transformational, and we can learn to give thanks far more easily. The Irish writer G.K. Chesterton said in his book " Irish Impressions", that the critical thing in life is whether you take things for granted or with gratitude. I had been taking my job and my lifestyle for granted, rather than with gratitude. By taking that away, I believe one of the lessons for me was to be more grateful for the blessings in my life, and not to take things for granted. It has opened my eyes to my need to have more compassion for others who are struggling and to be more dependent on God. If I become more grateful, I will naturally become more loving and compassionate, and in the process I will become more like Jesus wants me to be. Giving thanks in hard times can be tough, be going through tough times without God is impossible. I need to trust in His plan to turn my suffering into enlightenment. Praising all that is right with Him, when things are trying for me, helps me to keep my focus where it should be, on the Creator of life, who "in all things works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose" Rom 8:28. If in God's love the big purpose of all of our various trials is to draw us closer to Him, than they are not really trials at all, but rather enlightening experiences to the truth about how much we are dependent upon Him and how great His love is for us though Christ Jesus. At that point, we may be amazed at how easy giving thanks becomes.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Reconciliation
10/30/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Proverbs 13:1 " A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke."
I feel like I have found the key to living a purposeful life, now all that is left is the ability to live it out. Oh for minor details, except that is where the challenge always lies for me, in the details. I am good at seeing the big picture, it is just that all the little things keep getting in the way. You know, little things like fear, and pride and self-consciousnesses and their sinful cousins like lust and anger and greed. If I could just totally remove myself from the equation, things would go so much more smoothly. But I can't and that is my challenge. I must learn how to overcome myself and my own human nature to be able to really achieve the things in my life that can glorify God. You see, I believe strongly in my heart, my soul and my mind That the whole purpose of this life is reconciliation. On many different levels. God reconciling us humans back to Himself, us humans reconciling amongst ourselves, and us as individuals reconciling our own path within and of ourselves.
In the big picture, 2nd Corinthians 5:18 says that "God reconciled the world back to himself through Christ Jesus and also gave us the ministry of reconciliation." We must fully comprehend His big plan in that He provided us a way to be reconciled. That is truly amazing when we think about it. God loves mankind so much, that even in our sinful, fallen state He provided a plan for us to be brought back into His eternal family through the death and resurrection of His only Son for those who believe. That is worth celebrating.
Paul in the book of Ephesians talks about the need for Jews and gentiles to put down the law, and to live as one body in Christ. In Ephesians 2:16-18 he says " and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Humbly, we need to see ourselves as no better than any other group or ethnicity. I believe God hates all types of bigotry and discord. Paul was preaching this message to the Jews and Gentiles, who were not allowed to intermingle let alone be viewed as brothers in Christ Jesus. Christ truly came to break down walls and barriers that exist between us humans, but we still struggle with our inferiority and superiority complexes 2,000 years later. As agents of God's reconciliation, we are called upon to remember and promote the fact that Jesus is the chief cornerstone and that "in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord," as it states in Ephesians 2:21. When we focus on that fact, it is much easier to forget our differences and remember our similarities in finding a common purpose for us to be reconciled as humanity to one another.
The hardest part sometimes for me is the part of reconciling myself to myself. Letting go of the some of my past mistakes, disappointments, resentments and heartaches and forging ahead towards the goal that lies ahead. While I try very hard to always learn from my past, I am still sometimes fatigued by the experiences that have truly left a mark. By the painful times when I didn't give my best effort, or was too easily distracted. When I used short term bandages instead of intensive introspection and deeper faith to deal with my pain. When I let my fears get in the way of taking risks for His glory. Internal reconciliation is critical to being a player and not a spectator for the Lord's team. My understanding and acknowledgement of my shortcomings and finding the strength to deal with them in Christ is a critical part of my on going growth in self reconciliation. WE CAN'T FOOL OUR OWN SOULS! When we pretend or act like we are something we aren't,or try to seek praise from individuals or things who are also flawed, we only bring chaos and disorder to our lives. When we are open and honest with ourselves, and our need for a Savior, we can make huge progress in reconciling ourselves back to not only ourselves but also to God. Then the power can come streaming in that can truly change our lives. I only wish I could bottle that feeling and break it out every moment of my life. Reconciliation is the goal. I believe it takes not only this lifetime, but all of eternity to fully realize the results of it's depth and beauty.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Proverbs 13:1 " A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke."
I feel like I have found the key to living a purposeful life, now all that is left is the ability to live it out. Oh for minor details, except that is where the challenge always lies for me, in the details. I am good at seeing the big picture, it is just that all the little things keep getting in the way. You know, little things like fear, and pride and self-consciousnesses and their sinful cousins like lust and anger and greed. If I could just totally remove myself from the equation, things would go so much more smoothly. But I can't and that is my challenge. I must learn how to overcome myself and my own human nature to be able to really achieve the things in my life that can glorify God. You see, I believe strongly in my heart, my soul and my mind That the whole purpose of this life is reconciliation. On many different levels. God reconciling us humans back to Himself, us humans reconciling amongst ourselves, and us as individuals reconciling our own path within and of ourselves.
In the big picture, 2nd Corinthians 5:18 says that "God reconciled the world back to himself through Christ Jesus and also gave us the ministry of reconciliation." We must fully comprehend His big plan in that He provided us a way to be reconciled. That is truly amazing when we think about it. God loves mankind so much, that even in our sinful, fallen state He provided a plan for us to be brought back into His eternal family through the death and resurrection of His only Son for those who believe. That is worth celebrating.
Paul in the book of Ephesians talks about the need for Jews and gentiles to put down the law, and to live as one body in Christ. In Ephesians 2:16-18 he says " and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Humbly, we need to see ourselves as no better than any other group or ethnicity. I believe God hates all types of bigotry and discord. Paul was preaching this message to the Jews and Gentiles, who were not allowed to intermingle let alone be viewed as brothers in Christ Jesus. Christ truly came to break down walls and barriers that exist between us humans, but we still struggle with our inferiority and superiority complexes 2,000 years later. As agents of God's reconciliation, we are called upon to remember and promote the fact that Jesus is the chief cornerstone and that "in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord," as it states in Ephesians 2:21. When we focus on that fact, it is much easier to forget our differences and remember our similarities in finding a common purpose for us to be reconciled as humanity to one another.
The hardest part sometimes for me is the part of reconciling myself to myself. Letting go of the some of my past mistakes, disappointments, resentments and heartaches and forging ahead towards the goal that lies ahead. While I try very hard to always learn from my past, I am still sometimes fatigued by the experiences that have truly left a mark. By the painful times when I didn't give my best effort, or was too easily distracted. When I used short term bandages instead of intensive introspection and deeper faith to deal with my pain. When I let my fears get in the way of taking risks for His glory. Internal reconciliation is critical to being a player and not a spectator for the Lord's team. My understanding and acknowledgement of my shortcomings and finding the strength to deal with them in Christ is a critical part of my on going growth in self reconciliation. WE CAN'T FOOL OUR OWN SOULS! When we pretend or act like we are something we aren't,or try to seek praise from individuals or things who are also flawed, we only bring chaos and disorder to our lives. When we are open and honest with ourselves, and our need for a Savior, we can make huge progress in reconciling ourselves back to not only ourselves but also to God. Then the power can come streaming in that can truly change our lives. I only wish I could bottle that feeling and break it out every moment of my life. Reconciliation is the goal. I believe it takes not only this lifetime, but all of eternity to fully realize the results of it's depth and beauty.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Harbor In The Tempest
10/22/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 " So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Life can be difficult, of that we can be sure. Our human nature keeps getting in the way, and we make decisions on occasion that cause us great harm. We spoke last time about the ramifications of sin in our lives, but this message is focused on where we can turn to for protection before we make the mistakes that turn our lives upside down. The Lord is a safe harbor in the tempest of this life. When the storms are raging all around us, he can provide shelter to keep us safe. No matter how strong our faith is and how much we are abiding in Him who gives us hope, we are all vulnerable to falling if we take our eyes off of Him for even one second. Why is this? Because there is a spiritual battle that is raging in the unseen realms for our souls. This is a crucial battle and the forces are diametrically opposed. Galatians 5:17 says " For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with one another, so that you do not do what you want." Understanding that this battle is raging is the first step in helping to live a life safe from the consequences of not being able to defend ourselves. We need help and thank God that His Son is the Good Sheppard He sent to save us from the dark forces that work to destroy us. 1st Peter 5:8 says " We must be alert. Your adversary the devil, prowl around like a roaring Lion, seeking someone to devour." Each one of us is uniquely vulnerable and the devil knows are weaknesses. With me, it may be lust in my heart or a selfish need to gratify my flesh. With others it may be alcohol, drugs, anger or hatred. Whatever our challenges, we must realize how vulnerable we are. We are all sinners and must realize that apart from Christ, we can do nothing but sin. It is in Him that we find peace and the way to walk the straight path, but we like lost sheep, tend to wander and go astray quite easily. Praise God that the Good Sheppard cares about each one of His sheep and will do whatever it takes to bring us safely back to His flock. In this life, there is lots of temptations for us to submit to our sinful nature. We can fall quite easily. Thankfully, in Him, there is a harbor in the tempest, a safe place where we can go to get out of the storms of life and to be renewed and strengthened for the voyage ahead. In the Bible Verse of the Day above, we learn that what is happening us is common to man, and that God will always give us a way out. He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability to handle it. But that requires us to be shielded by Him.That requires us to spend time with Him and to be in His word. The more time we spend in His harbor, the safer we are. But eventually we must shove off and continue our journey, growing in our abilities to defend ourselves from the raging battle as we learn to trust in Him to lead our safe passage. Like a boat that has been through an Ocean storm, we will have some marks on us and be a little worn at the end, but we will feel a great sense of pride in knowing that we finished the race. I believe this life is one big learning experience to prepare us for eternity. It is like a pre-season game preparing a football team for the regular season. You make your mistakes and you learn from them as you continue to grow. You are working towards a goal to finish strong. Then, like Paul says in 2nd Timothy 4:7, we will be able to one day say " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 " So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Life can be difficult, of that we can be sure. Our human nature keeps getting in the way, and we make decisions on occasion that cause us great harm. We spoke last time about the ramifications of sin in our lives, but this message is focused on where we can turn to for protection before we make the mistakes that turn our lives upside down. The Lord is a safe harbor in the tempest of this life. When the storms are raging all around us, he can provide shelter to keep us safe. No matter how strong our faith is and how much we are abiding in Him who gives us hope, we are all vulnerable to falling if we take our eyes off of Him for even one second. Why is this? Because there is a spiritual battle that is raging in the unseen realms for our souls. This is a crucial battle and the forces are diametrically opposed. Galatians 5:17 says " For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with one another, so that you do not do what you want." Understanding that this battle is raging is the first step in helping to live a life safe from the consequences of not being able to defend ourselves. We need help and thank God that His Son is the Good Sheppard He sent to save us from the dark forces that work to destroy us. 1st Peter 5:8 says " We must be alert. Your adversary the devil, prowl around like a roaring Lion, seeking someone to devour." Each one of us is uniquely vulnerable and the devil knows are weaknesses. With me, it may be lust in my heart or a selfish need to gratify my flesh. With others it may be alcohol, drugs, anger or hatred. Whatever our challenges, we must realize how vulnerable we are. We are all sinners and must realize that apart from Christ, we can do nothing but sin. It is in Him that we find peace and the way to walk the straight path, but we like lost sheep, tend to wander and go astray quite easily. Praise God that the Good Sheppard cares about each one of His sheep and will do whatever it takes to bring us safely back to His flock. In this life, there is lots of temptations for us to submit to our sinful nature. We can fall quite easily. Thankfully, in Him, there is a harbor in the tempest, a safe place where we can go to get out of the storms of life and to be renewed and strengthened for the voyage ahead. In the Bible Verse of the Day above, we learn that what is happening us is common to man, and that God will always give us a way out. He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability to handle it. But that requires us to be shielded by Him.That requires us to spend time with Him and to be in His word. The more time we spend in His harbor, the safer we are. But eventually we must shove off and continue our journey, growing in our abilities to defend ourselves from the raging battle as we learn to trust in Him to lead our safe passage. Like a boat that has been through an Ocean storm, we will have some marks on us and be a little worn at the end, but we will feel a great sense of pride in knowing that we finished the race. I believe this life is one big learning experience to prepare us for eternity. It is like a pre-season game preparing a football team for the regular season. You make your mistakes and you learn from them as you continue to grow. You are working towards a goal to finish strong. Then, like Paul says in 2nd Timothy 4:7, we will be able to one day say " I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Houston, We Have A Problem
10/20/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1 John 1:9 " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
There is a big problem in every person's life and it is called Sin. Sin is defined as the willful disobedience of God. If left unresolved, it will bring us much hardship and pain in our lifetime's. The problem with sin is it lasts longer than we want it to stay, and it costs us more than we want to pay. We cannot hide from our sin, even though we pretend that we can just sweep it under the carpet and pretend it never happened or has no lasting consequences. Sin will torment our souls as long as we allow it to lay dormant in our lives. But thankfully, God understands our condition and proclivity to sinning, so He gives us a way out. If we are willing to admit our mistakes, and ask for His forgiveness through His precious Son, Jesus Christ, than we can be free from our guilt and shame and be "cleansed from all unrighteousness" as the Bible Verse above tells us. There is incredible freedom in laying your sin at His feet and letting go of all of those things that have been weighing your soul down. We cannot trick our souls. We may be able to fool some people for some amount of time, and even believe ourselves that we have gotten away with whatever sinful act that we have committed, but our soul knows the truth and it cannot be deceived. We eventually will become tired of carrying around the weight of our unresolved sin. We will become restless. We must lay our head on our pillow at night, and when we become subconsciously aware of the deep seeded sin in our lives, we have to make a choice. Do we continue to try to hide from the truth or do we confess our mistakes, let go of our burdens and find rest and peace in God's promises of forgiveness. Isaiah 1:18 says " Let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool." God always is waiting to forgive us and release us from our self inflicted bondage. He is as patient as we are stubborn. He won't grow weary in waiting for His lost sheep to return home as illustrated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. However, we often try to manipulate the situation into one of control and we think that we have the right to make decisions in a vacuum while trying to escape the dogma of religious doctrine. We are, after all, masters of our domain. But in reality, when we choose ourselves in acts of sin, the consequences of that action always reverberate through many other lives. Adultery is a good example, for it is born of our pride to conquer another body for physical enjoyment. The physical pleasure may last a short while, but the pain that the sinful act can cause can last a lifetime and effect many lives.This is what God is trying to prevent. He knows that our sin will have a cascading effect on the lives of those around us and he wants to protect us from our own destruction and the destruction of many lives who get caught up in the friendly fire of our sinful decisions. When our response is to ignore the ramifications of our actions, and instead we dig our heels in a little deeper, we only worsen our predicament. We usually commit more egregious sins as we try to run from our initial sin. See the story of David and Bathsheba for a useful reference. Instead of just admitting his error in judgement for sleeping with the wife of his best friend Uriah, he compounds the situation through lies and manipulation that ultimately leads him to the desperate situation of feeling the only way out of this predicament is to have his friend killed in battle. His original sin, rather than being repented of and dealt with through the forgiveness of the grace of God, instead quickly ensnared him and led to a much larger problem. God is saying, I know you and your sinful ways, and I still am able to forgive you. Won't you come to me and let my grace wash over you? I have personally experienced that feeling of the weight of sin being washed away in God's grace and there is no feeling like it in the world. I literally felt like I was floating once I was willing to admit my mistakes, take comfort from the storms of my own doing in His love and find forgiveness in His grace. I find now that I am more willing to quickly admit my sins to Him on an ongoing basis, as the therapy soothes my soul. He continues to reveal the depths of my sin to me, some so subtle that I didn't even know they existed, so that I can be purged. God wants to give us a clear conscience, free from the restlessness that is born out of our own guilt and shame. What are we waiting for? Our pride and lust for control keeps us from experiencing the incredible power of God's forgiveness in our lives. Instead of running from Him, we should be running to Him. For that is where we will find forgiveness that will truly set us free and we will feel the grace that can change our lives forever. All glory and honor be to God.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1 John 1:9 " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
There is a big problem in every person's life and it is called Sin. Sin is defined as the willful disobedience of God. If left unresolved, it will bring us much hardship and pain in our lifetime's. The problem with sin is it lasts longer than we want it to stay, and it costs us more than we want to pay. We cannot hide from our sin, even though we pretend that we can just sweep it under the carpet and pretend it never happened or has no lasting consequences. Sin will torment our souls as long as we allow it to lay dormant in our lives. But thankfully, God understands our condition and proclivity to sinning, so He gives us a way out. If we are willing to admit our mistakes, and ask for His forgiveness through His precious Son, Jesus Christ, than we can be free from our guilt and shame and be "cleansed from all unrighteousness" as the Bible Verse above tells us. There is incredible freedom in laying your sin at His feet and letting go of all of those things that have been weighing your soul down. We cannot trick our souls. We may be able to fool some people for some amount of time, and even believe ourselves that we have gotten away with whatever sinful act that we have committed, but our soul knows the truth and it cannot be deceived. We eventually will become tired of carrying around the weight of our unresolved sin. We will become restless. We must lay our head on our pillow at night, and when we become subconsciously aware of the deep seeded sin in our lives, we have to make a choice. Do we continue to try to hide from the truth or do we confess our mistakes, let go of our burdens and find rest and peace in God's promises of forgiveness. Isaiah 1:18 says " Let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool." God always is waiting to forgive us and release us from our self inflicted bondage. He is as patient as we are stubborn. He won't grow weary in waiting for His lost sheep to return home as illustrated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. However, we often try to manipulate the situation into one of control and we think that we have the right to make decisions in a vacuum while trying to escape the dogma of religious doctrine. We are, after all, masters of our domain. But in reality, when we choose ourselves in acts of sin, the consequences of that action always reverberate through many other lives. Adultery is a good example, for it is born of our pride to conquer another body for physical enjoyment. The physical pleasure may last a short while, but the pain that the sinful act can cause can last a lifetime and effect many lives.This is what God is trying to prevent. He knows that our sin will have a cascading effect on the lives of those around us and he wants to protect us from our own destruction and the destruction of many lives who get caught up in the friendly fire of our sinful decisions. When our response is to ignore the ramifications of our actions, and instead we dig our heels in a little deeper, we only worsen our predicament. We usually commit more egregious sins as we try to run from our initial sin. See the story of David and Bathsheba for a useful reference. Instead of just admitting his error in judgement for sleeping with the wife of his best friend Uriah, he compounds the situation through lies and manipulation that ultimately leads him to the desperate situation of feeling the only way out of this predicament is to have his friend killed in battle. His original sin, rather than being repented of and dealt with through the forgiveness of the grace of God, instead quickly ensnared him and led to a much larger problem. God is saying, I know you and your sinful ways, and I still am able to forgive you. Won't you come to me and let my grace wash over you? I have personally experienced that feeling of the weight of sin being washed away in God's grace and there is no feeling like it in the world. I literally felt like I was floating once I was willing to admit my mistakes, take comfort from the storms of my own doing in His love and find forgiveness in His grace. I find now that I am more willing to quickly admit my sins to Him on an ongoing basis, as the therapy soothes my soul. He continues to reveal the depths of my sin to me, some so subtle that I didn't even know they existed, so that I can be purged. God wants to give us a clear conscience, free from the restlessness that is born out of our own guilt and shame. What are we waiting for? Our pride and lust for control keeps us from experiencing the incredible power of God's forgiveness in our lives. Instead of running from Him, we should be running to Him. For that is where we will find forgiveness that will truly set us free and we will feel the grace that can change our lives forever. All glory and honor be to God.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Success vs. Significance
10/14/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Ephesians 4:12 " For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. "
To quote one of my least favorite entertainers ,Madonna, "We are living in a material world." That is evident everywhere we look. People equate success with stuff. What you have is probably the most important factor in deciding how you're measuring up. But in the long run, our worldly possessions won't amount to much. If the question is how much will we leave behind when we die, the answer is the same for everyone on earth: Everything! Luke 9:25 says, " what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his very soul?" We are focused as Americans at accumulating things that make us feel good about ourselves; Houses, cars, boats , planes, women. The list is almost endless. But how much significance is gleamed from our stuff? Is it more important to have significance or success? Who's richer, the person who has all the money in the world like Donald Trump or the person who needs the least and still has abundant happiness like Mother Theresa? Success is based on achievement and performance. It is a fairly objective way to measure ourselves against others. In sports, it's called "scoreboard." The scoreboard never lies about who won and who lost. The record of each team is there for everyone to see, and to measure how they are doing . Significance is harder to define. It is much more subjective. What is significant to one person may be utterly meaningless to another. In the book Seven Days at the Links of Utopia the main character Johnny is mentoring to a young golfing protege named Luke Chisolm. Luke is searching for his significance in the world of golf, but more importantly in his own heart. Johnny defines significance for him as " character, relationships, values, virtues and faith. " In other words, what do you do with the time you have on this earth that will leave a mark or influence something or someone in a positive manner? What do people who meet you say about you? Do they know what you stand for? Do they know what you believe in? No matter how much stuff we have, we can't touch another person's life in a meaningful and significant way by the type of car we have or how many square feet our house is. But we can touch someone's life by giving them a ride when their car is broken down in the middle of a thunder storm or giving them a place to stay when they are in need. We can influence people by our actions and our love towards them when they are brought into our life for one reason or another. I am trying to apply these principles in my own life currently, with decidedly mixed results. Some days I do better than others, but at least now I am thinking about the lasting affects that my actions can have on others, both good and bad. I want to have an impact on people's lives that will illustrate to them the same love I have felt from my relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to be man of character and integrity who's word is worth something and who's values are easy to discern in any part of my life. I am striving for that level of faith that allows me to be proactive in reaching out to a hurting world and to be impactful in the lives of those whom I may not even know. To me, success and significance are intertwined to some degree. When I am significant in the ways defined above, then I will be successful. Money can be a very useful tool in helping to impact people's lives. I hope and pray for good stewardship with the financial blessings that come my way. I hope to accumulate experiences more than possessions, and to create memories of changed lives through my actions. I want to leave a lasting legacy of which Jesus Christ would be proud. In His name I pray, amen!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: Ephesians 4:12 " For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. "
To quote one of my least favorite entertainers ,Madonna, "We are living in a material world." That is evident everywhere we look. People equate success with stuff. What you have is probably the most important factor in deciding how you're measuring up. But in the long run, our worldly possessions won't amount to much. If the question is how much will we leave behind when we die, the answer is the same for everyone on earth: Everything! Luke 9:25 says, " what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his very soul?" We are focused as Americans at accumulating things that make us feel good about ourselves; Houses, cars, boats , planes, women. The list is almost endless. But how much significance is gleamed from our stuff? Is it more important to have significance or success? Who's richer, the person who has all the money in the world like Donald Trump or the person who needs the least and still has abundant happiness like Mother Theresa? Success is based on achievement and performance. It is a fairly objective way to measure ourselves against others. In sports, it's called "scoreboard." The scoreboard never lies about who won and who lost. The record of each team is there for everyone to see, and to measure how they are doing . Significance is harder to define. It is much more subjective. What is significant to one person may be utterly meaningless to another. In the book Seven Days at the Links of Utopia the main character Johnny is mentoring to a young golfing protege named Luke Chisolm. Luke is searching for his significance in the world of golf, but more importantly in his own heart. Johnny defines significance for him as " character, relationships, values, virtues and faith. " In other words, what do you do with the time you have on this earth that will leave a mark or influence something or someone in a positive manner? What do people who meet you say about you? Do they know what you stand for? Do they know what you believe in? No matter how much stuff we have, we can't touch another person's life in a meaningful and significant way by the type of car we have or how many square feet our house is. But we can touch someone's life by giving them a ride when their car is broken down in the middle of a thunder storm or giving them a place to stay when they are in need. We can influence people by our actions and our love towards them when they are brought into our life for one reason or another. I am trying to apply these principles in my own life currently, with decidedly mixed results. Some days I do better than others, but at least now I am thinking about the lasting affects that my actions can have on others, both good and bad. I want to have an impact on people's lives that will illustrate to them the same love I have felt from my relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to be man of character and integrity who's word is worth something and who's values are easy to discern in any part of my life. I am striving for that level of faith that allows me to be proactive in reaching out to a hurting world and to be impactful in the lives of those whom I may not even know. To me, success and significance are intertwined to some degree. When I am significant in the ways defined above, then I will be successful. Money can be a very useful tool in helping to impact people's lives. I hope and pray for good stewardship with the financial blessings that come my way. I hope to accumulate experiences more than possessions, and to create memories of changed lives through my actions. I want to leave a lasting legacy of which Jesus Christ would be proud. In His name I pray, amen!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Time Passages
10/13/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 2nd Peter 3:8 " But do not forget this one thing, dear friends; With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and thousand years are like a day."
Gandhi once said " there is more to life than increasing its speed." The Bible often talks about time from an eternal standpoint and focuses us on our need to understand time from God's perspective. Psalm 46:10 tells us to " be still and know that I am God." God wants us to slow down and not hurry our way through life. To literally stop and take time to smell the roses. God is not constrained by the same time and space restrictions that limit our abilities here on earth. Sometimes I feel like the velocity of time is increasing and the corresponding pressure to fit everything into a day that needs to be accomplished seems overwhelming. But we still have the same 24 hours in a day that we have always had, so what's changed? We live in a fast paced, information driven age where are brains are always required to be "on" and where there is little time for relaxation and reflection. The world has taught us that if we want to get ahead in life, that we must work harder, longer and smarter than our competitors. For the most part this is true. But at what cost? I know people that are extremely talented and hard working and they have gained much material success from their efforts, but the other areas of their lives have suffered greatly. Divorce, illness and substance abuse are some of the side affects of placing all of their efforts, or time, into being successful in the world's eyes. They've spent so much time on one area of their lives, that they've had no time for the other areas, such as family, health, balance and enjoyment. How we prioritize our time I believe is very important to God. I have seen that when I put God 1st, my family second and everything else after that, there is a hierarchy to my life that flows very well. It seems like I am more patient and less rushed in my day when I start off the day alone in prayer with God and end it with reflection and thanks for all He did for me that day. I wish I did this everyday, but I don't. It is a goal of mine, and I will keep pursuing it, until I crowd everything else out in order to make more room and time for God instead of visa-verse. Time is the one thing that we can never get back, and the one thing that we never seem to have enough of. In this internet age, where information to anything is available almost at will, I struggle with being distracted by things that ultimately will be proven to be of little worth. Ultimately, these distractions lead me to feeling more hurried and less peaceful as they crowd out more important tasks. It sometimes feel like an endless loop of time vs. fatigue. This summer I have been blessed to have some time off to really focus on the Lord and on my family, and it has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. I have got to see what my wife goes through in an average day for her and I have a new found respect for that time commitment and how hard it is when you are dealing with kids who are never worried about being some place, any place, on time. There have been many moments this summer though where I have really tried to just enjoy the time alone with them. I have seen how this time spent with them translates directly into a deeper love for them and also how they respond to the time spent in a like manner. Love is time spent. When you love something or someone, you prioritize it. I think that the Bible verse of the Day above from 2nd Peter 3:8 lets us know that God's view of time is a more patient view of time, less hurried. He wants us to know that He loves us and He prioritizes his relationship with us. He is willing to wait for us. As I live out my life,I want to try and have that mindset with the relationships that are most significant in my life. I want my God, my wife and kids, and clients and friends to know that I value my relationships with them. In order for them to feel this, I need to slow down. I need to be more patient. I think the whole world does.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 2nd Peter 3:8 " But do not forget this one thing, dear friends; With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and thousand years are like a day."
Gandhi once said " there is more to life than increasing its speed." The Bible often talks about time from an eternal standpoint and focuses us on our need to understand time from God's perspective. Psalm 46:10 tells us to " be still and know that I am God." God wants us to slow down and not hurry our way through life. To literally stop and take time to smell the roses. God is not constrained by the same time and space restrictions that limit our abilities here on earth. Sometimes I feel like the velocity of time is increasing and the corresponding pressure to fit everything into a day that needs to be accomplished seems overwhelming. But we still have the same 24 hours in a day that we have always had, so what's changed? We live in a fast paced, information driven age where are brains are always required to be "on" and where there is little time for relaxation and reflection. The world has taught us that if we want to get ahead in life, that we must work harder, longer and smarter than our competitors. For the most part this is true. But at what cost? I know people that are extremely talented and hard working and they have gained much material success from their efforts, but the other areas of their lives have suffered greatly. Divorce, illness and substance abuse are some of the side affects of placing all of their efforts, or time, into being successful in the world's eyes. They've spent so much time on one area of their lives, that they've had no time for the other areas, such as family, health, balance and enjoyment. How we prioritize our time I believe is very important to God. I have seen that when I put God 1st, my family second and everything else after that, there is a hierarchy to my life that flows very well. It seems like I am more patient and less rushed in my day when I start off the day alone in prayer with God and end it with reflection and thanks for all He did for me that day. I wish I did this everyday, but I don't. It is a goal of mine, and I will keep pursuing it, until I crowd everything else out in order to make more room and time for God instead of visa-verse. Time is the one thing that we can never get back, and the one thing that we never seem to have enough of. In this internet age, where information to anything is available almost at will, I struggle with being distracted by things that ultimately will be proven to be of little worth. Ultimately, these distractions lead me to feeling more hurried and less peaceful as they crowd out more important tasks. It sometimes feel like an endless loop of time vs. fatigue. This summer I have been blessed to have some time off to really focus on the Lord and on my family, and it has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. I have got to see what my wife goes through in an average day for her and I have a new found respect for that time commitment and how hard it is when you are dealing with kids who are never worried about being some place, any place, on time. There have been many moments this summer though where I have really tried to just enjoy the time alone with them. I have seen how this time spent with them translates directly into a deeper love for them and also how they respond to the time spent in a like manner. Love is time spent. When you love something or someone, you prioritize it. I think that the Bible verse of the Day above from 2nd Peter 3:8 lets us know that God's view of time is a more patient view of time, less hurried. He wants us to know that He loves us and He prioritizes his relationship with us. He is willing to wait for us. As I live out my life,I want to try and have that mindset with the relationships that are most significant in my life. I want my God, my wife and kids, and clients and friends to know that I value my relationships with them. In order for them to feel this, I need to slow down. I need to be more patient. I think the whole world does.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
First Pride, Then The Fall
10/12/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1st peter 5: 5-6 " God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time."
I believe that pride is the most dangerous sin. Why? Because it keeps us from admitting our need for a savior, One greater than us who can redeem our sins and transform us back into the relationship with God that we were always meant to share. Pride is the control mechanism the devil uses to make us feel like we are in control of our lives and our eternal destination. Pride is being so wise in our own eyes that we fail to recognize the disastrous effects that sin in our lives is having on the relationships that are most important to us; our relationship with God, with our families and with our friends and acquaintances. Pride keeps us from feeling the power of God in our lives because we are unwilling to trust in Him when we feel like we are in control. Pride is what makes us blame other people or other factors when we fail at things that are important to us. Pride makes us haughty. We don't realize we are in need of a Doctor until we admit that we are sick. God tells us throughout the book of Proverbs that our own pride will eventually lead to our downfall. He warns us of the dangers of pride and how much He loathes it in Proverbs 8:13 " I hate pride and arrogance," in 16:18 " Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall," and in 29:23 " a man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor." God hates pride out of His love for us because it causes us separation from Him. God is not jealous of us, he is jealous for us. He wants us to walk with Him so He can protect us from ourselves. Like always, when God points out a problem in our nature, he always give us a solution. In this case he tells us what a contrast to our pride looks like. It looks like humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. It is establishing the pecking order in your life: God first, your family second and everything after that next. When we are intentional in our realization that we are dependent on God for our strength and wisdom, then we become humble and He can work marvelous things in and through us. That is why Psalm 111:10 says " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Humility is about recognizing our limitations and God's infinite power and wisdom. It helps us to put order into our personal universe when we acknowledge our need for God. Some people think of that as a weakness, to admit your dependence on another being or higher power to help you achieve your goals. I view it as spiritual maturity and growth. It is a breakthrough born of painful self examination.When we recognize who is ultimately in control, and "we humble ourselves before the mighty hands of God," it helps relieve stress, remove fear and tap us into a new energy source that can propel us to greater things. I am working on humility each and every day because I have come to recognize how destructive my ( false ) pride has been in my life. I think for me that has been the beginning of wisdom that has helped me in further developing my relationship with God. I continue to pray for His leadership in helping me to recognize and remove prideful areas of my life. He is doing that and I am very much a work in progress. But I now feel the blessings of humility in my life more easily and more quickly. As the Apostle Paul said, "for when I am weak, then am I strong," has started to make sense to me. His power truly is made perfect in my weakness. Praise God for His unending mercy and grace in revealing these truths to me before my pride took me for a great fall. Although we can fall in our pride which is part of our human nature at any moment, I now at least am aware of the problem. I have admitted my sickness and need for a Doctor. It will take me the rest of my lifetime to learn to become a good patient. Thankfully, I know the guy that can lead me. All praise and glory be to Jesus Christ!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1st peter 5: 5-6 " God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time."
I believe that pride is the most dangerous sin. Why? Because it keeps us from admitting our need for a savior, One greater than us who can redeem our sins and transform us back into the relationship with God that we were always meant to share. Pride is the control mechanism the devil uses to make us feel like we are in control of our lives and our eternal destination. Pride is being so wise in our own eyes that we fail to recognize the disastrous effects that sin in our lives is having on the relationships that are most important to us; our relationship with God, with our families and with our friends and acquaintances. Pride keeps us from feeling the power of God in our lives because we are unwilling to trust in Him when we feel like we are in control. Pride is what makes us blame other people or other factors when we fail at things that are important to us. Pride makes us haughty. We don't realize we are in need of a Doctor until we admit that we are sick. God tells us throughout the book of Proverbs that our own pride will eventually lead to our downfall. He warns us of the dangers of pride and how much He loathes it in Proverbs 8:13 " I hate pride and arrogance," in 16:18 " Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall," and in 29:23 " a man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor." God hates pride out of His love for us because it causes us separation from Him. God is not jealous of us, he is jealous for us. He wants us to walk with Him so He can protect us from ourselves. Like always, when God points out a problem in our nature, he always give us a solution. In this case he tells us what a contrast to our pride looks like. It looks like humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. It is establishing the pecking order in your life: God first, your family second and everything after that next. When we are intentional in our realization that we are dependent on God for our strength and wisdom, then we become humble and He can work marvelous things in and through us. That is why Psalm 111:10 says " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Humility is about recognizing our limitations and God's infinite power and wisdom. It helps us to put order into our personal universe when we acknowledge our need for God. Some people think of that as a weakness, to admit your dependence on another being or higher power to help you achieve your goals. I view it as spiritual maturity and growth. It is a breakthrough born of painful self examination.When we recognize who is ultimately in control, and "we humble ourselves before the mighty hands of God," it helps relieve stress, remove fear and tap us into a new energy source that can propel us to greater things. I am working on humility each and every day because I have come to recognize how destructive my ( false ) pride has been in my life. I think for me that has been the beginning of wisdom that has helped me in further developing my relationship with God. I continue to pray for His leadership in helping me to recognize and remove prideful areas of my life. He is doing that and I am very much a work in progress. But I now feel the blessings of humility in my life more easily and more quickly. As the Apostle Paul said, "for when I am weak, then am I strong," has started to make sense to me. His power truly is made perfect in my weakness. Praise God for His unending mercy and grace in revealing these truths to me before my pride took me for a great fall. Although we can fall in our pride which is part of our human nature at any moment, I now at least am aware of the problem. I have admitted my sickness and need for a Doctor. It will take me the rest of my lifetime to learn to become a good patient. Thankfully, I know the guy that can lead me. All praise and glory be to Jesus Christ!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Darkness vs. Light
10/11/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1st John 1:5-10 " God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives."
I remember being in Florida as a kid visiting my grandparents. I think I was about 8 years old at the time. I had never seen a cockroach before until I went to Florida. I went to the refrigerator in the middle of the night onetime to get some orange juice, and when I turned the light on, it was like the Indy 500 of roach racing. Those hideous bugs were running everywhere as fast as they could to escape the light that had rained down upon the darkness they were thriving in. I believe that this illustrates how many of us humans, me included, respond at first when Jesus Christ begins to shine His light into our darkness. We don't like it and we try to run and hide. Why? Because our foolish pride gets in the way! We don't want to change from our sinful ways. We like being masters of our own domain, doing what we want, when we want and with whom we want. We are happy living for self gratification and view any outside influences give up our "rights" as a threat. But this ultimately leads us into sitting in our own quagmire. We soon find out that the rush the world promises never lives up to the hype. As a pastor friend of mine, Gary Stubblefield, once preached "When we deny the power of God in our own lives and try to be our own kings, we quickly find that the enslaving chords of this world begin to grip around us and capture us, and they begin to chip away at our own personal beauty." You see, light and darkness cannot coexist together at the same time. God and sin cannot be present together at the same time. God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to shine His light into the darkness, and the world rejected that light. The world was enslaved to the darkness. We humans scattered like roaches, trying to hang on to our sinful ways. But Christ has a way of permeating that darkness with His light and eventually, when we grow tired of trying to do things our way, with our plans and our purposes, He can reach into the fire and pull us out, usually just in time. He is a very patient God and as a Sheppard, He cares deeply about all of His lost sheep. Not all of us will come and that is sad. Those who reject Him are letting their pride make an eternal decision for them that they will regret the second they die and see the disparity between true darkness and eternal light. We grow so rigid in our pride that we forgo the thing that we have been searching for our whole life, that only Christ can bring, and that is lasting inner peace. When we are walking in the light, we are at peace with ourselves and with our lives. It doesn't mean that we won't fall back into the darkness occasionally and make sinful decisions, for that is part of our human nature, but hopefully, we won't stay there for long. We will crave the freedom and the peace we have in the light enough to abandon our previous ways. Paul puts it this way in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." That is what the light does to the darkness, it shatters it. To quote a famous song by the Doors and their lead singer Jimmy Morrison, " YOU KNOW THE DAY DESTROYS THE NIGHT, THE NIGHT DIVIDES THE DAY, TRY TO RUN, TRY TO HIDE, BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE." The other side of our dark, sinful and prideful nature is a beautiful light in Christ Jesus that breaks us free from our enslaving chords and brings us to a peaceful place where our sins have been forgiven and our heavy burdens are lifted. It took me 38 years to find that truth. It was worth the wait. I finally found something, in Jesus Christ, that lived up to the hype.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1st John 1:5-10 " God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives."
I remember being in Florida as a kid visiting my grandparents. I think I was about 8 years old at the time. I had never seen a cockroach before until I went to Florida. I went to the refrigerator in the middle of the night onetime to get some orange juice, and when I turned the light on, it was like the Indy 500 of roach racing. Those hideous bugs were running everywhere as fast as they could to escape the light that had rained down upon the darkness they were thriving in. I believe that this illustrates how many of us humans, me included, respond at first when Jesus Christ begins to shine His light into our darkness. We don't like it and we try to run and hide. Why? Because our foolish pride gets in the way! We don't want to change from our sinful ways. We like being masters of our own domain, doing what we want, when we want and with whom we want. We are happy living for self gratification and view any outside influences give up our "rights" as a threat. But this ultimately leads us into sitting in our own quagmire. We soon find out that the rush the world promises never lives up to the hype. As a pastor friend of mine, Gary Stubblefield, once preached "When we deny the power of God in our own lives and try to be our own kings, we quickly find that the enslaving chords of this world begin to grip around us and capture us, and they begin to chip away at our own personal beauty." You see, light and darkness cannot coexist together at the same time. God and sin cannot be present together at the same time. God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to shine His light into the darkness, and the world rejected that light. The world was enslaved to the darkness. We humans scattered like roaches, trying to hang on to our sinful ways. But Christ has a way of permeating that darkness with His light and eventually, when we grow tired of trying to do things our way, with our plans and our purposes, He can reach into the fire and pull us out, usually just in time. He is a very patient God and as a Sheppard, He cares deeply about all of His lost sheep. Not all of us will come and that is sad. Those who reject Him are letting their pride make an eternal decision for them that they will regret the second they die and see the disparity between true darkness and eternal light. We grow so rigid in our pride that we forgo the thing that we have been searching for our whole life, that only Christ can bring, and that is lasting inner peace. When we are walking in the light, we are at peace with ourselves and with our lives. It doesn't mean that we won't fall back into the darkness occasionally and make sinful decisions, for that is part of our human nature, but hopefully, we won't stay there for long. We will crave the freedom and the peace we have in the light enough to abandon our previous ways. Paul puts it this way in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come." That is what the light does to the darkness, it shatters it. To quote a famous song by the Doors and their lead singer Jimmy Morrison, " YOU KNOW THE DAY DESTROYS THE NIGHT, THE NIGHT DIVIDES THE DAY, TRY TO RUN, TRY TO HIDE, BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE." The other side of our dark, sinful and prideful nature is a beautiful light in Christ Jesus that breaks us free from our enslaving chords and brings us to a peaceful place where our sins have been forgiven and our heavy burdens are lifted. It took me 38 years to find that truth. It was worth the wait. I finally found something, in Jesus Christ, that lived up to the hype.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Networking 101
10/10/2011
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the Day: Mark 3:13-14 "Jesus went up to a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve-designating them apostles- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach."
Jesus was the best net-worker that ever lived. There, I said it. No I-phone, no lap top, no cell phone ,no fax machine, no Nike's, no car, no planes. Just the most perfectly executed networking strategy in history. Take 12 rag tag guys, mostly uneducated fisherman and despised tax collectors, and tell them that they are the plan. In their hands the Gospel lies. There job? Nothing less than to ensure that the gospel is heard throughout the world. They are to spread the good news of Christ's coming, His death and resurrection, and the eternal implications of that for all of humanity. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE! No last minute drive to win the Super Bowl or playing golf for $5 a hole with only $2 in your pocket can even shake a stick at this amount of pressure. But here we are over 2,000 years later and the gospel is still being preached in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. How did Jesus know that His plan would work and why did he chose to carry it out this way? Couldn't He have done a better job if He just handled it himself? After all, we are imperfect human beings, prone to errors in judgement and weak in character. The fact that Jesus choose 12 guys to carry the gospel message reveals some deep and interesting things about Him; He understood math and the compounding of numbers. He values a relationship with us more than we could ever imagine. He is a great delegator, communicator and coach. He knows that for the Kingdom to grow, that we must personally grow in our faith and as a result, be involved in helping the Kingdom to grow. Finally, Jesus knew that this wasn't a sprint but a marathon. He spent three solid years with the disciples teaching, rebuking, preparing and motivating them for the task at hand. He imparted wisdom from His Father unto them, but they didn't get it. He was patient with them. He understood their human condition to doubt, whine and betray. He never stopped investing in them. As a matter of fact, He took great joy in investing in them. Nearly 2,000 years later these same things apply to us. By the grace of God, He never leaves us or betrays us. When we fall down, he picks us up, dusts us off and gets us back in the game. No condemnation, only love and joy. He is willing to invest in us as along as it takes for us to get our act together. Sometimes that takes awhile. To him, it is always worth it. Each soul a precious treasure to be redeemed. I am humbled at the thought of His amazing grace, unfailing mercy and incomprehensible love. I pray that one day it will truly sink in and I will burst forth with an energy and freedom that I have never imagined. All fears set aside, for if He is for me, what can stand against me? I am not sure if in our human condition we can even come close to grasping how His plan for spreading the gospel involves each one of us as His hands and feet and what that means for our lives. How the plan He put in place with His 12 disciples now continues on today with every Christian alive today able to take part in His plan. His joy is in including us in His great work of spreading the gospel. The foundation was laid so solidly, that there is nothing in the world that can keep it from its destination. Billions of souls throughout history will attest to it. Jesus is the greatest net-worker that ever lived. Hallelujah!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the Day: Mark 3:13-14 "Jesus went up to a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve-designating them apostles- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach."
Jesus was the best net-worker that ever lived. There, I said it. No I-phone, no lap top, no cell phone ,no fax machine, no Nike's, no car, no planes. Just the most perfectly executed networking strategy in history. Take 12 rag tag guys, mostly uneducated fisherman and despised tax collectors, and tell them that they are the plan. In their hands the Gospel lies. There job? Nothing less than to ensure that the gospel is heard throughout the world. They are to spread the good news of Christ's coming, His death and resurrection, and the eternal implications of that for all of humanity. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE! No last minute drive to win the Super Bowl or playing golf for $5 a hole with only $2 in your pocket can even shake a stick at this amount of pressure. But here we are over 2,000 years later and the gospel is still being preached in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. How did Jesus know that His plan would work and why did he chose to carry it out this way? Couldn't He have done a better job if He just handled it himself? After all, we are imperfect human beings, prone to errors in judgement and weak in character. The fact that Jesus choose 12 guys to carry the gospel message reveals some deep and interesting things about Him; He understood math and the compounding of numbers. He values a relationship with us more than we could ever imagine. He is a great delegator, communicator and coach. He knows that for the Kingdom to grow, that we must personally grow in our faith and as a result, be involved in helping the Kingdom to grow. Finally, Jesus knew that this wasn't a sprint but a marathon. He spent three solid years with the disciples teaching, rebuking, preparing and motivating them for the task at hand. He imparted wisdom from His Father unto them, but they didn't get it. He was patient with them. He understood their human condition to doubt, whine and betray. He never stopped investing in them. As a matter of fact, He took great joy in investing in them. Nearly 2,000 years later these same things apply to us. By the grace of God, He never leaves us or betrays us. When we fall down, he picks us up, dusts us off and gets us back in the game. No condemnation, only love and joy. He is willing to invest in us as along as it takes for us to get our act together. Sometimes that takes awhile. To him, it is always worth it. Each soul a precious treasure to be redeemed. I am humbled at the thought of His amazing grace, unfailing mercy and incomprehensible love. I pray that one day it will truly sink in and I will burst forth with an energy and freedom that I have never imagined. All fears set aside, for if He is for me, what can stand against me? I am not sure if in our human condition we can even come close to grasping how His plan for spreading the gospel involves each one of us as His hands and feet and what that means for our lives. How the plan He put in place with His 12 disciples now continues on today with every Christian alive today able to take part in His plan. His joy is in including us in His great work of spreading the gospel. The foundation was laid so solidly, that there is nothing in the world that can keep it from its destination. Billions of souls throughout history will attest to it. Jesus is the greatest net-worker that ever lived. Hallelujah!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)