being disappointed...

June 25, 2012

Isaiah 1:1-10

V2 …”Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.”

I remember the first time one of my children lied to me the very first time. It wasn’t over something huge, but I remember how my heart hurt. How I was so shocked; I don’t know why really, I knew they weren’t perfect. Yet, for some reason knowing they lied to me was hard to handle. I often wonder if God feels like this each time I sin. If His heart hurts each time I choose to disobey His word. Of course God’s disappointment would be far greater than mine because He is God and I am not.

finding comfort...

June 22, 2012

Genesis 50:20 As for you, your meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…

This is a promise of God that I am claiming for someone very special to me. Not because “I” knew this verse was there, got mad, and decided that this was the verse for me. Nope, I was upset and God brought this verse to my mind. I didn’t even know where it was. But I believed the power found in it. It is powerful to think that God can change the outcome of a situation that looks bad but turns good. It is powerful to know that I serve a God that can do this, that does this. So, I’m claiming it for this situation we find ourselves in and I’m confident that no matter the outcome God is working things to the good of those who love HIM.

He can see what I cannot...

June 21, 2012

Isaiah 54:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts, than your thoughts

This is a comforting thought, maybe a little frustrating at times cause really we just want to know “why”, but it is comforting to know that God knows the why. When we are in the midst of a situation that we really have no control over we are forced to accept God’s will. True, we are always under God’s will, but it just seems more evident when we are in a situation that we have no voice in. Even more so if that situation makes us angry, hurt, or upset in any way; these words can give us comfort. In a recent conversation with one of my children I reminded him that we only have control over our actions, not the path we are walking on or the actions of others; we only control our actions and the attitude of our heart. May I remember that advice for myself; I may not understand or agree with my situation but I know and rest in the fact that “…my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” He can see what I cannot.

plethora of drama...

June 20, 2012

Proverbs 19:11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense

Sometimes I think we are the only family to ever have “situations.” I mean I think drama seems to follow us around. I guess this is the way with everybody, but as humans we tend to not “air our dirty laundry” in public, so to speak. Well, I’m not going to do that either, but I will admit to a plethora of drama in our family lately. One such episode lead me to this verse, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Much easier said than accomplished I have discovered. I want to lash out. I want to fly off the handle. I want to let loose of this temper that I’m barely holding on to. Yet, I can’t. I know that’s wrong. I know that is contrary to every word I type on here each morning. But I want to do it. A wise and wonderful preacher once told me, “You always have to go home.” What he meant by that is no matter what “drama” is going on, no matter how hurt, or angry, we may become; we can never destroy our relationships in a way that we couldn’t witness to that person again. Because really that’s the most important calling we, as believers, have in this world.  So as we go about the business of “living in but not of” this world, our actions and reactions have to reflect God and His glory, not my anger!

Me and The Eagle...

June 19, 2012

Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

I have mounted upon the eagles wings and rested. I have grabbed a handhold in His feathers and held on. It was the strength of the eagle that carried me. I ran and His strength renewed mine. I walked and He carried me. I love it when I can look at my life and see God’s word there. His word was in my life recently. I lived this verse. Without the eagle I would never have made it. His strength sustained me. Truth be told; I didn’t even have the strength to climb upon the eagle, He put me there.

sharing, it's not just for kids...

June 1, 2012

1 Timothy 6:13-21

V18 …to be generous and ready to share

One of the first lessons we, as parents, try to teach our children is how to share. It’s a hard lesson to learn, and most likely not one that’s learned quickly; it’s a rare child indeed who willing shares his or her own toys without being told to. Should we expect adults to act differently? Well, yes, as a matter of fact we should, but most often the actions of adults aren’t that much different from those of children. We are selfish with what we have, whether it’s our money, our possessions, or our time; we simply don’t want to share. We could have many reasons or excuses for our behavior: we may feel like the person in need is unworthy, or perhaps lazy or it may just be that we want it for ourselves. Yet, in God’s word we find that we are to put off our selfish desires; we are to place the needs of others above our own willingly and without malice every single time. In other words, we must learn to share.

fighting in our battlefields...

May 31, 2012

 1 Timothy 6:11 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

This is not an obscure verse in the bible that no one has ever heard before; nope, this is a relatively well-known one. That being the case I often wonder why we are surprised that living the life of a believer is hard sometimes. Clearly, Paul is telling us that we are going to have to fight. The word fight automatically brings to mind other words like…strife, opponents, hardship, pain, and any number of words I could list. All of them however have one thing in common though; work, we have to work at and fight for our life in the faith. It will be a battle, and the truly amazing thing about belonging to God is that even in the midst of that battle, that “fight” we can have peace

the fight and the beach...

May 25, 2012

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith…

Some day’s really feel like a fight don’t they? We feel weary, and beat down; yet the strength to go on is given to us in a ways we never understand. When we think we can’t go one more day, we will suddenly have the strength for one more week. When we look around at our lives and marvel at the peace in our hearts amidst the chaos of our life, we are in awe. Our Christian walks are not meant to be fought on a tropical beach laid out on the sand with a good book. They are meant to be fought in the battlefields of our everyday life. However, isn’t it wondrous that although our lives might not look like that tropical beach we will feel as though we have been laying on a tropical shore.

in pursuit...

May 24, 2012

1 Timothy 6:11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness

To pursue is to “find or employ measures to accomplish”. This word gives us the impression that it will take many years to come close. Perhaps this is the case so that we would not take our eyes on God. For only in God could we hope to achieve any of these things, and if we are in God we cannot be in the world too.

loving money or God...

May 22, 2012

1 Timothy 6:9-10

V 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils, It is thought this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs

Is money bad? This is a question many people get caught up in. No, money isn’t bad; it is to a great degree necessary to life and to ministry. However, the love of money is bad, but it’s not alone. The love of or pursuit of anything except righteousness, godly character, God’s will for our lives, godly wisdom, any number of things I could name, is “a root of evil.” Do not be deceived just because you “say” that the love of money is not in you does not mean that the root of evil can not be found. Satan uses many snares to entrap us; money is just one of them.