Fantastic Friday #1026 - Strength

Strength

16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.

17 You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely. Psalm 59:16-17

I am weak, I admit it. I always think that I am stronger, until I find the weakness that overtakes me physically and emotionally. My kids tell me that I am an emotional dad, and that is true, but I also am a dad and husband who wants to fix everything. When I can't fix everything, my weakness shows when I don't rely on our Father in Heaven. Our relationship with God should be one of regular reliance, and not one of, I will call on you when I need you because I am strong enough on my own. Reliance should be daily, and should involve a close conversational relationship with Him, so when you truly need extra guidance and hope, it does not seem like your relationship is just beginning. I love this scripture showing how God is and can be our strength, but we should also acknowledge His strength in our relationship and remember we can't do it all on our own, and we can't fix everything ourselves. Only God can fully fix us and what is going on in our life.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1025 - Adore

Adore

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:13-20


The word Adore is listed with the definition of "to regard with the utmost esteem, love, respect and honor". When the shepherds came to view Jesus for the first time in the scripture above, all I can think of is the Christmas carol line, "oh come let us adore him." How special that must have been to see the Savior and the angels guiding the way. Do you adore Jesus like the shepherds did, or do you find yourself at times not honoring Him how you should? We all can take a lesson from those who glorified God for all they had seen, and have faith that even better things are to come for you and your families if you trust Him every day of your life and completely Adore him.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1024 - Reflection

Reflection

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13


Do you ever look at your reflection in the mirror, I mean really look? When I was a child there were two mirrors in one of our bathrooms directly across from each other. When I looked at my reflection in one of the mirrors, the opposite mirror created an infinite view of me that seemed to go on forever. One thing that I never did was focus on the true detail, but now thinking back as the reflection was further away, it was harder to make out certain features. Now, think about how you reflect Christ. When you look closely at your own self, are you reflecting what Christ taught? Are you following the commands that God has set forth? Just like the double reflection in the mirror, the further we are away from Christ, it is harder to see His reflection in us. I think self reflection is very important, and there has been a significant amount of that recently. I know that each time I focus on what Christ wants, it is easier to see my own reflection on others and what I am doing. Pay close attention to your reflection and see if you can make out a clear picture of what God wants.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1023 - Forward

Forward

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God. Hebrews 6:1

What do you look forward to in your day? Do you find yourself looking forward to what could happen, or do you look forward to what God provides you? I have been known to look at the worst case scenario at times, and that is not what our Father in Heaven wants. One of the reasons that the teachings of Christ are so elementary is because it shows us the simplest way to follow Him. There is no challenging ladder to climb to follow Christ and that is something to look forward to every day. Now, as we mature in our lives, we can look forward to all the aspects of God's work in our lives, including having faith in His plan for us, and we can look forward to His involvement in every aspect of our lives. Keep looking forward daily, but look forward to what God will provide to His faithful servants. Keep in mind that nothing in God's plan is bad, for it all leads to life everlasting.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1022 - Confidence

Confidence

35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:35-37

We all have something we are going through in our life. The challenges that are laid down before us many times will test our faith and confidence in our Heavenly Father. When we are in the middle of these challenges, He doesn't want us to question why, how or when, but He wants us to lean into His plan for our life. I know I am the one type of personality that is a big questioner and at times goes to the worst possible place. This is not the best thing for me or those around me, because then the hope and confidence we have in our Father is diminished. When this is diminished, the enemy finds an easier route to our mind to try and tell us that God doesn't care about us and our plight. So, we need to lean into the confidence we have in our God, and remember that He is always there and always has a plan for Good. While it may not seem like it at the time, He does want the best for us and He will always be there.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1021 - Doubt

 Doubt

 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:5-8

Do we doubt for any good reason?  Many of us allow doubt to creep into our lives because we are struggling and the answer is not readily available for us. Let’s look more closely at why this doubt creeps into our situation. A lot of times doubt comes because we don’t think God cares about what we are asking for, or maybe it is not coming fast enough. God also allows us to stay in our situation because He is not ready for us to receive an answer or we probably need to work on our faith in God and His provision. Does having doubt produce more faith? Probably not, because our faith comes from seeing what God has done for all His creation and us as well, so having doubt is going to do nothing but cause us heartache and pain as we fail to see that God is there to help us. Take a moment to remember God’s faithfulness and remove the doubt from our mind. 

Have a great weekend. 

Matt 

Fantastic Friday #1020 - Thanks

Thanks

1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2

One of my most favorite times of the year is our American Thanksgiving holiday. We have developed quite a number of traditions with this period with our family, and even now that our family has grown, we still practice those same traditions. The reason I like the holiday of Thanksgiving is because it truly gives us a time to pause and offer thanks for what we have. I also think that it ushers in that Christmas season of thanks for Jesus' birth, and these are all good focal points for us to have. However, what happens during the rest of the year, are we as thankful during those periods as we are during these holiday times? The best way to be thankful all year round is to pause in our daily prayers to offer thanks for who we are, what we have, and how God has always been there. I know we can get in a rush at times, but there is nothing more favorable than thanking God for His provision and gifts. I know I am extra grateful for many things this year, and will continue to work on showing my thankfulness every day. If we can remember to focus on gratefulness, our spirits will be lifted and we won't allow the enemy to hit us with negative thoughts.

Have a great weekend.

Matt