Fantastic Friday #221- Sting

Sting


⁵⁵"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

This last week the family and I took a trip down to the beach and went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a beautiful time to enjoy God and His creation, and we even avoided the tar balls, none to be seen. What we were unable to avoid was the stinging sensation of a few jellyfish that everyone felt at some point while we were there. Seeing the kids and their reaction to the painful sting reminded me of how vulnerable we all are to sin, and what sin can do to us. One moment we are enjoying life, and the next moment we are slipping into sin and feeling the pain it causes. Eventually the sting of the jellyfish goes away, but you are reminded of the sting by an itching sensation that just doesn't seem to go away. We don't have to feel that stinging sensation, because with Christ He is our healer. Just like Paul says in Romans 6, ...Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! ... Don't slip into sin that can sting as bad as a jellyfish and sometimes worse, but live in Christ that you may enjoy a sting-free life with Christ showing the way to avoid the jellyfish.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #220 Delay

Delay

¹⁶ But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

¹⁷ Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay. Psalm 40:16-17

So, the day has begun with a little delay, but Friday is not over to make it Fantastic. Sometimes our life is full of delays. The delays on the way to see your family, the delays we might experience in a store, and the delays we might experience when attending an event with 40,000 of your closest friends. What you usually find I imagine at the end of those delays is mostly gratifyingand even more wonderful than you anticipated. I think the same kind of anticipation you can experience in the search for God in your life. Do you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for God to reveal Himself to you, or do you get frustrated with the delays you experience in waiting for God's answer. Just remember that God is our deliverer and He will delay our answers until He feels we are ready to handle all that He will provide. Just remember, our reward is not here but is delayed until God's time.

Fantastic Friday #219 - Roads

Roads

⁴As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
⁵Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
⁶And all mankind will see God's salvation.' " Luke 3:4-6

Every day we travel on some kind of road. Whether it be that path from the bed to the kitchen, the door to the car, the car to our job, or the path back to our bed at night. Along those roads we might stub our toe, trip on a hose across a sidewalk, hit a bump in the road, or slip on the wet kitchen floor. All of these little things can bring about a moment of being startled, and as soon as we are done with the pain or surprise we continue on the path we were traveling on. Now, you begin to ask yourself why you weren't paying close enough attention to the road in front of you, and if you had you wouldn't be in pain. As you look back at the day and the many roads you traveled and the many people you came in contact with, how many of them did you really pay close attention to, and how many can you see yourself paving the way for Christ's return by showing the straight path you travel. We might have stubs, trips, bumps, or slips in our life as we travel on the road, but we need to remember to pay more attention to our path on that road and how we might be able to show others that road to Christ.

Have a great weekend.

#218 All In

All In

6Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-18

At times we have heard the phrase, "are you in or are you out?" When in your life have you had to decide whether to be all in or out completely? That decision is usually based on how you feel at the time, or can be easily influenced by someone else. The world tells us to compete at a high level, be successful at all we do, just do it, and be #1. How many of us look at God when we are making decisions that impact our lives and others, or do we rely on ourselves and what the world tells us to be. Maybe as we look at our life and decisions we make daily we should view them as being "All In" the name of the Lord and not leaving Him out of our life. Be "All In" with the Lord, it will make you feel victorious in your life.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #217 If Only

If Only

¹⁴ If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.

¹⁵ If I am guilty—woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in my affliction.

¹⁶ If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion
and again display your awesome power against me.

¹⁷ You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.

¹⁸ "Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

¹⁹ If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

²⁰ Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy

²¹ before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow,

²² to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness." Job 10:14-22

Do you ever look back and say "if only" I had made a different decision, or "if only" I had performed better, or "if only" I would have listened, then maybe it would be different? Do you cause yourself great affliction or pain based on your decisions if they are the wrong ones? I find it very interesting in our lives that we can look at sin differently before and after. Before, satan makes it look inviting and after it looks dark and awful because we know where we should be living. The idea of our life should not be lived with the statement "if only", it should be lived with the statement "only". Instead of "if only" I would have made a difference in someone's life, make the statement I will "only" make a difference in someone's life. Instead of saying "if only" I would have followed God, make the statement I "only" will follow God. Only God can make that difference in your life. Don't live in the past of "if only's", live in the presence with Only God.

Have a great weekend.