Fantastic Friday #916 - Giving

 Giving

The precepts of the Lord are right,giving joy to the heart.The commands of the Lord are radiant,giving light to the eyes.  Psalm 19:8

In this time of giving, I tend to think about things that we can give to others.  It’s not always a physical gift, it could be time, it could be sharing a good word, or it could be something that has benefited us in the past that can benefit someone else. How often do we think of what God is giving us on a daily basis? I find that it is hard sometimes to remember the things that God gives us that can give joy to us. If we take this little reminder that God does this to help our hearts grow and become closer to him, the giving we can provide to others may show people something that they are not familiar with in the relationship with God.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #915 - Maximum

Maximum

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 2 Peter 3:11-15

When you complete a task do you give your maximum effort? Or, do you provide just enough effort that will get the job done, I see people every day putting forth a limited effort to get from one place to another, or just enough effort to understand what is being discussed. Our effort we put forth can be seen by others, and if we are only putting forth a partial effort for God and his plan, we could fall short severely. In everything we do we should make every effort to follow the guidelines He has set out for us, and when we do this it will make following God so much easier. Minimal effort brings minimal results, however Maximum effort brings about a multitude of blessings. Make your effort fruitful and maximize the possibilities around you.


Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #914 - Snow

Snow

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:16-18

My sister had her first snow of the season a week or so ago. While it was cold and rainy here where I live, just a few days later it was in the 80s. It is amazing the transition of the seasons and the different places around the world. So are the seasons in our lives, where one day can be a day filled with joy and happiness, come the next day it can be filled with challenges and concern. When we are apart from God, we can have sadness and darkness in our lives. While we will always have challenges and concerns in our lives, I can have confidence that God is always there and can rescue me from whatever is going on. Knowing that our sins can be forgiven, gives me hope to make it through the challenging times. We need to be obedient, and we need to follow what path God has set out for us. God can give us a picture of perfection, and we just need to strive to be those individuals that seek Him out daily. Just like the fresh first fallen snow, our sinful life can be made clean and beautiful.

Fantastic Friday #913 - Discover

Discover

23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly. Ecclesiastes 7:23-25


What have you discovered in the past week when reflecting on your life? We all have a purpose and want to improve ourselves, and I assume we want to pursue wisdom from God. However, our mind can get cluttered and can retreat into some pretty dark places if we aren't careful. The wickedness of people is prevalent and has always been around, but with wisdom we can avoid it, along with discovering what God wants for each one of us. We need to daily turn our mind to learn and understand what God wants, and fend off the enemy with everything we have. Discover what God wants from you and live it. Find the thing that keeps you close to Him and develop that wisdom of life to be able to share with others.

Have a great weekend.

Matt