Alarmed
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge. Psalm 14:4-6
What alarms you or overwhelms you? We know that daily the enemy works in secret trying to figure out ways to make us feel dread in our life. Whether it be an illness that seems to not getting better, an important meeting or project at work that seems daunting or an exam coming up that you know there is no way you can handle all the information you have on the test. You can just feel the negativity of that last sentence and how the enemy works to make you feel like you can't do, know, or become who God wants you to be. If you are in the present company of God, how can the enemy touch you with this doubt and dread? The enemy cannot and therein lies the secret. Be ever-present with God in your life and these daunting tasks will seem much more manageable and clear. God loves you and will frustrate the enemy's plan. Live in Him.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, September 27, 2019
Friday, September 20, 2019
Fantastic Friday #699 - Strength
Strength
11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” Judges 6:11-14
Do you find yourself stating, I don't have the strength. Maybe it is strength to move a box, get through a day, overcome an illness, or move past the personality conflict you have with someone. What does this strength mean? Fortitude, energy, courage are all interesting synonyms to go along with the word strength to accomplish something. Maybe you don't have the courage to face what is in front of you because of fear. We can all combat fear with our Lord leading the way, but we rarely do that. It is amazing to see Gideon's story play out, when he had 300 men that battled 10's of 1000's of enemies and defeated them all, because God was with Him. We cannot doubt ourselves or our God, we need to find our internal strength which comes from the Lord and accomplish His plan. When we doubt what God can do for us, the enemy sneaks in and makes us think we have no strength. Just like with Gideon, God can find a way to strengthen us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” Judges 6:11-14
Do you find yourself stating, I don't have the strength. Maybe it is strength to move a box, get through a day, overcome an illness, or move past the personality conflict you have with someone. What does this strength mean? Fortitude, energy, courage are all interesting synonyms to go along with the word strength to accomplish something. Maybe you don't have the courage to face what is in front of you because of fear. We can all combat fear with our Lord leading the way, but we rarely do that. It is amazing to see Gideon's story play out, when he had 300 men that battled 10's of 1000's of enemies and defeated them all, because God was with Him. We cannot doubt ourselves or our God, we need to find our internal strength which comes from the Lord and accomplish His plan. When we doubt what God can do for us, the enemy sneaks in and makes us think we have no strength. Just like with Gideon, God can find a way to strengthen us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, September 13, 2019
Fantastic Friday #698 - Let Go
Let Go
3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:3-4
How many of you have heard the statement of Let go and Let God? While well-intended, there is a huge flaw with this statement. Thank you first to my friend Dewayne for pointing this out, we all need friends in our life that show us God's Word and how we can us it in our daily lives. Iron sharpening Iron, I sure you have heard that before. Now back to "Let Go." There is nothing particularly wrong with this part of the statement, because there are many times we need to let go of what we are holding onto, or what circumstances we are in currently. The second part of the statement of "Let God" is wherein lies the problem. As my friend put it, if God is perfect and all powerful, does He really need us to Let Him do anything? The answer to that is fairly obvious. God does anything when He wants to, how He wants to and where He wants to. We have no control over how, when or where God does things. We do however have the ability to release whatever we are holding onto. When we show a true faith in God and His works, only then does the door open for God to do His good work. No matter how hard you think about it, we are not going to let God do anything, but we are going to be open to Him and His blessing. Humble yourself, let go of what you are holding onto and God will be just in His time.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:3-4
How many of you have heard the statement of Let go and Let God? While well-intended, there is a huge flaw with this statement. Thank you first to my friend Dewayne for pointing this out, we all need friends in our life that show us God's Word and how we can us it in our daily lives. Iron sharpening Iron, I sure you have heard that before. Now back to "Let Go." There is nothing particularly wrong with this part of the statement, because there are many times we need to let go of what we are holding onto, or what circumstances we are in currently. The second part of the statement of "Let God" is wherein lies the problem. As my friend put it, if God is perfect and all powerful, does He really need us to Let Him do anything? The answer to that is fairly obvious. God does anything when He wants to, how He wants to and where He wants to. We have no control over how, when or where God does things. We do however have the ability to release whatever we are holding onto. When we show a true faith in God and His works, only then does the door open for God to do His good work. No matter how hard you think about it, we are not going to let God do anything, but we are going to be open to Him and His blessing. Humble yourself, let go of what you are holding onto and God will be just in His time.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, September 6, 2019
Fantastic Friday #697 - Cry
Cry
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror. Psalm 10:17-18
Some days I wonder if the Lord hears my cry. I want answers but I don't always hear them. People give an encouraging word, yet I ignore it wondering why the Lord is silent. Does any of this sound like something you say? God is always there to hear us, whether we rejoice in His name or cry out to him in agony for relief from something going on in our life. This scripture easily reminds us that the Lord hears us and cares for us. We just don't see it sometimes because we want an answer now! Remember, God does listen, He does respond, it is just only when we are ready to hear his response or He is ready. It may be yes, it may be no, or it may be not yet. Wear this verse on your heart to remind yourself that God does hear us and cares for us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror. Psalm 10:17-18
Some days I wonder if the Lord hears my cry. I want answers but I don't always hear them. People give an encouraging word, yet I ignore it wondering why the Lord is silent. Does any of this sound like something you say? God is always there to hear us, whether we rejoice in His name or cry out to him in agony for relief from something going on in our life. This scripture easily reminds us that the Lord hears us and cares for us. We just don't see it sometimes because we want an answer now! Remember, God does listen, He does respond, it is just only when we are ready to hear his response or He is ready. It may be yes, it may be no, or it may be not yet. Wear this verse on your heart to remind yourself that God does hear us and cares for us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
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