Dwell
16 This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise. Isaiah 43:16-21
Are
you one of those people that tells other people not to dwell on the
past but to look at the future? Or, are you one of those that dwells on
the past and keeps looking back at mistake after mistake? For those of
you who tell people not to dwell, is there something in you that dwells
just a little bit on the past because you just can't let go? This
scripture is a beautiful description of God looking forward and
reminding His people not to dwell on the past. He is doing a New Thing
which is the reason why it is such a great scripture. Now, is He doing a
New Thing in you or are you allowing Him to be able to do a New Thing
in you. If you are dwelling on the past, then most likely you are
suppressing what God wants for you and spending your time dwelling too
much. Focus on God's New plan for you, which really isn't new because
He has already had a plan for you and is now just implementing this New
Thing in you. God is faithful in what He has created, and will continue
to be faithful to you. Don't dwell.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Fantastic Friday #314- Plans
Plans
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:7-11
Do you start out your week with a plan? I typically have my week mapped out pretty clearly on what has to happen and what I have to get done. Then Monday hits, and the plan gets blown to pieces, mainly because life happens. Now, I am not saying we shouldn't plan, but maybe we should look at our life through a different lens. When our plans get thwarted for some unknown reason, we should be less likely to question why if we pay attention to God's Word. Look at who God is and how He has planned things with His creation of the heavens and the earth. There were clearly many well-thought-out plans, including us being here on this earth. God has a plan for each and every one of us, and we just need to remember that it is His plan and not ours. Earlier in this Psalm verses 4 and 5 state this:
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
It is very clear that God is Faithful and the Psalm bookends this statement by making sure it is clear to us that His plans stand firm forever. Just remember that when you are planning out your day, week or month and things don't exactly work out how you thought they should, that God planned them already.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jar;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations; their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jar;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:7-11
Do you start out your week with a plan? I typically have my week mapped out pretty clearly on what has to happen and what I have to get done. Then Monday hits, and the plan gets blown to pieces, mainly because life happens. Now, I am not saying we shouldn't plan, but maybe we should look at our life through a different lens. When our plans get thwarted for some unknown reason, we should be less likely to question why if we pay attention to God's Word. Look at who God is and how He has planned things with His creation of the heavens and the earth. There were clearly many well-thought-out plans, including us being here on this earth. God has a plan for each and every one of us, and we just need to remember that it is His plan and not ours. Earlier in this Psalm verses 4 and 5 state this:
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
It is very clear that God is Faithful and the Psalm bookends this statement by making sure it is clear to us that His plans stand firm forever. Just remember that when you are planning out your day, week or month and things don't exactly work out how you thought they should, that God planned them already.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, May 4, 2012
Fantastic Friday #313 - Argument
Argument
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
I participated in two discussions this week where the individuals on the other side of the discussion wanted to argue. How could you tell do you ask? Well both groups of people had a look on their face, you know the look. They both had a body posture that was confrontational. And they both had steam coming out of their ears, well maybe that last part wasn't right, but they looked like they could have had steam coming out of their ears. I took the stance of listening and diffusing the individuals hope of arguing by remembering who I am and who was with me. I didn't let the world take hold of me, which was very important in both of these situations. How often do we let the world take hold of us, instead of being obedient to Christ and diffusing these situations. Take a stand of not waging war with people, but by diffusing arguments through the love of Christ.
Have a great weekend.
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
I participated in two discussions this week where the individuals on the other side of the discussion wanted to argue. How could you tell do you ask? Well both groups of people had a look on their face, you know the look. They both had a body posture that was confrontational. And they both had steam coming out of their ears, well maybe that last part wasn't right, but they looked like they could have had steam coming out of their ears. I took the stance of listening and diffusing the individuals hope of arguing by remembering who I am and who was with me. I didn't let the world take hold of me, which was very important in both of these situations. How often do we let the world take hold of us, instead of being obedient to Christ and diffusing these situations. Take a stand of not waging war with people, but by diffusing arguments through the love of Christ.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Fantastic Friday #312- Moving
Moving
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14
This week was a constant moving target full of meetings, deadlines, events, practices, and preparation. What tends to happen when you are constantly moving is you forget to see what you need to see. You tend to focus only on the moving that you have to do and not think about how you are getting through all these things in life. Frustration can build up and cause a complete distraction of where you need to be focused. Fear then can enter your thoughts as you move quickly through the day and worry about not completing the many things that you think you need to finish. While we don't have to worry about the Pharaoh chasing us, the impact of all these things in our life can cause us anxiety unless we realize we need to be still, and let the Lord fight for us. Slow down your movement and let the Lord deliver you.
Have a great weekend.
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14
This week was a constant moving target full of meetings, deadlines, events, practices, and preparation. What tends to happen when you are constantly moving is you forget to see what you need to see. You tend to focus only on the moving that you have to do and not think about how you are getting through all these things in life. Frustration can build up and cause a complete distraction of where you need to be focused. Fear then can enter your thoughts as you move quickly through the day and worry about not completing the many things that you think you need to finish. While we don't have to worry about the Pharaoh chasing us, the impact of all these things in our life can cause us anxiety unless we realize we need to be still, and let the Lord fight for us. Slow down your movement and let the Lord deliver you.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Fantastic Friday #311- Press
Press
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
“His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies. Psalm 118: 1-7
I was thinking today about my shirts that I wear to work each day. Every week I press the shirts to get the wrinkles out, so they are a smooth, clean-cut shirt. Do you find yourself being pressed like and iron on a shirt. Maybe you feel the heat, or the pressure from other people to perform. If you think about the space between an iron and a shirt, it is a very small space that has a lot of heat produced to smooth out the shirt. If you read this passage you can see how the Lord can bring you out of the tight space that you can find yourself in sometimes. The Lord puts you into a spacious place, where you won't feel hard-pressed by the people around you. Count on Him, because as the scripture says, the Lord's love endures forever and He is your helper.
Have a great weekend.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
“His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies. Psalm 118: 1-7
I was thinking today about my shirts that I wear to work each day. Every week I press the shirts to get the wrinkles out, so they are a smooth, clean-cut shirt. Do you find yourself being pressed like and iron on a shirt. Maybe you feel the heat, or the pressure from other people to perform. If you think about the space between an iron and a shirt, it is a very small space that has a lot of heat produced to smooth out the shirt. If you read this passage you can see how the Lord can bring you out of the tight space that you can find yourself in sometimes. The Lord puts you into a spacious place, where you won't feel hard-pressed by the people around you. Count on Him, because as the scripture says, the Lord's love endures forever and He is your helper.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Fantastic Friday #310- Spin
Spin
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace. Isaiah 59:1-8
No, you didn't read incorrectly, I said spin not sin. It is interesting how closely the words are related, one has just one more letter than the other. Do you sit back and see how some people can spin things in their favor, even if it does look wrong. Sometimes people can spin something in so many directions that they make it sound right and correct. That is the thing with sin, you can try to spin it in many different ways, but in the end it is still sin. If you think about the spider who spins his web, that is the just like the enemy trying to trap us in sin with his spinning of evil things to make them look good. The nice thing about this passage in the Old Testament, it shows there is hope to those who can avoid the spin.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. Isaiah 59:21
While we may not live in Old Testament times like in this Isaiah passage, we can still avoid the spin and rely on our Lord's spirit, because He is always here.
Have a great weekend.
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace. Isaiah 59:1-8
No, you didn't read incorrectly, I said spin not sin. It is interesting how closely the words are related, one has just one more letter than the other. Do you sit back and see how some people can spin things in their favor, even if it does look wrong. Sometimes people can spin something in so many directions that they make it sound right and correct. That is the thing with sin, you can try to spin it in many different ways, but in the end it is still sin. If you think about the spider who spins his web, that is the just like the enemy trying to trap us in sin with his spinning of evil things to make them look good. The nice thing about this passage in the Old Testament, it shows there is hope to those who can avoid the spin.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. Isaiah 59:21
While we may not live in Old Testament times like in this Isaiah passage, we can still avoid the spin and rely on our Lord's spirit, because He is always here.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Fantastic Friday #309- Finished
Finished
29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:29-30
Do you find yourself asking if this or that finished? Do you look forward to the work week being finished? Have you ever sat down and thought about what being finished actually means? We are never quite finished with what is going on in our lives, except for one thing. Christ finished what we could not do as human beings and finished God's plan of covering our sins with His son's sacrifice. So, take a moment and look at starting something for God and not focusing so much on us. God's plan has already been finished and we need to focus on finishing our race to get back to our Father and not finishing the little things. Look around and see where you can start to have an influence on others.
Have a great weekend.
29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:29-30
Do you find yourself asking if this or that finished? Do you look forward to the work week being finished? Have you ever sat down and thought about what being finished actually means? We are never quite finished with what is going on in our lives, except for one thing. Christ finished what we could not do as human beings and finished God's plan of covering our sins with His son's sacrifice. So, take a moment and look at starting something for God and not focusing so much on us. God's plan has already been finished and we need to focus on finishing our race to get back to our Father and not finishing the little things. Look around and see where you can start to have an influence on others.
Have a great weekend.
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