Fantastic Friday #774 - Bodies

Bodies

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21

Exactly one year ago we lost my mom to a horrible disease that ravaged her body. I have had my ups and downs with her loss this year, and other events seem to have made me wonder about why she and others have to suffer in their body so much. I realized this week after remembering this scripture on one of my early morning walks, that these are just lowly vessels that we have and our true body is not here right now. I am reminded now that living here on earth is just a preparation for what is to come and I should not be as sad as I am with the loss of her. She is still with me in many ways, and mostly with what she invested in me and how she showed me to be a loving parent, and I hope I have instilled in my kids the same kind of example. I hope this can provide encouragement to you that your body is just a vessel and your mind and heart should be where Christ rests.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #773 - Preparation

 Good Morning,

Preparation

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
    for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
    or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
    and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
    an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
    and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
    Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
    when the surface of the deep is frozen? Job 38:22-30


This week the entire state of Texas was shut down because we received weather that we typically aren't used to seeing and certainly aren't prepared for dealing with.  I have people I know that lost power for days, and my campus lost internet connectivity for over 72 hours.  The common conveniences were gone, people suffered in the cold, and others didn't have enough food stored up to eat.  Some things like a catastrophic weather event we cannot completely prepare for, but there is something that we can prepare for, and that is the path that God wants us to take.  How did you feel when you lost a common convenience and seeing that you were not prepared for it?  I believe God feels emotion when he loses the attention of those souls when they are lost in the common convenience and distractions of this world.  Take a moment to realize that the same God who created the world, and brought this weather this week, is the same God who loves us and cares for us and wants to show us the way.  He can break through the thickest ice to reach us, we just have to make preparations and want Him to come to us.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #772 - Fight

Fight


1 Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and armor;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin[a]
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.”Psalm 35:1-3

This week I saw about 50 robins around my backyard on roofs around me just sitting, and every once in a while a robin would fly into my backyard. It looked like it would be going for my trees with berries. The moment each robin crossed my fence line, they were immediately attacked by a mockingbird who had taken up residence here. So, for over two hours this kept occurring where a robin would come in and then the mockingbird would fight it off. It was quite the interesting dance, but then I realized that the mockingbird was trying to protect something valuable. This is the same thing that our Father in Heaven has done for us by regularly protecting us from the enemy. We are valuable in His eyes and his protection is there from things that try to steal us from Him. We need to take heart that God is there to protect us, we just need to do our part and ask him to protect us against the fiery darts of the enemy. He is the One that can contend with anything thrown at us.


Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #771 - Quiet

Quiet

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26

Do you find yourself talking to God and sometimes crying out to Him for answers? Shouting at the top of your lungs for a response, or shouting on the inside for a clear and present feeling. Yes, you can shout in silence and I have done it. I have shouted so loud internally that my body aches in pain from the scream. That probably didn't do much good, and the answer didn't come any quicker than God intended. On many of my walks in the morning, there is a great deal of silence in the darkness, but there is always sound. I pray while I walk, but times the distraction of the darkness doesn't lend itself to a calming quiet conversation with God. I even find that in my silent conversations with God, they can tend to be one-sided of me asking why or how, instead of being grateful for the why and how. Sometimes we just need to remember to be quiet, in our heart and our mind. We need to be quiet, not for Him to hear us, but for us to hear Him. We need to wait patiently and quietly for the answer, because in my experience most of the answers have come when I am at peace and in a quiet place. Quiet is good, just remember to be quiet on the inside and outside when you need to be.

Have a great weekend.

Matt