Friday, April 26, 2013

Fantastic Friday #364 - Changes

Changes

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what lies in darkness,
    and light dwells with him. Daniel 2:20-22

Seven years can be a long time or a very short time depending on how you look at it.  Seven is a very important number in the Bible and it appears over 338 times in God's Word.  You might think that seven is just another number, but if you look closely at the scriptures that seven appears in, you might think differently.  For those of you who have a math sense, you can divide 364 by 52 and figure out the significance of seven in my life this week.  Throughout these seven years, a lot of changes have taken place. Changes in my family, changes in my beliefs, changes in my knowledge, changes in my wisdom, and overall changes in me.  These changes have been reflected in my writing over these past seven years and God has allowed me to share my life with you and what God wants us to know.  Some weeks my words have been short and sometimes they have been long, but they have always had one thing in common and that is God's Word.  God's Word has the ability to change us if we take time to sit down and read and understand what God is trying to tell us.  I hope that God has affected some change in you as He has and will continue in me.  Enjoy the change, it is rewarding.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Fantastic Friday #363- Eternal

Eternal

Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4

Do you sometimes find yourself losing trust in God?  Are you beat up so much, and have so much severe suffering that you ask why God is allowing this in your life.  Trust is a reliance on someone or some thing, a confident expectation of something.  The enemy can attack your trust by making you think that your reliance is fruitless and futile.  The enemy can change your thoughts by pushing you to self-reliance and self-expectation where you think you control everything in your world.  The problem comes when we forget that God is eternal.  He is without beginning or end, immutable, and enduring.  When you look at God as eternal, the things the enemy tries to make you believe are completely without merit.  God wants us to rely on Him and trust in Him.  God wants us to furiously pursue Him and confidently expect Him to take care of our needs.  God has and will take care of us because He is eternal. He is in control and the enemy is not, we just need to remember that His eternal nature has something better for us after this temporary place.  Trust in God for all your needs because He is our Rock eternal.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Fantastic Friday #362 - Stuff

Stuff


20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:20-22

Do you ever look around at the things you have and think, boy I have some nice stuff?  Or do you think, how do I have this much stuff, and what is it good for?    While a hammer is useful for building something, why do you have three hammers when two of them are just sitting there collecting dust.  Your fine China is beautiful, but is it useful if you only use it once or twice a year on those special holidays? When you look at the items you possess, do you look at your internal self? There are characteristics that are inside you which makes you the type of person you are today, and it is more important than the stuff lying around withering away or collecting dust. The problem that most people have is they place their value in the wrong things.  I think it is most important to look at your stuff that is internal and how it can have a significant impact on those around you.  God will use your internal stuff for His purposes and His good works, but we just have to pay attention to how He wants us to use it. 

Have a great weekend.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Fantastic Friday #361

Drag

Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate. Psalm 111:2-4

Did you feel that on Tuesday this week?  The drag that was ever-present in your day.  For most of us, this drag tends to come after every Christmas, Easter, or weekly church service that we attend.  The drag comes well after we have worshiped, been lifted up, and rallied to go out into the world and make disciples of those who don't know Jesus.  The problem is that these services we attend, if not treated for what they are and how they should be, give us just enough energy to feel close to God for a day or so.  That is usually until the world starts beating us back and down to forget about our Lord and Savior and what He did for us.  I know in order to battle this enemy, it is all in how we see our relationship with God, and not as someone we think we are going to see on Sunday for a few hours. If we see God as just someone we are visiting for a few hours, no wonder we feel the drag so quickly in the early part of the week.  How do we battle the drag?  Change your focus and relationship with God is a good start.  Look at Him as someone bigger than you do now, and spend time with Him every day and not just for those few hours on Sunday.  Hang around people that are positive and follow Christ, so that when you around those that don't follow Christ, you can have a more powerful influence on them.  Remember, we all have the Holy Spirit to guide us and I know that I don't rely on the Spirit quite enough in my week.  Battle the drag and breathe.

Have a great weekend.