1/26/2012
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: 1st Corinthians 13:13 " And now these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love."
If we could do only one thing to make us more like Jesus, what would it be? Would we heal the sick and hopeless? Would we teach others about the kingdom of heaven? Would we shoot down the Pharisees and their self-righteous attitude? Well, I believe that we all do have the chance to be more like Jesus in the way we live our lives. How? By aligning our heart to be more like the heart of Jesus, always putting love above all else. Why are we so quick to judge others when Jesus himself never judged others? In fact, He warned against the consequences of such actions in Matthew 7:1-2 " Do not judge others, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Jesus loved us so much that " while we were yet sinners, He died for us." He never let our sinful nature stop him from loving us. If there is one thing that I wish I did better in my life it would be to align my heart more like the heart of JESUS. I wish I wasn't always looking at my situations from such a selfish standpoint. I wish I was more loving towards those that despise me, like he taught on the sermon on the mount. I wish I wasn't so needy, fully capable of realizing that His love and grace were truly sufficient for me. I wish I didn't hold grudges like Jesus didn't. I wish I could look at every situation with my heart in a place of love before I spoke or acted. I fail a lot at this and it bothers me. For I have seen the peace and grace that does indeed fall upon me when I respond to various situations in my life in a manner that would make Jesus proud. Those are the times when I feel the best, the most liberated from the bondage of my own worldly instincts. We live in a world where an eye for an eye is the mantra for survival. Jesus taught that approach leaves everyone blind. He taught forgiveness while we seek retribution. I get mad when people don't agree with my beliefs. How stupid! I should pray for them and try harder to love them even more. I get upset at the political games that are taking place in our country and the pain that is being inflicted on the country I love by a few who have chosen to gratify themselves with the power they have been given, rather than to serve the ones who elected them. Who do I think I am? I should be more aligned with Christ in these thoughts and realize that as He did that we need to pray for our leaders. Besides this isn't our home anyway so why should I let it bother me so much. As Philippians 3:20 points out " but our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Focusing on the character of Christ leads to a loving response and a grateful heart in all circumstances. I just wish I could always be aligned with him, and get myself and my emotions out of the way more often. That is my goal and I strive towards it, hoping each day to be a little bit more aligned with the heart of my Savior. Love is the greatest of all that will remain, now and for eternity. That He loved me enough to die for me on the cross for forgiveness of my sins is the greatest love I will ever know. His love is perfect in all ways and manners. Mine is not. I pray to be more aligned with His loving heart and to cherish each person He brings into my life the way He cherished me at Calvary. Amen.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Our Weakness, His Strength
1/19/2012
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: " Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."
We are all born with unique abilities. What comes naturally fore some, might be nearly impossible for others. Some people have a knack for selling, some for teaching, some for math and others for science. Some are athletically gifted, some are Spirit led. God gave us unique gifts because He had a specific goal in mind for each one of us when He created us in our mother's womb and He needs us to fulfill our role. Likewise, we also have weaknesses. Things that leave us vulnerable to destroying our lives if we are not able to recognize them and to reign them in. Many people have similar weaknesses, areas in our lives where we are easy pray for the evil one if we are not especially careful. Most, including myself, have struggled with one or more of these things at various times throughout our lives: Lust, insecurity, fear, greed, gossip, pride, dishonesty, substance abuse, ungratefulness, the list goes on and on. I have struggled with each of these areas at one time or another in my life. What truly matters though is our we willing to recognize our weaknesses, the areas where we are especially vulnerable at any given time, and to realize that we may not have the strength to deal with them on our own? Our personality flaws can be a powerful motivation for good or evil in our lives, depending on our response. A proclivity for sin can ruin your life or it can drive you to utter dependence on God. The fact that God is mighty to save us from our weaknesses, our sin, should be the joy we focus on when we realize that we are too weak to deal with certain things on our own. The Apostle Paul understood this so well that he had gotten to the point where he had learned to rejoice in his sufferings, for when he was weak, he knew that he must depend fully on God and that God alone was strong enough to pull him through any ordeal. In the Bible verse of the day above, the term mighty to save should give us great joy and comfort. We think of mighty in our world today in terms of brute strength and physical prowess. But in the original Hebrew text, the word for mighty is yasha, which indicates freeing, delivering, defending, preserving, rescuing, saving, victorious. In the grandest sense, yasha means that if we trust in the Lord, God will win. He wins the very lives of the people he sets out to rescue from harm. When we think of God in this way, we grow in our faith and get excited about what He can do for those who put their trust in Him. I have found many times in my life how weak I was to deal with certain sins in my life. My initial response was either one of pride, saying I could find or way to deal with it, or to try and downplay the significance of the very sin that was holding me in bondage. I have found that to be a recipe for disaster. Sin never sleeps and it's consequences always stay longer than we want them to stay, and always cost more than we want to pay. Make no mistake, sin can ruin your life. It can leave you broken, destitute and alone. Putting our faith in God's strength and Him alone can lead us to a new, better life free of those areas of our life that we are too weak to control. He alone is mighty to save. He will free us and deliver us from our temptations if we turn to Him with utter dependence. Praise be to God for His power is made great in our weakness.
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible Verse of the Day: " Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."
We are all born with unique abilities. What comes naturally fore some, might be nearly impossible for others. Some people have a knack for selling, some for teaching, some for math and others for science. Some are athletically gifted, some are Spirit led. God gave us unique gifts because He had a specific goal in mind for each one of us when He created us in our mother's womb and He needs us to fulfill our role. Likewise, we also have weaknesses. Things that leave us vulnerable to destroying our lives if we are not able to recognize them and to reign them in. Many people have similar weaknesses, areas in our lives where we are easy pray for the evil one if we are not especially careful. Most, including myself, have struggled with one or more of these things at various times throughout our lives: Lust, insecurity, fear, greed, gossip, pride, dishonesty, substance abuse, ungratefulness, the list goes on and on. I have struggled with each of these areas at one time or another in my life. What truly matters though is our we willing to recognize our weaknesses, the areas where we are especially vulnerable at any given time, and to realize that we may not have the strength to deal with them on our own? Our personality flaws can be a powerful motivation for good or evil in our lives, depending on our response. A proclivity for sin can ruin your life or it can drive you to utter dependence on God. The fact that God is mighty to save us from our weaknesses, our sin, should be the joy we focus on when we realize that we are too weak to deal with certain things on our own. The Apostle Paul understood this so well that he had gotten to the point where he had learned to rejoice in his sufferings, for when he was weak, he knew that he must depend fully on God and that God alone was strong enough to pull him through any ordeal. In the Bible verse of the day above, the term mighty to save should give us great joy and comfort. We think of mighty in our world today in terms of brute strength and physical prowess. But in the original Hebrew text, the word for mighty is yasha, which indicates freeing, delivering, defending, preserving, rescuing, saving, victorious. In the grandest sense, yasha means that if we trust in the Lord, God will win. He wins the very lives of the people he sets out to rescue from harm. When we think of God in this way, we grow in our faith and get excited about what He can do for those who put their trust in Him. I have found many times in my life how weak I was to deal with certain sins in my life. My initial response was either one of pride, saying I could find or way to deal with it, or to try and downplay the significance of the very sin that was holding me in bondage. I have found that to be a recipe for disaster. Sin never sleeps and it's consequences always stay longer than we want them to stay, and always cost more than we want to pay. Make no mistake, sin can ruin your life. It can leave you broken, destitute and alone. Putting our faith in God's strength and Him alone can lead us to a new, better life free of those areas of our life that we are too weak to control. He alone is mighty to save. He will free us and deliver us from our temptations if we turn to Him with utter dependence. Praise be to God for His power is made great in our weakness.
Monday, January 9, 2012
God is in the resume building business
1/9/2012
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Psalm 37:3-4 " Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
God is in the resume building business. He is always using our past experiences to help prepare us for future opportunities. The Bible is full of such stories. God uses the failings and the successes of our lives to prepare us for what we need to achieve for His Kingdom work here on earth and in Heaven. 2nd Samuel 23:20-21 tells the story of a valiant warrior named Benaiah, who kills 2 of Moab's mightiest warriors, and then kills an Egyptian giant with his own spear and finally kills a lion in a pit with his bare hands. All of this was preparing him for the day when he would become head of King David's body guard regimen. David himself was being prepared to be a king when he learned to place all of his trust in the God who delivered him from the giant Goliath, giving him the courage to run to the battlefield with only a slingshot in his hand. Moses was a reluctant leader who had been prepared by God just at the right time to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Noah was prepared by God to withstand the ridicule and shame that came from his culture for building an Arc in the middle of the Desert. The stories go on and on. One thing remains the same. God sees the big picture when we often times cannot. He is preparing us throughout our lives to play a part in his picture show, and we need to trust in His plan, even when it seems scary and impossible to believe. Thankfully, God is as patient as we are stubborn, and He will wait for us to come around because He knows how important it is that each of us fulfill the divine role that He has in mind for us. I look at my own life and often wonder how my past experiences are preparing me for some future opportunities. I must admit that at many times I wonder where exactly I am headed in my life. I have many things that I would like to accomplish, and yet can already feel the reality of time constraints starting to pinch in on some of my dreams. I must stop myself at those moments and recalibrate the image, because my understanding is so infinitesimal compared to the size of His power and His purpose. Isaiah sums this up well in 55:8-9 when he says " for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." My job is to humbly admit that I have no real understanding of how the big picture is being worked out through all of my little life experiences. I must truly trust, by faith, that the God of the universe is going to be able to make it all come together at the perfect time for His glory. My fears can quickly get in the way of His plans if I don't catch myself and learn to continually seek Him and trust His plan for my life. When I get anxious, it is because I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HE HAS IN MIND! But guess what, He doesn't owe me or anyone else an explanation. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. I truly believe that He uses the mystery of our individual journeys as His main tool to build a deeper faith within us. If He showed us the ending of the movie at the beginning, life would loose all its mystery and intrigue. I think that learning to embrace that uncertainty is one of the hardest, yet most important parts of our Christian walk. It is called faith! When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are granted eternal certainty of being with Him, but we are not granted situational or circumstantial certainty in any manner. We must learn to see His hand at work in all facets of our life and to trust that all things are being worked out for His good. A selfish attitude around our desire to be in control, leads to anxiousness and fear. A selfless attitude where we trust in our Savior for all provisions and keep our eyes on Him leads to a " peace of God that transcends all understanding" and helps us to cope with the storms of life. I struggle with having the desire to constantly live this way and the inability to do so. I still am a slave to the culture I live in and often feel like I am being torn in two by the desire to live for Christ, and the need to find acceptance in a culture that is 180 degrees opposed to His teaching. We live in a narcissistic world, where self-centeredness is rampant and where the kingdom of self is heavily defended territory. The battles that rage between spirit and flesh are alive and fierce. I pray that God has been building my resume for the times that are to come so that I may be prepared, and understand exactly what is needed. When courage is required,God needs His men to be the dependable ones. That fact has remained the same throughout the history of the Bible and God has always used their lives to prepare them for action. May my resume be ready at just the right time!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: Psalm 37:3-4 " Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."
God is in the resume building business. He is always using our past experiences to help prepare us for future opportunities. The Bible is full of such stories. God uses the failings and the successes of our lives to prepare us for what we need to achieve for His Kingdom work here on earth and in Heaven. 2nd Samuel 23:20-21 tells the story of a valiant warrior named Benaiah, who kills 2 of Moab's mightiest warriors, and then kills an Egyptian giant with his own spear and finally kills a lion in a pit with his bare hands. All of this was preparing him for the day when he would become head of King David's body guard regimen. David himself was being prepared to be a king when he learned to place all of his trust in the God who delivered him from the giant Goliath, giving him the courage to run to the battlefield with only a slingshot in his hand. Moses was a reluctant leader who had been prepared by God just at the right time to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Noah was prepared by God to withstand the ridicule and shame that came from his culture for building an Arc in the middle of the Desert. The stories go on and on. One thing remains the same. God sees the big picture when we often times cannot. He is preparing us throughout our lives to play a part in his picture show, and we need to trust in His plan, even when it seems scary and impossible to believe. Thankfully, God is as patient as we are stubborn, and He will wait for us to come around because He knows how important it is that each of us fulfill the divine role that He has in mind for us. I look at my own life and often wonder how my past experiences are preparing me for some future opportunities. I must admit that at many times I wonder where exactly I am headed in my life. I have many things that I would like to accomplish, and yet can already feel the reality of time constraints starting to pinch in on some of my dreams. I must stop myself at those moments and recalibrate the image, because my understanding is so infinitesimal compared to the size of His power and His purpose. Isaiah sums this up well in 55:8-9 when he says " for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." My job is to humbly admit that I have no real understanding of how the big picture is being worked out through all of my little life experiences. I must truly trust, by faith, that the God of the universe is going to be able to make it all come together at the perfect time for His glory. My fears can quickly get in the way of His plans if I don't catch myself and learn to continually seek Him and trust His plan for my life. When I get anxious, it is because I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HE HAS IN MIND! But guess what, He doesn't owe me or anyone else an explanation. He deserves the benefit of the doubt. I truly believe that He uses the mystery of our individual journeys as His main tool to build a deeper faith within us. If He showed us the ending of the movie at the beginning, life would loose all its mystery and intrigue. I think that learning to embrace that uncertainty is one of the hardest, yet most important parts of our Christian walk. It is called faith! When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are granted eternal certainty of being with Him, but we are not granted situational or circumstantial certainty in any manner. We must learn to see His hand at work in all facets of our life and to trust that all things are being worked out for His good. A selfish attitude around our desire to be in control, leads to anxiousness and fear. A selfless attitude where we trust in our Savior for all provisions and keep our eyes on Him leads to a " peace of God that transcends all understanding" and helps us to cope with the storms of life. I struggle with having the desire to constantly live this way and the inability to do so. I still am a slave to the culture I live in and often feel like I am being torn in two by the desire to live for Christ, and the need to find acceptance in a culture that is 180 degrees opposed to His teaching. We live in a narcissistic world, where self-centeredness is rampant and where the kingdom of self is heavily defended territory. The battles that rage between spirit and flesh are alive and fierce. I pray that God has been building my resume for the times that are to come so that I may be prepared, and understand exactly what is needed. When courage is required,God needs His men to be the dependable ones. That fact has remained the same throughout the history of the Bible and God has always used their lives to prepare them for action. May my resume be ready at just the right time!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
New Beginnings
1/03/2012
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: 2nd Corinthians 5:17 " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come."
When the calendar hits January 1st, it is a new beginning. Hope permeates the air as we look forward to a clean slate and a fresh chance to make the best of the talents that we have been given. The past year is soon forgotten, and we strive to make an impact given the new beginning we have been given. We hope to learn from what we did well last year and also from what we did not do so well. People set all kinds of goals and resolutions to seek to make improvements in their lives. I am in the process of starting a new consulting company and feel a tremendous amount of energy and focus around my new endeavor. But I realize that as Psalm 127:1 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." See I am limited in my power and am susceptible to the fears of my heart. But in God, when I put my trust in Him and lean not on my own understanding, my power is made infinitely more strong. As a matter of fact, as the Bible verse of the day above states, all things are made new in Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Him provides the ultimate new beginning. For me, all the pain and disappointment of past relationships and my own shortcomings were washed away when I first came to know and accept Jesus as my Savior. In my own weakness, I found new strength in Him. I am still amazed at how since that day I still feel like every day is a new beginning, as I get a new chance to glorify Him who is worthy of my praise. When my focus is on Christ, and I am humble and prayerful before Him, He guides my path and leads me to many new things. On my own I can have occasional good ideas, but with Him I can have God ideas. There is an unseen force that guides things all around me and helps me to see new opportunities. Where before I was blind, now I can truly see. I can see things as Providences, rather than as coincidences. I can see new opportunities, and positive results, where before I could only see challenges and my own fears to stifle them. Christ is the ultimate new beginning because in Him, everything is made new. Each and every day is a gift to be an effective steward with the gifts He has given us and with the opportunities he brings our way. What we do with those opportunities is our gift back to Him. May 2012 be a year of new beginnings, as we draw closer to our Lord and Savior on a daily basis and seek His ways. For He will surely make our path straight and His wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing we desire can compare with it. Those who seek His wisdom, will surely find it. May you seek it will all of your heart. Amen!
Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Bible verse of the day: 2nd Corinthians 5:17 " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come."
When the calendar hits January 1st, it is a new beginning. Hope permeates the air as we look forward to a clean slate and a fresh chance to make the best of the talents that we have been given. The past year is soon forgotten, and we strive to make an impact given the new beginning we have been given. We hope to learn from what we did well last year and also from what we did not do so well. People set all kinds of goals and resolutions to seek to make improvements in their lives. I am in the process of starting a new consulting company and feel a tremendous amount of energy and focus around my new endeavor. But I realize that as Psalm 127:1 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." See I am limited in my power and am susceptible to the fears of my heart. But in God, when I put my trust in Him and lean not on my own understanding, my power is made infinitely more strong. As a matter of fact, as the Bible verse of the day above states, all things are made new in Jesus Christ. Our relationship with Him provides the ultimate new beginning. For me, all the pain and disappointment of past relationships and my own shortcomings were washed away when I first came to know and accept Jesus as my Savior. In my own weakness, I found new strength in Him. I am still amazed at how since that day I still feel like every day is a new beginning, as I get a new chance to glorify Him who is worthy of my praise. When my focus is on Christ, and I am humble and prayerful before Him, He guides my path and leads me to many new things. On my own I can have occasional good ideas, but with Him I can have God ideas. There is an unseen force that guides things all around me and helps me to see new opportunities. Where before I was blind, now I can truly see. I can see things as Providences, rather than as coincidences. I can see new opportunities, and positive results, where before I could only see challenges and my own fears to stifle them. Christ is the ultimate new beginning because in Him, everything is made new. Each and every day is a gift to be an effective steward with the gifts He has given us and with the opportunities he brings our way. What we do with those opportunities is our gift back to Him. May 2012 be a year of new beginnings, as we draw closer to our Lord and Savior on a daily basis and seek His ways. For He will surely make our path straight and His wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing we desire can compare with it. Those who seek His wisdom, will surely find it. May you seek it will all of your heart. Amen!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
The Greatest Gift Of All
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!
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!
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!
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