The Beatles wrote a song about all the lonely people. You can be in a crowded room and still feel all alone. You can have people emailing you and calling you everyday and still feel like no one is really there. Lonliness isn't about how many people you connect with or even talk to in a days time. Lonliness is a longing for a relationship with someone who truly cares. The psalmist said to God, Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. psa. 25:16. And again the psalmist said, I lie awake, lonely as a solitary bird on the roof. Psa. 102:7 One of the hardest things to face is when you feel as if God has also left you, all alone to fend for yourself. In the book of lamentations we read Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?
Have you ever thought to yourself, "If my life were a book of the Bible it would be something like Job or Lamentations, but others seem to get Acts or Proverbs. Sometimes we look at ourselves and we think, "why are others so active (ACTS) and wise (PROVERBS), and I am chained to these burdons (JOB) and sorrows (LAMENTATIONS). We think of all the good things that we really wanted to do if we only had the strength. Sin is a strength zapper, but it isn't just the sin that we ourselves commit that zap our strength, but even the sins of the people we are close to can just wear us to a frazzle. I have heard alot of selfish people with ignorant speech make a comment like this, "I know I'm doing wrong, but I ain't hurting no one but myself." WRONG.
The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God's instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive. Isa. 24:5
Not only do those who are close to us suffer when we commit sins, but a curse comes on this whole earth because of our sins. I have talked to many people that were devestated and crushed, not because they were on drugs, but because they had a close loved one that was on them. Problems that other people around us create for us can grow so overwhelming that our strength is gone and our friends are no where to be found. Often when you are going through your greatest crisis, your closest friends seem to vanish. With no one helping you carry your burdons you can face a situation in which you are hurting, alone, and your strength is almost gone.
I have found a place of safety and rest. It is here that you will find the strength and the grace that you need to take you through even the darkest of nights.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord (wait upon the Lord) will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
Take your rest in Jesus. Put your eyes on him in hope. Wait upon him and he will renew your strength.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The world has enough hope suckers
Have you ever been in a situation in which the doctor is offering you no hope? You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear you have a 50% chance, or 40% chance when you are told there is no hope. I remember the day that the doctor told me at Children's hospital that there was no hope for my daughter. He said, "There is nothing we can do, take her home and make the best mother that you can for her." \ I told the doctor that I believed that God would help her and that she would eventually be able to do things. Later, I looked on the doctor's chart and these words were written, "Mother is in denial" HA! When you are offered NO HOPE, you should be in denial!
We have all heard testimonies of the world that offer no hope. Often people will say things like, "Once an addict, always an addict." Or something like, "All teenagers rebel, it is a part of life." I myself have prayed for many addicts that stayed clean, witnessed several teens that went all the way through puberty without ever rebelling. The world often offers us little to no hope.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Prov. 13:12
There are hope suckers out there in the world. They suck the joy and life out of everything. It is very hard to be paired up with a hope sucker. What does hope do for us? It is hope that causes us to carry on, instead of dragging along.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13
Our God is a God of hope, and joy and peace. What would happen if every person in the world was overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit? As many of you know, Angela was born blind, and her eyes roamed different directions at birth. It looked alot like the cookie monster on sesame street, one eye went one way, the other eye went the other way. I still remember the doctor telling me that my baby could not see, and never would see. If I hadn't believed that she could see, I wouldn't have spent all those hours holding up pen lights to see if she would turn to it, and putting different objects in front of her view. Against all hope, I still believed, because I serve a God of hope. Yes, it was hopeless, but, I still had hope because of my faith in God. It became obvious at about age one that she could see some, and her vision has continually gotten better, so then they began saying, likely she will never walk. If I had believed that she could never walk, I would have never spent all those hours leading her from object to object, showing her how to feel her way along. And yes, she can walk independant of me or any objects to help her along now. Then they started saying that she would never be potty trained more than likely. That is a hard thing to hear when your child is already 6 years old. If I had believed that she would never be potty trained I wouldn't have spent all those hours putting her on the potty. I got to the place in which I would put her 15 minutes on the potty, and 15 minutes off of it, but I'll never forget the day that her eyes got this spark, and she went over to her potty chair and sat down to tinkle on her OWN. What a glorious day! We had a party in the McCann household that evening, it was the hope that caused us to carry on, the hope that God was more than able to take a child, no matter what the handicap or IQ and help her move beyond her level of possiblities. My faith was in God.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be. Rom. 4:18
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone is reading this right now who feels as if they are in a situation, and it is completely hopeless. It may be a hopeless marriage, a hopeless financial crisis, a hopeless relationship with a child, a hopeless drug addiction, a hopeless physical condition like my daugther faced, a hopeless past. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed! There may not be one reason to have hope in the natural way of thinking, but put your mind on the supernatural, there is hope in God no matter how dark the problem is right now. We are living in a day in which everything just sucks the hope and the joy and the peace out of you. We are living in a time in which people are just overwhelmed with the impossibilities, and the darkness of this world begins to close in, because we have lost our hope of a brighter day. It is God that restores, it is God that renews, it is God that fills, it is God that cleanses.
where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? Job 17:15
You are not without hope and without God in this world. Get up and brush yourself off and press on in the hope in which you were called. What if I had taken the doctor's words concerning my daughter to heart? It took alot of time and effort to help her learn things that she was likely to 'never be able to do' If I hadn't held out hope to that child, today she may not be able to see, or walk, or use the toilet...what are you missing out on in life because you lost hope to get up and make an effort. We lose hope and we stop praying. I have heard people say, "Well, you can pray, but it won't do no good..." Hope suckers. I can't, never did. But to say that God can't or won't is calling him a liar. The truth is that my daughter received help from God to do the things that she is able to do, but, I had to hold on to hope. Will you hold on to hope today?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Rom. 8:25
We have all heard testimonies of the world that offer no hope. Often people will say things like, "Once an addict, always an addict." Or something like, "All teenagers rebel, it is a part of life." I myself have prayed for many addicts that stayed clean, witnessed several teens that went all the way through puberty without ever rebelling. The world often offers us little to no hope.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Prov. 13:12
There are hope suckers out there in the world. They suck the joy and life out of everything. It is very hard to be paired up with a hope sucker. What does hope do for us? It is hope that causes us to carry on, instead of dragging along.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13
Our God is a God of hope, and joy and peace. What would happen if every person in the world was overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit? As many of you know, Angela was born blind, and her eyes roamed different directions at birth. It looked alot like the cookie monster on sesame street, one eye went one way, the other eye went the other way. I still remember the doctor telling me that my baby could not see, and never would see. If I hadn't believed that she could see, I wouldn't have spent all those hours holding up pen lights to see if she would turn to it, and putting different objects in front of her view. Against all hope, I still believed, because I serve a God of hope. Yes, it was hopeless, but, I still had hope because of my faith in God. It became obvious at about age one that she could see some, and her vision has continually gotten better, so then they began saying, likely she will never walk. If I had believed that she could never walk, I would have never spent all those hours leading her from object to object, showing her how to feel her way along. And yes, she can walk independant of me or any objects to help her along now. Then they started saying that she would never be potty trained more than likely. That is a hard thing to hear when your child is already 6 years old. If I had believed that she would never be potty trained I wouldn't have spent all those hours putting her on the potty. I got to the place in which I would put her 15 minutes on the potty, and 15 minutes off of it, but I'll never forget the day that her eyes got this spark, and she went over to her potty chair and sat down to tinkle on her OWN. What a glorious day! We had a party in the McCann household that evening, it was the hope that caused us to carry on, the hope that God was more than able to take a child, no matter what the handicap or IQ and help her move beyond her level of possiblities. My faith was in God.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be. Rom. 4:18
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone is reading this right now who feels as if they are in a situation, and it is completely hopeless. It may be a hopeless marriage, a hopeless financial crisis, a hopeless relationship with a child, a hopeless drug addiction, a hopeless physical condition like my daugther faced, a hopeless past. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed! There may not be one reason to have hope in the natural way of thinking, but put your mind on the supernatural, there is hope in God no matter how dark the problem is right now. We are living in a day in which everything just sucks the hope and the joy and the peace out of you. We are living in a time in which people are just overwhelmed with the impossibilities, and the darkness of this world begins to close in, because we have lost our hope of a brighter day. It is God that restores, it is God that renews, it is God that fills, it is God that cleanses.
where then is my hope? Who can see any hope for me? Job 17:15
You are not without hope and without God in this world. Get up and brush yourself off and press on in the hope in which you were called. What if I had taken the doctor's words concerning my daughter to heart? It took alot of time and effort to help her learn things that she was likely to 'never be able to do' If I hadn't held out hope to that child, today she may not be able to see, or walk, or use the toilet...what are you missing out on in life because you lost hope to get up and make an effort. We lose hope and we stop praying. I have heard people say, "Well, you can pray, but it won't do no good..." Hope suckers. I can't, never did. But to say that God can't or won't is calling him a liar. The truth is that my daughter received help from God to do the things that she is able to do, but, I had to hold on to hope. Will you hold on to hope today?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Rom. 8:25
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Attitude speaks louder than actions
You have heard it said that actions speak louder than words, well attitude speaks louder than actions. When Bobby and Kristi were little, if they got in an argument I would have each of them apologize to the other. Well, they did the right actions, said the right words, but OH boy what attitude. Do you know that you can say "I'm sorry." with your teeth clinched! The attitude in which we do something means alot. It isn't the gift that a husband brings to his wife that impresses as much as the attitude that he brings it. An attitude that throws the gift on the table, and then says, here it is, without even looking at her- is just useless. My dad coached sports alot, and he was never impressed with the players that had attitude. He would often say, "Put some mustard on that hotdog." Dad was right, players that had attitude had a way of ruining the game for us all.
Have you ever found yourself in the position in which someone else's attitude was the thing that was giving you an attitude. One of the hardest things is when a spouce, a child, a neighbor, a teacher, or someone that we care about comes at us with a bad attitude. I have watched as people spent hours of thier time straining and struggling trying to figure out how to change someone that they care about, so that they would have a better attitude. It's bad to have a loved one say, "I hate you." But, it is even worse for them to utter those words only because you refused to give them MORE money, as if they hadn't already asked for enough! We have to get ourselves in the place where we are no longer willing to let someone else's bad attitudes and bad decisions give us a bad attitude and bad decisions. Attitude is what people use to control other people, it is our nature to do so.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; Eph. 4:22-24
God wants us to have a new attitude, but how do we do that when we are so frustrated by someone else's attitude? The scripture says that attitude resides in your mind. Our attitude effects our emotions, but, an attitude is developed in the mind. What is the secret to peace in the mind? God will keep us in perfect peace if our mind is constantly upon him. The more we think about that hurtful thing other person is doing, the more we destroy our own mind. If we place our mind on Christ Jesus and look to him for help, in time, he will bring peace and hope to all things. Why is it that we don't like to take things to God and leave it there? Sometimes it is because we are concerned that we will have to suffer some things before God finishes his work. When someone hurts us, and that is their attitude towards us, it is in our nature to put on the same attitude and hurt them back, but in doing so we lose our own peace of mind and give way to strife that stays with us long after that other person is gone. We must refuse to lower ourselves to their standard, we must keep the attitude of Christ.
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 1 Peter 4:1
It is our pride that gets hurt the most when someone is mean to us and causes us strife, and that makes us want to lash out. Don't let your pride get the best of you. Humble yourself under the hand of God and in due season, he will lift you up.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Phil 2:5-7
God can give you the attitude of a peacemaker in your home, your work, even in your own mind.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matt. 5:9
Have you ever found yourself in the position in which someone else's attitude was the thing that was giving you an attitude. One of the hardest things is when a spouce, a child, a neighbor, a teacher, or someone that we care about comes at us with a bad attitude. I have watched as people spent hours of thier time straining and struggling trying to figure out how to change someone that they care about, so that they would have a better attitude. It's bad to have a loved one say, "I hate you." But, it is even worse for them to utter those words only because you refused to give them MORE money, as if they hadn't already asked for enough! We have to get ourselves in the place where we are no longer willing to let someone else's bad attitudes and bad decisions give us a bad attitude and bad decisions. Attitude is what people use to control other people, it is our nature to do so.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; Eph. 4:22-24
God wants us to have a new attitude, but how do we do that when we are so frustrated by someone else's attitude? The scripture says that attitude resides in your mind. Our attitude effects our emotions, but, an attitude is developed in the mind. What is the secret to peace in the mind? God will keep us in perfect peace if our mind is constantly upon him. The more we think about that hurtful thing other person is doing, the more we destroy our own mind. If we place our mind on Christ Jesus and look to him for help, in time, he will bring peace and hope to all things. Why is it that we don't like to take things to God and leave it there? Sometimes it is because we are concerned that we will have to suffer some things before God finishes his work. When someone hurts us, and that is their attitude towards us, it is in our nature to put on the same attitude and hurt them back, but in doing so we lose our own peace of mind and give way to strife that stays with us long after that other person is gone. We must refuse to lower ourselves to their standard, we must keep the attitude of Christ.
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 1 Peter 4:1
It is our pride that gets hurt the most when someone is mean to us and causes us strife, and that makes us want to lash out. Don't let your pride get the best of you. Humble yourself under the hand of God and in due season, he will lift you up.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Phil 2:5-7
God can give you the attitude of a peacemaker in your home, your work, even in your own mind.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matt. 5:9
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Show me your glory
We are living in the land of the free. Let freedom ring! Since this is the land of the free, home of the brave, why are so many people in bondage and fear? The path of sin offers us freedom but delivers us to bondage. God promises us a yoke, but leads us to freedom. People are in bondage to many different things. Acarophobia, Bacteriophobia, Claustrophobia, Demophobia, and one of the worst yet, Cacophobia, that is the fear of ugliness. We fear and we fuss and we cuss and we gripe. We do everything except Praise God. Seems like alot of people can't find a church to go to, or a time set aside to praise him. We are in bondage to drugs, lust, cursing, cheating, hating, we have forgotten what it is to truly be free.
In Egypt, the nation of Isreal had become the slaves of the Egyptians. It was the only way of life that they knew. They didn't know any other way to live. That is how we get. We curse and drink, and gripe and fuss and hurt, and we have done this so long that we don't know any other way to live. We just belly up to the bar, and order another one, to try to make it all go away. We fret and worry, and complain and moan, then we go to the doctor to get some pills to make it all go away. We are a nation in bondage.
God sent Moses to deliver the nation of Isreal from their slavery. Once they had left Egypt and were in the wilderness with Moses, many times the presence of God would come down and envelope the mountain, or the tabernacle. This cloud was sometimes described as smoke and it contained the Glory of God. Why were they needing his Glory? They needed the Glory because the Glory contains his power, it means that he has come near. They were in bondage and they needed delivered, and God sent his Glory before them to lead the way.
When God gave the 10 commandments to the nation of Isreal while they were in the wilderness, they saw the Glory of God and heard his voice. And they became afraid, because of their sinfulness.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Exo. 20: 18-19
The people who wanted to stay at a distance from his voice, and that wanted to avoid his glory died in the wilderness. They never did obtain the fullness of God's promise of a land of milk and honey, they never got their full freedom. This is how it is today. If you want to be free, you must approach God yourself. You can't stand at a distance and get your mom to approach God for you, or your priest, or your friend, or even your kids. Sometimes we want others to bring us before God, rather than to approach him ourselves. This will never bring you freedeom, but will always leave you in bondage. Still today, people are afraid of God's voice, and afraid to approach him in all of his glory.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
God longs for you to draw near to him, because one touch of his glory, and you will be changed forever.
In Egypt, the nation of Isreal had become the slaves of the Egyptians. It was the only way of life that they knew. They didn't know any other way to live. That is how we get. We curse and drink, and gripe and fuss and hurt, and we have done this so long that we don't know any other way to live. We just belly up to the bar, and order another one, to try to make it all go away. We fret and worry, and complain and moan, then we go to the doctor to get some pills to make it all go away. We are a nation in bondage.
God sent Moses to deliver the nation of Isreal from their slavery. Once they had left Egypt and were in the wilderness with Moses, many times the presence of God would come down and envelope the mountain, or the tabernacle. This cloud was sometimes described as smoke and it contained the Glory of God. Why were they needing his Glory? They needed the Glory because the Glory contains his power, it means that he has come near. They were in bondage and they needed delivered, and God sent his Glory before them to lead the way.
When God gave the 10 commandments to the nation of Isreal while they were in the wilderness, they saw the Glory of God and heard his voice. And they became afraid, because of their sinfulness.
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." Exo. 20: 18-19
The people who wanted to stay at a distance from his voice, and that wanted to avoid his glory died in the wilderness. They never did obtain the fullness of God's promise of a land of milk and honey, they never got their full freedom. This is how it is today. If you want to be free, you must approach God yourself. You can't stand at a distance and get your mom to approach God for you, or your priest, or your friend, or even your kids. Sometimes we want others to bring us before God, rather than to approach him ourselves. This will never bring you freedeom, but will always leave you in bondage. Still today, people are afraid of God's voice, and afraid to approach him in all of his glory.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
God longs for you to draw near to him, because one touch of his glory, and you will be changed forever.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Lay down your burdons
There are times when we just come up short. There are times when it is obvious that we don't have what it takes to get the job done. Most of us feel this way at one time or another in our lives. The higher the mountain you are trying to climb, the more you feel the heaviness of your own weight pulling against you. Those that are putting out the greatest effort to acheive something in life are often the ones that face the most opposition. Have you ever wanted to do something good, but felt powerless to accomplish the task? Most people go with the flow in life and never step out of the status quo to try to make a real difference. God gives us strength, and his power as well as the endurance and patience that we need to step out and really make a difference in this world.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Col. 1:11-12
We are living in a time when parents are killing thier kids, and kids are killing thier families. People feel overwhelmed by feelings of hate and depression. We can get this way when we try to carry the weight of our lives all by ourselves. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. We put out our best effort at dating, at raising our kids, at earning a living, at loving our spouse...but our best efforts will always fall short and leave us feeling empty and void. Each day we have a choice to make, we can let God carry our weight, or we can try to do it ourselves. When we are prayerless and thankless, we are trying to do things in our own best efforts. What we believe is important, but what we actually do is just as important as what we believe.
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Zech 4:6
How can we be strong in the Lord? I have taught children for a long time, and I have learned to say things in a way that a child could understand the lesson. I often ask the kids if they have ever watched the ants on the ground. You see this little tiny ant, he is so small that if you picked the ant up and put him in your hand the ant would have no idea where he was...the ant would not know that he was safe in your hand. When you pick this ant up, he goes crazy. He is searching and looking for a way to get out of your hand. You can speak to the ant and say, "Settle down, I will help you." But, the ants ears are so tiny, your voice just sounds like a giant clap of thunder. The little ant hears the thunder of your voice, and gets more afraid. Finally you put the little ant back down, and he finds the biggest load he can and puts this tiny piece of leaf on his back, and he struggles, and he groans and labors. He moves the leaf three inches and he thinks he has done a marvelous thing. To him the leaf is so heavy, but to you it is as if a sneeze of your nostrils would blow the leaf away. Now you are looking at this crazy ant and you are thinking, "If only you would let me help you." But there he is struggling inch by inch with this leaf, that to him is a heavy load. Finally you get bored and just walk away. The enormous power and might that you could have given to the ant to move his little leaf is unused.
Jesus said, Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Will you rest in the hands of Jesus today, or are you running crazy like the little ant. All though we see similarities here between God and ourselves we have got to realize that we are closer to the size of the ant than what we are to the size of God. Why won't we trust him with our burdons? Think of his might and his power, and yet, we chose to struggle along in our own efforts. Lay down your burdons, and he will carry you.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Eph. 6:10
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Col. 1:11-12
We are living in a time when parents are killing thier kids, and kids are killing thier families. People feel overwhelmed by feelings of hate and depression. We can get this way when we try to carry the weight of our lives all by ourselves. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. We put out our best effort at dating, at raising our kids, at earning a living, at loving our spouse...but our best efforts will always fall short and leave us feeling empty and void. Each day we have a choice to make, we can let God carry our weight, or we can try to do it ourselves. When we are prayerless and thankless, we are trying to do things in our own best efforts. What we believe is important, but what we actually do is just as important as what we believe.
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Zech 4:6
How can we be strong in the Lord? I have taught children for a long time, and I have learned to say things in a way that a child could understand the lesson. I often ask the kids if they have ever watched the ants on the ground. You see this little tiny ant, he is so small that if you picked the ant up and put him in your hand the ant would have no idea where he was...the ant would not know that he was safe in your hand. When you pick this ant up, he goes crazy. He is searching and looking for a way to get out of your hand. You can speak to the ant and say, "Settle down, I will help you." But, the ants ears are so tiny, your voice just sounds like a giant clap of thunder. The little ant hears the thunder of your voice, and gets more afraid. Finally you put the little ant back down, and he finds the biggest load he can and puts this tiny piece of leaf on his back, and he struggles, and he groans and labors. He moves the leaf three inches and he thinks he has done a marvelous thing. To him the leaf is so heavy, but to you it is as if a sneeze of your nostrils would blow the leaf away. Now you are looking at this crazy ant and you are thinking, "If only you would let me help you." But there he is struggling inch by inch with this leaf, that to him is a heavy load. Finally you get bored and just walk away. The enormous power and might that you could have given to the ant to move his little leaf is unused.
Jesus said, Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Will you rest in the hands of Jesus today, or are you running crazy like the little ant. All though we see similarities here between God and ourselves we have got to realize that we are closer to the size of the ant than what we are to the size of God. Why won't we trust him with our burdons? Think of his might and his power, and yet, we chose to struggle along in our own efforts. Lay down your burdons, and he will carry you.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Eph. 6:10
Thursday, December 2, 2010
How great is our God?
Most of us have heard the saying, "Nothing is greater than our God." We use these words lightly and we often AMEN this saying, not really taking the time to think about what we just heard. We could think of this problem or that problem, or this situation or that situation but we know that God is bigger than any problem that we could ever face. But why is God so great? Is it his mercy, or his kindness?
The Lord is full of grace and righteousness; truly, he is a God of mercy. Psalms 116:5
Truly nothing is greater than God, nothing is too difficult for him. Is God so great because of the great things that he has done? He delivered Daniel from the mouth of the Lion. He brought down the walls of Jericho. He delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale. And each of us can think of times in our lives in which we know that God intervined and brought us through difficult situations. Surely we can know that God is greater than anything because of his mighty deeds.
Who can speak about all the mighty things the LORD has done? Who can announce all the things for which he is worthy of praise? Psalms 106:2
There are many things about God that I could list that shows his excellent greatness, I've only mentioned a tiny bit of his wonder and his might. Nothing that we could say about him, or what he has done can compare to who he is, and who he is explains his greatness. How can we describe God? One of the ways the Bible describes him is simply God is love. (1 John 4:16).
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16
God is love and 1 Cor. 13:8 says that love never fails. God is love, and love never fails, HE NEVER FAILS. We often think of love as something vague, a feeling or a gesture. In our culture, we don't really even understand what love is in this world. God is greater than anything that you will ever face, he is mighty in deed and his love for you never fails. God's love for you is not a passive love, his love for you is reaching out.
We have no need to fear tomorrow because God is love, and love never fails. We have no need to worry about the past. God is love and love never fails. He will not fail you, he will rise up and take care of those who seek him for shelter. He makes all things beautiful in his time. "Nothing is greater than our God."
The Lord is full of grace and righteousness; truly, he is a God of mercy. Psalms 116:5
Truly nothing is greater than God, nothing is too difficult for him. Is God so great because of the great things that he has done? He delivered Daniel from the mouth of the Lion. He brought down the walls of Jericho. He delivered Jonah from the belly of the whale. And each of us can think of times in our lives in which we know that God intervined and brought us through difficult situations. Surely we can know that God is greater than anything because of his mighty deeds.
Who can speak about all the mighty things the LORD has done? Who can announce all the things for which he is worthy of praise? Psalms 106:2
There are many things about God that I could list that shows his excellent greatness, I've only mentioned a tiny bit of his wonder and his might. Nothing that we could say about him, or what he has done can compare to who he is, and who he is explains his greatness. How can we describe God? One of the ways the Bible describes him is simply God is love. (1 John 4:16).
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16
God is love and 1 Cor. 13:8 says that love never fails. God is love, and love never fails, HE NEVER FAILS. We often think of love as something vague, a feeling or a gesture. In our culture, we don't really even understand what love is in this world. God is greater than anything that you will ever face, he is mighty in deed and his love for you never fails. God's love for you is not a passive love, his love for you is reaching out.
We have no need to fear tomorrow because God is love, and love never fails. We have no need to worry about the past. God is love and love never fails. He will not fail you, he will rise up and take care of those who seek him for shelter. He makes all things beautiful in his time. "Nothing is greater than our God."
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
No regrets
The Bible talks about the seasons of life in the book of Ecclesiastes.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. Jn. 6:44
If God is drawing you to himself now, don't think that you have forever to decide. He may not draw you later, you may not even have a desire for him later. Don't think that the desire to give your life to him will stay with you always. Don't miss your season. Now is the time to say yes, when you are being drawn by the Father. If God is asking you to preach, now is the time to say yes. If God is asking you to give, now is the time to give. If God is asking you to be a witness, now is the time to witness. If God is telling you to go to church, now is the time to get up and go. You may not have the desire to when this season passes, and you may miss the good thing that God would have done in your life.
He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." Jn. 6:65
That desire that you have for God is coming from the Father. How many times do we look back on our lives and think, wow, when I had that chance, why didn't I take it. Or we say something like, If I had it to do all over again I wish I would have...It is time to start living a life of no regrets. Live each day as if it were the only day that counted, and do what God is asking you to do for this day. Don't put it off to tomorrow, don't live in the excuses of years gone by, just live each day for the best.
1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. Ecl. 3: 1-8
We also work our lives around the four seasons of weather. When we think of the fourth of July, we think of summer. When we think of Christmas we think of snow. We get confused if it is 75 degrees at Christmas in Kentucky! And most would grumble if it were 45 degrees outside at night on the fourth of July. It just wouldn't make since to us that the seasons were messed up like that. Just like the earth has it's seasons depending on how the earth is tilted reguarding the sun, so each of us have seasons. Many times the seasons of our lives depend on how we are tilted in relation to God. When we are a child, people expect us to act like a child. People do not expect us to act like a child when we are 50 years old. If we act like a child when we should be mature we are not following the normal seasons of life. It is sad to be 50 years old and still have to get your mom to pay your bills, and wake you up, and wash your clothes. The seasons of our lives are messed up when we don't mature as we should in life. Hanging on to your youth when you are an adult doesn't make you younger, it just makes you immature.
We usually think of the seasons of our life as Baby, toddler, kid, tween, teen, young adult, adult, middle age, over the hill. Seasons are defind by age, but they are also defined by other things. Notice the seasons that God mentioned above in the book of Ecclesiates. Many of those are not defind by age at all. Most of the seasons mentioned in Ecclesiates could come at any age. Wouldn't it be simplier to find your way in life if all seasons were defined by age? Then we could know exactly what to expect in life.
If God is dealing with you about anything, it is your season to do whatever it is that he is speaking to you. Why do we put God off when He speaks? Don't you hate it when you tell your kids, 'clean your room' and they reply, 'I will later.' If we wanted them to do it later we would have told them later. We usually mean for them to get up and do it NOW. If God is speaking something to you right now and you are struggling against it and have not been obedient to God it is time to turn around and obey HIM now. Why? Because your season to do that particular thing could pass, and you could miss it. When we miss God we always miss a blessing for ourselves and for others.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. Jn. 6:44
If God is drawing you to himself now, don't think that you have forever to decide. He may not draw you later, you may not even have a desire for him later. Don't think that the desire to give your life to him will stay with you always. Don't miss your season. Now is the time to say yes, when you are being drawn by the Father. If God is asking you to preach, now is the time to say yes. If God is asking you to give, now is the time to give. If God is asking you to be a witness, now is the time to witness. If God is telling you to go to church, now is the time to get up and go. You may not have the desire to when this season passes, and you may miss the good thing that God would have done in your life.
He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." Jn. 6:65
That desire that you have for God is coming from the Father. How many times do we look back on our lives and think, wow, when I had that chance, why didn't I take it. Or we say something like, If I had it to do all over again I wish I would have...It is time to start living a life of no regrets. Live each day as if it were the only day that counted, and do what God is asking you to do for this day. Don't put it off to tomorrow, don't live in the excuses of years gone by, just live each day for the best.
Have faith in God
One of the greatest treasures that you can find in life is someone that believes in you. One of the best things that you can do for yourself is to believe in yourself, in your dreams, in your hopes, in your life. One of the best gifts that you can give to your kids is to believe in them. We are living in a time when it is getting harder and harder to find something or someone to truly believe in. We are living in a time when it is getting harder and harder to find someone else that will take the time to believe in each of us as individuals. How important is believing? The people who find cures for our diseases would have never fought to find the cures if they had not believed that a cure exsisted. They did not see the cure, could not find it, but they searched for it until they did. When they found these cures they did not recognize them until they tested it. When they got the desired result, they said, "We have found the cure." They knew they had the cure when they saw the impact it had on the disease. This is how Salvation is today. You can be looking at the cure, and you do everytime you see Jesus. You will not recognize it until you experience the impact that Jesus has upon your life. A pessimist or agnostic towards medical research would have a hard time finding a cure to AIDES or CANCER. The idea that you want to see proof before you spent the research dollars, would never work in this kind of lab. You have to have faith. Faith that you will eventually find the cure. You have to spend millions and millions of dollars, and go through failure after failure, but they keep searching for a cure, because they believe they will eventually find one. Spirituality also works, by faith.
So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Gal. 3:11
How important is faith? How angry does it make you when someone says they have no faith in you. I have found with working with kids that when a child doubts your words it is usually because someone has let them down before. We are following the devil when we do just whatever our flesh wants to do. But this is how the flesh works, it disappoints. For instance, drugs promise alot, and are easy to get, and easy to do, but when you get picked up by the cops, drugs abandon you then. They turn on you and make you miserable as your body goes into fits because you didn't get the drug. Drugs offer alot, but deliver very little. They promise you pleasure but leave you in misery. Drugs never deliver what they promise but bring destruction in the end. Drugs will demand more and more of your life until there is nothing left. This is the way of the world in general. We are promised much, but receive so little. We begin to lose faith as we get older. We start to lose Faith in people, faith that goodness exsist, faith in our dreams, faith that a better day is ahead.
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Rom. 1:17
This great country was built by faith. Try starting a business without using any faith and you will not succeed. Try raising kids without faith, and you will always be upset with them. Walt Disney has always said that he built the magic kingdom by an enduring faith that never let him give up in spite every obstacle that he faced. You can't accomplish much without faith. God knows the importance and power of faith. Faith will cause you to spend your resources to get a desired result, even long before you have any proof that what you desire will even work. God has built his Kingdom on faith. He has placed faith as the key to finding him.
And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away." Heb. 10:38
We use faith, and belief for every good thing in life. Why should it surprise us that we would have to use faith to approach God. The greatest thing you can ever say to someone else is "I believe in you." We don't see the wind, but we see the effects of it. You cannot see God, but the effects of His exsistance are all around us. What is the powr of faith? How many people have impacted this generation like Walt Disney has done? Having faith to believe in something is not easy, because we have to get up and accomplish our dreams, we no longer have an excuse to push them aside when we beleive. It is not our good works that make us right with God, it is our faith IN HIM that impresses Him.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Heb. 11:6
So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Gal. 3:11
How important is faith? How angry does it make you when someone says they have no faith in you. I have found with working with kids that when a child doubts your words it is usually because someone has let them down before. We are following the devil when we do just whatever our flesh wants to do. But this is how the flesh works, it disappoints. For instance, drugs promise alot, and are easy to get, and easy to do, but when you get picked up by the cops, drugs abandon you then. They turn on you and make you miserable as your body goes into fits because you didn't get the drug. Drugs offer alot, but deliver very little. They promise you pleasure but leave you in misery. Drugs never deliver what they promise but bring destruction in the end. Drugs will demand more and more of your life until there is nothing left. This is the way of the world in general. We are promised much, but receive so little. We begin to lose faith as we get older. We start to lose Faith in people, faith that goodness exsist, faith in our dreams, faith that a better day is ahead.
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Rom. 1:17
This great country was built by faith. Try starting a business without using any faith and you will not succeed. Try raising kids without faith, and you will always be upset with them. Walt Disney has always said that he built the magic kingdom by an enduring faith that never let him give up in spite every obstacle that he faced. You can't accomplish much without faith. God knows the importance and power of faith. Faith will cause you to spend your resources to get a desired result, even long before you have any proof that what you desire will even work. God has built his Kingdom on faith. He has placed faith as the key to finding him.
And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away." Heb. 10:38
We use faith, and belief for every good thing in life. Why should it surprise us that we would have to use faith to approach God. The greatest thing you can ever say to someone else is "I believe in you." We don't see the wind, but we see the effects of it. You cannot see God, but the effects of His exsistance are all around us. What is the powr of faith? How many people have impacted this generation like Walt Disney has done? Having faith to believe in something is not easy, because we have to get up and accomplish our dreams, we no longer have an excuse to push them aside when we beleive. It is not our good works that make us right with God, it is our faith IN HIM that impresses Him.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Heb. 11:6
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