Thanksgiving
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:12-13
So many things to be thankful for as we enter this holiday season and you wonder if you take the time to really count your blessings. The Lord places us in the families we are in and with the friends we have to help us grow in Him. The question is,do we really pay enough attention to why He has us in the place He does to give us strength? Through the black Friday specials, the fighting crowds, and all the distractions this world throws in front of us, take a moment to reflect during this weekend of Thanksgiving and give thanks and worship our Lord.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Fantastic Friday #237-Overcome
Overcome
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
I look back on the last several years of my life and reflect on where I have been. Does anyone else do this? But on this day I do it a little more intentionally than I have in the past. When you view the past, do you see the horrible things first, or do you automatically think of the wonderful things of this life. It is a challenge to look back sometimes because of the pain that you might have experienced at one time or another. I feel it is also a challenge to look back at the good things that might have happened throughout your life. You are probably asking, why it is challenging to think back to both the good and the bad. That thought is most likely due to the unknown future we have before us. I think a lot of times we hold our breath hoping for the best and sometimes experience trouble. So I take this moment to look back at being born into this world of sin and know in my heart that Jesus has already overcome this world for me. Praise God for the blessings he has bestowed on me and my family. Praise God for the peace that He gives me. So, for all of you, take heart because He has Overcome.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
I look back on the last several years of my life and reflect on where I have been. Does anyone else do this? But on this day I do it a little more intentionally than I have in the past. When you view the past, do you see the horrible things first, or do you automatically think of the wonderful things of this life. It is a challenge to look back sometimes because of the pain that you might have experienced at one time or another. I feel it is also a challenge to look back at the good things that might have happened throughout your life. You are probably asking, why it is challenging to think back to both the good and the bad. That thought is most likely due to the unknown future we have before us. I think a lot of times we hold our breath hoping for the best and sometimes experience trouble. So I take this moment to look back at being born into this world of sin and know in my heart that Jesus has already overcome this world for me. Praise God for the blessings he has bestowed on me and my family. Praise God for the peace that He gives me. So, for all of you, take heart because He has Overcome.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Fantastic Friday #236-Battle/Skopeo
Battle/Skopeo
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”James 4:1-6
The battles we fight are not always against your neighbor, friend, or family, a lot of battles you fight are from within. What battle are you fighting now? Is it a battle to be the best at what you are in this world? It is a battle with a particular sin? Maybe it is a battle with the world that is fighting against you and your family unit. I think that we can get swallowed up in what the world tells us to seek out for our own pleasures,and that can make us proud as we chase after that thing that can cause that battle within. Maybe we should take a moment and "skopeo" which is the Greek word for See, Look, Consider and Examine. If we take a moment to "see" what we are pursuing, "look" to what battle it is causing, "Consider" where God wants us to be, and "Examine" our heart to fight the battle within, I think we can become that humble individual and receive what God wants us to have. Remember to avoid the friendship with the world that leads to being an enemy of God, but battle against that friendship to a closer relationship with Him. Skopeo.
Have a great weekend.
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”James 4:1-6
The battles we fight are not always against your neighbor, friend, or family, a lot of battles you fight are from within. What battle are you fighting now? Is it a battle to be the best at what you are in this world? It is a battle with a particular sin? Maybe it is a battle with the world that is fighting against you and your family unit. I think that we can get swallowed up in what the world tells us to seek out for our own pleasures,and that can make us proud as we chase after that thing that can cause that battle within. Maybe we should take a moment and "skopeo" which is the Greek word for See, Look, Consider and Examine. If we take a moment to "see" what we are pursuing, "look" to what battle it is causing, "Consider" where God wants us to be, and "Examine" our heart to fight the battle within, I think we can become that humble individual and receive what God wants us to have. Remember to avoid the friendship with the world that leads to being an enemy of God, but battle against that friendship to a closer relationship with Him. Skopeo.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Fantastic Friday #235- Cares
Cares
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1st Peter 5:6-8
Do you ever tell yourself that no one seems to care about anyone these days? Maybe you had a run-in with a friend or a spouse that you feel like you weren't really cared for or they didn't care how you felt. Maybe you feel that distance from God as He is testing your faith in Him, and you ask yourself does He really care about me and my life? How can God care about me when there are so many people in the world that are suffering? The doubt of whether or not God or other people care about you is due to one thing, and that is the enemy lying in wait to slip in and try and separate us from God, our family or friends. So how do we combat the enemy that doesn't care about us but only himself, we begin to care for others and know in our hearts that God cares for us, loves us, and can lift us out of our most desperate times of need.CARE=Compassion Always Rebuffs the Enemy.
Have a great weekend.
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