God's Psychology

Many people pay a lot of money for what we can find right here in Philippians 4, God's psychology.  We don’t get this psychology or these benefits for free, but no amount of money in the world can buy them for us either. 

In 2 Timothy 3:1, God tells us stresses and “difficult times” will come.  In Philippians 4 he gives us the answer.  The answer is being “in the Lord” (verses 1,4,10).  But what are so amazing are all the things we get to have because of this simple act of being “in the Lord”.   

God tells us that our “names are in the book of life” (v.3), “the God of peace will be with you” (v. 9), and that we can “do all things through Him who strengthens me” (v. 13). 

There is a cost though.  We must be “in the Lord.”  Paul also goes on to tell this beloved church, maybe one of his favorites, to dwell on things of excellence and things “worthy of praise” (v.8).

At the very end of his letter listen to the words Paul leaves them with in verse 19.  “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Can I get just one Amen? J

Glory be to God in all things!

Jeremiah 29:13-14

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, decares the Lord."

God Bless!

God's Glorious World

I may have been a bit deep and even depressing a bit in my posts lately, but today is a new beginning.  Not that I won't delve off into any subject, but lets make it more inspirational, do you agree? Here is todays edition of God's glorious world. Each spore can go in any way it chooses.  Where will we go?



Maybe It's Not Too Late

“Here I am.  Feels like the walls are closing in.  Once again it’s time to face it and be strong.  I wanna do the right thing now, I know it’s up to me somehow, I’ve lost my way.”

I know those words so well, as many of us probably do.  It is number 14 on the Camp Rock 2 CD.  Anna Kate belts out every line.  She might not understand exactly what she is singing.  It is one of her stars, one of her favorite songs.  It’s cool to me that Demi Lavato and a song from a major kid’s movie would hit the mark so well for so many of us.  Haven’t we all lost our way at some point?  I have.  We need to continue on a bit further in the song to get the point for today though.

“If I could take it all back I would now.  I never meant to let you all down, and now I’ve got to try to turn it all around and figure out how to fix this…. I’m gonna clean up this mess I made.  Maybe it’s not too late.”

God says we can fix the messes we make, or he says through Him we can.  God allows “do overs”, he allows us to start where we are and begin again. “Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find.”  That’s what Jesus told us all in Matthew 7:7.  He said it’s not too late.

God Bless!

God's Glorious World

What's become a recent tradition here is to share a view of God's world as an ispiration to all before we pillow our heads at night.  Here is another in that same tradition.  Tomorrow, I have found ispiration from an interesting source, Camp Rock 2.  Thanks Anna Kate!

When peace like a river attendeth my way.  When sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say it is well, it is well with my soul.

It Is Well, A Worship, Album by Kutless



Psalm 34

When I woke up today I didn’t really have a thought for today’s blog.  Most days I do, but today nothing had come to mind.  God has today’s blog through David in Psalms 34.  I sat down to read this morning and opened directly to this psalm.  Let’s all take heart in God’s promises.  Look especially at verses 17 and 18.

1I will bless the LORD at all times;

         His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

    2My soul will make its boast in the LORD;

         The humble will hear it and rejoice.

    3O magnify the LORD with me,

         And let us exalt His name together.

    4I sought the LORD, and He answered me,

         And delivered me from all my fears.

    5They looked to Him and were radiant,

         And their faces will never be ashamed.

    6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him

         And saved him out of all his troubles.

    7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,

         And rescues them.

    8O taste and see that the LORD is good;

         How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

    9O fear the LORD, you His saints;

         For to those who fear Him there is no want.

    10The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;

         But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.

    11Come, you children, listen to me;

         I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

    12Who is the man who desires life

         And loves length of days that he may see good?

    13Keep your tongue from evil

         And your lips from speaking deceit.

    14Depart from evil and do good;

         Seek peace and pursue it.

    15The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous

         And His ears are open to their cry.

    16The face of the LORD is against evildoers,

         To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

    17The righteous cry, and the LORD hears

         And delivers them out of all their troubles.

    18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

         And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

    19Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

         But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

    20He keeps all his bones,

         Not one of them is broken.

    21Evil shall slay the wicked,

         And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

    22The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,

         And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Weary

Ever been weary?  I am not talking about tired or worn out.  I am talking about weary.  I am weary right now.  My soul is a bit weary.  Sometimes I think we can get so busy doing the right things that it tires our soul.  Do you agree?

I am not here to say that I only do good or that I am super good.  This is not a yay me party.  I sin.  I try to do good, but my sinful nature gets in the way.  That’s not the point anyway.  Back to weary SOULS.

My soul is a bit weary today.  Is yours?  I have the answer, or Jesus does anyway.

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28, NLT) 

Jesus knew we were going to have times we were weary.  He knew our souls are sometimes asked to carry heavy burdens.  He also knew that only He could give rest to weary souls.  So if you are like I am and sometimes feel heavy laden or soul weary then come to the only one who can give a weary soul rest, Jesus.  He is always waiting, ready to give you rest.

God Bless.

Have a blessed day

God's Glorious World

Hope everyone had a blessed Lord's day!  We had an awesome service and several stepped out and made decisions for Jesus!  :)  Heres God's Glorious World.

"The water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."  (Jesus in John 4:14)

Good Night and God Bless!

Sacrifice

Sacrifice?  Do we really understand sacrifice?  I often think I sacrifice, or am asked to sacrifice a lot.  What do I give up, or do for God?  In comparison to what God has done for me, I do nothing.  What is enough?  Should we keep score when we do something we think is “good”? 

God didn’t keep score.  He gave it all!  His Son was a sacrifice for all.  I take that for granted so many times and think that I am asked to sacrifice a lot. 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NLT)

We are asked to do so little in comparison.  I fail so many times.  God keeps picking me back up and making me stronger in my failures.  He makes me strong when I am weak.  This brings me to yet another song.  Not everyone will like this style music, but please just listen to this one time if it’s not your “cup of tea”.

It is the group Abandon with their song Hero.  We would all do so well to remember our hero a little bit more, and forget our so small sacrifices. 

Hero by Abandon

God's Glorious World

Second installment of God's Glorious World.  And, by the way, all images posted here will be my own unless credit is given for others work.

This is the day the lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

(Psalm 118:24, NLT)

My prayer for both you and me today!

Amen

The Eyes Have It

What do we focus on?  What do we focus our mind and give our attention to?  What we focus our mind on might focus our heart as well.  Is that something to consider?

If we focus our minds on our strengths do you think it might strengthen our hearts?  Might we become weak in spirit if we focus on weaknesses?  Does our focus really even matter?

Jesus said this and I think we should consider it here.

“Wherever your treasure is, there your hearts and thought will also be.  Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul.  But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. (Matthew 6:21-22, NLT)

I don’t know about you, but I am just a little bit afraid of that kind of Darkness!  So maybe it does matter.  Consider the only man to ever walk on water, (Jesus was man but also God, so we won’t count him) Peter, He was doing just fine until he took his eyes off Jesus.  Then he was plunged into the darkness of the stormy waters.  The next part is my favorite part of the story. “Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him.”  (Matthew 14:31, NLT)  Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the waves and water.  What happened?  He sank.  What did Jesus do instantly?  He grabbed him and refocused his life.

What are we focused on in our lives today?  Maybe we need to cry out like Peter so that Jesus may reach out his hand and grab us.  “Save me Lord” were the words of Peter.  We might do well to call those words out too.

God Bless!

Half Empty or Half Full

Half empty or half full is a question we often hear when being quizzed about our stance on the optimism issue.  I myself will usually fall on the side of the optimists, but, like most of us I would imagine, slide closer to pessimism in my not so good moments.

This got me to thinking about our motivations in the spiritual, God, realm.  How do we see things when it comes to our spiritual lives?  Do will do things out of a love for God or a fear of god?  Do we do things to get to Heaven or simply to avoid Hell?  Does it really matter?  Do our motivations for doing good things matter, or is it the ends that justify the means?  I know that we are told many times to fear God and keep His commandments but I also know we are told many times to love God. So that brings us back to the question, do our motivations really matter?

In the end I think that we can do the right thing for the wrong reason and it still not be acceptable to God, but can we do the do the right thing with the wrong motivation and it be acceptable to God?  I am not so sure about this one.  Maybe we could start a discussion on this.  Is it ok to go through life just doing things because we are afraid of God and Hell, or must we develop the love and “right motivations” for doing the good we do?  Do our motivations or reasons for doing good matter?

Please leave your comments on this in the comment section.  I will draw one name from those who comment for a free copy of Kat Davis’ new book that she is most graciously donating. And please check out her blog at http://www.thedailyverse.com/

Have a blessed day.

Quick Bedtime Tidbit

I have found a new friend who shares a passion for God and has a great daily blog.  Her name Is Kat Davis and the blog is

The Daily Verse

 .  She also has a collection of her devotionals in book form.  Check back in the morning for "Half Empty or Half Full" here on Prodigal Posts. I will leave you to ponder that thought and with this image.



God's Glorious World

I thought from time to time a reminder of how God blesses us with the beauty of His world would be nice.
Here is the first installment of God's Glorious World.

Dancy's Bottom Nature Trail

The Challenge

"I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it.  Instead I do the very thing I hate.  I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good.  But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things."

Have you ever been here?  I know I have, and still find myself there many times.  I confuse myself.  Can anybody relate?  Paul could relate.  Thats Romans 7:15-18 in italics above.  He understood that we are sinful by nature and it takes great effort to do what is right.

I am learning more and more, as I live and try to grow in Christ, that doing the right thing is not always easy.  I fail many times.  We must all just remember, myself first and foremost, that God is always there. We just need ask for His help and His forgiveness and He will be "faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong" ( 1 John 1:9). 

"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness?  Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" (Romans 6:1) 

A daily struggle between good and evil.  Let's start over today and ask for God's forgiveness for past wrongs, and His prescence and power for todays challenges.

(All scripture from the New Living Translation)

Radical Love

We have all probably read Paul's words about love in 1 Corinthians 13, but do we really practice it?  How far are we willing to go?  How long will love last?  Listen to him here in verse 7, "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (NLT)

 Thats a lot of love.  Does God really expect us to go that far?  Never lose faith?  Endure every circumsstance?  I would challenge you with yes.  Of course we know that God is the only one who can show perfect love, but I think we fall way too short way too much of the time. 

What if we tried this radical experiment?  Love as God loves us, or at least try.  What a different life we would all lead.  What kind of changes might you and I make?  How might the people around us respond?  It couldn't hurt, right?

Listen to the words of Peter in 1 Peter 4:8 as I leave you to ponder this radical love.
"Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins."  (NLT)

God Bless.

Reverence for God

Do we really have the reverence for God we should?  We use things like "omg" sometimes without even thinking.  We just "over-look" when His name is used in vain in movies and by others because thats just the way the world is theses days.

The scribes, when originally writing the scriptures down, showed amazing respect even for God's name.  Jewish people were already afraid even to speak the name of God, but the scribes went over the top in reverence for God!  While writing or copying the Hebrew Bible, anytime they came to God's name they would throw away the quill they had been using, go wash their hands 30 times, come back and with a new quill and write the name of God. They did this EVERY time God's name was written

Wow!  Isn't that reverence even just for the name of God.  What if we had just a portion of that?  Let's go out and through today with the thought of showing God's love to others.

Oh and by the way, they washed 30 more times and used a new quill again after they wrote God's name.

Father God

Thanks to John McGuire for this thought. 

When we think about Jesus' relationship with God we often think of God as the Father and Jesus as the Son.  Jesus also used this relationship all during his earthy ministry until what Point?  He refered to God as Father in every instance but one.

"Eloi Eloi Lama sabachthani?" - which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

So only when Jesus had your sins and mine all poured on him did he loose that Father he had known for all of eternity.  He became God, who can't look on sin, even when on His own Son.  What a sacrifice! 
Thank you Jesus.

Morning Musings

What do you do every morning?  Get the kids to school?  Get the coffee going?  Maybe think about what to wear or what kind of day you are going to have?  What about God?  Do we think about him first thing in the morning?

Today, I confess, I didn't.  I was already up and going about life and then it hit me.  GOD!  I had forgotten God for the morning.  I pray at least once, usually many times, a day.  But this morning I seem to have been Godless. 

God was there.  God was with me,  He will never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5).  I had just not taken time to start my day off right.  What a difference that can make in our daily lives. 

We should start off just like God does. Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.(Lamentations 3:22-23)

Matthew West "The Story of Your Life" CD

This CD is amazing!  I love every song, but my favorites are The Reason For the World and Strong Enough.  You have to check it out!  Here is a link to Matthew talking about Strong Enough.

http://vimeo.com/15064457

This song really spoke to me.  I hope you can relate as well.
God Bless

Welcome to Prodigal Posts

This is a blog for prodigals, anyone who has been or might become a prodigal, and for those who want to keep from being prodigal.
Does that cover everyone?  If so, that's what I was hoping.  This blog is a spot where I, who am only here today by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, will post my daily musings and thoughts.  I don't promise to always be deep or thought provoking. I just to hope to allow Christ to live through and maybe, if we are lucky, blog through me. 
If you like what you some come on in and hang around the post.  We will help each other grow.

Rick