Fantastic Friday #809 - Age

Age

7 I thought, ‘Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.’
8 But it is the spirit in a person,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
9 It is not only the old who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right. Job 32:7-9

Through my 51 years I have seen a lot, experienced a ton more, and challenges have come and gone. Most recently I have buried two parents at too young an age, at least by my standards. I learned so much from each of them through the years and I am proud that I can carry on the name of our family, including the faith I have in Christ. But I do feel sadness that they are gone, but during their age and throughout the years they reminded me to love and care for my family through all things. I was also reminded that the acts of caring do not come from me but come from above, and the learning that takes place can carry us on past when they are gone. My parents taught me so much wisdom these past few years, and reminded me that God is caring and loving. You might wonder how I can say God is loving and caring with their passing, but He is and was and will always be when it comes to call His children home. So I may not be old, but I am wiser than I once was and hope that you all can become more wise by turning to God with all your pain and suffering. The sadness will come and go, but God will always be there.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #808 - Weak

Weak

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 8:10

We all can be weak and can suffer, and some just do not know how to handle it. We can cry out to the Lord as loud as we want, yet if He desires us to go through challenges so that we rely on Him, then we will. When we don't rely on Him to give us His grace, then we are turning out back on Him. He will rescue us if we are faithful and cry out to Him for Him to lift the burden. This week I saw my Dad pass into Heaven to be with God and my mother. My Dad had many weaknesses but he did the best he could to show us the path to Jesus. While he wasn't always the same dad we grew up with, I know that God makes us perfect and takes away the pain that we suffer here on earth. We just need to understand our pain is not always taken care of here. I hope that these messages give you a hope that is hard for some people to find.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #807 - Crafty

Crafty

11 The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Job 5:11-13

Do you have experience with a crafty person? Someone who is cunning to gain an advantage or downright evil to have something come out in their favor. Our family has encountered an individual in the past couple of weeks that thinks they are being crafty, but in reality, their craftiness is just evil that impacts us in a negative way. I am not typically judgmental, but some things make me so angry. When I sit back and look at it, this person taking advantage of a situation and lying to benefit themselves personally can only bring temporary success, especially if you believe in God's Word. I believe in God's Word and His teachings and know that God will handle things like this in His own time. Until then, we just have to continue to trust and love God with all our hearts, and fight against the crafty people who take advantage of every situation that comes their way. We cannot get angry for things that are out of our control, but have to continually focus on good and treating others with respect and love.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #806 - Water

Water

You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Psalm 63:1-5

Does water satisfy your thirst? Think about it, when you are truly thirsty does anything but water satisfy your thirst? If you look at all the beverages out there, sports drinks, sodas, calorie free drinks, it feels there is always something missing from them to satisfy us completely. Water is almost always there and can create true satisfaction. Once you drink it, is your thirst not gone completely? When you are hungry and need to quell the hunger pains you might drink a big glass of water, does it not make the pains go away and your belly feels slightly full? What else do you look to in order to fill your thirst for God? Is it the Bible or searching for God himself, or do you look to society, pastors, leaders or the internet? I guarantee the only place you are going to be satisfied within is with a true relationship with God and His Word. He is Power and the One that can change your life. He can satisfy you fully, just like the water can satisfy your physical thirst, God will satisfy your spiritual thirst.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #805 - Want

Want

16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. Romans 9: 16-18

What do you want? Truly, what do you want to have happen to you? What does God want? This is a pretty simple answer, He wants you. The challenge is that not everyone wants God, they want the things of this world because they think those bring them happiness. There is only one thing that can bring true happiness, and that is a relationship with God. The enemy doesn't want us or care about us, he just wants to pull us away from God. We have to focus our desire on God and His mercy. If we want God, then we can overcome the challenges and sin that enters our hearts. God will harden the hearts of those who don't seek them, and while they might be able to enjoy the things of this world, unless they pursue Him, then they won't experience the Glory that God wants for us. God wants us so we should want Him more.

Have a great weekend.

Matt