Fantastic Friday #447 - Blessings

Blessings

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And 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 3:16-17

Giving thanks is something we shouldn't just reserve for that one day out of the year, although there is nothing wrong with remembering to sit down with family and give thanks.  I also see the one month lists of thanks permeating social media by many folks and there is good to reflect on there too.  So, what prevents most people from giving thanks on a regular basis, or even daily?  Most of the time, it is everything else that is going on that interferes in our thoughts of giving thanks.  So how do we counteract that part of our life to give thanks, it is as simple as looking at the smallest blessings.  The one blessing we might start with is giving God thanks for His Son's sacrifice and then go from there.  It could be as simple as a roof over your head, a job, your kids, your spouse, water, food, electricity, heat, a/c, transportation, close-toed shoes, zippers, trees, dirt, people in your life, and the list of blessings could go on and on.  So, when you think things are tough, thank God for the small blessings in your life and the big things may not seem like such a big deal.  Remember, God can handle everything.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #446 - Topple

Topple

³ How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down—
    this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
⁴ Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. Psalm 62:3-6
I watched my youngest son put together quite the Lego masterpiece this week.  It happened to be one of the Star Wars walkers, and if you know anything about Star Wars you know that the smallest grappling hook and wire made one of these beasts fall in the movie.  While I was watching my son put together this walker, it toppled a couple of times until he had every piece attached correctly, then it was a sturdy piece to maneuver around the living room.  Our lives are much like this walker as we pass through this existence.  When we have God in our life, we have a sturdy foundation to keep us from toppling over. However, when we don't have the regular pieces of God in our life, prayer, scripture study and worship then we can tend to lean away from His sturdy foundation and could eventually topple over and crash. The thing about God is that He is a forgiving God and can raise us back up if we lean into Him and His teachings.  Don't let the grappling hooks and wire of this world topple you.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #445 - Whole Story

Whole Story

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. ⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. ⁷ Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
⁸ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
⁹ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. Acts 11:4-10

Do you sometimes only listen to part of something or read small piece of something?  When you only receive bits and pieces to something, it can be very hard to follow or understand.  I know that sometimes in my life I get information that is not complete so I don't get a true picture of the whole story.  I also know that I make mistakes and don't listen like I should or pay attention to the people I love most.  This has a very serious negative consequence and one that I must overcome, however I cannot do it on my own.  I stopped Peter's story in verse 10 above. Didn't it feel incomplete and don't you feel like you wanted more?  God wants us and has given us a whole story that provides a way for us to be back with him. It is up to us to finish the story He has already written for us and allow us to be changed by him.  We must remember we need the whole story and not part of it. Now, go back and read the whole story Peter is telling in Acts 11 and I guarantee you will see where you fit into this story.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #444 - Eager

Eager

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14

Do you wake up with an eager heart in the morning?  This is not so easy to do at times, because eagerness is not the first thing that comes to most people's minds.  A lot of times we let what burdens us follow us to the bed, and it is usually the first thing we wake up thinking about.  How do we boldly look to battle the worldly influences that weigh heavily on our minds?  We look to our Lord eagerly each morning for giving us another opportunity to live for Him.  Maybe we spend too much time living for ourselves, and if we eagerly lived for Him our eagerness to live our lives full of compassion and righteousness would be impacted.  Be eager for the Lord and I am sure the eagerness would rub off on your life.

Have a great weekend.