Fantastic Friday # 969 - Presence

Presence


You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11



Do you sometimes find yourself looking for the presence of our Lord And Savior? How involved are you when looking for His presence? There are times in our life where all we want is to have Him guiding us and steering the ship. Sometimes, however, God is silent, and let’s go of us for a brief time to allow us to be tested. He is always there for us, no matter how much we try to push him away, sometimes willingly or sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives that he becomes second instead of a priority for our life. If we want him present with us, we have to make those steps to always be present with him. Our father loves us, and he will never let go completely, we just have to be willing to hold on as he guides us through our life.


Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday #968 - Difficulties

 Difficulties

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song. Psalm 95:1-2

We all will deal with difficulties in our life, it is just part of the overall plan.  I know many will ask why would a loving God give me difficulties to overcome, and there is no good answer.  I do know this, that the closer I am to our Father in Heaven, the less these difficulties will feel like burdens.  God makes our burdens light, and the difficulties He can get us through with a learning plus reliance on what He has for our life.  It is not always so easy to see, especially when we are in the middle of a difficult situation, but maybe we need to change what our focus should be.  This set of verses honors our God and lets other people see how we feel if we are thankful and rejoicing His name. So, take a moment to be thankful, take a moment to sing joy to the Lord, and take a moment to rely on Him more deeply during your difficult circumstances.  It is clear to me that He will lift that burden and lighten your shoulders.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #967 - Payback

Payback


Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.” Proverbs 24:29


Do you ever feel wronged by someone and feel like you want to pay them back by doing something just as wrong or even worse than what they did for you? It is common to feel bad when someone has wronged you, but there are things we can do to avoid feeling like we have to pay someone back. Jesus talked about turning the other cheek, and there are lessons in His life on earth when people did many bad things to Him and He would not respond in kind. Maybe someone did something years ago to you and you still haven't forgiven them, so you do things to alienate them or take on another form of retaliation that hurts them. God wants us to forgive individuals, just as He has forgiven us. We don't need to get in the world mindset of paying someone back, but we need to see how we can be brave enough and strong enough to walk away from things that hurt us. We need to remember that God loves us and will do anything for us and He will not leave us.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #966 - Government

Government


Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Romans 13:1

In the United States, every four years the citizens of this nation put forth their vote for candidates in many government races. The feelings are strong on all sides of the electorate, and many times those personal feelings can put a wall between people who are normally friends because their beliefs may not totally align with each other. I saw many hate-filled comments by people on all sides of the electorate throughout this process, but what I couldn't understand is how these comments turn so easily into strong hate, frustration and people acting out. I continued to remember this verse in Romans, and how God allows the authorities to be put in place, not just in the United States, but around the world. The enemy is the one that drives the wedge between people and creates a great divide which is where all that hate comes from. It is interesting that the majority of people in the U.S. went about their next day knowing the cycle of change of leadership in place is no different than the past 200+ years. If we focus on the fact that it was established by God and know that faith in our Lord and Savior will guide us through our life, no matter who you think would have been the better person in office, you know that God has this. Keep your focus on the things above and less on the impact of everything else.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #965 - Sorrow

Sorrow

10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

I have felt sorrow the last few weeks for a number of things. For the individuals I know who have lost someone dear to them, for those who suffer from an addiction, for the people who do not know Christ and continue to put up roadblocks, and for those who know Christ who are pulled away from Him because of a path they choose to follow. I feel sorrow when someone relies upon something of this world more than they rely on the faithfulness of our father. This scripture I came across this week helped remind me of the sorrow that we all carry and how it can lead to keeping us further away from our Father in Heaven. I guess my short response this week is we all need to have a Godly sorrow to bring us to repentance and closer to our Lord and Savior and focus less on the sorrow that the enemy wants us to have. Be joyful and eager with your life, and know that God is with us.

Have a great weekend.

Matt