You Do All Things Well

In a world that seems to be without hope, there is a God who does all things well!

The question is - do we know this to be true in the depths of our hearts?

When the world looks so dark and hope seems so far away, do we believe this truth? When people hurt one another and dictators care more about their military than their people, do we believe this truth? When abortion is considered a right and genocide a common occurrence, do we believe this truth? Yes, we live in a world that appears to be without God and without hope. A world where evil is King and God is either not interested, unable to do anything about it, or does not exist. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It seems strange that we are so quick to turn away from God when it appears we need Him the most. Equally strange is blaming God for the evil deeds of man. God has not made a mistake in the creation of man.
He knew that many would turn away from Him and His Word. That many would chase after their own way. He also warned us what would happen if we did this. Through all the warnings of His Word, the Bible, we turned away and now blame Him for where we are.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 in the Bible says, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”

Again God has told us what we should do. It is now up to God’s people to do what God has called us to do, and see how the God who does all things well, will bring you hope and peace in the mist of the chaos that we live.

Just a Thought…

Today, I sit in awe of God’s goodness. I was one of millions of people that watched the History Channel series “The Bible”. As I watched, I became more and more in awe of my God. I was taken back by His love, kindness, patience and grace towards us. Even though we often fight against Him and His standards, God continually pulls us back to Himself.
What most touched my heart in this series, was Jesus! As I watched the actor who played Jesus, I was astonished. I asked myself, “If I’m so moved by an actor merely playing Jesus, what will I feel when I stand before Him? What will my heart and my mind feel in the presence of the one who died for me, the one who made a way for me to come back to God and stand before God unafraid?”
I have never been more in love with my Savior than I am now! I have never seen Him in the way this series has made me see Him. I am beyond thankful for what God has done in my heart though this series. My Lord and Savior, whom I read about in the Bible, is more alive to me than He has ever been before.

Just a Thought…

Worth Fighting For!

I am somewhat at a lost for words… I hear on TV, read on the Internet and in articles, recent news dominated by such things as the economy, gay marriage or North Korea. All of these are important. But not nearly as important as what happened 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ went to the cross to die for all who would believe in Him, for all who would say Lord Jesus I need you, for all who say I have sinned and only Jesus make it right!
Yes, we spend so much time on things that we feel are important. Yes, the world is a tough place. Yes, people are losing hope. Yes, we are missing the point...who we need the most!
But is that not why we must keep our eyes on Jesus? Is it not Jesus alone who can bring hope to people when they have lost it? Is it not Jesus Christ that can take a life and make it new? Is it not Jesus Christ alone that is greater than all the wrong in the world? Yes!
During this Easter season, we who call Him Lord, should turn all our attention and affection to Him and let the world know that there is one who can handle all the mess we have created. If there is one cause worth fighting for it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The world is not in need of more government, more tolerance or more rights. Nor does it need more debate or more laws. What the world needs are more followers of Jesus who love God and love people.
Who will stand for the things that God stands for and love others as God has loved us? We need much less debate and much more Jesus Christ, for He alone is Worth Fighting For.

The most dominate thought

This morning we had the opportunity to join others in a web based bible study that is lead by a man named Kenny Crosswhite. Today he was talking about abiding in Christ. I thought to myself, “Do I truly enjoy abiding in Christ, do I love to spend time getting to know Him and listening to Him?” Kierkegaard once said, “Our life always expresses the result of our dominant thought.”

So I ask myself: Does my life express Jesus? Do people see Jesus in my actions? Do people hear Jesus in my words, or notice Jesus in the manner in which I live my Life? You see, I have found that it is not an easy thing to have Jesus as my most dominant thought, or the most dominant person in life. There are so many other things and other relationships that can grab the most dominant position. We must fight to keep Jesus in that place. We must fight as if we are fighting for our very lives. You see, He is our life and He alone can give us life and life abundantly. John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”

So today my prayer is that Jesus will be the most dominate thought in your life and that you will have life and have it abundantly.

A Good Talk

Sometimes what we need the most in our lives is a good talk with our best friend.  No, I’m not talking about Jesus.  I’m talking about that person God has given you on this planet, which you are walking life with, to help you to love Jesus more.  This morning I needed that talk and God gave me the chance to have it.

You see my heart was hurting!  I felt that I was not growing closer to my Savior and that we as friends were not growing in our love for Christ.  I had noticed that we were not spending as much time talking about what God was doing in our lives.  We would often just talk about surface stuff and rarely spent much time in the word together.  As we talked and were honest with each other, we found that we both felt some of the same things.  We both felt that we needed to make sure that we made time to do the most important thing; YES, we would make time to spur one on towards love and good deeds, YES, that we would not place ministry or anything else before our relationship with Christ, and YES, that Christ would again be our first and primary focus.

So today we challenge one another to walk in a way that is worthy of our Savior.  YES, today was a Good Talk.

P.S.  Today would be a good day to read Hebrew 10:19-25!

THE ANCHOR

I have come to find the heart is an odd thing.  One day it sings with joy and the next, it cries with pain. What I find so odd is that I’m not sure what causes the switch. As I walk this journey of life, I have also come to find that there are few anchors for the soul. There are very few things that you can place your hope in. And even fewer people that care enough to help you along the way. I’m not saying that there aren’t kind people, for on my journey I have meet many. But what I often find is that they are either too busy, they beat down themselves, or they’re not sure how to go about helping.

Or maybe I have looked to people to do that which only Jesus Christ can do. Maybe the anchor for my soul is that one who died for my soul. Maybe my heart is telling me that I need to have an anchor that cannot be moved, one that is constant in the storms of life. Maybe the highs and lows of life are just God’s way of letting me know that there is only one true anchor in life, and the people I have met along the way were never meant to be the anchor, but are there to help me see my need for the only true anchor of the soul, Jesus Christ!!! Yes life is an odd thing, but there is one who can make sense of it all.

Spur One Another

Over the past few weeks I have come to understand, one simple truth about myself, I am not the greatest at spurring others on. In Hebrews 10:23 &24 the Bible says,

(And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.)

This verse has impacted me so much, that many years ago it became my life verse. I thought in my heart, I have failed so many people and have hurt people with my selfishness,  I wanted to change that, I want to encourage and spur people on to love and good deeds. I wanted to become someone that loved people and built them up in Christ. Well I have come to realize that loving people and spurring them on means that you must truly care for them. It cannot be about you or even what you get out of it. It must be a Christ centered love and you have to work at it all the time. Now I have become better at encouraging people and even loving people. I’m not saying I’m perfect at it; there are times when I really fail and there are still times that my selfishness gets in the way. There are still times when I let people down and hurt them, but I’m getting better.

But this bring me back to my opening statement, I’m still not where I should be. I have to pray that God would help me to be more Christ like in the area of spurring others on towards love and good deeds. I can’t just encourage them, I have to find things that spur them on. I have to try to find those things in people that will cause them to fight for love and good deeds. It is not enough to just to love them and encourage them I have to find the things that will stir them up and spur them on. You see I have gotten better at encouragement, but the verse also tells me to spur one another on towards love and good deeds. So my prayer is that God will continue to change me, so that I can do just that and not allow me to remain selfish and love myself so much that my love of self will ultimately cause me to have the ability to not become the person I want to be. I want to be more like Christ and I want to spur people on towards love and good deeds.