Fantastic Friday #223- Visible

Visible

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you." Ephesians 5:8-14

When you take a look around you what do you see? A world that has good and a world that has bad. A world that has light and a world that has dark. A world that has sinful people. Where is it that you live in this world, in the visible or hidden in the invisible? Do you live sometimes in the good and sometimes in the dark thinking that no one can see in the dark? Each one of us struggles with living a righteous life because the world tells us it is exciting to be a little bad or live in the dark, because the sun always comes up in the morning. But, how many of us are guaranteed to see the sun come up in the morning. Let us live as individuals who live for the light and want people to see how Christ resides in us. Shake a little salt in your life and give it a flavor that all will enjoy.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #222- Two(2)

Two (2)

⁶And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.

⁸These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. ¹⁰Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."

¹²They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Mark 6:6-13

How many of us go through our day on our own? I am a single person who handles exactly what I am meant to handle and complete without the help others. I also don't need anyone else, because at least when I do it myself, I know it gets done right. So a question comes to mind, how is that working for you? When Jesus sent out his disciples, he didn't send them out on their own, he sent them out two by two. Interesting that Christ knew that they could not do it on their own but needed to work in pairs. So, when you think of how much you can do on your own, think of how much you can do with someone else helping you. And when you think of telling someone about Christ and His impact on your life, think about how much more impact it can have when you do this with someone else. Also, remember, you are not always on your own. Two is always better than one, why do you think God gave man a companion.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #221- Sting

Sting


⁵⁵"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

This last week the family and I took a trip down to the beach and went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a beautiful time to enjoy God and His creation, and we even avoided the tar balls, none to be seen. What we were unable to avoid was the stinging sensation of a few jellyfish that everyone felt at some point while we were there. Seeing the kids and their reaction to the painful sting reminded me of how vulnerable we all are to sin, and what sin can do to us. One moment we are enjoying life, and the next moment we are slipping into sin and feeling the pain it causes. Eventually the sting of the jellyfish goes away, but you are reminded of the sting by an itching sensation that just doesn't seem to go away. We don't have to feel that stinging sensation, because with Christ He is our healer. Just like Paul says in Romans 6, ...Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! ... Don't slip into sin that can sting as bad as a jellyfish and sometimes worse, but live in Christ that you may enjoy a sting-free life with Christ showing the way to avoid the jellyfish.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #220 Delay

Delay

¹⁶ But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The LORD be exalted!"

¹⁷ Yet I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
O my God, do not delay. Psalm 40:16-17

So, the day has begun with a little delay, but Friday is not over to make it Fantastic. Sometimes our life is full of delays. The delays on the way to see your family, the delays we might experience in a store, and the delays we might experience when attending an event with 40,000 of your closest friends. What you usually find I imagine at the end of those delays is mostly gratifyingand even more wonderful than you anticipated. I think the same kind of anticipation you can experience in the search for God in your life. Do you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for God to reveal Himself to you, or do you get frustrated with the delays you experience in waiting for God's answer. Just remember that God is our deliverer and He will delay our answers until He feels we are ready to handle all that He will provide. Just remember, our reward is not here but is delayed until God's time.

Fantastic Friday #219 - Roads

Roads

⁴As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"A voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
⁵Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
⁶And all mankind will see God's salvation.' " Luke 3:4-6

Every day we travel on some kind of road. Whether it be that path from the bed to the kitchen, the door to the car, the car to our job, or the path back to our bed at night. Along those roads we might stub our toe, trip on a hose across a sidewalk, hit a bump in the road, or slip on the wet kitchen floor. All of these little things can bring about a moment of being startled, and as soon as we are done with the pain or surprise we continue on the path we were traveling on. Now, you begin to ask yourself why you weren't paying close enough attention to the road in front of you, and if you had you wouldn't be in pain. As you look back at the day and the many roads you traveled and the many people you came in contact with, how many of them did you really pay close attention to, and how many can you see yourself paving the way for Christ's return by showing the straight path you travel. We might have stubs, trips, bumps, or slips in our life as we travel on the road, but we need to remember to pay more attention to our path on that road and how we might be able to show others that road to Christ.

Have a great weekend.

#218 All In

All In

6Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-18

At times we have heard the phrase, "are you in or are you out?" When in your life have you had to decide whether to be all in or out completely? That decision is usually based on how you feel at the time, or can be easily influenced by someone else. The world tells us to compete at a high level, be successful at all we do, just do it, and be #1. How many of us look at God when we are making decisions that impact our lives and others, or do we rely on ourselves and what the world tells us to be. Maybe as we look at our life and decisions we make daily we should view them as being "All In" the name of the Lord and not leaving Him out of our life. Be "All In" with the Lord, it will make you feel victorious in your life.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #217 If Only

If Only

¹⁴ If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.

¹⁵ If I am guilty—woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in my affliction.

¹⁶ If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion
and again display your awesome power against me.

¹⁷ You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.

¹⁸ "Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

¹⁹ If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

²⁰ Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy

²¹ before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow,

²² to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness." Job 10:14-22

Do you ever look back and say "if only" I had made a different decision, or "if only" I had performed better, or "if only" I would have listened, then maybe it would be different? Do you cause yourself great affliction or pain based on your decisions if they are the wrong ones? I find it very interesting in our lives that we can look at sin differently before and after. Before, satan makes it look inviting and after it looks dark and awful because we know where we should be living. The idea of our life should not be lived with the statement "if only", it should be lived with the statement "only". Instead of "if only" I would have made a difference in someone's life, make the statement I will "only" make a difference in someone's life. Instead of saying "if only" I would have followed God, make the statement I "only" will follow God. Only God can make that difference in your life. Don't live in the past of "if only's", live in the presence with Only God.

Have a great weekend.