Fantastic Friday #890 - Place

Place

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Psalm 84:1-3

Do you find yourself wondering about your place in life? This week I was sitting on my back porch watching a mother and father bluebird feeding their young in our birdhouse. They would come back regularly with a worm or other insect in their mouth, and it reminded me that God cares enough about His creation of birds to have some way to have a new life fed. Stepping back and thinking if God cares enough to provide food and a place for a bird, think about how much more He cares about us and what He has provided us. Everyone has a place and it is important to recognize that God has given us this place. It is also important to remember to thank God for our place and what He has provided and continue to strengthen that relationship with our Father in Heaven.

Have a great day.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #889 - Work

Work


10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Hebrews 6:10-12


What do you think of as work? Your job away from home, your job at home, your job at school, or your job of raising a family. All of these are work, but the true work that we probably should take a closer look at is the work of the Lord. What work does He want us to do? He wants us to bring more individuals who are lost to Him, but how? Everyone has their own personal gifts, some of evangelism, some of teaching and others of encouragement. One thing is true and all of these gifts, they all lead a path to the Lord. For the simplest of things of telling or showing about God and His plan for us, we are working. We are working not for our own salvation, but the salvation of others. When we see that we don't have to work for ourselves, but for other's rewards, it makes it seem a little less like work. Take a moment and think how you can do the Lord's work through simple acts that could lead to a huge reward, not for you, but for those you work for daily.

Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday #888 - Forgive

Forgive

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18: 21-22;35

Do you feel that forgiveness is hard? It might be someone who you regularly have issues with, and they continue to make your life quite difficult. They might be that person that is constantly making your life miserable by doing things that impact your success or your plans. When Jesus was asked how many times to forgive, He was pretty clear how many times we should forgive someone, so how do we balance what Jesus says vs. our personal feelings toward a difficult individual. I think it all boils down to our true forgiveness of that person, and what that can do for our soul. When you truly forgive someone, there is a burden that is lifted and you can see that person as God sees them. The more you pray and forgive that person from your heart, the more the weight that person puts on you is lifted. We need to remember that God has the power to bring relief to you for your challenges, as long as you prayerfully forgive.


Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #887 - Sliver

Sliver


14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers. Psalm 78:14-16



One morning this week on my drive, the clouds were forming an interesting view of the sun coming up. There was this little sliver in the clouds that the sun was peeking through making an amazing light show for morning sunrise. It reminded me of how God guided the Israelites in their escape from Egypt with His own light show, but what it also reminded me of was God's neverending giving. We can daily look at our work and tasks and think that we have it all under control, then something spins on its head and the next thing you know we are underwater, or it feels like it. Do we stop down when this happens and pray for God to guide us or assist us with our day, or do we think that we can regain control of our day on our own. I guarantee the more we try to do things on our own, the more we are going to be buried. The simple task of turning to God will allow Him to create that sliver that can give us an abundance of courage, passion and guidance to do our jobs and life well. For in reality, is it not doing our life well what we all want? Just like God split the rocks and provided abundance, He can do the same for you through the smallest sliver. All we have to do is ask and focus on the slivers of presence of our Lord and Savior.


Have a great weekend.


Matt