Clarity

If you really think about life, really take a step back to consider what makes life worth living, you end up in the same place that King Solomon found himself. In the book of Ecclesiastes he states, “ The end of the matter, all has been heard, fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” You see, we live our lives, we work hard, we try to make a difference, we love our family and our neighbors; yes we do all the things that we think we should. And all those things are good, and they are important, but if we miss the most important thing, if we fail to get eternity, what have we done? We are just living to die. 

Now some will say that while we were here, we made the world a better place, and that may be true. Some will say our family and friends are better off because of us, and that may be true. And some may say that the poor are better off because of us and that may be true. 

But the question we must answer is, ‘but did we miss the main purpose of life?’ Did we do all those things, but fail to honor the One that made it possible for us to do them? What if we could have done all those things, and also the most important thing? What if we would have also added the love of God and added eternity to our lives? What if we would have lived, in such a way, that others would have known that all the good we do, is because the God who created us is good? When we recognize that life is not life if we are only living to die, we can’t say we are doing our best, and that we really love others when we teach them to only live to die.

When one of the lawyer’s asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is, He said, “ You shall Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus went on to say, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” So if we really think about it, clarity tells us that living life without God is to live life outside of the very reason that God gave us life. He gave us life so that we would love Him and love others 

He gave us life so that we would be with Him forever, not to be separated from Him. So enjoy life, work hard, make a difference, help the poor, care for the sick, love your family and neighbor, but love God first so that you do all those other things with a hope of eternity.

The Storm

If your anything like me, you love storms.I especially love thunder and lightning storms.I love the loud clashes of thunder and the bright flashes of lightning. When the storm is at a safe distance and I can sit in a safe place and watch and listen to it I really enjoy it. But when the storm comes into my safe space when it comes right into my world. That’s when the enjoyment of storms is no more. There are so many questions when the thunder and lightning have invaded my life. Questions like will I be able to make it though this, how did I ever get here, does God care, and is He going to do something. Even when the storms are a result  of my own sin or foolishness, I want God to do something. I ask for forgiveness, I repent and cry out. I promise not to fall again. But often time the storm rolls on. The thunder is loud and deafening, the lightning is overwhelming. And then I remember that often time it is in the storms, that I lean on God the most. It is in the hard time that I cry out to God the most. Now I’m not saying to live a sinful life, The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue to sin that grace may abound?, By no means, how can we who died to sin still live in it.  But what I’m saying is this: If you are in the mist of a storm, either of your own making, or of no fault of your own, know that God has not abandoned you. Know that God will allow the storm to do its cleansing work, no matter how long it takes. Yes, God will allow the storm to do its healing work, no matter how long it takes. So the next time your in a storm, ask God to help you see what you need to see. To help you learn what you need to learn. To help you grow how you need to grow. Because God does not bring storms, or allow storms, for no reason. So trust the God that allows the storm to come, to work the storm out for your good and for his glory. And whether the storm is of, or not of your own doing remember the words of the Apostle Paul in
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 

So grab yourself a strong umbrella walk with your head up and let it rain.

God is Good

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  Psalms 34:8

Over the past few months I have become increasingly aware of God's goodness. Now don't get me wrong, I have known that God is good for most of my life, but recently that truth has overwhelmed my heart. The little things in my life now remind me of how good God is. From the fact that I have clean water to drink, that I can turn a thermostat and control the temperature in my house. I have a house to live in, food to eat, and a car to drive. If I don't feel well I can call the doctor, I can get the medicine I need that helps me get over what ever it is. And I can take a hot shower that feels so good I just stand there and feel the warmth of the water. Yes all these little things that I once took for granted, now make me stop and thank God for his goodness to me. I know these things are not what makes God good, He is good because that's who He is. He does not have to become good, by doing anything, He is good, and that's what my heart has come to know. God does good things because He is good. It is part of his character. I have often wondered why I have been blessed so much, while others have seem not to be as blessed. Why did God choose to allow me to live in a country where we have so much. Everything I need is often at my finger tips. Why has the creator of all things been so good to me? And then it hit me, God is good to all, because He is good. The circumstances of our lives cannot, and do not change the fact that He is good. He is not less good to others in less fortunate places, he simply shows his goodness in other ways. It might be His presence feels more near to them, or His mercy appears more real to them, or his love seems more close to them. You see, I'm not sure how God's goodness comes to others, but I know it comes because He is good. So I am grateful that God is good to all who are his, no matter the circumstance or situation, and I am blessed that God has chosen to make me more and more aware of the truth that He is Good. So for all of you who may be in a place that has caused you to doubt, open your heart and open your eyes and know that God is good, whatever He is doing it will be for your good, because He is good.

Thankful

As I sit here this morning my heart is thankful, thankful for friends, both far and near.  I am very aware that God has blessed me with people who I love very deeply and love me the same.  I cannot begin to explain to you how God has worked in my life through the people he has placed into it. I have been challenged to love deeper, forgive quicker, try harder, and laugh more often, to give with a heart of abandonment, to hope with a sense of urgency and to believe with a sense of assurance.

I have come to understand that after the gift of Jesus Christ, and without Christ no gift really matters. But after the gift of Christ, the gift of friends is the gift that I hold most dear. And even though I have made mistakes in my past with those I love and had mistakes made against me by those I love, it is still the people that God has brought into my life that makes life all the better.

So I sit here and I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God, how He continues to give to me such blessed friendships, and how He continues to show me through these friends that he gives that He has not and will not give up on me, that his plans for me are to conform me into the image of Jesus Christ and to love me with a love that is so great that my heart, my mind, my soul, and my will are more and more after His.  And the friends that he has placed into my life are being used to accomplish the goal He has for my life. 

So I sit here and I am thankful for the two greatest gifts that a person could ever receive.  Frist, the gift of Jesus Christ, which makes life worth living, and the gift of friends that helps us come to understand how much God loves us, and helps us to understand how better to love.

So to all of you that I have once or now call friends I would say. I am truly sorry and I ask your forgiveness if I have failed you in any way.  If I have failed to be the friend God has called me to be. To any of you that I have not shared Christ with I ask that this Christmas season you would look at Jesus Christ once again and truly ask yourself how your life would be with Him in it. And for you who have stood by me as a friend I say thank you for loving one as broken, but one who is being changed by the love of God and by your love. My prayer this year is that I will be to you all the friend that God has called me to be.

A Time To Reflect

My mother once told me that this life that God has giving us is to be lived with great love for God, great love for people, and a passion that burns for the things of God. As I sit here today, I realize that she was right.

It’s the things that we accomplish for Christ and it’s the love we have for one another that make life so wonderful, that makes life so special. It’s those things that show Christ’s love, and that changes our hearts to love people more that make our time in this life worth living. 

As I look back over my life, I have not always loved people and loved God, as I should, and I now see, it was when I did not love Christ, I was more likely to hurt others. I was more likely to put my needs and wants, my desires above anyone’s. It was during those time that I hurt the people I loved and used people to get what I wanted.

So I sit here telling you that life is bested lived, in love with God. We are better people because of Christ, and we can love people with a true love when we are following and loving Christ.

So as I sit here, I’m thankful that the God of all creation, has saved me, and is transforming me into a person that loves Him and because of that can truly love others. If you take time to reflect on your life, and you are sadden by your past failures, turn to God, love Him deeply and ask Him to give your a heart to love others with a love and passions that comes from Him.

Lessons I Learned…Again!

This week was a time in which God has grabbed my heart again.

A team from our church went to spend time with some of our missionaries serving in a children’s home in Guatemala.  We had the opportunity to serve with them in their everyday life.  I'm taken back by their love for the children and their desire to not grow weary in the work they are doing.  These children are precious and the work is hard.  Most of them come from very difficult situations and need much love and care.  However, this task does not seem to overwhelm or deter these missionaries.

As I was sharing one morning with some of the older boys, my heart was broken.  What could I really do to impact their lives in a week?  No matter how much I served during this week, I would have very little impact on the children.  To these missionaries however, our visit meant the World!  What they needed most was to be loved, encouraged, and poured into by people who love them and what they are doing.  They needed us to see the work they are doing, and share in the difficulties they are facing.

What I came to understand most is how much I needed from them!  I needed to have my heart encouraged by those who gave up so much to follow Jesus.  I needed to see the children and remember that God is working in every part of this world.  I needed to remember the lessons that I have learned about the heart of God.  I needed to have my heart stirred with the Heart of God again so it can once again long for the things of God and the work of God.  

God's heart has not changed.  He loves those who have very hard lives and He has not forgotten them, and we cannot forget them.  We must care for people everywhere and share with them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ so they can be saved.  God loves people and we must be the hands and feet of Christ.

I must remember these lessons and never forget!

WAIT FOR THE LORD!

I’m sitting here this morning thinking about how life has changed over the past few years.  Life has become very busy.   The ministries that God has allowed me to be part of have grown and demand much more of my time.  My friendships have become deeper, my love has grown greater, and my dependence on God has increased because I have come to understand that I can do nothing without Him.

That is where I have found the great need to wait on the Lord.   When life gets going and more things are placed on your plate, we need more of God.  Life is such a complicated process!  It is not something to be lived without the constant presence of God.  The people that God has placed into our lives are precious and I have done more than enough in my past to harm some good friends.  

I can only truly love the people that God has placed in my life if I love them with the love of Christ.  In order to be the leader and friend that God has called me to be, I need to have more of Christ in my own

            I have to get this right.  No matter how much is on my plate, I have to have Christ in the center of it all or it will all fall apart.  So this morning as I was reading Psalm 27, which is one of my favorites, I noticed two things.  First, I need God’s presence. Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” You see the psalmist got it right, we need to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our lives.  We need to always seek God, to always be near to Christ, no matter what else is going on.  Second, Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” We must wait on God, when more and more is added to our lives we must take time to wait on Christ, to hear from Him and to be lead by Him. 

            In the past when I would rush into things and not seek God’s guidance or pray for Christ to lead me, things did not workout so well.  Because of my own desires, I ended up sinning against my God and those whom I loved.  If I had given God more of my heart and my desires, if I would have waited on the Lord and spent time with Him in prayer, many of my mistakes, my failures, and my sins would not have happened.

             So seek the Lord and wait on Him always.  He is able to with your life great things that you can not do on your on.  He will also keep you from sin, and from hurting those you love and those entrusted to you.  WAIT FOR THE LORD!