Path
34Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain. Psalm 119:34-36
This week a friend posted a picture online of a choice between two trails that she could have traveled on, one was named Glacier Meadow Loop and the other was Pacific Crest Trail. At first glance, these two names provide a very pleasant picture in my mind of what the hike might be like. The Meadow with its green grasses it's beautiful trees and wildlife give a wonderful view of the creation that God has made. The Crest trail reminded me of walking on a Cliff next to an ocean watching the waves lap against the shoreline. Those trails are not what we usually face daily in our world. We have decisions we need to make when deciding on the right trail to take. We need to take the one that can help us find joy and hopefully lead us closer to God. So when we need help deciding between two paths, turn to the Lord and all that he has given us to guide us down the path to righteousness. God will not disappoint us and He is always there.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, July 30, 2021
Friday, July 23, 2021
Fantastic Friday #795 - Living
Living
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:15-16
How many times do you go through your day acknowledging the Son of the Living God and who Jesus really is in your life? If your child comes to you saying Who am I, you could answer that you are my son or daughter, but that would be an obvious answer because we know who they are and have no question of their role in our relationship. What is challenging in today's world, because Jesus is not physically standing beside us, is we tend to forget who He is and what He has done for us. While we know who He is, we probably don't spend a lot of time acknowledging it. We don't fully recognize His involvement in every aspect of our day, and we certainly can find ourselves losing track of where we should be walking. The next time you have a moment, thank God and recognize who He is in your life. He doesn't get tired of hearing from us, and the closer we are to him, the more we will be impacted by His presence.
Have a great weekend.
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:15-16
How many times do you go through your day acknowledging the Son of the Living God and who Jesus really is in your life? If your child comes to you saying Who am I, you could answer that you are my son or daughter, but that would be an obvious answer because we know who they are and have no question of their role in our relationship. What is challenging in today's world, because Jesus is not physically standing beside us, is we tend to forget who He is and what He has done for us. While we know who He is, we probably don't spend a lot of time acknowledging it. We don't fully recognize His involvement in every aspect of our day, and we certainly can find ourselves losing track of where we should be walking. The next time you have a moment, thank God and recognize who He is in your life. He doesn't get tired of hearing from us, and the closer we are to him, the more we will be impacted by His presence.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, July 16, 2021
Fantastic Friday #794 - Attentive
Attentive
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” Nehemiah 1:10-11
Do you have those people around you that are half in and half out? They might be partially listening to what you are saying, but the moment you bring something up that you thought they didn't hear, they are like, oh yeah, I heard you. So how are you when you are paying attention to God and His teachings and word? Are you half in and half out, do you partially listen to the still small voice, or do you just only listen to the things that you think impact you. God doesn't want our partial attention, He wants us to be attentive in every aspect of our life to His teaching. We might not realize it at the time, but He teaches us regularly, even when we are half in. We just need to make a conscious effort to be fully attentive when He is trying to show us something. When we begin to do this, it will help us be more attentive to others in our relationships. I hope you are more attentive today.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” Nehemiah 1:10-11
Do you have those people around you that are half in and half out? They might be partially listening to what you are saying, but the moment you bring something up that you thought they didn't hear, they are like, oh yeah, I heard you. So how are you when you are paying attention to God and His teachings and word? Are you half in and half out, do you partially listen to the still small voice, or do you just only listen to the things that you think impact you. God doesn't want our partial attention, He wants us to be attentive in every aspect of our life to His teaching. We might not realize it at the time, but He teaches us regularly, even when we are half in. We just need to make a conscious effort to be fully attentive when He is trying to show us something. When we begin to do this, it will help us be more attentive to others in our relationships. I hope you are more attentive today.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, July 9, 2021
Fantastic Friday #793 - Shadow
Shadow
10 Whatever exists has already been named,
and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
with someone who is stronger.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? Ecclesiastes 6:10-12
Have you ever stared at a shadow and seen how it differs from the area that is not in the shadow? Shadows can hide imperfections, minor issues, and people can hide in shadows, especially at night. But why hide in a shadow? There are many reasons that people hide in the shadows, either they don't want to be out front, don't want to be seen, or are hiding from something. Why not exit the shadow and show your true self, it is something we should all be asking ourselves right now. Hiding in a shadow is easy, hiding in clear daylight is very difficult. When I say come into the light, I am asking you to show yourself, your talents and gifts to those who need them. I could have hid in the shadows 793 weeks ago, but I decided with a friend's encouragement to shine a light. While the light shows my imperfections, I am ok with that because I am not perfect in my word and deed, but do you know what is perfect? God's Word is perfect and if you can take a lesson from the Word this week, let it be that you not let your days pass through like a shadow, but let them be seen in the sun.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
10 Whatever exists has already been named,
and what humanity is has been known;
no one can contend
with someone who is stronger.
11 The more the words,
the less the meaning,
and how does that profit anyone?
12 For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone? Ecclesiastes 6:10-12
Have you ever stared at a shadow and seen how it differs from the area that is not in the shadow? Shadows can hide imperfections, minor issues, and people can hide in shadows, especially at night. But why hide in a shadow? There are many reasons that people hide in the shadows, either they don't want to be out front, don't want to be seen, or are hiding from something. Why not exit the shadow and show your true self, it is something we should all be asking ourselves right now. Hiding in a shadow is easy, hiding in clear daylight is very difficult. When I say come into the light, I am asking you to show yourself, your talents and gifts to those who need them. I could have hid in the shadows 793 weeks ago, but I decided with a friend's encouragement to shine a light. While the light shows my imperfections, I am ok with that because I am not perfect in my word and deed, but do you know what is perfect? God's Word is perfect and if you can take a lesson from the Word this week, let it be that you not let your days pass through like a shadow, but let them be seen in the sun.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, July 2, 2021
Fantastic Friday #792 - Shaken
Shaken
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.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:5-7
On my way off the beach this last week I observed something that was very different from our entry to the beach. Our entry consisted of fairly smooth sailing up the beach on a sand foundation that had received some rain, so there were some good tracks to follow. The way out at the end of the week, we were not so lucky as the road had turned into something like the consistency of powdered snow. When I tried to cross several feet of powdery sand to get near the water, the whole vehicle began to bounce over the humps in the sand and every person in our care was shaken like fusing a gravy mix together. I think they all left their seats, even with the safety belts on. I realized that this was not the best decision but could not believe how un-travelable this area really was until that moment. Our life can have a similar path that is smooth and easy, but there are always those times when we get off track and the entire road is bumpy and not travelable. When we begin to realize that God is in control of our life, and prevents us from being shaken, then and only then will we decide to depend more on God during these times. Don't be shaken, but find the smooth road God has laid out for us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:5-7
On my way off the beach this last week I observed something that was very different from our entry to the beach. Our entry consisted of fairly smooth sailing up the beach on a sand foundation that had received some rain, so there were some good tracks to follow. The way out at the end of the week, we were not so lucky as the road had turned into something like the consistency of powdered snow. When I tried to cross several feet of powdery sand to get near the water, the whole vehicle began to bounce over the humps in the sand and every person in our care was shaken like fusing a gravy mix together. I think they all left their seats, even with the safety belts on. I realized that this was not the best decision but could not believe how un-travelable this area really was until that moment. Our life can have a similar path that is smooth and easy, but there are always those times when we get off track and the entire road is bumpy and not travelable. When we begin to realize that God is in control of our life, and prevents us from being shaken, then and only then will we decide to depend more on God during these times. Don't be shaken, but find the smooth road God has laid out for us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
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