In good times and in bad

I recently watched a move titled Facing the Giants. It had many solid Christian messages and a few things that still leave me thinking about my daily actions. One of the biggest lessons I learned from this movie was to glorify God in both good times and bad. You see, the Lord has the (immediate) ability to change your situation. He can give or take away at any time. If you've read Job, you might recall Job's wife telling him to curse God for all the terrible things that has occurred to him...

 

His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

And Job replied...

"You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

I think this is a classic, real life example for all of us. We tend to forget about thanking God during the good times and have more of a tendency to turn to Him for help when we are in trouble. My message today is to always gives thanks to the Lord, even for the smallest of things. Remember, everything we have is a gift from God. Our sight, hearing, smell, ability to walk, talk... the list goes on and on. We could spend hours listing out everything God has gifted us with and still never have a complete list. 

I guess part of it is that we expect things to go our way. Don't we? We expect things to go well and if they don't then we get frustrated, angry, or depressed. Does that help us? No. It only adds to our anxiety and plays into the hands of the enemy. 

I'd encourage you to stay strong in the goodness of the Lord. For the Lord will test all of us in our own time. Even so, I pray that we all have more good times that bad and during our good times let's remember to thank the Lord for every blessed moment we receive. We are never promised tomorrow, so let's give him thanks in all situations and never lose hope. Remember the Lord is the final decision maker and can override any situation. Do not lose hope or faith. 

Remember... God has no limitations and nothing is impossible with God.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Kirk Cameron

Here is a short comment from Kirk Cameron from www.livingwaters.com I hope it inspires you and keeps your heart and mind on Christ. "Some have referred to seeing things with "the eye of faith". In my natural state, I always seem to revert to favoring the trusty eyeballs I've used since birth. But now, even those are starting to dim (glasses are just around the corner), and I am seeing the value of a better pair of eyes. Eyes of faith are able to believe what they cannot see, but know for certain because of the Word they have heard. When you and I believe the voice of God in Scripture, we can stand on His promises of being fully forgiven, totally accepted, deeply loved, and complete in Christ- no matter what happens to us in this life. Anything that happens in this life, including "losses and crosses", are obliged to "work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) When things look gloomy through those windows above your nose, close them and look instead through your eyes of faith to see God's victory over your trial!" God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

One hundred years from now

One hundred years from now it won't matter what type of fancy new gadgets we bought or what type of cars we drove. All that will matter is what we did with the time we had. By human nature we are are so focused on tomorrow, that we don't even realize we are doing little more than wishing our lives aways.

What are we in a hurry to do? Where are we in a hurry to go? Heaven? I would guess that most people don't even think about Heaven on a daily basis. For many people, Heaven is a place far away. A place that old people or dogs go when they die.

That might be true; however, Heaven is so much more.

Heaven is God's Kingdom. And for those blessed enough to be granted access, I believe it will be like nothing we could ever imagine. It will far surpass our wildest expectations.

Heaven is not some distant destination. It is THE destination. It is THE place to be. I once saw a book titled, "1001 places to see before you die." And I would remind anyone that Heaven is the only place you want to SEE when you die.

Serving the Lord for all eternity is both a privilege and a blessing. It is a honor bestowed based on what you did with the little time you were given.

Don't put off tomorrow - what you can do today. Ask the Lord for guidance in all that you do and think about Him in all your actions.

Verse of the day:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7
New International Version (NIV)

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Accountability and Resiliency

How many times can a person backslide? How many times can a person continue to make the same mistakes over and over and over again? How many times can a person continue to sin - day in and day out? How many times can a person ask for forgiveness - over and over and over again?

The answers to those questions don't really matter. What matters is that God's love is measureless. How do I know this? I know this because of John 3:16.

I know that all men sin and all fall short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

However, once we sin there is typically time for retrospection. During this time, we can choose to do one of two things. 1) Ask for forgiveness and pray. 2) Do nothing

It's a given that we are going fail in being pleasing in God's eyes. We all fall short. Thus, our responsibility should be to focus on accountability and resiliency.

Be accountable for our actions and ask for forgiveness by humbling ourselves toward the Lord. And being resilient by allowing the past to stay in the past. What we've done, we cannot undo. However, we can move forward and learn from our mistakes and become stronger. It's not about how many times you fall down. Its' about how many times you get up and what you do next.

If you allow it - sin will invite you to give up your relationship with God. That is the focus of the enemy - to plant seeds of doubt and deceit so that we feel unworthy or even too depressed to speak with God. This is how the enemy builds momentum... you sin and the enemy wants to keep the wheels moving. Put the breaks on this momentum by speaking a simple prayer, be accountable and resilient.

Jesus showed tremendous resiliency during his walk to Calvary. He was whipped, beaten, spit on, nailed, etc. and still He continued to His destination: The cross.

Jesus took accountability for our sins. The next time you sin, take accountability for yours. Then move forward. Don't dwell on it.

Prayer:
Father forgive me for my sinful ways. I know that I am unworthy of your love. I pray you have mercy on me and allow me to be an instrument of your Will. Help me to lead myself, my family, and others into your Kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Choices

The current drought in Africa is another reminder of just how blessed we are. There are starving Somali families that are forced to travel 50 miles just to wait in line at a overcrowded relief center. Of course, there are no guarantees - just hope.

With millions starving and tens of thousands seeking aid, it's a never ceasing ocean of need. Many families are forced to make a choice that most of us could never fathom. That choice to decide which child to take to the relief center and which to leave behind. Thousands of families must determine which child is most likely to survive the 50 mile journey. The rest - they are forced to leave behind. They do this not out of cruelty, but out of necessity. It is a choice of save one or save none.

The United States has a malnourishment rate of 5%, which is one of the lowest in the world. Especially when you take into consideration the Dem. Republic of Congo that has close to 42 million malnourished people and Ethiopia 31.6 million.

It's easy for us to forget the extreme hardships that many in the world face daily. In a domesticated society where we dwell in "excess" it's unavoidable to take things for granted. How many of us get irritated when we run out of milk and then must get into our car for a (probably less than 5 mile ride) to the local grocery store? Sound familiar?

Our most difficult choice for the day might be "Do I get the milk now or wait until later?"

We are blessed.

Please remember to pray for those who are less fortunate in this world and thank God for the wonderful gifts He has allowed us to have. Everything we have comes from the Lord. Nothing is given in mistake, nothing is overlooked, nothing is given without a reason. Also, everything we have is a temporary gift from God - because nothing is forever except God.

Prayer:

Thank you, Lord for all the wonderful gifts and blessings that you have bestowed upon us. I pray that you bless and comfort those who are less fortunate and help us to stay humble and pleasing in Your eyes. In the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

God Bless you. And this is for His Glory!