I was, (still am) so excited to write today, regardless of who you voted for President, vice, or any of the propositions, we must keep in mind that we serve a GOD that is greater than any law of the land, of any other human, and greater than any other propositon. My thoughts where to write about how I feel with the results, and even how I came to some of the decisions that I made. Then I got this email from a friend, and I knew that it had to be shared....
He removes kings and raises up kings; Daniel 2:21 (NKJV)
Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Romans 13:1-2 (NKJV)
Okay, it’s November 5th and we have voted for our next president here in the United States. At least half of the nation will be upset at the time of this writing while the other half is celebrating the victory of their candidate.
In either case, there will be continued voting going on over the next several days, weeks, months, and even years. I’m not speaking of the votes cast for the president or any other candidate or proposition for that matter; I am speaking of the votes cast by those who will be watching every Christian that they know of. They will be voting on whether they believe in what you have been preaching or sharing for the last few years. And they will be voting on how well you have lived what you have preached.
What will come out of your mouth if the person that was elected or the proposition that was passed does not line up with the choice that you selected on voting day?
Will it edify, or tear down. Will it speak evil of the winning person, or will it showcase the respect deserved of the office with which they now occupy?
According to the Scripture above, we can plainly see that God has a role in those who get elected. He has a clear plan for each situation, even when we don’t agree or see clearly any possible good that may come of it. That’s why He is God. God spoke to Moses and gave clear instructions about how we are to treat those who lead us:
“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. Exodus 22:28 (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul spoke to us very clearly as well, when he quoted this passage in the book of Acts.
‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” Acts 23:5 (NKJV)
And he went on in the book of 1 Timothy to tell us how we were to conduct ourselves as Christians towards those who are in the position of leadership.
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 1Timothy 2:1-2 (NKJV)
Maybe those who hold elected office are not people of God, and maybe they don’t hold the same opinion of those who call themselves Christians, but that does not negate the fact that God has called us to lift up and pray for those who hold those positions. We are just as much at test during these times as those officials. As Christians, we supposedly know better, and we have a blessed hope in our future because we know that God is in control. So why would we act in any other way than to live Christ and to serve and respect the rulers that have been put in charge of us.
I am not telling you to imitate or condone the immoral actions of these leaders, because there are many who have defiled the office that they hold. I am simply saying that after you have done everything within your legal capabilities with respect to voting for your perspective candidate, even if it means voting for the lesser of two evils, you now have a command from God to move forward and to abide by His will. Treat those in office with respect and honor, and pray for them continually. This is your Christian duty, and it is God’s perfect will for you in this situation. To do less than this is no better than what you are condemning in that person that you speak evil of.
We are to submit to the leadership and obey them unless what they are asking is in violation of what God has commanded us. If our Christian convictions do not permit compliance, then we should accept the consequences of such refusal.
This is the way our Christian forefathers lived for Christ, and this is the example that the Word of God has given us.
I want to encourage you today to remember that God has a plan for the future. He will use the people that are in office to coincide with His plans so that all will know that He is God, and will have a chance to decide to accept or decline the offer of salvation prior to His return. I feel that there is a change on the horizon, and it is called the rapture…
STUDY QUESTION: What confidence can we gain from Romans 13:1-2?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you willing to pray for and submit to the leaders appointed over you?
APPLICATION: Seek God and His will with respects to your conversations regarding those in office. Find a way to turn negative conversations into positive ones. When the conversations turn negative, suggest praying for the person being spoken of.
Father, Thank You that we live in a country that allows us to exercise our freedom in casting a vote. Thank You that You have a plan for every situation, and that we can place our confidence in Your perfect plan regardless of what we see with our eyes. May we remember this each time we are tempted to doubt the future because of any specific person in office. Help me be the Christian that You have called me to be so that I may lead by example when I am tempted to criticize. In Jesus precious name, amen…
Be Blessed, Pastor Scott
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday Madness
Good Monday Morning to you all,
I hope you all had a chance to get some much needed rest, it has started to cool down here in California, which is really nice. We finally turned off the air, we had it on since June, non-stop. And I know that the argument is always going to be there, is it better to leave the air on all the time, or only turn it on when needed.....? The other great thing is we got some rain on Saturday, more of a drizzle than rain, but it was some water....and as much as I love the California sunshine...I do love to watch it rain. (as long as it doesn't cancel my softball games!!!!!). By Sunday the rain had went away, and it was sunny again, although it was cooler, the 60s-70s.
Service on Sunday was really nice, we had a guest speaker and he did a really good message, talking about using our mind to put ourselves in a place to receive all that God has to offer. he shared that so many times, we all allow our thoughts to think ourselves out of victory, we allow negative thoughts to hinder our actions. We 2nd guess ourselves in almost every major decision that we make, we are always thinking about what happens if we fail, instead of the rewards. He shared many examples of thinking ourselves out of the full rewards of our God. We as humans sell ourselves short in many actions that the Lord has provided for us.
This message had me thinking, because I had sinned I continuously beat myself up, coming up with every excuse for why I did, and blah.blah, blah. Instead I should confess my sin, ask for forgiveness and move on, do not dwell on my negative action and focus on the positive action/relationship I have with my God. One of the points he brought up, was what if we knew that Jesus was coming back tonight, and our eyes were focused on him, would be able to turn from sin if sin entered into our mind, would we be able to rebuke the sinful thought and remain focused on Jesus. Most of us felt that we could, why...the reward is greater. He then challenged us, to take this approach one second at a time, if we continuously look up to God and focus on his rewards, we then can rebuke the sinful thoughts. By doing this on a continues basis, each time it will be a little easier, however this is a forever battle, sin has always been part of our lives and will be until the final days. The wonderful news of that, is that we have a wonderful loving and forgetful God that loves us unconditionally and is always waiting with open arms to hold you.
Have a blessed day
I hope you all had a chance to get some much needed rest, it has started to cool down here in California, which is really nice. We finally turned off the air, we had it on since June, non-stop. And I know that the argument is always going to be there, is it better to leave the air on all the time, or only turn it on when needed.....? The other great thing is we got some rain on Saturday, more of a drizzle than rain, but it was some water....and as much as I love the California sunshine...I do love to watch it rain. (as long as it doesn't cancel my softball games!!!!!). By Sunday the rain had went away, and it was sunny again, although it was cooler, the 60s-70s.
Service on Sunday was really nice, we had a guest speaker and he did a really good message, talking about using our mind to put ourselves in a place to receive all that God has to offer. he shared that so many times, we all allow our thoughts to think ourselves out of victory, we allow negative thoughts to hinder our actions. We 2nd guess ourselves in almost every major decision that we make, we are always thinking about what happens if we fail, instead of the rewards. He shared many examples of thinking ourselves out of the full rewards of our God. We as humans sell ourselves short in many actions that the Lord has provided for us.
This message had me thinking, because I had sinned I continuously beat myself up, coming up with every excuse for why I did, and blah.blah, blah. Instead I should confess my sin, ask for forgiveness and move on, do not dwell on my negative action and focus on the positive action/relationship I have with my God. One of the points he brought up, was what if we knew that Jesus was coming back tonight, and our eyes were focused on him, would be able to turn from sin if sin entered into our mind, would we be able to rebuke the sinful thought and remain focused on Jesus. Most of us felt that we could, why...the reward is greater. He then challenged us, to take this approach one second at a time, if we continuously look up to God and focus on his rewards, we then can rebuke the sinful thoughts. By doing this on a continues basis, each time it will be a little easier, however this is a forever battle, sin has always been part of our lives and will be until the final days. The wonderful news of that, is that we have a wonderful loving and forgetful God that loves us unconditionally and is always waiting with open arms to hold you.
Have a blessed day
Monday, September 22, 2008
Vision
Wow...God is Good....is all I can say!!!! God has been speaking to my heart for the last couple of weeks, but either he was only giving me a lil at a time, or I was trying too hard to figure out the rest of the puzzle that I only confused myself, so I could not understand what he was showing me. Well now that I have you all confused, let me tell you what has been on my heart and mind.
About 3 weeks or so ago, I was listening to 'Give me your eyes' from Brandon Heath, it is a song about a man that goes through the day and for notices things that he has seen millions of times, but looked right past them with no though. yet one day he begins to notice, and the song asks for Gods eyes for one day. Not sure why, other than God planing seeds into my heart, but I really started to thank about my 'eyes' and the concept of having Gods eyes for one day got me thinking.
During the next few weeks, it seemed that I had lots to do with my eyes, the family went to our annual eye doctor appointments, (my eyes are getting worse from staring at a PC all day long, so I getting sexy glasses!!!!), on that note it got me thinking how much my eyes lead me to wander from God, I see things that I should not see, my vision leads to my thoughts and imagination and leads to bad thoughts....that is a whole blog in itself. On that same note, without my vision, I would never be able to see the wonders that God has created.
Even though I thought that this was all that God was showing me, was just the physical aspect of my vision, there was still more that I was not getting, there was more that God was trying to reveal to me. As most of you know, my walk with the Lord has taken a long, windy road, don't get me wrong, I have always seen God walking the path with me, there were just times when I choose to walk on the other sidewalk of the street, I still saw him there, and we both ended up at the same destination, many times I just choose to walk on my side...I used the cross walk a few times to get back with him, and there were a few times that I 'J-walked' to get to him sooner, and I remember a few times that I ran through traffic to hurry to him. Now I am happy to be on the same sidewalk as him, allowing him to guide me though the path of life. My walk has been so much better allowing God to lead.....Because I feel that my relationship has grown, I have felt God laying on my heart that I no longer need to be making excuses and really give my whole life to him, I need to serve him with all my heart and all my time, all of me. I give God most of me, some of my time, but I know that we could all give him more.
I remember the times when I was serving God 24 hours a day, I could not wait to talk to someone about my God, about the wonders that he is, and how he has touched my life. I was the man of God that I felt that he was asking me to be. I am sad to say that I am not that man....at least not right now. However, as God has been speaking to me, I have been asking him back, what is it that you want me to do? I know I am not where I need to be, I am still lacking in my devotion time with God, my prayer life is not where it should be, I still have to give more of my life to God. But then God is telling me, I will take you broken now and mold you whole to the form that I desire. My heart says....Yes Lord, I am here, ready to carry my cross! However, my mind remains human, and tries to think of every reason why I can't. As confused as you each probably are right now....so was I. I didn't know what the Lord was asking...and to be honest I still don't completely....however I got a little clarity yesterday at church.
Pastor Ken just got back from Guatemala, he had been there the past week. While there, God was really speaking to him, and on one of the last days. God gave Pastor Ken a vision, a vision of planing churches in the South America region. Yet on that same note, God still wants pastor Ken to continue to grow the pass region (Beaumont & Banning area). In order for all this to come to....there is going to be leaders that are going to have to step up and allow the Lord to work in them....I believe that this is what God is preparing my heart for, I believe that the Lord wants me to be part of Pastor Kens vision, he wants me to step out of my comfort zone and be the Godly man that he has called me to be.....I am so excited....
About 3 weeks or so ago, I was listening to 'Give me your eyes' from Brandon Heath, it is a song about a man that goes through the day and for notices things that he has seen millions of times, but looked right past them with no though. yet one day he begins to notice, and the song asks for Gods eyes for one day. Not sure why, other than God planing seeds into my heart, but I really started to thank about my 'eyes' and the concept of having Gods eyes for one day got me thinking.
During the next few weeks, it seemed that I had lots to do with my eyes, the family went to our annual eye doctor appointments, (my eyes are getting worse from staring at a PC all day long, so I getting sexy glasses!!!!), on that note it got me thinking how much my eyes lead me to wander from God, I see things that I should not see, my vision leads to my thoughts and imagination and leads to bad thoughts....that is a whole blog in itself. On that same note, without my vision, I would never be able to see the wonders that God has created.
Even though I thought that this was all that God was showing me, was just the physical aspect of my vision, there was still more that I was not getting, there was more that God was trying to reveal to me. As most of you know, my walk with the Lord has taken a long, windy road, don't get me wrong, I have always seen God walking the path with me, there were just times when I choose to walk on the other sidewalk of the street, I still saw him there, and we both ended up at the same destination, many times I just choose to walk on my side...I used the cross walk a few times to get back with him, and there were a few times that I 'J-walked' to get to him sooner, and I remember a few times that I ran through traffic to hurry to him. Now I am happy to be on the same sidewalk as him, allowing him to guide me though the path of life. My walk has been so much better allowing God to lead.....Because I feel that my relationship has grown, I have felt God laying on my heart that I no longer need to be making excuses and really give my whole life to him, I need to serve him with all my heart and all my time, all of me. I give God most of me, some of my time, but I know that we could all give him more.
I remember the times when I was serving God 24 hours a day, I could not wait to talk to someone about my God, about the wonders that he is, and how he has touched my life. I was the man of God that I felt that he was asking me to be. I am sad to say that I am not that man....at least not right now. However, as God has been speaking to me, I have been asking him back, what is it that you want me to do? I know I am not where I need to be, I am still lacking in my devotion time with God, my prayer life is not where it should be, I still have to give more of my life to God. But then God is telling me, I will take you broken now and mold you whole to the form that I desire. My heart says....Yes Lord, I am here, ready to carry my cross! However, my mind remains human, and tries to think of every reason why I can't. As confused as you each probably are right now....so was I. I didn't know what the Lord was asking...and to be honest I still don't completely....however I got a little clarity yesterday at church.
Pastor Ken just got back from Guatemala, he had been there the past week. While there, God was really speaking to him, and on one of the last days. God gave Pastor Ken a vision, a vision of planing churches in the South America region. Yet on that same note, God still wants pastor Ken to continue to grow the pass region (Beaumont & Banning area). In order for all this to come to....there is going to be leaders that are going to have to step up and allow the Lord to work in them....I believe that this is what God is preparing my heart for, I believe that the Lord wants me to be part of Pastor Kens vision, he wants me to step out of my comfort zone and be the Godly man that he has called me to be.....I am so excited....
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Thankful Tuesday
These past few days have been a struggle for me, not anything major, just trying to stay focused. It seems that I have allowed myself to have free time, and I have not used any of it to spend with my Lord. I have used it to spend time with the TV, Internet and other waste of time. The part that bothers me is that I realize what I am doing, yet I don't stop....that is my struggle right now. I was looking for a folder on my PC and I ran across this doc. and it just hit me, it encouraged me and reminded me that the master is working in my life, he wants me to keep playing!!!!! I just need to get off the couch and go to the piano...
DON’T QUIT
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing . Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. "
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit." "Keep playing." Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and he added a running obbligato.
Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn't recall what else the great master played. Only the classic, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
" Perhaps that's the way it is with God.
What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't always graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of the Master, our life's work can truly be beautiful.
The next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You may hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit." "Keep playing."
May you feel His arms around you and know that His hands are there, helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces.
Remember, God doesn't seem to call the equipped, rather, He equips the 'called.' Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire. So touch someone by passing this little message along.
May God bless you and be with you always!
DON’T QUIT
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing . Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. "
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit." "Keep playing." Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and he added a running obbligato.
Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn't recall what else the great master played. Only the classic, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
" Perhaps that's the way it is with God.
What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't always graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of the Master, our life's work can truly be beautiful.
The next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You may hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, "Don't quit." "Keep playing."
May you feel His arms around you and know that His hands are there, helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces.
Remember, God doesn't seem to call the equipped, rather, He equips the 'called.' Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire. So touch someone by passing this little message along.
May God bless you and be with you always!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday Madness
Good Monday Morning to each of you,
I hope you each had a great weekend, did you get everything that you need to get done, done? Did you get to rest, or are you like me, you have to come to work to rest? The weekend was actually really nice, I worked a lot in the backyard, trying to get it ready, but as most of you know, the more you do, it seems the more there is. In addition it was so hot, that my work times were limited, I ended up working from about 7pm to 10 pm all three days. Even at these times, I was still sweating...I think that this is going to be a hot summer. This is just so hard to believe, because when you watch the news, it goes from heat wave in California to 10 ft floods in Missouri and central US. CRAZY!!!!
This weekend has been a great time to reflect for me...Momma and I were home alone from Friday evening until Sunday evening, this is the first time in over a year, that it was just the two of us...we did not know how to act...the house was so quite...but at the same time...it was so nice. We told each other that we had to do it more often, even it if it is only dinner and a movie. It is hard because the kids mean so much to us, being without them almost seems empty. Yet on that same note, it is so nice to just be next to her and not worry about anything else....
In addition service on Sunday planted some seeds that got my mind wandering, we were talking about standing up for our faith, when everything and everyone around us is against us. Pastor shared with us 3 different examples, now these are examples that we all have heard of, but I guess I have have never tried to put myself in their shoes, or tried to see how those times are upon us again, the test may be a little different but the results are the same.
We talked about Daniel and the Lions den, Daniel was faithful to his God, even when he knew that he could suffer death for worshiping his God. Are any of us willing to face 'Lions' to stand up for our God. One of the key verses that struck me is, Daniel 6:10. This is after the decree was written that no man can worship anyone except Nebuchadnezzar, but Daniel knowing this still went to his upper room of his house and prayed to his God 3 times a day, it says, "he prayed to his God, just as he had done before" what makes this such a bold statement to me, is Daniel had a routine and stuck to it regardless of the consequences....and as we know how the story goes, Daniel is thrown into the Lions den and comes out completely unharmed. God protected him.
This really had me thinking what routine do I have? I have a routine, but do I include God in my daily routine. Better yet is God my routine in my life, it seems that I try and fit God into my daily routine, when God should be my routine and I should fit everything else around my time with God. Now when I say routine, please understand I mean my daily activities. The more I thought about it, the more discouraged I got in myself. I need to sit down and write down everything I do each day, what are the things that I do each day, then I need to schedule God time, I need to set aside a certain time every day that is just me and God, time that I can dwell on him, time that I can talk directly to him, and time that I can listen to him. I need a set time to be in the word, and not when I am getting ready to go to sleep, I need to be in the word when I am fully alert and can hear what the Lord to telling me. As discouraged as I am, I am even more excited, I want my relationship to grow stronger, I know that the Lord will use me, I just have to put myself second and my God first....this sounds so easy to do. But I think that the majority of us would pray / worship our God in hiding if we knew it could cost us or life. But let Daniel be the example of if we stand up for our God, he will protect us.
Love you all
Mick
I hope you each had a great weekend, did you get everything that you need to get done, done? Did you get to rest, or are you like me, you have to come to work to rest? The weekend was actually really nice, I worked a lot in the backyard, trying to get it ready, but as most of you know, the more you do, it seems the more there is. In addition it was so hot, that my work times were limited, I ended up working from about 7pm to 10 pm all three days. Even at these times, I was still sweating...I think that this is going to be a hot summer. This is just so hard to believe, because when you watch the news, it goes from heat wave in California to 10 ft floods in Missouri and central US. CRAZY!!!!
This weekend has been a great time to reflect for me...Momma and I were home alone from Friday evening until Sunday evening, this is the first time in over a year, that it was just the two of us...we did not know how to act...the house was so quite...but at the same time...it was so nice. We told each other that we had to do it more often, even it if it is only dinner and a movie. It is hard because the kids mean so much to us, being without them almost seems empty. Yet on that same note, it is so nice to just be next to her and not worry about anything else....
In addition service on Sunday planted some seeds that got my mind wandering, we were talking about standing up for our faith, when everything and everyone around us is against us. Pastor shared with us 3 different examples, now these are examples that we all have heard of, but I guess I have have never tried to put myself in their shoes, or tried to see how those times are upon us again, the test may be a little different but the results are the same.
We talked about Daniel and the Lions den, Daniel was faithful to his God, even when he knew that he could suffer death for worshiping his God. Are any of us willing to face 'Lions' to stand up for our God. One of the key verses that struck me is, Daniel 6:10. This is after the decree was written that no man can worship anyone except Nebuchadnezzar, but Daniel knowing this still went to his upper room of his house and prayed to his God 3 times a day, it says, "he prayed to his God, just as he had done before" what makes this such a bold statement to me, is Daniel had a routine and stuck to it regardless of the consequences....and as we know how the story goes, Daniel is thrown into the Lions den and comes out completely unharmed. God protected him.
This really had me thinking what routine do I have? I have a routine, but do I include God in my daily routine. Better yet is God my routine in my life, it seems that I try and fit God into my daily routine, when God should be my routine and I should fit everything else around my time with God. Now when I say routine, please understand I mean my daily activities. The more I thought about it, the more discouraged I got in myself. I need to sit down and write down everything I do each day, what are the things that I do each day, then I need to schedule God time, I need to set aside a certain time every day that is just me and God, time that I can dwell on him, time that I can talk directly to him, and time that I can listen to him. I need a set time to be in the word, and not when I am getting ready to go to sleep, I need to be in the word when I am fully alert and can hear what the Lord to telling me. As discouraged as I am, I am even more excited, I want my relationship to grow stronger, I know that the Lord will use me, I just have to put myself second and my God first....this sounds so easy to do. But I think that the majority of us would pray / worship our God in hiding if we knew it could cost us or life. But let Daniel be the example of if we stand up for our God, he will protect us.
Love you all
Mick
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thankful Tuesday
This is a daily devotion from a few days ago that just really hit home, now that momma and I have a bit of a longer drive to work, and to many of the things that we used to just jump in the car and go to are a bit further we tend to just drive to get there and don't always pay attention to what is around us. Yet when we drive around the new neighborhood, we drive like an old couple, slow with our blinker on (sorry, couldn't resist). But what I am trying to say, is that we notice everything.
Now this devotion reminded me that I need to slow down my life, each day and enjoy the millions of blessings that I / we have. Each second there is something that we take for granted. It might just be there was no traffic today, or our new roses have a new bloom. Or it could be something major like we got to work safe today, or the doctor found the disease before it spread. I am guilty at times before of being thankful for a miracle and not giving God credit, saying it was luck or a coincidence....this is God and his work, there is no such thing as luck.....only God.
May your day be blessed, as you each are a blessing to me.
What's Really Important
This devotional was written by Robin Dugall
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.—Romans 1:20 (NASB)
There is a freeway that I drive every single day on my way to work. The thirty-mile trip to my place of employment is filled with the same twists and turns on the road to which I have grown apathetically accustomed. If something new or exciting was within view, I don’t know if I would see it. I have the feeling that day by day the same old grind, the routine of my life would never hold a surprise. In fact, even if there were something new or extraordinary, I probably wouldn’t see it because my eyes are fixed on the road and I’m concentrating on getting to my destination as quickly as possible. I’m so focused on my commute that I’ve often thought when I arrive at work, "I wonder what I just missed in the past 45 minutes?" Think about your own life…do you miss a lot? So much of the time, we blow by all sorts of things like relationships, the beauty of creation, signs of the loving and wonderful God we serve because we have more important things to do.
Not too long ago, I heard a pastor give a sermon where he used some unique words to describe the presence of God in our world. He said that our world was "drenched" with God. In other words, there isn’t a place you can go, a molecule of air you can breathe, a sight you can see, where you can sense that God is missing. All it takes, as Jesus said, is "eyes to see and ears to hear" the wonder and magnificence of God. Maybe instead of driving so hard in our lives, we should be opening our eyes and ears to seeing and experiencing the presence of God in new ways. Maybe instead of wondering how we are going to see God at work in our lives, we should simply be on our knees thanking Him for the many ways He has already worked and we were too busy to see.
Now this devotion reminded me that I need to slow down my life, each day and enjoy the millions of blessings that I / we have. Each second there is something that we take for granted. It might just be there was no traffic today, or our new roses have a new bloom. Or it could be something major like we got to work safe today, or the doctor found the disease before it spread. I am guilty at times before of being thankful for a miracle and not giving God credit, saying it was luck or a coincidence....this is God and his work, there is no such thing as luck.....only God.
May your day be blessed, as you each are a blessing to me.
What's Really Important
This devotional was written by Robin Dugall
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.—Romans 1:20 (NASB)
There is a freeway that I drive every single day on my way to work. The thirty-mile trip to my place of employment is filled with the same twists and turns on the road to which I have grown apathetically accustomed. If something new or exciting was within view, I don’t know if I would see it. I have the feeling that day by day the same old grind, the routine of my life would never hold a surprise. In fact, even if there were something new or extraordinary, I probably wouldn’t see it because my eyes are fixed on the road and I’m concentrating on getting to my destination as quickly as possible. I’m so focused on my commute that I’ve often thought when I arrive at work, "I wonder what I just missed in the past 45 minutes?" Think about your own life…do you miss a lot? So much of the time, we blow by all sorts of things like relationships, the beauty of creation, signs of the loving and wonderful God we serve because we have more important things to do.
Not too long ago, I heard a pastor give a sermon where he used some unique words to describe the presence of God in our world. He said that our world was "drenched" with God. In other words, there isn’t a place you can go, a molecule of air you can breathe, a sight you can see, where you can sense that God is missing. All it takes, as Jesus said, is "eyes to see and ears to hear" the wonder and magnificence of God. Maybe instead of driving so hard in our lives, we should be opening our eyes and ears to seeing and experiencing the presence of God in new ways. Maybe instead of wondering how we are going to see God at work in our lives, we should simply be on our knees thanking Him for the many ways He has already worked and we were too busy to see.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thankful Tuesday
I want to start off by saying, "God is Good and Faithful". Yesterday I was going through my plans for the week, seeing what needs to get taken care of for the week, what projects I need to complete or start....so on. In addition I had to make sure that everything that needed to be paid was taken care. As most of you know, when you have a new house, the bills come in at different times, and because it is new, you are never sure how much they will be, so you cannot plan accordingly. I can tell each of you that God is good, because as I sat down and estimated what was due in the next or so, and what funds were available I knew that it would be close. However yesterday I found out that money was sent to us earlier than expected and we were A-OK. Now let me just say this.....this was a big step within me. As I believe with many people, somethings are easier to give to the Lord, such as thanks when something is going well. But as I have talked to people, money is one of the hardest things that we as humans can give to the Lord, we never feel like we have enough, there is always something that we need....or want....in most cases. Momma and I have really been tyring to place all of our finances at his feet, trust in him and not worry about it. As new home owners, some of the times have been harder than others, but each time God has proven faithful, which makes it easier on our human minds! I do believe that by taking that small step in faith and ensuring that we continue to tithe and trust, he will continue to reward us.
Another thing that has been on my heart these past few days, is all the families that are being affected by the earthquake in China that occurred yesterday. As of this morning, I hear that over 12,000 have died and over 18,000 are still missing. China is considered a Buddhist country and many of do not believe in God. This really sat hard on my heart, this may have been the last chance that many of these had the opportunity to ask the Lord into their lives. This scares me so much. It is hard to imagine the situation of losing a loved one, and all the destruction that is going on there, while sitting in my nice office. Yet on the same note, I am hurting because we live in a county that allows for us to choose to love and worship a perfect and loving God, and so many of us don't take advantage of it. None of us are promised tomorrow.
It is kind of weird but death has been on my mind....not that I am worried about dying, but certain lyrics in songs have caught my attention. And the storms in the mid-west and east coast have made me think more about it. I also think that as I get further back in the word, and my prayer life continues to grow, the Lord is showing me compassion. Something that I think I was losing. In addition, I feel that that the Lord was revealing to me, that time is short on this earth, what am I doing with the time that he has blessed me with, am I serving him or me?
I will leave you with lyrics to a song, (sorry cannot remember the name of the song or the artist, but I will update when I find them)....."Why did I wait until I was dying to start living"
Another thing that has been on my heart these past few days, is all the families that are being affected by the earthquake in China that occurred yesterday. As of this morning, I hear that over 12,000 have died and over 18,000 are still missing. China is considered a Buddhist country and many of do not believe in God. This really sat hard on my heart, this may have been the last chance that many of these had the opportunity to ask the Lord into their lives. This scares me so much. It is hard to imagine the situation of losing a loved one, and all the destruction that is going on there, while sitting in my nice office. Yet on the same note, I am hurting because we live in a county that allows for us to choose to love and worship a perfect and loving God, and so many of us don't take advantage of it. None of us are promised tomorrow.
It is kind of weird but death has been on my mind....not that I am worried about dying, but certain lyrics in songs have caught my attention. And the storms in the mid-west and east coast have made me think more about it. I also think that as I get further back in the word, and my prayer life continues to grow, the Lord is showing me compassion. Something that I think I was losing. In addition, I feel that that the Lord was revealing to me, that time is short on this earth, what am I doing with the time that he has blessed me with, am I serving him or me?
I will leave you with lyrics to a song, (sorry cannot remember the name of the song or the artist, but I will update when I find them)....."Why did I wait until I was dying to start living"
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