Month: August 2016

“Be Anxious for Nothing!”

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How many times have “anxious” thoughts robbed us of the enjoyment of today?  How many worried days have we spent trying to control the uncontrollable?  How many times do we expend all our energies and might to solve all the world issues only feel like a wrung-out washrag at the end of the day?

Worried thoughts have a way of trying to compel us to look to ourselves for the answers that we can’t find.  Believing that in and of ourselves we are the all end authority to all of life’s issues, at least this is what the human intellect would have us to believe.  Rather, God exhorts us over and over to rely on Him.  To come to Him in prayer and relinquish all of our cares, worries, and frustrations on Him because He cares for us.

The Lord knows what a heavy load humanity can carry.  He has felt it in His own being.  As a matter of fact, He carried it all to the cross so that we wouldn’t have to carry these burdens alone.  Yet, when push comes to shove and trials and tribulations knock on our personal doors we feel a need to answer the call and find a remedy to our problems on our own.  As a result, we struggle to find the answer to the question of why we can’t find peace in the midst of it all.

In actuality, the reason peace seems so evasive to many of us is because of our personal insistence on trying to do it on our own.  We pick up the problems that we are going through with every intention on carrying them to the altar and leaving them with Jesus.  Walking away from the altar of prayer, we pick those same problems back up feeling a need to control the outcome on our own.  As if God can’t handle our specific needs. Our humanness gets in the way of His divineness.  The limits we see on humanity are then applied to God and it gets in the way of His wonder-working power in our lives.

The way to obtain peace during these anxious moments is to give whatever is bothering us; whatever is burdening us over to the Lord and trust Him to give us His best in the situation.  After all, when it came to the matter of saving us He already gave us His best, didn’t He?  How much more difficult would it be then for Him to work out our everyday worries for us?  I believe you would agree that the two can’t compare.  So, if He was willing to do that for you and me, should we not then trust Him to do right by our anxious thoughts?

Would you rather place all of your problems in your own hands or in the hands of God?  Let me ask you this, how have you been handling things on your own?  How have your own efforts been working out for you so far?  Maybe it’s time to try something new.  Maybe it’s time for you to give God a shot at wrangling in the worrisome so that you can experience true peace.  Let’s get rid of the anxious for something better.

Be blessed 🙂

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“Help Carry the Load!”

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Have you helped someone carry the load lately or have we been so wrapped up in self that we don’t see the needs and cares of others? Just a thought, what if we went throughout the day looking for opportunities to help someone else? Whether it be a kind word to encourage, a pat on the back for a job well done, or an unexpected smile that will lift someone else’s day. Little actions make for big impact. Be a load sharer today! You don’t know what someone is going through.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2, NKJV.

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Have you helped someone carry the load lately or have we been so wrapped up in self that we don’t see the needs and cares of others?   Just a thought, what if we went throughout the day looking for opportunities to help someone else?  Whether it be a kind word to encourage, a pat on the back for a job well done, or an unexpected smile that will lift someone else’s day.  Little actions make for big impact.  Be a load sharer today!  You don’t know what someone is going through.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2, NKJV.

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Familiarity Breeds Contempt

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Daily routines and associations with those closest to us can cause us to downplay their strengths and pick apart little things about them that tend to irk us or get under our skin.  It seems to be the easier thing to do.   A surface of criticizing is easier than delving into what’s below the surface to focus on the greater good dwelling in an individual.

One prime example of this sort of relationship is within marriage.  Spouses who have been married for any considerable amount of time with the ins and outs of daily life can start to hone in on what bothers them the most about the other as opposed to purposefully looking to view them in all the positives they have to bring to the table.

Why is it so easy to see the worst in people?  Why is it harder to focus on their good attributes?  What is it about human nature that loses or dumbs down respect and honor for the ones closest to them?

Jesus knew exactly how it felt to be dishonored in such a way.  Once He is quoted as saying, “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house,” Mark 6:4.

Common sense would tell us to support and uphold those closest to us; to have their back and cheer them on when seeing them trying to get ahead or excel at life.  We have no problem when it comes to doing this on a national level, say for the Olympics.  One of our country gains our support and we stand in front of the screens rooting them on to win so that nationally we gain a medal at the end.

But, for those closest to us, when we see them talk of their dreams and make plans to forge ahead into the future unknown; when we see them start ministries, set goals, and go after where they feel God is leading them why do we tear them down?  Our opinion of them, because we knew them way back when, seeks to diminish the character of their current work demoralizing their future goals.

In Luke 4, Jesus, quoting the same verse as above, also gave two examples from their history of people who received blessings although they were not of the Jewish people.  One was the widow of Zarephath in the region of Sidon and the other was Naaman the Syrian (vss. 26-27).  Both were Gentiles and not of the familiar countrymen of which Jesus spoke.

The widow received provision during the time of famine and Naaman received healing from a normally incurable disease.  They weren’t blinded by the familiar, rather they opened their hearts to the link that God had placed right in front of their faces to receive the blessing He had in store for them.

Don’t let the familiar cause you to miss out on the blessings found in the people that God has already placed in your life.  To you they may seem like, “Oh, that just so and so.  No need to worry about them.”  But, they may be your connection to that blessing that God wants to pour into your life.  Don’t count your blessings out (like those whom Jesus was talking to) just because you know the source from which it flows.

And, what if you are the one being rejected like Jesus was; because people know you and don’t want to receive or accept the gift of God in you?  You press on anyhow.  You don’t dwell on people but you dwell on the God who gave you the gift and has entrusted you to work His works in your life.

Even if man doesn’t support you – God does.  He does not neglect the gifts that He has placed in you, and don’t you do it either (see 1 Timothy 4:14).  Don’t cower at their rejection, rather you stir up that gift and let the flames be fanned (see 2 Timothy 1:6).

Jesus was rejected and He also warned in another verse, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you,” (John 15:18).  In other words, no matter who you are, and no matter what gift you have in you not everybody is going to be on board with you or supportive of the work of God in you.

What do you do?  How do you deal with that contemptuous familiarity?  You do what Jesus did: “He passing through the midst of them went his way,” (Luke 4:30).  You keep on keeping on.  Jesus didn’t stand around and try to convince them to receive Him.  Life is too short for that; His time on earth would declare as some of us say today, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”  We have limited time here on earth and God needs our gifts and ministries up and running and being effective for His kingdom.

What do you do?  You follow the path of God for your life.  You continue to go forth working the works of God He placed in you, sowing seeds of ministry wherever He leads you.

Familiarity breeds contempt can work two ways: it causes us to miss out on the best of people that God has already placed in our lives, and it causes rejection of what you personally can bring to the table.  For either end that one may find themselves on, we have Jesus as our prime example on how to deal with it.  Follow Him and you will never be led wrong.

“Grateful to be Undeserving!”

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When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” Mark 2:17

Have you ever been looked down on? Felt as if you didn’t measure up to the standards of another? Do you have your own short-comings staring you in the face? Have you ever struggled with the idea that you are beyond repair? That you don’t deserve anything better than this?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you are not alone. Our society has a way of stoking the fires of perfectionism; of making one feel that if they are not in the status quo then they are defected. Predominance is the attitude here in the west where the drive for success will cause one to feel as if they have been run over because they are not moving as fast as everyone else.

At the same time, our society has produced a group of over-inflated egos that really believe they have it all together. This group is dependent on no one because their fascination with themselves has misled them to believe they are complete; they are at the peak of perfection and everyone else should strive to be like them. These groups define their success by some outward measuring post, but on the inside are lacking more than they will ever know.

In Mark 2, Jesus found Himself wedged between these two groups of people. On the one hand, He was in the house of Levi, the tax collector (whom we know as Matthew), there He was eating dinner with “publicans and sinners,” (vs. 15). On the other side of the spectrum comes the self-righteous “scribes and Pharisees,” (vs. 16) to challenge His choice of company.

The sinners knew who they were. They were the rejected. They were the ones people laughed at and talked about. They knew what a mess they were and yet, they were grateful. How could this man Jesus want to be seen talking with them, let alone eating with them? He was holy, and still, He saw beyond all their imperfections to care enough to spend time with them; to draw them nearer to Him through His love, care, and genuine concern.

The scribes and the Pharisees saw no such need for a man like Him. As far as they were concerned everybody should be striving to be like them; the holy elite, the cream of the crop. Others should gaze upon their own “righteousness” and desire to mimic it. No wonder the Lord often called them hypocrites and some other stuff, (Mt. 23:13-15). Their own self-righteous attitude about the realness of their lost state kept them from receiving what this Physician had to offer – Salvation!

But, to him who recognizes that “without Me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5), Jesus says I can do something with him. To him who knows the reality of his undeserving state, Jesus looks on that humility of heart with compassion and seeks to bring healing to that soul. There is something most precious in the moment when one can look up from all their failures and disappointments to see a Savior standing there, arms opened wide, ready to take it all away. That undeserving soul becomes eternally grateful because they know who they are, and they know who He is, and they also know that He didn’t have to do it; He didn’t have to save them.

Just as with the “publicans and sinners” we know that we don’t deserve to be in the company of Jesus. But, He chose to be there with you and me. He took Himself away from the elite to spend time with those who needed Him the most. It was His choice to love us, to draw near to us, and to eventually die for us so that He could free us. He left His home in heaven to become “God with us,” (Mt. 1:23); with the undeserving. Unlike the “scribes and Pharisees,” I recognize my need for Him and I am ever so grateful.

POEM – “The God Who Touches Me . . .”

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The God who touches me is the God who loves me.
Saved, my sins He has thrown into the deep sea.

He carries my soul in His hand day by day.
He wraps His strength around me; my fortress, my stay.

He covers me in light that shields from the dark.
He is the armor that protects from all fiery darts.

He’s my Shepherd and the Lamb, who leads and sacrifice.
My safety; my salvation came at His high price.

The God who touches me cares beyond what we know.
His love on display is the grandest show.

In it we see eternity play out.
His best became our rest; no reason to doubt.

On His throne, He sits in heaven where we bow at the knee.
Never forsaking us, in His presence, till we are there home free.

The God who touches me, I reach out for Him too.
As the woman grabs His hem and is healed through and through.

To feel His virtue; His power; His love – it’s so real.
His Spirit overwhelms; on my heart is His seal.

Taking me to heights in heaven to know,
where for eternity I bask in His unimaginable glow.

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Just a little encouragement – “God is for YOU!”

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GOD IS FOR YOU!

Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation. . .,” John 16:33a. He knew that there would some days where we face trouble and discouragement; there would be times when we feel like we are in this alone. In those times, He wants to reassure us that He is for us. He has never left us. He has never forsaken us. His plans for us is a glorious end so don’t let any circumstance make you believe that God doesn’t have your back, because He does. He’s here and He is for you!

Jesus went on to say, ” . . .but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,” John 16:33b; and if you are in Him and stay with Him and believe in Him, you will too. Because, God is for you!

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This is what the Lord laid on my heart to tell you today: GOD IS FOR YOU!

Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation. . .,” John 16:33a. He knew that there would some days where we face trouble and discouragement; there would be times when we feel like we are in this alone. In those times, He wants to reassure us that He is for us. He has never left us. He has never forsaken us. His plans for us is a glorious end so don’t let any circumstance make you believe that God doesn’t have your back, because He does. He’s here and He is for you!

Jesus went on to say, ” . . .but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,” John 16:33b; and if you are in Him and stay with Him and believe in Him, you will too. Because, God…

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