Peace

Peace, we all want it, we all actually need it, but how can we get it?  Maybe more importantly, how can we keep it in this world of business and commotion?  I, for one, might let others steal my joy at times or let my circumstances determine my mood.  That doesn’t have to be so, because our “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33).  Evil and satan seem to be in control of this world today, but they most assuredly do not have to be in control of our lives and our peace. 

The Psalms are always a source of peace for me, and are not short on messages about what God can do for us and the peace he provides.  Psalm 62:8 tells us to “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”  Psalm 46:1 tells us again “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  Psalm 29:11 speaks of peace: “May the Lord give strength to his people!  May the Lord bless his people with peace!” God is there, and He is prepared to be our refuge and our help; we simply need to ask (pour out our hearts before Him). 

Prayer is one way that I am able to regain my peace when someone or something has tried to steal it from me.  Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

We already see that prayer is one way to find the Lord’s peace, but what other steps can we take?  Job tells us to “Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.”  So walking in step with God is also a help for peace … it just puts things in perspective when we view things through the eyes of God.  “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Col. 3:15).  So, maybe, if we looked more at our blessings and less at the problem we might be facing at the time, we will focus more on the peace and less on the problem.  Jesus, in John 14:27, promised peace in some of His last words here on this earth.  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  So the next time you begin to worry or let this life steal your peace, just remember that you have “the God of peace” for you, Jesus the one who promises peace walking beside you, and the Holy Spirit who provide peace within you.  I will leave you with the blessing of Paul from 2 Thessalonians 3:16.  “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

God Bless!

Hope

Hope, we all need it, and without it life can be pretty rough.  Where do we search for our hope; where do we muster the strength to make it through another day?  Not all days are bad days, but all days require hope.  I ran across a verse in my morning devotion that jumped off the page at me today, and I wanted to share it, a few others and a couple of thoughts that might help us keep more hope in our lives.  The verse was from a version I don’t usually read, The Amplified Bible, but the way it expresses the thought in Romans 15:13 is so inspiring.  “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.”  I wanted to make sure you caught that last part, so the emphasis is mine; overflowing, or even better, bubbling over with hope.  I immediately thought of pouring a glass of cola (insert your favorite brand here) and pouring too fast, and it just bubbling up and out of the glass and all over the table.  Wouldn’t it be great to have a hope that was like that, unable to be contained within us, but bubbling out?  I think… well I know we can have that exact kind of hope and strength to boot.  We just have to remember the author of life and hope along with it, God.  “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand” (Isaiah 42:6).  God has us right where he wants us, in His hand.  To imagine that the Lord of the universe cares about me enough to hold my little, insignificant hand should be enough to give me hope, but sometimes I still wonder.  I bet you do, too.  I have read a book recently by Pete Wilson, Let Hope In, and it is not only a great read, but speaks exactly to this point.  Pete writes, “My hope is based on a God who can do and will do the impossible.”  What a great way to think about our hope.  But we can also look to God’s word itself for the same inspiration Pete used for his thoughts.  Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”  Isaiah 40:31, “Those who hope in 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.” “Taste and see” that the lord will give you the hope you need not only for today, which might be the very day you needed to hear this… a rough day, but also for those days that are going ok.  We need hope all the time.  Pete says, “Hope changes everything,” and he is right.  Paul tells Timothy “we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people” (1 Tim 4:10).  I can see a trend to hope and what really supplies it, can you?  We sometimes look for hope in all the wrong places.  Maybe we go back to something that’s comfortable even though we know it’s not good for us.   Or, maybe we just place our hope in something here on earth like money, a relationship, a job, or maybe worst of all, ourselves.  There is nothing wrong with money, relationships, a good job, and for sure not you, but all these things are temporary and can ebb and flow.  God will always be there to give you that hope you need.  It may not always solve that problem as quickly as we want, and almost never seems to be here as fast as I would like, but it is always available.  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Rom 12:12).  So sometimes we have to just keep praying and be patient, but have hope all the while.  God is there.  He was waiting on you when you got to this day.  He will give you all the hope you need and have it bubbling over if you will let him.  “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you” (Eph 1:18).

God Bless

Ask of the Lord

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,   that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).  What do you and I ask of the Lord?  Do we ask anything, do we take the time to even talk to Him?  Life is busy, and sometimes time is short, I get that, but don’t we have a few minutes to spend with our Creator… our Savior… our Father?  Do we ask of the Lord?  Our Father already knows what we need before we even ask him, so why not ask away, David did here (Matthew 6:8).  David just had on tiny, well maybe three, things to ask of the Lord in this verse.  These are worth a closer look.

The first thing he “seeks” is to “dwell in the house of the Lord” all of his life.  That’s no small request, he is asking for a place in the Master’s house, a place at the dinner table, a bed and most importantly, a close relationship with the Master.  Wow, wouldn’t we all do well just to ask for that one thing each day?  Lord let me be so close to you that you are my sustainer … my provider … my everything.  David wants to be so close to god that it is as if he is living with him.  God has said he will do that for us, did you know that?  “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).  So whatever it is, ask God to take it and He will not only take it, but sustain you through it all. 

David continues with his “one thing” he is asking here.  He wants to “gaze on the beauty of the Lord”.  Now that’s a bold request, because you may remember that the Jewish people, who David was, believed that if you saw the face of the LORD you would die.  They had a pretty good reason to believe this too, God said so.  “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).  It seems that David is so in love and so comfortable with his relationship that he is willing to take that chance.  Wouldn’t it be awesome to feel that close to God?  So close that you could touch His face, bask in his glory and “gaze upon His Beauty”.  It’s nice to know that we can get that close to God.  James tells us in James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”  So we just need to snuggle up to God in His house and he will snuggle right back.

Lastly, David wants to “inquire” of the Lord, and in His temple, the most holy place on earth to a Jew.  So David wants some answers.  It’s ok to ask … we should ask … we should expect God to answer.  I think we sometimes kind of waste prayer, if we even pray.  We pray the small things.  Help me to get through today.  Help the doctors who are taking care of Aunt Sally so she can get better.  And so many other small prayers like that.  Why not ask GOD sized prayers.  Let me have the best day ever today.  Heal Aunt Sally.  Ask God to do what only He can do. James again puts it like this.  “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2).  Jesus told us in Matthew 7:7 to “ask, and it will be given to you”.  Ask expecting to receive (James 1:6-7).

If we look on down to Psalm 27:5 we get a glimpse of what God wants to do when we ask of Him.  “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.”  Get close to God, so close that you can feel His presence, live with Him each and every day of your life and ask big, bold prayers that only He can answer.  See what might happen in your life. 

God bless!

Walking With God

Walking with God, I know we like to say we walk with God or God walks with us, but do we really.  Do we rely on that power…that strength…that amazing help?  Some people in the Bible actually did walk with God, whether literally or not, I don’t know, but I know it says they did.  It seems that God actually walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, based on Genesis 3:8.  Enoch walked with God and “was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24).  It sounds like he didn’t even have to die. “Noah was a righteous man and walked with God” (Genesis 6:9).   Genesis 17 mentions Abram (Abraham) walking with God, and Zacharias (walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord).  (Luke 1:6)  So we see, it can be done, but how? 

Paul encouraged the church at Ephesus to “walk in a manner of the calling”. (Ephesians 4:1)  As long as we are here on earth “we walk by faith, not sight”; and we should “make it our aim to please Him”. (2 Corinthians 5:6-9)  But again, how can we do this?  Jesus tells us, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  I don’t know about you, but having some light makes it much easier to walk.  When we are able to follow Jesus, we get such great benefits, we “renew our strength…run and not be weary…walk and not faint”.  (Isaiah 40:31)  When we seek the Lord’s ways, we get to “walk in a wide place” (Psalm 119:45) It’s so much easier to walk when we can see where we are going and the path is wide. 

I love to hike, and I’ve been down some very narrow trails and some very steep…getting caught on thorns or stumbling on a root are real possibilities.  I couldn’t even imagine trying that in the dark, and what a relief it is getting back to a wider portion of the path. 

When we spend our days with our Savior, He helps us along the way.  Walking with Him gives us constant strength, vision and courage.  The next time you see that narrow, dark bend in the path of your life, just remember that when you walk with the Lord, He will clear the way.  You still must go through, but doesn’t it make it so much easier knowing Jesus walks right beside you.  “When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.” (Proverbs 4:12).

God Bless!

My God, My God

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me?”  “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  Have you ever noticed the contrast of the 22nd and 23rd Psalms?  Both were written by David and placed side by side.  They didn’t even have chapters when the Hebrew Bible was put together, so they would just flow together, chapters and verses were added much later.  I don’t know about you, but that seems to be the story of my life.  Desperately distressed one minute, or day, and deeply devoted the next.  What’s wrong with me?  I do feel like I am in good company with David, the man after God’s own heart, but still?  Why the roller coaster of emotion… of devotion… of faith?  I have often described my spiritual walk as somewhat of a rollercoaster ride.  There is the great anticipation of the click, click, click of the coaster as it makes its way to that first big drop.  Then there is the exhilaration and blood pumping excitement of the first big drop, but somewhere along the way, maybe during a hairpin curve or one of those corkscrew loops that, at least, a little fear and maybe doubt sets in.  Let me say now that I love coasters and thank God for them, just as I do this amazing life he has given me, but I still have fear at times, I still doubt, I am still human.  I am just sometimes hot and sometimes cold when it comes to faith.
It may surprise you, but even Jesus had his moments, never giving in, but moments nonetheless.  Remember Matthew 26, in Gethsemane when He asked the cup be taken from Him?  His human side was “very sorrowful, even to death”.   Sound like a rollercoaster moment?  It would be hard to even come up with all the times David’s faith was tested, and he failed several of them. Peter denied Jesus outright, “I do not know the man” (Matthew 26:69-75).  Moses tried to get out of saving the people from Egypt … Sampson gave his secret away and lost his power … Abraham, the father of nations, made numerous mistakes on his spiritual journey.  So when I mess up, it sure won’t be the first time God has seen that happen.  When my faith is not as hot as I would like it, it won’t be the first time God experienced someone in a moment of weakness.  Jesus understands, He is standing right beside God reminding Him, as if he could forget anyway, about all these great men of faith that messed up, had weak moments and even left the faith for a bit.
What’s amazing about all these men, there are women too, by the way,  is that they kept getting up.  David was a man after God’s own heart.  Peter delivered that amazing message starting the Lord’s Church at Pentecost. Moses saved the people from Egyptian bondage and was used mightily by God.  Sampson’s strength returned and he saved his people. And,  Abraham was the father of nations and through him we received Jesus, our savior.  So when our faith is a bit weak, or we mess up, even big time, God gets it, He’s seen it all before.  Don’t be too down on yourself.  Now read the 23rd Psalm, notice how personal it is.  Look at all the “I’s”, “my’s” and “me’s”, that’s YOU.  Take comfort … God is with you … God forgives you … God loves you.
God Bless!

Living Water

Water, our bodies are predominately made up of it; the earth is primarily covered with it, and we would perish if we had to go very long without it.  Water is a significant part of our world.   There are places where finding clean water is next to impossible, and people die from diseases from tainted water; however, I can’t seem to force myself to drink enough of it.  If you are honest, you probably are in the same boat... which floats on water by the way. 
Water also plays a significant role in God’s Word.  God uses water, and quite often.  From Genesis one, it seems that the earth might have been covered by water even before God began His creation.  (Read Genesis one carefully.)  God uses water in a major way later in Genesis to cleanse the earth of evil and begin again with His creation.  Water plays a major role in Exodus.  Remember Pharaoh’s bath than turned from water to blood in Exodus 7?  Who could forget the miraculous parting of the Red Sea from Exodus 15?  What an amazing display of the use of water that must have been.  There is Jesus asking for a drink from the woman at the well in John 4, and the water to wine in John 2.  Jesus even walked on water in Matthew 14.
So much talk of water might make you thirsty, but Jesus offers us a different kind of water…water that will do much more than quench physical thirst.  It will actually quench that spiritual thirst that might be a little more difficult to notice.  I can’t tell you how many times I have just known something wasn’t right, I mean that deep down uneasy feeling.  I was thirsty, thirsty for more.  I needed the “living water” Jesus offers.  Jesus offers this water in John 4:14, “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  Why hadn’t I noticed this, why don’t I listen to Jesus?  I need to be planted by that living water so that all I do may prosper (Psalm 1:3).  I need to consistently draw “water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).  But I forget … get too busy … or just plain give up and give in before I drink.  Life is tough, we all know that, we have been there; you may be there now, but it is much more difficult if you are thirsty.  If we would just remember that God “satisfies the longing soul”, (Psalm 107:9) we would be so much better off, better equipped to handle what life may throw our way.  Jesus so graciously offers, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.   Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-39)  Let’s all drink, so we can help others drink as well.
God Bless!

God With Us

Can you believe it; God cares enough about you to be right there with
you?  I know it’s hard to believe.  He has wars going on in
Afghanistan, starving people all over the world (including ours) and
all the sick to take care of too.  God cares about you, too.  Jesus’
very name means “God with us”, that’s what The Angel of The Lord told
Joseph in Matthew 1:23, “and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’
(which means God with us).  Of course they were just quoting what had
been said long ago, but let’s not get too deep, that’s not the point.
God is right there with you all right, right now, this minute.  That’s
the point, and He is right here with me too.  I forget that sometimes,
don’t you?  Maybe sometimes I want to forget, like when my attitude
kind of falls in the gutter, or worse, my morals, but he is right
there watching.  This is not a feel bad, get you down kind of blog
today, we will save that for another day.   Today think of the POWER
that the thought gives each one of us.  Think of the COMFORT that
thought gives us.  Think of the WORTH that thought should give each
and every one of us.  The Lord of all  the Universe cares enough about
YOU to just stand right there, waiting, watching, ready when you need
Him, because you WILL need him.
So many times in my life I turn my head.  I take that drink I know
will lead down that same old path, but have to survive this pain; we
steal that one dollar we need to finish out our daughter’s lunch money
for school, she can’t go hungry again today.  Maybe today I say yes to
that boyfriend one last time because I need someone to care for me, to
really love me….  I do whatever it takes that I think I have to do to
just make it one more day, but know deep down it cuts me like a knife
inside It’s not the real me; I desperately want to let out, let free
and let go, but I turn my head because it’s what I have always done to
get by, to get through the pain, to make it.
I turn my head because I am too ashamed to look into those condemning
eyes, the eyes that lived no sin, had no problems.  I mean He is God’s
Son for goodness sake.  But this time it’s different, somehow I didn’t
look far enough away, maybe my hair is shorter, maybe he moved, but I
catch a glimpse.  He is crying…  I knew it, just more lectures, more
condemnation, more whys?  He is coming this way now, oh great.  I walk
faster the other way, but He seems to gain anyway, then… then… He is
right there.  His eyes are not condemning but compassionate, no stern
looks, but a look of love, and… could that be  understanding?
Yes, there are tears, yes,  His eyes are sad, but soon change… He
smiles at me and touches me, not out of pity, but to lift me up.  He
has something in His hand.  It’s a name. number and address  of a
local Celebrate Recovery group at the church where I ate that meal
last week, and the guy who was so kind.  It’s a mirror and a picture
from last year’s senior prom, where you were the queen, beautiful and
all dressed in white and that letter you had tossed aside from your
best friend, concerned and prayerful . It’s the number of a local food
bank.
Life may not seem that easy and times may be much more  tough than
these examples, but God does this every day, millions of times.  What
we are looking for makes a world of difference in what we can see.
But I know, from experience, that when we look to Jesus, the things we
see are a lot better than when we don’t.   Life may not always get
better right at first, and it is not always easy, but look for that
glimmer, look for that spark, look for the good.  There is some there;
follow that!  Need some help finding that spark, email us: prodigalministrea@gmail.com.  I have men and women standing by to listen, pray and help you find a spark to get
you on the right path.  No judgment, no preaching, just the love of Jesus that is there all along. Jesus is right there, try talking to him.  He is the greatest listener
in there is, but he is also “GOD WITH US”.  Read this, it inspired me.
Her parents never took the young girl to church
Never spoke of His name
Never read her His word
Two non-believers walking lost in this world
Took their baby with them
What a sad little girl

Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs
Never wanted to play
Or give kisses and hugs
She'd watch the TV and sit there on the couch
While her mom fell asleep
And her daddy went out

And the drinking and the fighting
just got worse every night
Behind their couch she'd be hiding
Oh what a sad little life
And like it always does, the bad just got worse
With every slap and every curse
Until her daddy in a drunk rage one night
Used a gun on her mom and then took his life

And some people from the city took the girl far away
To a new mom and a new dad
kisses and hugs everyday
Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in
And a small little girl
Stared at a picture of Him.
She said I know that man up there on that cross
I don't know His name
But I know He got off
Cause He was there in my old house
and held me close to His side
As I hid there behind our couch
The night that my parents died
        -The Little Girl
        -John Michael Montgomery
God Bless

Super-Size Sin

What size is your sin?  Sounds like a silly question, but we size them up all the time.  We rate or size our sins and those of others.  We like to compare our "sample" sized sins to those of someone who is really bad off and has "super-sized" sins.  We make ourselves feel good by noting that we may do so and so, but, at least I am not as bad as ... (you fill in the blank).  Where did we get this idea, because it is most certainly not from God. 

If we take a few minutes to look into our Father's word, we will find something radically different from our sin rating mentality.  Paul, in Romans 3:23, pretty much lays it out for us.  "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Not some, no mention of size or severity of sin, just all have sinned. If we notice too, that means we all fall short of God's glory.  Lucky for us, Jesus doesn't rate sin, he also happens to love sinners.

Jesus was showing his love for sinners on a daily basis and He still does today.  That's one of the reasons the religious leaders eventually managed to crucify him.  He was not about ranking sins.  Listen to what some had to say about Him.  "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus was called "a friend of tax collectors and sinners".  The Pharisees muttered about Jesus, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them".  As a matter of fact, each time it was pointed out that Jesus was around sinners, it was to "super-size" another's sin in an attempt to minimize their own.  I might also add that it was those who considered themselves religious and with "sample" sins that made these statements, the Pharisees.  Jesus had this  to say to the Pharisees on one occasion.  "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Matthew 12:34)  They were guilty of the sin sizing business.

Lucky for us, Jesus came just for people who realize that their sins may be "super-sized" but accept that Jesus is the way out.  Jesus tells us just who He came to save in Luke 19:10,   "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost".  He also said in Matthew 9:12, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”  So Jesus understood and still understands our hurts and hardships.  He knows that we need help, he just wants us to realize that too.  Jesus in Matthew 9:13, "I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” 

Let's stop trying to make ourselves feel better by minimizing our sin and begin realizing that we have a Savior who is ready, willing and able to forgive that sin, "super-size" or not.
God bless.

Mo Mo Motivation

Motivation,  what is yours?  What is mine?  Those are important questions for us to answer.  I think that is a key in our spiritul journey.  Why do we do what we do?  More specifically,  why do we do what we do in our spiritual life or walk with Jesus. I am almost sure that you, like me, have had different motivations at different points in our life and faith journey.   I wish I could say that I have always had the right motivation, but I am weak and human.

Jesus had some things to say about obedience,  and that's what I am really talking about.   What's our motivation for following Jesus' example?  Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commandments."  So why do we do what we do?  Some people have it all wrong.  Maybe they do the right things, but out of fear.  Is this wrong, I don't know, and I will leave that to them and God.  But how freeing and much more motivation would it be to follow Jesus because we love Him?  2 Corinthians 3:17 gives us a little hint as to what Jesus gives us, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  It would give us a whole new perspective.  We would GET to go to worship, not HAVE to go to church.  We would be blessed to BE ABLE to serve God in some way, not HAVE to teach or lead this week.  That perspective kind of changes everything.  Sure Hell is real and something to be avoided, but Heaven and an eternity to BE with Jesus is so much more something to look forward to.

We can't out love God, because he got such a head start on us.  It is our basis for all our love.  "We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:19)  Because he loved us first he made the ultimate sacrifice.  "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:8)  And because of this sacrifice, we "can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God." (5:11)  So God loved us first, now we can choose to follow Him because of our great love for Him, or because we are afraid of Hell.  As for me, love is the answer.  Jesus said Himself in John 10:10, "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."  Let's start acting like it.  God bless!

Weaknesses

I have been encouraged recently by Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  The quoted part is Jesus speaking.  I definitely receive my fair share of grace., because I have my fair share of weaknesses.   Taking pleasure in my weaknesses though?  That part is a bit harder to swallow.  I have been thinking about that a little more lately. 
Jesus was always around the sinners and people who, at least, admitted their weaknesses.  I mean, we all have them, and it wasn't any different in the first century, but we don't all admit them as easily as Paul did.    But it is only by admitting our weaknesses, hardships and troubles that we can begin to trust God to handle them.  I have found, that with my hard head, I must first realize that I can not handle the situation on my own before I will rest on the grace, mercy and strength that God, through Jesus, offers me.
Jesus again emphasizes what he came to do again in Mark 2:17, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”  Notice that Jesus didn't say righteous, he said those who THINK they are righteous.  So we are really all in the same boat, the unrighteous boat.  I can now begin to understand taking pleasure in this idea.  I don't think it is so much being happy that we fall short, but more of an awareness that the power and love of God can turn those weaknesses into a chance to show the glory of God.
Those that know me could tell you that I am a perfect example of someone who has weaknesses, just ask them.  :-)  I show the glory of God everyday, not by anything I do, but by my admission that I can't do it.  I allow God to do the things I am powerless to do on my own, and by that allow the Lord's power to be displayed.  Each day is a new beginning,  a new start and a day of new and fresh mercies.  We can wake up each day and know that the grace of God is there to cover our mistakes, strengthen our weaknesses and get us through any hardships.  Paul reminds us again in 1 Corinthians 1:27, "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong".  We are a chosen people.  We should be so happy that we were indeed chosen.  And once again, it is not necessarily those who are strong, but those who think they are strong that will be shamed. All this really encourages me.  It also may teach me a thing or two and allow God's mercies to be displayed.
In every recovery program I have been around, the first steps always include admitting powerlessness and realizing that what we can not do, God can and will do for us, but only once we are willing to turn our lives over to His care.  So through weaknesses and trials God is indeed glorified.
Laura Story sums this up so well in her song,  "Blessings".  She has a way of expressing a very similiar thought to that of Paul's in a very touching way through her music.  "What if the trials of this life ..  are Your mercies in disguise."  Take a few moments and listen, you will be blessed by having done so.  Until next time, let's be proud that we are weak, I know I am.  In doing so we will be made strong.  God bless.

Get Moving

Well friends, it's been a while.  I have been on many adventures,  some good, some not so good,  since our last time together.  I will share bits and pieces of those as we move forward.  I hope to get back to a more regular schedule of blogs in the days, weeks, and months ahead.  So let's waste no more time and "get moving".
If you are at all like me you probably don't remember reading, or just passed over Exodus 14:15.  Who could blame us, I mean, it is almost the very middle of the amazing story of God parting the Red Sea.  I recently came across it and noticed especially one phrase that stuck out to me for the first time.  Here is the New Living Translation's version, "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!'"  For some reason that day, I paid attention.  God was trying to get something through my thick and somewhat stubborn skull.  "Get moving!" 
I had been on a journey of denial and self pity for a while.  I was wondering why I wasn't as close to God as I used to and wanted to be.  I wondered why God didn't do something to make my life and heart closer to Him again.  I wanted some answers and wondered why God had suddenly become so silent.  Have any of you felt this way?  I know that, at least for me, this isn't the first time I had drifted away from my spirituality and wanted it back.  My faith, spirituality and closeness to God has always seemed like a roller coaster.  I am up and down, sometimes fast, like a quick drop that would take even  the strongest stomach,  and other times it is a slow and steady drop, as if a feather were floating in the breeze.  But I had been here before.
Why was God not doing something?  This verse had my answer.  It was like a slap in the face, or a splash of cold water on a hot day.  I had been doing my fair share of calling out.  I have told friends that I am sure God was tired of hearing my voice,  although I know God never tires of hearing from his children.  What I now realized I had been missing was action.  God wanted ME to do something, in other words, "get moving". 
In what I am sure was God's quiet still voice, he led me to other passages that call for action.  Passages like Matthew 4:19,  where Jesus said, “Come, follow me", and Jesus again in Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  Jesus was full of words that called people to action like, " come", "follow", and "ask".  I am afraid that too many times I have seen my Christianity as more of a spectator sport and less of a battle that I am actively involved in.  I am thankful to God for opening my eyes to see and remember the comforting words of James 4:8, "Come near to God and he will come near to you."  I am so blessed to be able to serve such an awesome God that, even after all I have done, still wants to be close and have a personal relationship with me.  I just need to remember that sometimes God expects me to take that first step and "GET MOVING".  This is my first step, please share with me what steps you might be taking to strengthen your relationship with God.  I would also love to pray for you and with you.  We can make great strides in the Kingdom of God together.  Look me up on facebook, twitter, and instagram.  I would love to connect with you!  God bless you!