Attitude
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:3-5
I
umpired a game this week of young 10-12 year old kids and what I saw
was something very interesting. In the beginning, both teams were
playing very hard, doing their best and seemed to be having a good
time. As the game progressed, I began to see attitudes, hard feelings,
negative speech, and some boys physically acting out. As the game went
on, I addressed these things with kids when I saw or heard them, but
something else interesting happened. None of the kids seemed to be
having fun anymore and their negativity that started out as team against
team began to seep into their own dugouts. At the end of the game I
called both teams together and spoke to them about their negative
attitudes and reminded them that baseball is fun. Life is kind of the
same way. We can tend to focus on our own selfish ambitions at times
and only on what we are doing and lose focus of the good around us. The
enemy has us focus on the bad and not the good, and you could see how
the enemy was working even among these 10-12 year old kids. We should
focus daily on how Christ wants us to act, and have the same mindset as
the scripture says, so we don't fall into vanity. Something as simple
as a baseball game helped remind me of humility tonight and something I
will take into this next week.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Fantastic Friday #437 - Express
Express
8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. Colossians 4:8
What do you think about when you hear the word express? Maybe it is something fast or something dealing with sharing a feeling or emotion. Do you think about the word "singular"? When we have a purpose, does it typically have express in front of it, or is it filled with multiple other things. Do you have a singular purpose in your life that is focused on others or yourself? Tychicus had a singular purpose to encourage others hearts. What is your express purpose in life? I would say if we really thought about it, our true express purpose would be to honor God in the way we live our life. I encourage you to look for and find that express purpose and utilize it to God's glory and not your own. If you don't have one, find one and if you can't find one pray that God reveals an Express Purpose in your life. We all have one besides honoring God.
Have a great weekend.
8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. Colossians 4:8
What do you think about when you hear the word express? Maybe it is something fast or something dealing with sharing a feeling or emotion. Do you think about the word "singular"? When we have a purpose, does it typically have express in front of it, or is it filled with multiple other things. Do you have a singular purpose in your life that is focused on others or yourself? Tychicus had a singular purpose to encourage others hearts. What is your express purpose in life? I would say if we really thought about it, our true express purpose would be to honor God in the way we live our life. I encourage you to look for and find that express purpose and utilize it to God's glory and not your own. If you don't have one, find one and if you can't find one pray that God reveals an Express Purpose in your life. We all have one besides honoring God.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Fantastic Friday #436 - Careful
Careful
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Haggai 1:5-7
Sometimes we are careful and sometimes we aren't. We tend to not be careful when we let the world tell us what we need, how much we need and when we need it. Interestingly enough, God gives us exactly what we need, never too much or never too little, just enough to complete His plan for each of us. So, when we hear the scripture "give careful thought to your ways" from now on, I think we should probably give careful thought to our ways especially if God said it twice. When we aren't careful with our ways, God is typically silent until we come back to Him in prayer and petition and with a humble heart. We need to be careful, specifically because God loves us and wants a relationship with us.
Have a great weekend.
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Haggai 1:5-7
Sometimes we are careful and sometimes we aren't. We tend to not be careful when we let the world tell us what we need, how much we need and when we need it. Interestingly enough, God gives us exactly what we need, never too much or never too little, just enough to complete His plan for each of us. So, when we hear the scripture "give careful thought to your ways" from now on, I think we should probably give careful thought to our ways especially if God said it twice. When we aren't careful with our ways, God is typically silent until we come back to Him in prayer and petition and with a humble heart. We need to be careful, specifically because God loves us and wants a relationship with us.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Fantastic Friday #435 - Drift
Drift
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2:1-4
If you have ever been on a boat in the open water without an engine, have you ever paid attention to how far you will drift away from the location where you started? When you are in the water on a boat, you really can't control where you are going unless you have a paddle or a motor, so without these devices you could just continue to drift. The same thing can be said about our spiritual life and paying attention to what God has said regarding salvation and what we should be doing in our lives here on earth. We also need to be paying attention to the Holy Spirit, because God has given us this special gift to help keep us from drifting away. The Holy Spirit is like our paddle or motor that helps right the ship from drifting further and further away from our Father in Heaven. We just need to remember that each time we take our boat out that we all have the necessary paddles to stay on course.
Have a great weekend.
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2:1-4
If you have ever been on a boat in the open water without an engine, have you ever paid attention to how far you will drift away from the location where you started? When you are in the water on a boat, you really can't control where you are going unless you have a paddle or a motor, so without these devices you could just continue to drift. The same thing can be said about our spiritual life and paying attention to what God has said regarding salvation and what we should be doing in our lives here on earth. We also need to be paying attention to the Holy Spirit, because God has given us this special gift to help keep us from drifting away. The Holy Spirit is like our paddle or motor that helps right the ship from drifting further and further away from our Father in Heaven. We just need to remember that each time we take our boat out that we all have the necessary paddles to stay on course.
Have a great weekend.
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