Reverence
28 Therefore,
since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be
thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29
This past few weeks I have observed athletes, stars, and
musicians achieve great earthly feats. Some of them thank God for their
gifts, and some definitely do not thank anyone but their friends,
colleagues or they acknowledge their own efforts. When we begin to
think of our own accomplishments in a self aggrandizing way, this
totally ignores the true One who we should be considering when we
achieve great things and puts the focus solely on us. While God should
be number one on our thankful list, we often allow ourselves to get
caught up in our own success. When you hear the word reverence, what
comes to mind? Maybe it is
holiness, humbleness, calmness, or genuineness. All of these words may
or may not describe what you were thinking, but they give a good picture
of what reverence could or should be. We definitely know that it is
not a loud, boisterous, "I am Awesome" environment when we hear this
word and try to
describe it. When you think of humbling yourself in a reverent manner
and thank God for His gifts He has provided, you would be surprised
about how much more you notice of God's influence in your life. We all
can be shaken at one time or another with the focus of self, but we also
can be calmed with a reverent and solemn worship of our Father in
Heaven.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Fantastic Friday #403 - Undying
Undying
24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Ephesians 6:24
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:17
I came across this first scripture this week and it made me think, what actually is undying and what does it mean. I know it means unending, but can you put this into perspective when you think about loving God in an unending way. How many of us look at our family members with an undying love? My guess is most of us love our family members unconditionally and look past their faults and shortcomings, but how many of us love our Father in Heaven with an undying love. Jesus commanded us to Love the Lord with all our heart. If we tend to love things and desires of this world, how hard should it be to have an undying love for the Lord? I am not saying because the things of this world pass away that we shouldn't love our family. However, we need to think of who our unending love should be for, and if we do the will of our Father, look at how we truly will end up living. Undying Love, Living Forever. I can see the correlation, and hope that you can too.
Have a great weekend.
24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Ephesians 6:24
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:17
I came across this first scripture this week and it made me think, what actually is undying and what does it mean. I know it means unending, but can you put this into perspective when you think about loving God in an unending way. How many of us look at our family members with an undying love? My guess is most of us love our family members unconditionally and look past their faults and shortcomings, but how many of us love our Father in Heaven with an undying love. Jesus commanded us to Love the Lord with all our heart. If we tend to love things and desires of this world, how hard should it be to have an undying love for the Lord? I am not saying because the things of this world pass away that we shouldn't love our family. However, we need to think of who our unending love should be for, and if we do the will of our Father, look at how we truly will end up living. Undying Love, Living Forever. I can see the correlation, and hope that you can too.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Fantastic Friday #402 - Hole
Hole
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the word of his servant?
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God. Isaiah 50:9-10
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them up.
10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the word of his servant?
Let the one who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on their God. Isaiah 50:9-10
Do
find those people in your life that wear you out or take a toll on
you? It's almost like that hole in your pocket that things fall out of,
and the more you mess with it, the larger the hole gets. Maybe it
isn't people that annoy you that wear you out, but people that attack
what you believe in or find any way to place their own hole in your
moral code. They aren't doing it to you directly, but you see it on the
news, in the media, or in social media and it makes you question where
you are and what you believe in when they start poking around. There
are people in our lives every day, whether you know them or not, who
will attack your belief in God and how He guides your life. The thing
is, these kinds of people who are near and far should not take a toll on
us or wear us out, because they can only get in our pocket to start a
hole if we let them in. If you fear God and are humbly obedient to His
commands, you will walk in the light and nothing these people say or do
can extinguish that light. They won't be able to punch holes in our
belief system and they definitely won't make that hole larger. As the
scripture says, Our "Sovereign Lord helps me", he doesn't allow the hole in our pocket to grow bigger and allow things to fall out.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Fantastic Friday #401 - Arrogant
Arrogant
Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 4:1-3
Arrogance is an interesting trait. How many people do you know that have a complex of self-importance? Maybe you, like me, can tend to have a superiority complex from time to time. You are probably thinking, no not me. I am person of humbleness and filled with grace. Well the funny thing is, we all have some sense of superiority in our lives. Maybe it is with that person that you aren't really sure about their actions and you begin to judge their actions against your beliefs. Can sense a feeling of superiority sneak in? Maybe it is that person struggling with providing for their family, yet you are doing pretty well for your family. Feeling a bit superior? Arrogance comes out when we forget our humble beginnings, and I am not talking about where we grew up. I am talking about our humble beginnings before we had Christ in our life. Having Christ in our lives provides that feeling of security and that sense of love and lack of importance on the the things of this world, especially when we see what He did on the cross for us. Picture this, a person with an arrogance for what "they" provided for themselves, versus someone who recognizes what is provided by God and who also has a humbleness knowing where their true reward is in the end. Who do you think is less arrogant? Take a moment to rid yourselves of your arrogance, for we all have some of it however small it might be, and humble yourselves to God for His righteousness.
Have a great weekend.
Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 4:1-3
Arrogance is an interesting trait. How many people do you know that have a complex of self-importance? Maybe you, like me, can tend to have a superiority complex from time to time. You are probably thinking, no not me. I am person of humbleness and filled with grace. Well the funny thing is, we all have some sense of superiority in our lives. Maybe it is with that person that you aren't really sure about their actions and you begin to judge their actions against your beliefs. Can sense a feeling of superiority sneak in? Maybe it is that person struggling with providing for their family, yet you are doing pretty well for your family. Feeling a bit superior? Arrogance comes out when we forget our humble beginnings, and I am not talking about where we grew up. I am talking about our humble beginnings before we had Christ in our life. Having Christ in our lives provides that feeling of security and that sense of love and lack of importance on the the things of this world, especially when we see what He did on the cross for us. Picture this, a person with an arrogance for what "they" provided for themselves, versus someone who recognizes what is provided by God and who also has a humbleness knowing where their true reward is in the end. Who do you think is less arrogant? Take a moment to rid yourselves of your arrogance, for we all have some of it however small it might be, and humble yourselves to God for His righteousness.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Fantastic Friday #400 - Days
Days
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered. Hebrews 5:7-8
The days in our lives come and go. The days in our life pass sometimes with no notice of the things around us depending on what is going on, or they pass with a great deal of observance of our surroundings. Do the days ever go by without you taking a moment to offer up a prayer and petition to God? If they do, you aren't unlike a lot of people who struggle daily to make sure God is a focus of their day. Many of us have a great desire to be like Jesus or live like Jesus, but we always fall short because we aren't Jesus. However, we can take steps to come closer to our Lord and Savior daily if we just take those few moments to thank God for who He is, and ask God what He wants in our life. Notice, I said what God wants in our life, and not what we want. Many times what we think is obedience to God ends up being more of a checklist for us. Take a moment and every day humbly pray and petition our Father in Heaven for what He wants in our life. They are really His days in the end, and nothing is really ours.
Have a great weekend.
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered. Hebrews 5:7-8
The days in our lives come and go. The days in our life pass sometimes with no notice of the things around us depending on what is going on, or they pass with a great deal of observance of our surroundings. Do the days ever go by without you taking a moment to offer up a prayer and petition to God? If they do, you aren't unlike a lot of people who struggle daily to make sure God is a focus of their day. Many of us have a great desire to be like Jesus or live like Jesus, but we always fall short because we aren't Jesus. However, we can take steps to come closer to our Lord and Savior daily if we just take those few moments to thank God for who He is, and ask God what He wants in our life. Notice, I said what God wants in our life, and not what we want. Many times what we think is obedience to God ends up being more of a checklist for us. Take a moment and every day humbly pray and petition our Father in Heaven for what He wants in our life. They are really His days in the end, and nothing is really ours.
Have a great weekend.
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