Fantastic Friday #877 - Fervent

Fervent

23 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips,
but in their hearts they harbor deceit.
25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them,
for seven abominations fill their hearts. Proverbs 26:23-25

Fervent is a word that can be used in both a positive and a negative manner. The main meaning is having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm. As the scripture notes, the enemy uses people with evil in their heart to disguise who they really are with a passionate intensity that some people cannot ignore. These speech charmers can distract us so much from the message we need to hear, that we can fall into their trap with enthusiasm and excitement. I have seen this work in the past in many individuals who get so passionate about what they think is a path following Christ but they separate themselves from what is right and true. Sometimes the intensity we are feeling is the enemy and his tools that deceive us into thinking their way is the right way. How do you avoid this type of enemy? Well the first step is to pray, not just a conversation with God, but a fervent respectful prayer of protection from these types of people. God knows your heart, but He also wants to hear the words leave your mouth or mind. Knowing that you have a way to escape the fervent lips of evil and enter into the fervent love of God, I know that this kind of prayer works. So, pray fervently, pray carefully, pray with enthusiasm and let the Lord guide your daily walk.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #876 - Idols

Idols

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. Exodus 20:22-23

I am sure we have all heard people talk about idols in their lives, maybe possessions that you have that you focus on so much that they can pull you away from the important things, including God being at the top of that list. What is an idol in today's world? Webster defines it as an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed. God defines it differently as you can see in verse 23, and we should pay attention to His use of the word gods. These little gods can easily take our focus off God and His teachings, and they can also drive us down paths where our pursuits are wholly what the world tells us we need. Have you ever thought of time being an idol? I know I like my time, whether it be me sitting in silence or focusing on myself. We need to look at time as not being something we can control overall , but we can be open to letting people have our time. I spent a lot of time this weekend with people I had not seen in several years, and I made every effort to spend those moments with many of those friends and colleagues. It was an enjoyable few days, but it was not my time that I was sharing, it was their time they were sharing with me. My time wasn't important because I did not place my needs above their needs. If we viewed our time as something for someone else, we wouldn't idolize our own time so much and what we want. We all need our time with God and sometimes our alone periods, but relationships are where we grow and learn. Time is valuable and we need to take advantage of it every chance we get.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #875 - Gentle

Gentle

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:12-13

In today's society it seems there are an abundance of instances where people are not gentle with each other. They are yelling, not listening, and being rude, and that is just the beginning. Maybe social media has heightened our awareness of some of this, but each day I see where situations could be diffused with a simple gentle conversation. The problem comes when people don't know how to communicate in a calm and respectful way. Each day I write emails to people, and sometimes I really have to think about the words I use so that the email is not taken the wrong way. I hated the times when we worked from home, because I could not read the body language of the person I was speaking to. Now that we are back at work, I am very intentional about meeting with people in person so that the communication is not misinterpreted, and solutions can be worked through gently. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely times that I get fired up and am not gentle, but those are the times when I need to take a moment to pause and speak clearly and intelligently, and when I do, in the end I feel different. I feel like I have made an impact and not just because of what I say, but how I say it. I learned this week that an email I sent two months ago did not sit well with someone, and now I know why at the time. I know the reason because it was so much easier to communicate with them face-to-face in a gentle manner this week. Take a moment to think about how God communicates with you. It isn't with a loud thunderous voice, but one of a gentle, still small voice. If you remember that, you can listen for that and it will help you listen and communicate with others.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #874 - Deep

Deep

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Do you go into "Deep" thought during your day, week or regularly? My deep thoughts can sometimes leak into the thoughts about the mind of God and creation. I can sometimes get myself so worked up about what is next and what happened before, that I tend to think too much about the unknown deep thoughts of God and His plan. This scripture makes me think of a question, what does it take to really Love Him. Of course I know that I love Him because He is my creator and Father in Heaven, but do I honestly sit down each day and tell Him I truly Love Him? Instead of focusing too much on the deep thoughts of God, I should probably be thanking Him and telling Him how much I love Him and all He has done for me to prepare for my present and future. I should focus on the spirit and not the enemy driving me away from listening to the spirit. I know that deep down inside of me there is something that pulls me into what I need to be focusing on. We need to deeply look and listen for God's influence in our lives and the deep things of God will be revealed at the right time.

Have a great weekend.

Matt