Fantastic Friday #752 - Thoughts

Thoughts

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55: 6-11



I hope that you have been thinking this week. I also hope your thoughts have been positive and uplifting. With so much evil in the world and anger, it is very easy to slip into thoughts of that same hate. This week I watched a video where police officers were being treated very badly verbally and being accosted for no reason while they were just doing their jobs. This mistreatment has made me angry the last couple of days as I try to rationalize why I am feeling so angry. Then I started to realize that God sees all these actions, including these people's thoughts and my own thoughts toward these actions. Why didn't I call on the Lord when I was feeling that anger in my heart, maybe it is because the actions were so evil and I allowed my anger to be kindled. Once I remembered my thoughts can be heard by God, it changed how I began to feel. I know that God knows the thoughts of all people and He probably is sad when people mistreat each other. We just need to remember that God will achieve His purpose and we should try and make our thoughts clean and full of kindness. Keep anger and hate for the enemy, and live a life of passion chasing after good thoughts.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #751 - Messenger

Messenger

24 “This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,
25 who foils the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,
who overthrows the learning of the wise
and turns it into nonsense,
26 who carries out the words of his servants
and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, Isaiah 44:24-26a


What do you listen to when messengers share information? Do you take what is said for gospel, do you dissect it piece by piece, do you ignore it, or do you just listen to part of what is shared. Today, messages come to us in many forms across many avenues. Sometimes there are just brief statements with not a full explanation that have character limits. Other forms include full articles written in an opinion format, or a visual story of 2-3 minutes with some information but holes and gaps. We also have pictures that send a message, but maybe not the complete message and we also have the technological manipulated images that don't give the full picture. I can't think of any better messenger than our Father in Heaven. Our God of the Bible gave the full story through prophets and His son Jesus Christ. When we hear messages today, the best thing for us to do is to ask God how He wishes us to hear those messages. Are the messages true, a little research can help you decide along with the Holy Spirit who prompts us when things don't seem quite right. We won't always be able to decipher the messages we receive, but if we open our hearts to God and what He wants us to hear, the noise will be silenced and we can trust that God has what is best for us. Trust in the messengers that God sends, and have reasonable expectations that not every messenger is sharing the truth. Choose what is known vs. the unknown. Choose God.



Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #750 - Freedom

Freedom

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:13-16

When you think about being free, what first comes to mind? For those who are Americans, is it the U.S. Flag, is it the military that has fought to preserve our freedom, or is it the constitution that gives us freedoms and rights. Freedom also is the ability to make your own decisions, now the question should be is how do you use that freedom? Do you use it to serve others, or do you do it to possibly harm the well-being of others. When we have the freedom to say and do as we please, we also have the choice of how we say and do those things. Today, people are using their freedoms to blatantly attack other's belief systems, their faith and their families. We need to remember that God was very specific about the freedoms He gave us, and we shouldn't abuse those freedoms. Many people in the world don't have the same freedoms we have to worship, to teach, and to love others. God has provided a special gift and we need to remember to humbly use it and not to abuse it. Use your freedom wisely.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #749 - Situations

Situations

17 Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. 1 Corinthians 7:17a

Our situations are not much different from each other as people. We wake up, we eat, we go to school or work, we eat lunch, we work some more, then we come home, we eat, and finally we go to bed and the next day it starts all over again. I know this is a very simplistic way to look at our lives and there are many holes in these steps that I have listed, but those holes are where we most likely differ. What do you do in those gaps between eating and sleeping? Are you bettering yourself, or are you being a stagnant human being? Those of us who are believers, I hope that you fit God into those gaps with prayer and reading the scriptures. I also hope that you approach each situation as a God-assigned situation, and not as a negative situation that you can't seem to overcome. God calls us to each and every situation presented and expects us to handle each situation, not alone but with His help. He already knows we can't do it on our own, but he wants us to trust Him to help us through it. Keep in mind that not all situations are able to be solved immediately, but God provides a plan and path for us, all we have to do is follow it. Live as a believer and things will be easier than if you approach something in a negative fashion.

Have a great weekend.

Matt